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 .
Amendment received 5/27/26 was entered into the record.
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) 1, 2, 4, 6-11, 13, 15-20, 23, and 24 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Nishikawa et al. US 4,307,432 (“Nishikawa”).
Regarding claim 1, Nishikawa disclosed a sheet discharging apparatus including:
a sheet discharge unit (3a 3b) configured to discharge a sheet conveyed through a conveyance path in a sheet discharge direction;
a sheet supporting unit (7) configured to support the sheet discharged by the sheet discharge unit;
a first charge eliminating unit (including 15) arranged downstream of the sheet discharge unit in the sheet discharge direction and configured to eliminate electric charge from a surface of the sheet; and
a second charge eliminating unit (13) arranged further downstream than the first charge eliminating unit in the sheet discharge direction (seen in at least Figures 5 and 6), spaced apart from the first charge eliminating unit in the sheet discharge direction (see the gap between 13 and 15 in at least Figure 6), and configured to eliminate electric charge from a surface of the sheet,
wherein the first charge eliminating unit includes a plurality of first charge eliminating portions that are aligned with a first pitch in a sheet width direction, which is orthogonal to the sheet discharge direction (see Figure 6 and col. 4, lines 22-24), and
wherein the second charge eliminating unit includes a plurality of second charge eliminating portions that are aligned with a second pitch, that differs from the first pitch, in the sheet width direction (see Figure 6), and
wherein the plurality of second charge eliminating portions are arranged on both sides with respect to a center of the conveyance path in the sheet width direction (Figures 5 and 6).
Regarding claim 2, Nishikawa disclosed the first pitch is longer than the second pitch (see Figure 6).
Regarding claim 4, Nishikawa disclosed each of the plurality of first charge eliminating portions is formed of a material that differs from that of each of the plurality of second charge eliminating portions (see at least Figure 6).
Regarding claim 6, Nishikawa disclosed the first charge eliminating unit includes a first supporting portion (15a) having conductivity and configured to support the plurality of first charge eliminating portions, and wherein the second charge eliminating unit includes a second supporting portion (including 14) having conductivity and configured to support the plurality of second charge eliminating portions.
Regarding claim 7, Nishikawa disclosed the sheet discharge unit includes a first roller (3a), and a second roller (3b) together configured to form a nip portion, that nips and conveys the sheet, and both the first charge eliminating unit and the second charge eliminating unit are arranged on a side on which the first roller is disposed with respect to the sheet nipped by the nip portion (Figure 6).
Regarding claim 8, Nishikawa disclosed the plurality of first charge eliminating portions and the plurality of second charge eliminating portions extend in a gravity direction (see Figures 5-7).
Regarding claim 9, Nishikawa disclosed an image forming apparatus comprising:
an image forming unit configured to form an image on a sheet; and the sheet discharging apparatus according to claim 1 configured to discharge the sheet on which an image has been formed by the image forming unit (see col. 1, lines 21-30).
Regarding claim 10, Nishikawa disclosed a sheet discharging apparatus including:
a sheet discharge unit (3a, 3b) configured to discharge a sheet conveyed through a conveyance path in a sheet discharge direction;
a sheet supporting unit (7) configured to support the sheet discharged by the sheet discharge unit;
a first charge eliminating unit arranged downstream of the sheet discharge unit in the sheet discharge direction and configured to eliminate electric charge from a surface of the sheet; and a second charge eliminating unit arranged further downstream than the first charge eliminating unit in the sheet discharge direction, spaced apart from the first charge eliminating unit in the sheet discharge direction (as mentioned above) and configured to eliminate electric charge from a surface of the sheet (Figure 6),
wherein the first charge eliminating unit includes a plurality of upstream charge eliminating portions (15b) aligned in a sheet width direction, which is orthogonal to the sheet discharge direction, the plurality of upstream charge eliminating portions including a first upstream charge eliminating portion and a second upstream charge eliminating portion that are arranged adjacent to each other in the sheet width direction (Figure 6),
wherein the second charge eliminating unit includes a plurality of downstream charge eliminating portions (13) aligned in the sheet width direction, the plurality of downstream charge eliminating portions including a first downstream charge eliminating portion and a second downstream charge eliminating portion that are arranged adjacent to each other in the sheet width direction (Figure 6), and
wherein a first distance between the first upstream charge eliminating portion and the second upstream charge eliminating portion differs from a second distance between the first downstream charge eliminating portion and the second downstream charge eliminating portion in the sheet width direction (as seen in Figure 6 and discussed above), and
wherein the plurality of second charge eliminating portions are arranged on both sides with respect to a center of the conveyance path in the sheet width direction (Figure 6).
