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 Objections
Claim 1 objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 1 recites the limitations “at which supply” in line 13. It is unclear as to what specifically is “at which” as recited. It is suggested the limitations be amended to positively recite the claimed subject matter. Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claims 1-3 and 6-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over OBA (US 20012 0121282 A1) in view of Takahashi (US 2018/0339485 A1).
Referring to claim 1 and 7. OBA discloses a medium processing apparatus (1; Figure 1), comprising:
a liquid applier (10; Figure 1) to apply liquid (toner) to a part of a medium (16) to perform a liquid application (Furthermore, in the nip of the secondary transfer portion 13, the toner image transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 10 is transferred to transfer paper or another transfer member 16 pressed against the intermediate transfer belt 10 by the secondary transfer roller 14; Para. [0030]);
a first liquid storage (27; Figure 2) to store the liquid (T) used for the liquid application by the liquid applier (10; Figure 1);
a second liquid storage (including 33 and 36) to store the liquid (T1 and T2) to be supplied to the first liquid storage (27; Figure 2);
a liquid supplier (including members 38 and 35) to supply the liquid (T1 and T2) from the second liquid storage (including 33 and 36) to the first liquid storage (27; Figure 2);
a liquid detector (40; Figure 2) to detect a liquid level of the liquid (a liquid amount sensor 40; equivalent to the liquid amount measurement portion of the invention; Para. [0038]) in the first liquid storage (27; Figure 2); and
processing circuitry (9; Figure 3) configured to control operations of the the liquid supplier (including members 38 and 35),
wherein the processing circuitry (9; Figure 3) changes a liquid level at which supply of the liquid is stopped in a liquid supply operation (a liquid amount sensor 40; equivalent to the liquid amount measurement portion of the invention; Para. [0038]) executed by the liquid supplier (including members 38 and 35), according to a remaining amount of the liquid in the first liquid storage (use of sensor 40; Figure 3).
OBA does not disclose a post-processing device to perform desired processing on a bundle of media including the medium subjected to the liquid application; and processing circuitry configured to control operations of the post-processing device.
Takahashi discloses a sheet processing device (Figure 1) wherein a post-processing device (60; Figure 2) is configured to perform desired processing on a bundle of media including the medium subjected to the liquid application (sheet stack crimping; 84; Figure 3); and the processing circuitry (Figure 26) configured to control operations of the post-processing device.
It would have been obvious for a person of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the teachings of OBA to include a post-processing device to perform a desired processing on a bundle of media including the medium subjected to the liquid application; and wherein the processing circuitry is configured to control the operations of the post-processing device as taught by Takahashi because a medium processing apparatus comprising a plurality of a post-processing devices would allow the processing apparatus perform a plurality of different tasks in a single apparatus.
Referring to claims 2,3 and 6. OBA discloses a medium processing apparatus (1; Figure 1), comprising:
wherein the processing circuitry (9; Figure 3) causes the liquid supplier (including members 38 and 35) to perform a specified-level supply operation of supplying the liquid up to a first specified liquid level (see sensor 40) of the first liquid storage (27; Figure 2), when the liquid detector detects the liquid level in a time shorter than a predetermined time from a start of the liquid supply operation (compares the liquid amount measured by the liquid amount sensor 40 with a predetermined liquid amount control range established by the liquid amount upper limit value and liquid amount lower limit value from the first RAM 51, and calculates the amount of concentrated toner and the amount of carrier solution to be supplied to the concentration adjustment tank 27 on the basis of the results of these comparisons; Para. [0044]).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4 and 5 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
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 RAKESH KUMAR whose telephone number is (571)272-8314. The examiner can normally be reached M-TH from 8AM-6:30PM EST.
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, Gene Crawford can be reached at (571) 272-6911. 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.
/RAKESH KUMAR/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3651
