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 .
Drawings
The drawings are objected to as failing to comply with 37 CFR 1.84(p)(5) because they do not include the following reference sign(s) mentioned in the description: Paragraphs 20-21 mention sheet conveying device 3 that does not appear in the Figures. Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claims 1-2 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103(a) as being unpatentable over Tamaru et al. (US 2006/0139715) in view of Kuribayashi (US 7,304,660), cited in the IDS dated 8/25/25.
Regarding claim 1, Tamaru discloses a laser scanning device (12), comprising:
a plurality of multibeam light sources which respectively emit a plurality of beam light sets each constituted of a plurality of light beams (see paras 57-58, 70, and 127, two laser irradiation optical portions 18 include a first laser emitting portion 25a and a second laser emitting portion 25b);
a plurality of lenses which respectively cause the plurality of beam light sets to pass therethrough (see paras 58, 95, and 128, a plurality of lenses, first and second collimating lenses 26a and 26b and lenses 19);
an aperture unit including a plurality of apertures which respectively cause the plurality of beam light sets that have passed through the plurality of lenses to pass therethrough (see paras 90, 123, and 136, an aperture unit is made up of slit plate 128, which includes plural slits 131);
a laser scanner which reflects and scans the plurality of beam light sets that have passed through the plurality of apertures (see paras 55 and 141, a laser scanner unit 12); and
a support mechanism which supports the aperture unit and is capable of changing a position of the aperture unit (see paras 136 and 140-143, slit plate 128 is slidably guided to change the position of the aperture unit).
Tamaru does not disclose expressly changing a position of the aperture unit in a light traveling direction that is directed from the plurality of lenses toward the laser scanner and an angle of the aperture unit with respect to the light traveling direction.
Kuribayashi discloses changing a position of the aperture unit in a light traveling direction that is directed from the plurality of lenses toward the laser scanner and an angle of the aperture unit with respect to the light traveling direction (see Figs. 11A and 11B and col 9 lines 6-30, the installation position of the aperture 1 may be shifted by the deforming adjustment units 20, the deforming adjustment units 20 in this case may, for example, adjust the installation position of the aperture 1 so that the installation position shift back and forth in the light advancing direction or its opposite direction based on the light quantity measured result obtained by the sensor in the vicinity of the recording medium).
Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to combine the adjusting of an aperture unit, as described by Kuribayashi, with the system of Tamaru.
The suggestion/motivation for doing so would have been to provide more accurate deflection and scanning of laser beams (Tamaru para 140).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to combine Kuribayashi with Tamaru to obtain the invention as specified in claim 1.
Regarding claim 2, Tamaru further discloses an image forming apparatus (laser printer 1), comprising:
a plurality of photoconductors (see Fig. 1 and para 32, photosensitive drums 71);
the laser scanning device according to claim 1 which forms electrostatic latent images on surfaces of the plurality of photoconductors by scanning a plurality of beam light sets each constituted of a plurality of light beams on the surfaces of the plurality of photoconductors (see paras 31-36, 39-41, and 46-47, laser scanner 12 forms electrostatic latent images of the surfaces of photosensitive drums 71);
a plurality of developing devices which develop the electrostatic latent images formed on the surfaces of the plurality of photoconductors into toner images (see paras 40-41, development rollers 76 form toner images); and
a transfer device which transfers the toner images formed on the surfaces of the plurality of photoconductors onto a sheet (see paras 40-41, 46, and 51-52, toner images are transferred onto a sheet).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. To further show the state of the art please refer to the attached Notice of References Cited.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MARK R MILIA whose telephone number is (571)272-7408. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday, 8am-5pm.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Akwasi Sarpong can be reached at 571-270-3438. The fax number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/MARK R MILIA/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2681
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