DETAILED ACTION
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the “an edge portion configured to contact with the stopper” (Claim 21) must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
An edge portion does not appear to be labelled with a reference number but furthermore, no contact is depicted, particularly in light of a claimed/shown gap G1 (see Figs. 12-13).
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. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. 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.
Specification
A reference number does not appear to be provided for the “edge portion” ([0103], Claim 21).
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.
Claim 26 is 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.
Regarding Claim 26, it is claimed that the arm support portion (31) is biased by the biasing portion (20e, [0100]). However, the recited biasing portion has antecedent basis in parent Claim 24, where it is defined as biasing the document stopper (i.e. 20c per [0046], thereby a different biasing portion). The biasing portion of the present claim should be differentiated from that of Claim 24 as these appear to be different structures.
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.
Claim(s) 19 and 23 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Machida (US Pub No. 2019/0135564 A1).
Regarding Claim 19, Machida discloses
a receiving port (i.e. the input opening from 1 to 11) configured to receive a document into an apparatus main body (i.e. body illustrated by its outer boundaries in Fig. 1);
a document stopper (14) configured to be pivotable between a first posture (Fig. 2) in which reception of the document is suppressed and a second posture (Fig. 1) in which the reception is permitted;
a feeding roller (11) configured to convey the document received from the receiving port to a downstream side;
a power source (4, [0064]) configured to generate power for pivot of the document stopper; and
a control unit (80) configured to control the power source ([0078], [0080]) and to control rotation of the feeding roller ([0080]),
wherein the control unit performs the control such that the document stopper moves from a first posture to a second posture (S4 in Fig. 4, [0090]) and then the rotation of the feeding roller is started (S5 in Fig. 4, [0091]).
Regarding Claim 23, Machida discloses
a receiving port (i.e. the input opening from 1 to 11) configured to receive a document into an apparatus main body (i.e. body illustrated by its outer boundaries in Fig. 1);
a document stopper (14) configured to be pivotable between a first posture (Fig. 2) in which reception of the document is suppressed and a second posture (Fig. 1) in which the reception is permitted; and
an arm portion (13) configured to be switched between a first position (i.e. raised) and a second position (i.e. lowered), the document stopper being in the first posture when the arm portion is at the first position (Fig. 2) and in the second posture when the arm portion is at the second position (Fig. 1).
Claim(s) 23-26 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Machida et al. (US Patent No. 9,181,050 B2).
Regarding Claim 23, Machida et al. discloses
a receiving port (i.e. the input opening from 4 to 3) configured to receive a document into an apparatus main body (i.e. comprising 2a, 2b, Fig. 1);
a document stopper (7) configured to be pivotable between a first posture (Fig. 1) in which reception of the document is suppressed and a second posture (Fig. 3) in which the reception is permitted; and
an arm portion (9) configured to be switched between a first position (i.e. raised) and a second position (i.e. lowered), the document stopper being in the first posture when the arm portion is at the first position (Fig. 1) and in the second posture when the arm portion is at the second position (Fig. 3).
Regarding Claim 24, Machida et al. discloses
a biasing portion (35) configured to bias the document stopper to be set in the second posture (lines 44-47 of Column 5).
Regarding Claim 25, Machida et al. discloses
an arm support portion (22, 31, 21, 32, 33, 34, 17) configured to move the arm portion between the first posture and the second posture (lines 24-39 of Column 5).
Regarding Claim 26, Machida et al. discloses
the arm support portion is biased by the biasing portion (i.e. at least indirectly, 35 provides a resistive force to the rotational movement of 22, also see the 112 rejection above).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
Claim(s) 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Machida (US Pub No. 2019/0135564 A1) in view of Shimosaka et al. (US Pub No. 2024/0359934 A1).
Regarding Claim 20, Machida does not disclose a controlled/powered guide member as claimed.
Shimosaka et al. discloses
a guide member (112, Fig. 3) including a placement surface (i.e. its upper surface) on which the document is placed to be in a state where reception of the document is suppressed by the document stopper (114, Fig. 3),
wherein the control unit sets the guide member in a rotatable state such that the placement surface is located below the feeding roller (S103, Fig. 8, via motor 133 [0085]), and controls the power source such that the document stopper moves from the first posture to the second posture ([0066]) and such that conveying of the document is started by the feeding roller after the document moves to a position where the document contacts with the feeding roller (S105, Fig. 8, via motor 131 [0087]), for the purpose of setting and feeding sheets.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective
filing date to modify the invention of Machida by including the guide member as
disclosed by Shimosaka et al., for the purpose of setting and feeding sheets.
It is noted that Shimosaka et al. has priority to Jan 28, 2022.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 21 and 22 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: None of the prior art of record shows a pivot member forming a gap with a distal end of a stopper as claimed (Claims 21 and 22).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
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/PRASAD V GOKHALE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3653 March 6, 2026