Regarding claim 11, Nishikawa disclosed the first distance is longer than the second distance (Figure 6).
Regarding claim 13, Nishikawa disclosed the first upstream charge eliminating portion and the second upstream charge eliminating portion are formed of a material that differs from that of the first downstream charge eliminating portion and the second downstream charge eliminating portion (see at least Figure 6).
Regarding claim 15, Nishikawa disclosed the first charge eliminating unit includes a first supporting portion having conductivity and configured to support the first upstream charge eliminating portion and the second upstream charge eliminating portion (as discussed above with regard to claim 6), and wherein the second charge eliminating unit includes a second supporting portion having conductivity and configured to support the first downstream charge eliminating portion and the second downstream charge eliminating portion (see claim 6 above).
Regarding claim 16, Nishikawa disclosed the sheet discharge unit includes a first roller (3a), and a second roller (3b) configured to form a nip portion, together with the first roller, that nips and conveys the sheet, and wherein both the first charge eliminating unit and the second charge eliminating unit are arranged on a side on which the first roller is disposed with respect to the sheet nipped by the nip portion (Figures 5-7).
Regarding claim 17, Nishikawa disclosed each of the first upstream charge eliminating portion, the second upstream charge eliminating portion, the first downstream charge eliminating portion, and the second downstream charge eliminating portion extends in a gravity direction (see Figures 5-7).
Regarding claim 18, Nishikawa disclosed an image forming apparatus comprising: an image forming unit configured to form an image on a sheet; and the sheet discharging apparatus according to claim 10 configured to discharge the sheet on which an image has been formed by the image forming unit (see col. 1, lines 21-30).
Regarding claims 19 and 20, Nishikawa disclosed the first charge eliminating unit extends in a gravity direction toward a tip of the first charge eliminating unit (see Figure 5), and the tip of the first charge eliminating unit is arranged at a position higher than the nip portion in the gravity direction (as seen in Figure 5).
Regarding claims 23 and 24, Nishikawa disclosed the first charge eliminating unit and the second charge eliminating unit are configured to not abut against the surface of the sheet (see Figure 5 before a sheet is fed or after a sheet falls into the tray).
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) 21 and 22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nishikawa in view of Kawashima US 7,748,711 (“Kawashima”).
Nishikawa disclosed the limitations of claims 7 and 16 and further disclosed the first roller and the second roller form a roller pair (Figure 5), but did not teach multiple roller pairs. Kawashima teaches a discharge portion that includes a plurality of the roller pairs arranged side by side in the sheet width direction (Figures 6-8), and a charge eliminating unit that is disposed at least partially outward, in the sheet width direction, of the roller pair arranged at a position farthest from the center in the width direction among the plurality of roller pairs (Figure 6). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to use the teachings within Nishikawa to arrange the second charge eliminating unit outside multiple discharge roller sets. Multiple roller sets are commonly used to ensure a sheet is fed evenly without skew and arranging the charge elimination unit partially outward ensures that the entirety of the sheet will be experience charge elimination when sheets wider than the roller footprint are fed.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3, 5, 12, and 14 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 filed 5/27/26 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Applicant argued that Nishikawa failed to teach the second neutralizer spaced in the downstream direction.
The examiner disagrees. As explained above, Figure 6 of Nishikawa clearly shows a second charge eliminating unit 13 downstream of eliminating unit 15 which includes a space between wires 13 and spacers 15b, as seen upon a careful viewing of Figure 6. The rejections are therefore considered proper.
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 HOWARD J SANDERS whose telephone number is (571)270-3096. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:00-5:00.
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.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/HOWARD J SANDERS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3653
Prosecution Insights