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
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.
(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) 1-9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a) as being anticipated by Miyazaki [JP 2013182147 A].
With regards to claim 1, Miyazaki discloses a sheet feed control system (an image forming system (100, image forming apparatus, ¶0022) in which a sheet is carried into a sheet post-processing, ¶0001-0003), comprising: an acquisition part that acquires a size of a sheet to be conveyed (4, sheet feeding section, ¶0024); a first detection part that detects a jam of the sheet (bridge sensors jamming processing operation , ¶0059-0060); and a control part (80, control unit controls operations of each device, ¶0023) that performs, in a case where the jam is detected, either first feed control (S8, or second feed control (S4, in accordance with the size of the sheet (PI sensor detection result to 80 in regards to (sheet P), ¶0036), the first feed control (S8) being control to convey the sheet to a position to fit inside a drawer unit (a relay unit (relay conveying portion) for conveying a sheet on which an image has been formed to the sheet post-processing apparatus is provided in the in-body sheet ejection space, ¶0004), the second feed control (S4) being control to convey the sheet to a position to fit outside the drawer unit (sheet P processed via to exterior cover, ¶0040), and the drawer unit (30, relay unit, ¶0056) including a conveyance path for the sheet and being capable of being pulled out (S9) in a direction that intersects with a conveyance direction of the sheet from an apparatus main body of the image forming apparatus (30, having unit detection sensor determines if 30 is mounted or not mounted in the image forming apparatus, Fig. 1, ¶0054-0056).
With regards to claim 2, Miyazaki discloses wherein the control part (80) performs the second feed control (S4) in a case where a length of the sheet (P) in the conveyance direction is longer than a length of the drawer unit (30) in the conveyance direction (¶0053).
With regards to claim 3, Miyazaki discloses a case where the control part (80) performs the second feed control (S4), the control part (80) drives all conveyance rollers (41a-41c) located inside the drawer unit (80), (¶0053).
With regards to claim 4, Miyazaki discloses the control part (80) performs either the first feed control (S8) or the second feed control (S4) in a case where the length of the sheet in the conveyance direction is shorter than the length of the drawer unit in the conveyance direction (¶0053-0054).
With regards to claim 5, Miyazaki discloses the drawer unit (30) includes a first conveyance roller (41a) located on a farther upstream side than a center of the drawer unit (30) in the conveyance direction (Fig. 2), and a second conveyance roller (41c) located on a farther downstream side than the center of the drawer unit in the conveyance direction (Fig. 2), and in a case where the control part (80) performs the first feed control (S4), the control part (80) drives the first conveyance roller (41a) and stops the second conveyance roller (41c), (¶0053).
With regards to claim 6, Miyazaki discloses the drawer unit (30) includes a first conveyance roller (41a) located on a farther upstream side than a center of the drawer unit (30) in the conveyance direction (Fig. 2), and a second conveyance roller (41c) located on a farther downstream side than the center of the drawer unit (30) in the conveyance direction (Fig. 2), and in a case where the control part (80) performs the second feed control (S4), the control part (80) stops the first conveyance roller and drives the second conveyance roller (41c), (¶0053).
With regards to claim 7, Miyazaki discloses a second detection part (43, discharge sensor, & 46, carry-in sensor, ¶0051-0053) that detects presence/absence of the sheet at a first position on a farther upstream side in the conveyance direction than the drawer unit (30) and a second position on a farther downstream side in the conveyance direction than the drawer unit (30), wherein the control part (80) performs either the first feed control (S8) or the second feed control (S4) in a case (S6=Y, ¶0051-0052) where the second detection part (43, 46) detects that at least a portion of the sheet (P) is present between the first position (P1) and the second position (P2), (¶051-0053).
With regards to claim 9, Miyazaki discloses a sheet feed control (Fig. 1, ¶0023) method, comprising: an acquisition step of acquiring a size of a sheet to be conveyed (4, sheet feeding section, ¶0024); a detection step of detecting a jam of the sheet (S1 of P (sheet), ¶0047-0048); and a control step of performing, in a case where the jam is detected (¶0048), either first feed control (S8) or second feed control (S4) in accordance with the size of the sheet (P), the first feed control (S8) being control to convey the sheet (P) to a position to fit inside a drawer unit (30), the second feed control (S4) being control to convey the sheet (P) to a position to fit outside (30a, upper surface position exterior, ¶0040) the drawer unit (30), and the drawer unit (30) including a conveyance path (18, conveyance path, ¶0033) for the sheet (P) and being capable of being pulled out in a direction that intersects with a conveyance direction of the sheet from an apparatus main body of the image forming apparatus (S9, Fig. 1, ¶0053-0056).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 8 is 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.
With regards to claim 8, the prior art does not disclose or suggest the claimed a case where a plurality of the sheets of different sizes is continuously conveyed and where the acquisition part acquires a size of each of the plurality of sheets.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FRANCIS C GRAY whose telephone number is (571)270-3348. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 7am-5pm.
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/FRANCIS C GRAY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2852
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