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 § 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, 3, 5-7, 9 and 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sadakuni et al. US 2018/0236785 A1 (hereinafter “Sadakuni”) in view of Sumii et al. US 2023/0226837 A1 (hereinafter “Sumii”).
Regarding claim 1, Sadakuni, with reference to FIGS. 4A and 4B, teaches a medium conveyance device comprising:
a conveyance unit (21) that includes a conveying belt that is configured to convey a target recording medium at an opposing position facing a recording unit (10) that is configured to perform recording; and
wherein the conveying belt is configured to be driven between the opposing position and a retracted position that is a position different from the opposing position, an angle change of the conveying belt between the opposing position and the retracted position is at least 45 degrees.
Sadakuni fails to teach a collection unit that is disposed vertically below the conveying belt at the opposing position and is configured to collect foreign matter that has fallen off the conveying belt, and
the collection unit moves in association with a movement of the conveying belt.
Sumii teaches a collection unit (48-FIGS. 10-11 or 71-FIG. 13) that is disposed vertically below a conveying belt (33) at the opposing position and is configured to collect foreign matter that has fallen off the conveying belt, and
the collection unit moves in association with a movement of the conveying belt.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify Sadakuni’s device with a collection unit as taught by Sumii in order to facilitate collection and removal of paper dust/debris.
Regarding claim 3, Sadakuni teaches wherein the posture of the conveying belt at the opposing position is different from the posture of the conveying belt at the retracted position.
Regarding claim 5, both references of Sadakuni and Sumii teach further comprising a cleaning unit (29-Sadakuni, 46-Sumii) that is configured to come into contact with the conveying belt located at the opposing position to clean the conveying belt, wherein the collection unit (of Sumii) is disposed vertically below the cleaning unit.
Regarding claim 6, Sadakuni teaches the cleaning unit moves in association with the movement of the conveying belt.
Regarding claim 7, Sumii teaches wherein the collection unit is configured to be removable.
Regarding claim 9, Sadakuni teaches a recording device comprising: a recording unit (10) that is configured to perform recording on a target recording medium.
Regarding claim 11, Sadakuni teaches the angle change being approximately 90 degrees (90 degrees shown in FIG. 4B from first state in FIG. 4A).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2, 4, 8, and 10 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.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim 1 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to LUIS A GONZALEZ whose telephone number is (571)270-3094. The examiner can normally be reached 9am-5:30pm.
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 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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/LUIS A GONZALEZ/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3653
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