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 § 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)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1-3, 7, and 11-12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by TAKANO (USPGPUB 2021/0347595).
Regarding claim 1, TAKANO discloses a sheet discharging apparatus comprising:
a sheet discharge port (25) through which a sheet is discharged;
a discharging member (29) disposed at the sheet discharge port, the discharging member conveying the sheet in a discharge direction (see Figure 1);
a sheet discharge tray (31) disposed downstream of the sheet discharge port (25) with respect to the discharge direction, the sheet discharge tray having stacked thereon the sheet discharged from the sheet discharge port (see Figure 2); and
a blowing mechanism (41,43) that blows a stream of air to the sheet discharged from the sheet discharge port,
wherein
the blowing mechanism has:
a pair of blowing ports (73,73) through which the stream of air is blown from upward to opposite end parts (see Figure 5), along a width direction orthogonal to the discharge direction of the sheet (see Figure 5; the port “73” blows air along at least a portion of the sheet in the width direction), of the sheet discharged from the sheet discharge port (see Figure 2); and
a blowing device (71) coupled to the blowing ports, the blowing device producing the stream of air,
a blowing position of the stream of air with respect to the sheet can be adjusted according to a size of the sheet along the width direction (see paragraphs [0050]-[0051]).
Regarding claim 2, TAKANO discloses the sheet discharging apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:
a moving mechanism (95) that moves the blowing ports reciprocatably along the width direction (see paragraph [0046]),
wherein
the blowing position (95) is adjusted by moving the blowing ports along the width direction by use of the moving mechanism (see paragraph [0046]).
Regarding claim 3, TAKANO discloses the sheet discharging apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising:
an input portion (38) to which a size of the sheet is inputted (see paragraph [0047]); and
a control portion (37) that controls the blowing mechanism and the moving mechanism,
wherein
the control portion adjusts the blowing position by moving the blowing ports along the width direction based on the size of the sheet along the width direction as inputted to the input portion (see paragraph [0046]).
Regarding claim 7, TAKANO discloses the sheet discharging apparatus according to claim 3, wherein
when or after a leading end of the sheet makes contact with the sheet discharge tray or a sheet on the sheet discharge tray, the control portion (37) makes the blowing device start to blow the stream of air (see paragraph [0051]).
Regarding claim 11, TAKANO discloses an image forming apparatus comprising:
an image forming portion (7) that forms an image on a sheet; and
the sheet discharging apparatus according to claim 1 that discharges the sheet having the image formed thereon by the image forming portion (see Figure 1).
Regarding claim 12, TAKANO discloses the image forming apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the image forming portion (7) records an image by ejecting ink onto the sheet (see paragraph [0027]).
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim(s) 8-10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over TAKANO (USPGPUB 2021/0347595) as applied to claims 1-3, 7, and 11-12 above, and further in view of Okada et al. (USPGPUB 2018/0290852).
Regarding claim 8, TAKANO discloses the sheet discharging apparatus according to claim 1. However, TAKANO does not disclose a sheet post-processing apparatus comprising:
a post-processing portion that performs predetermined post-processing on a sheet; and
the sheet discharging apparatus that discharges the sheet having the post-processing performed thereon by the post-processing portion.
Okada et al. disclose a sheet post-processing apparatus comprising:
a post-processing portion that performs predetermined post-processing on a sheet (see paragraph [0028]); and
the sheet discharging apparatus that discharges the sheet having the post-processing performed thereon by the post-processing portion (see abstract).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the apparatus disclosed by TAKANO by including a sheet post-processing apparatus comprising: a post-processing portion that performs predetermined post-processing on a sheet; and the sheet discharging apparatus that discharges the sheet having the post-processing performed thereon by the post-processing portion, as disclosed by Okada et al., with a reasonable expectation of success for the purpose of providing “stapling and/or folding” to a sheet (see paragraph [0028]).
Regarding claim 9, TAKANO in view of Okada et al. disclose an image forming system. Furthermore, TAKANO discloses an image forming system comprising: an image forming apparatus (7) that forms an image on a sheet. Additionally, Okada et al. disclose the sheet post-processing apparatus according to claim 8 that performs predetermined post-processing on the sheet having the image formed thereon by the image forming apparatus. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system disclosed by TAKANO by including the sheet post-processing apparatus according to claim 8 that performs predetermined post-processing on the sheet having the image formed thereon by the image forming apparatus, as disclosed by Okada et al., with a reasonable expectation of success for the purpose of providing “stapling and/or folding” to a sheet (see paragraph [0028]).
Regarding claim 10, TAKANO discloses the image forming system according to claim 9, wherein
the image forming apparatus is an inkjet recording apparatus that records in image by ejecting ink onto the sheet (see paragraph [0027]).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4-6 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: dependent claim 4 discloses, “a swinging mechanism that swings the blowing ports about a swing axis parallel to the discharge direction, wherein the blowing position is adjusted by changing an angle of the blowing ports by use of the swinging mechanism” which, in combination with the rest of the claim language, teaches an apparatus that is novel over the prior art of record.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MICHAEL COLLINS whose telephone number is (571)272-8970. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday.
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, Jacob Scott can be reached at (571) 270-3415. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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M.K.C.
6/16/2026
/MICHAEL COLLINS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3655
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