DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 1 recites “acceptable” in the penultimate line. The term is relative rendering the claims indefinite. The Examiner considered it to be a typo instead of the word “accessible”.
Claim 3 recites the limitation "the rotating member." There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
The dependent claims are rejected by virtue of their dependency.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
As best understood, claim(s) 1-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Aoyama et al. US 2003/0081269 (“Aoyama”).
Regarding claim 1, Aoyama disclosed a recording-material-transporting apparatus comprising:
a transport unit (Figure 1) that transports a recording material along a transport path;
a common housing (of the image reading apparatus) that supports (a) an upper image reader (20) which reads an image formed on an upper side of the recording material at an upper image reading position and (b) a lower image reader (including 10) which reads an image formed on a lower side of the recording material at the lower image reading position (Figure 1); and
a guide member (including 200) that guides the recording material being transported along the transport path,
wherein the upper image reading position at which the image on the upper side of the recording material is formed is located downstream in the transporting direction relative to the lower image reading position at which the image on the lower side of the recording material is formed (Figure 1),
wherein the guide member is provided in a region upstream in the transporting direction from the upper image reading position and vertically above the transport path (Figure 1),
wherein the guide member has one end fixed to the housing (at 21) and a handle at an other end (see the end in Figure 2 to be handled by a user), and
wherein the transport path is accessible by a user through a gap (above platen glass 2) formed by moving the handle of the guide member upward (see Figures 1 and 2).
Regarding claim 2, Aoyama disclosed the common housing supports the transport unit (Figure 1).
Regarding claim 3, Aoyama disclosed the at least one gap comprises two gaps and in one of the two gaps (above platen glass 2), the transport path is accessible at a location other than a location at which a rotating member (22) is installed in the other of the two gaps (below 20).
Regarding claim 4, Aoyama disclosed the transport path extends in a horizontal direction, and wherein the one of the two gaps is positioned above the transport path (see Figures 1 and 2).
Regarding claim 5, Aoyama disclosed a rotating member is provided at each of the upstream position and the downstream position (see 18 and 22), and wherein the rotating member is also supported by the common housing (Figure 5).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to HOWARD J SANDERS whose telephone number is (571)270-3096. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:00-5:00.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Michael McCullough can be reached at (571) 272-7805. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/HOWARD J SANDERS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3653