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
1. Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. Claims 1-3,6,9,10,12,13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Obuchi et al. USP 9,340,391.
Obuchi discloses, regarding claims 1,13, An image forming system (fig.1) comprising:
an image forming apparatus (2) to form an image on a medium;
a medium processing apparatus (B) coupled to the image forming apparatus to form a sheet bundle bundling multiple media including the medium,
the medium processing apparatus including
a housing (20b) having a space (29) in a part of the housing (fig.2);
a binder (26) in the space to perform a binding operation on a sheet bundle bundling multiple media including a medium;
a first sensor (85; fig.5,17,25) in the space to:
detect a first side of the sheet bundle in a first direction, the first side forming an outer edge of the sheet bundle (see at least C21/L31-39); and
output a first detection signal (ON position by sensor flag 85f); and
a second sensor (86) adjacent to the first sensor in the space to:
detect a second side of the sheet bundle adjacent to the first side, the second side forming another outer edge of the sheet bundle in a second direction different from the first direction (see at least C21/L31-39); and
output a second detection signal (ON position by sensor flag 86f); and
circuitry configured to:
input the first detection signal output by the first sensor and the second detection signal output by the second sensor (St83; see at least fig.25, C21/L31-39, C30/L52);
output a notification that the binding operation is executable by the binder (St86; see at least fig.25, C30/L38-51); and
cause the binder to perform the binding operation in response to receiving an instruction to start the binding operation (St89; see at least fig.25, C30/L38-51).
Regarding claim 2, wherein the circuitry is further configured to:
select one of at least three types of position information of the sheet bundle in the space, according to the first detection signal and the second detection signal (ON by position by one or both sensor flags 85f,86f); and
output a notification of the position information of the sheet bundle (St86; see at least fig.25).
Regarding claim 3, wherein the circuitry is further configured to:
input the first detection signal and the second detection signal (ON by position by one or both sensor flags 85f,86f); and
select the position information of the sheet bundle (selection based on ON and/or OFF position by one or both sensor flags 85f,86f).
Regarding claim 6, further comprising a light emitter (LED lamp discussed in at least fig.25),
wherein the circuitry is further configured to control the light emitter to vary light emission (light on or off) according to the notification (see at least fig.25, C30/L38-62).
Regarding claim 9, further comprising:
a first restrictor (29y) to restrict the first side in the first direction; and
a second restrictor (29x) to restrict the second side in the second direction adjacent to the first side (see at least fig.5,16,17; C21/L21-31).
Regarding claim 10, wherein the first sensor (85) and the second sensor (86) are respectively closer to an exterior of the housing than the first restrictor and the second restrictor (fig.5).
Regarding claim 12, An image forming apparatus (fig.1) comprising:
an image forming device (2) to form an image on a medium; and
the medium processing apparatus (B) according to claim 1, to perform a binding operation on the medium on which the image is formed by the image forming device.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
5. 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.
6. Claim 11 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Obuchi et al. USP 9,340,391.
Obuchi discloses substantially all the limitations of the claims (see ¶4 above), but does not expressly disclose multiple first sensors including the first sensor and multiple second sensors including the second sensor. However, before the effective filing date, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art to provide multiple first sensors including the first sensor and multiple second sensors including the second sensor since duplicating the components of a prior art device is a design consideration within the skill of the art (see MPEP 2144.04 VI B).
Allowable Subject Matter
7. Claims 4,5,7,8 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.
Conclusion
8. The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Fukatsu (JP 2020-050494 A) discloses A medium processing apparatus comprising at least a binder (51) in a space to perform a binding operation, a first sensor (912) in the space to detect a first side of the sheet bundle, and a second sensor (911) in the space to detect a second side of the sheet bundle.
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.
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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 10/6/2026
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