Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
1. 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 § 102
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 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.
2. Claims 1, 3 and 6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by U.S. Patent Publication No. 2023/0352650 (Chen et al.) (hereinafter “Chen”).
Regarding claim 1, Figs. 1-6 show a sheet conveyor apparatus (Fig. 6) comprising:
an air turn bar (20) turning back a strip-shaped sheet conveyed along a predetermined conveyance passage (passage in Fig. 6); and
a hood (10) including an inner circumferential surface opposing an outer circumferential surface of the air turn bar (20), wherein:
the outer circumferential surface of the air turn bar (20) includes an ejection hole (22) ejecting air toward one surface of the sheet; and
the inner circumferential surface of the hood (10) includes a suction hole (unnumbered hole between curved members in Fig. 1) sucking air from another surface of the sheet.
Regarding claim 3, Figs. 1-6 show that the outer circumferential surface of the air turn bar (20) includes a semi-circular cross-sectional shaped portion (21); and the air turn bar (20) turns back the conveyed sheet in an opposite direction.
Regarding claim 6, Figs. 1-6 show that the suction hole (unnumbered hole between curved members in Fig. 1) is formed in at least a region of the inner circumferential surface of the hood (10) that opposes a turn end portion of the outer circumferential surface of the air turn bar (20).
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.
3. Claims 2, 4 and 5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen as applied to claims 1 and 3 above, and further in view of Japanese Publication No. 2021-50051 (hereinafter “JP’051”) (cited in the 2/12/2025 IDS). With regard to claim 2, Figs. 1-6 show a plurality of guide rollers (60) arranged along the outer circumferential surface of the air turn bar and the inner circumferential surface of the hood. With regard to claim 2, Chen shows all of the limitations of this claim, except for a plurality of guide rollers, as claimed.
JP’051 shows that it is well-known in the art to provide an air turn bar (210 in Fig. 11) with a plurality of guide rollers (238) arranged along the outer circumferential surface of the air turn bar (210). Numbered paragraph [0059] explains that guide rollers (238) make it possible to bend the transport direction of a sheet with low friction while making the floating amount of a floating target portion uniform. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to provide the Chen apparatus with guide rollers along the outer circumferential surface of the air turn bar (20), for the purpose of bending the transport direction of the sheet with low friction while making the floating amount of the floating target portion uniform, as taught by JP’051. Providing the air turn bar (20) of the Chen apparatus with guide rollers in close proximity to the outer surface of the sheet, in a manner as shown in Fig. 11 of JP’051, results in the guide rollers being along the outer circumferential surface of the air turn bar (20) of Chen and the inner circumferential surface of the hood (10) of Chen, as claimed. Thus, all of the limitations of claim 2 are met by the cited combination of references.
With regard to claim 4, Chen teaches most of the limitations of this claim including the semi-circular cross-section shaped air turn bar (20), but does not show an upstream portion extending from the semi-circular cross-sectional shaped portion, as claimed.
JP’051 shows that it is well-known in the art to provide a sheet conveyor apparatus (Fig. 11) with an outer circumferential surface of an air turn bar (210) with an upstream portion (right-hand cross-hatched portion labeled with reference numeral “210”) extending from a semi-circular cross-sectional shaped portion (left-hand cross-hatched portion) toward an upstream of a conveying direction of a sheet; and the upstream portion includes an upstream ejection hole (unnumbered opening in right-hand cross-hatched portion ) ejecting air toward one surface of the sheet. Because both JP’051 and Chen teach air turn bar arrangements for blowing air on sheets, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to substitute the air turn bar arrangement of JP’051 for the air turn bar arrangement of Chen to achieve the predictable result of blowing air on sheets.
With regard to claim 5, Chen teaches most of the limitations of this claim including the inner circumferential surface of the hood (10) and the outer circumferential surface of the air turn bar (20), but does not show that the hood has an opposing portion opposing the upstream portion of the air turn bar and does not show a guide roller, as claimed. As noted above with regard to claim 4, JP’051 teaches the outer circumferential surface of the air turn bar (210) with the upstream portion (right-hand cross-hatched portion labeled with reference numeral “210”). Also, JP’051 shows multiple guide rollers (238) around the upstream portion (right-hand cross-hatched portion labeled with reference numeral “210”), for the purpose of bending the transport direction of the sheet with low friction while making the floating amount of the floating target portion uniform. As such, providing the Chen apparatus with an air turn bar arrangement that has an upstream portion and multiple guide rollers, in a manner as taught by Fig. 11 of JP’051, results in the inner circumferential surface of the hood including an opposing portion opposing the upstream portion; and further comprising a guide roller disposed between the opposing portion of the inner circumferential surface of the hood and the upstream portion of the outer circumferential surface of the air turn bar, as claimed.
Conclusion
4. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to THOMAS A MORRISON whose telephone number is (571)272-7221. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9am - 5pm.
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/THOMAS A MORRISON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3653