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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Election/Restrictions
Claims 5-12 are hereby withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR
1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected species, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 8/20/2026.
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.
4. 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.
Claims 1-4,13,15-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated
by Yoshimune et al. JP 2005-096392 A.
Yoshimune discloses, regarding claim 1, A post-processing apparatus comprising:
a sheet bundle inserter (10) configured to insert a sheet bundle (Q1,Q2) having multiple sheets overlapped on each other;
a movable sheet stacker (41) configured to be inserted into and withdrawn from the sheet bundle inserter, the movable sheet stacker having a stacker face (41a) on which the sheet bundle is stacked; and
a sheet binder (15) in the sheet bundle inserter, the sheet binder configured to perform a sheet binding operation on the sheet bundle stacked on the movable sheet stacker (see at least ¶0042).
Regarding claim 2, wherein the stacker face of the movable sheet stacker is stackable, the sheet bundle including:
a first sheet bundle (Q1) having a first size smaller than an area of the stacker face, and a second sheet bundle (Q2) having a second size larger than the area of the stacker face (The apparatus is fully capable of handling the material as recited; see at least MPEP 2114. Furthermore, the material worked upon does not limit the apparatus claim; see at least MPEP 2115),
the movable sheet stacker is drawn from the sheet bundle inserter to stack the first sheet bundle (see at least fig.6,7),
the movable sheet stacker stacking the first sheet bundle is inserted into the sheet bundle inserter, and
the sheet binder performs the sheet binding operation on the first sheet bundle on the movable sheet stacker inside the sheet bundle inserter (see at least fig.6,7; ¶0041-0044).
Regarding claim 3, wherein the stacker face of the movable sheet stacker is stackable, the sheet bundle including:
a first sheet bundle (Q1) having a first size smaller than an area of the stacker face, and a second sheet bundle (Q2) having a second size larger than the area of the stacker face (The apparatus is fully capable of handling the material as recited; see at least MPEP 2114. Furthermore, the material worked upon does not limit the apparatus claim; see at least MPEP 2115), and
the movable sheet stacker is drawn from the sheet bundle inserter to stack a part of the second sheet bundle (see at least fig.6,7),
the movable sheet stacker, disposed outside the sheet bundle inserter, supports the second sheet bundle, and
the sheet binder performs the sheet binding operation on the second sheet bundle in the sheet bundle inserter while the movable sheet stacker outside the sheet bundle inserter supports the second sheet bundle (see at least fig.6,7; ¶0041-0044).
Regarding claim 4, wherein the movable sheet stacker includes:
a first contact portion (42a) to contact one end face of the first sheet bundle or the second sheet bundle; and
a second contact portion (42b) having a retractable portion to contact another end face of the first sheet bundle orthogonal to the one end face (see at least fig.7).
Regarding claim 13, An image forming system (fig.1) comprising:
an image forming apparatus (2) to form an image on a sheet; and
the post-processing apparatus (3) according to claim 1 to perform a given operation on the sheet.
Regarding claim 15, A post-processing apparatus comprising:
a sheet bundle container (10) to accommodate an entire set of a sheet bundle;
a movable sheet stacker (41) having a stacker face (41a) on which the sheet bundle, having a size smaller than an area of the stacker face, is placed, the movable sheet stacker being movable inside or outside the sheet bundle container; and
a sheet binder (15) to perform a sheet binding operation on the sheet bundle in the sheet bundle container (see at least ¶0042).
Regarding claim 16, wherein the stacker face of the movable sheet stacker stacks the sheet bundle, when the movable sheet stacker is outside the sheet bundle container, or when the movable sheet stacker is inside the sheet bundle container (see at least fig.6,7; ¶0041-0044).
Regarding claim 17, wherein the stacker face of the movable sheet stacker is withdrawable in a direction orthogonal to a direction of gravity (see at least fig.6,7).
Regarding claim 18, An image forming system (fig.1) comprising:
an image forming apparatus (2) to form an image on a sheet; and
the post-processing apparatus (3) according to claim 15,
wherein the stacker face of the movable sheet stacker is withdrawable to a front side of the image forming apparatus (as can be seen by the structure shown in fig.1,2,6,7).
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 14 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yoshimune
et al. JP 2005-096392 A in view of Obuchi et al. USP 10,048,636.
Yoshimune discloses substantially all the limitations of the claims (see ¶5 above), but does not expressly disclose the limitations of claim 14.
Obuchi teaches wherein the image forming apparatus has an in-body space (15) to which the sheet with the image is ejected and from which the sheet ejected from the image forming apparatus is removed, and the post-processing apparatus (B) is disposed in the in-body space of the image forming apparatus (see at least fig.1).
Before the effective filing date, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art to provide the image forming apparatus with in-body space to which the sheet with the image is ejected and from which the sheet ejected from the image forming apparatus is removed, and the post-processing apparatus is disposed in the in-body space of the image forming apparatus, as taught by Obuchi, in the device of Yoshimune, with a reasonable expectation of success, for the purpose of combining the post-processing apparatus with the image forming apparatus into a single unit thus reducing footprint of the image forming system.
Conclusion
8. The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Taki et al. (USP 8,104,757) discloses a movable sheet stacker (50) and movable sheet binder (25) wherein a sheet bundle (S1) may be inserted into a sheet bundle inserter (54) to perform a sheet binding operation.
9. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to LESLIE A. NICHOLSON III whose telephone number is (571)272-5487. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8-4.
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, Michael C 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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/LESLIE A NICHOLSON III/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3653 8/28/2026
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