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 .
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see the Response, filed 10/17/2025, with respect to the rejection of claims 1-5 and 9-13 under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and claims 14-15 under 35 U.S.C. 103 have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground of rejection is made below
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(d):
(d) REFERENCE IN DEPENDENT FORMS.—Subject to subsection (e), a claim in dependent form shall contain a reference to a claim previously set forth and then specify a further limitation of the subject matter claimed. A claim in dependent form shall be construed to incorporate by reference all the limitations of the claim to which it refers.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, fourth paragraph:
Subject to the following paragraph [i.e., the fifth paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112], a claim in dependent form shall contain a reference to a claim previously set forth and then specify a further limitation of the subject matter claimed. A claim in dependent form shall be construed to incorporate by reference all the limitations of the claim to which it refers.
Claims 2 and 3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(d) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, 4th paragraph, as being of improper dependent form for failing to further limit the subject matter of the claim upon which it depends, or for failing to include all the limitations of the claim upon which it depends. Claims 2 and 3 fail to further limit claim 1, as the limitations of claims 2 and 3 contain broader ranges for the same formulas as contained in claim 1. Applicant may cancel the claims, amend the claims to place the claims in proper dependent form, rewrite the claims in independent form, or present a sufficient showing that the dependent claims complies with the statutory requirements.
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, 4, 5, 9-12, and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Veregin (US Patent No. 11,092,906) in view of Sugimoto (Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2012-063559).
Veregin teaches a toner comprising toner particles containing a binder resin, wherein the binder resin comprises a first amorphous polyester resin, a second amorphous polyester resin different from the first, and a crystalline polyester resin (Col. 6 line 1-5). The first amorphous polyester resin has a weight average molecular weight, Mw(a1), of 18,000 to 21,000 (Col. 11 line 1-20) and the second amorphous resin has a weight average molecular weight of 68,000 to 85,000 (Col. 11 line 43-55). These values would produce a range for |Mw(a2) – Mw(a1)| of 47,000 to 67,000. The crystalline polyester resin is present in an amount of 6 to 7% by weight based in the total weight of the toner (Col. 9 line 64-66). The content of the crystalline resin to the low molecular weight amorphous resin and the high molecular weight amorphous resin is 1:5:5 to 1:9:9, or 5.6% to 10% (Col. 14 line 28-33). The content of the amorphous resins is from 35% to 85% by weight of the toner (Col. 7 line 22-26).
The toner may be mixed with a carrier to form a developer (Col. 30 line 43-46). The image forming apparatus comprises an image carrier, a charging component, an image creating component, a developing component, a transfer component, and a fixing component (Col. 31 line 58-62).
Veregin is silent regarding suitable SP values for the various binder resins. Sugimoto also teaches a toner comprising a crystalline polyester resin, a first amorphous polyester resin, and a second amorphous polyester resin ([0007]). The solubility parameter for the crystalline resin is SP1, the first amorphous resin is SP3, and the second amorphous resin is SP4 ([0007]). Controlling the solubility parameters of the crystalline polyester resin and the first amorphous polyester resin allows for the crystalline resin to be finely dispersed and filming can be suppressed, and the low-temperature fixability can be improved ([0028]). Controlling the solubility parameters of both amorphous resins allows for the viscoelasticity of the toner at high temperatures to be maintained, and the offset resistance can be improved ([0031]). Exemplary toners 1-10 have values |SP(a2) – SP(c1)|, or SP4 – SP1 between 1.6 and 2.1 (Table 1). Regarding the formula |SP(a1) – SP(c1)| / |SP(a2) – SP(c1)|, or |SP3 – SP1| / |SP4 – SP1|, exemplary toners 1, 4-6, 9, and 10 have the same SP values: |11.0 – 9.9| / |12.0 – 9.9| = 1.1/2.1 = 0.5 (Table 1). Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the resins of Veregin to control the SP values as disclosed by Sugimoto in order to produce a toner that suppresses filming, and has improved low-temperature fixability and offset resistance.
Claims 13 and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Veregin and Sugimoto as applied to claims 1, 4, 5, 9-12, and 15 above, and further in view of Miyamoto (Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2016-065955).
Veregin teaches that the toner may be used for electrophotographic processes (Col. 31 line 50-51), but does not describe the image forming apparatus in depth. Miyamoto teaches an image forming apparatus ([0157]) comprising the same components as Veregin (Col. 31 line 58-62). Miyamoto further teaches a process cartridge attachable to and detachable from the image forming apparatus, comprising a developing component containing the developer ([0175]). The toner is contained in a toner cartridge that is attachable to and detachable from the image forming apparatus ([0179]). It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have used the image forming device of Miyamoto with the toner of Veregin and Sugimoto as these components are known in the art as part of the image forming apparatus for the electrophotographic process.
Conclusion
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/J.K./Examiner, Art Unit 1734
/PETER L VAJDA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1737 01/30/2026
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