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
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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 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.
Claims 1-6 and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Chikugo US 2013/0279953 (Chikugo).
Regarding claim 1, Chikugo teaches a conveyance apparatus, comprising:
a conveyance route (19) that conveys a recording medium (S) on which an image has been fixed by a fixer;
a guide plate (600) that is provided in the conveyance route (19) and guides conveyance of the recording medium (S);
a heat insulating material (602) that is attached to the guide plate; and
a resin sheet (615) having electrical conductivity that is provided such that the heat insulating material is held between the resin sheet and the guide plate, wherein the resin sheet is grounded (¶0074, FIG. 3).
Regarding claim 2, Chikugo teaches the conveyance apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the resin sheet (615) is bonded to the guide plate (¶0074, ¶0081).
Regarding claim 3, Chikugo teaches the conveyance apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the guide plate is constituted by metal (¶0075).
Regarding claim 4, Chikugo teaches the conveyance apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the resin sheet (615) is disposed so as to cover the heat insulating material (FIG. 2).
Regarding claim 5, Chikugo teaches the conveyance apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the resin sheet (615) is provided over an entire portion of the guide plate (601) in a width direction of the guide plate (FIG. 4).
Regarding claim 6, Chikugo teaches the conveyance apparatus according to claim 5, wherein:
a plurality of the resin sheets (615) is provided side by side in the width direction, and two resin sheets of the plurality of resin sheets are disposed with a gap between the two resin sheets, the two resin sheets being adjacent to each other in the width direction (FIG. 3).
Regarding claim 10, Chikugo teaches the conveyance apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:
an image former (FIG. 5) that forms an image on a recording medium (S); and
a fixer (100) that fixes the image formed by the image former on the recording medium.
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 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 of this title, 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 7 and 8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chikugo US 2013/0279953 (Chikugo) and Hamaya US 2009/0285614 (Hamaya).
Regarding claims 7 and 8, Chikugo teaches the conveyance apparatus according to claim 1. Chikugo differs from the instant claimed invention by not explicitly disclosing: the conveyance route is a re-conveyance route through which the recording medium is reversed and re-conveyed toward the fixer. However this is a well known configuration. Hamaya teaches the conveyance route (102) is a re-conveyance route (103) through which the recording medium (S) is reversed and re-conveyed toward the fixer (¶0028-¶0031). Furthermore, Hamaya teaches the guide plate (120, 121, 122) is disposed, in the conveyance route, at a position facing a non-image-side surface of the recording medium, the position being a position of an upper wall of the conveyance route (FIG. 1 and 2). It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to add the reversed sheet ejecting section taught by Hamaya with the device taught by Chikugo since the reverse path taught by Hamaya also uses guides made of resin (¶0040) and can reverse the paper without cause the gloss to become uneven (¶0070).
Claim 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chikugo US 2013/0279953 (Chikugo), Hamaya US 2009/0285614 (Hamaya) and Endo US 2014/0161502 A1 (Endo).
Regarding claim 9, Chikugo and Hamaya teach the conveyance apparatus according to claim 7. Chikugo and Hamaya differ from the instant claimed invention by not explicitly disclosing: further comprising: an abutting roller and feeding roller. However this is known. Endo teaches an abutting roller (inside belt 122) that is disposed in the conveyance route and abuts on a leading end of the recording medium (FIG. 1); and a feeding roller (second roller in belt 122) that is disposed in the conveyance route and feeds out the recording medium toward the fixer (FIG. 1), wherein the resin sheet (209) is provided in a range in which the abutting roller and the feeding roller are disposed (FIG. 1). It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to add the conveyance belt 122 taught by Endo to the device taught by Chikugo and Hamaya since Endo shows that doing so is part of the ordinary capabilities of one skilled in the art and adding the conveyance belt would yield the predictable result of the sheet being conveyed.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JESSICA L ELEY whose telephone number is (571)272-9793. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday 8:30 AM - 5:00 PM CST.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Walter Jr. Lindsay can be reached on (571)272-1674. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/JESSICA L ELEY/
Examiner, Art Unit 2852
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