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 1/13/2026, with respect to the rejection of claims 1-10 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 Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn.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 § 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, 6-7, and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sacripante (US PGP 2014-0134534) in view of Yoshiakira (Japanese Patent No. 5984478).
Sacripante teaches a toner composed of biodegradable and recycled materials (Abstract). The toner may comprise a sustainable amorphous resin, a second amorphous resin, a crystalline resin, and a colorant, wherein the second amorphous resin and/or the crystalline resin comprise a sustainable polymer ([0006]). The crystalline resin is a polyester resin ([0027]), synthesized from a diol component ([0034]) and a bio-based carboxylic acid component ([0035]). The toner contains recycled material from polyethylene terephthalate (PET) materials, cloths, and bottles ([0021]). The toner has a sustainability content of about 70% ([0006] line 7). Sustainability includes the amount of components that are bio-based or recycled ([0012]). The 14C concentration is a result of the bio-based components in the toner, and the degree of biomass (%) = 14C concentration (pMC) x 0.935 (Applicant [0013]). As the toner of Sacripante has a sustainability content of about 70%, the 14C concentration would most likely fall within the range of 10 to 70 pMC, or 9.35% to 65.45%, as the sustainability content includes the recycled components as well as the bio-based components.
The toner may be used with a carrier to form a developer ([0126]). The toner may be incorporated into devices such as cartridges to house the toner ([0133]).
Sacripante teaches that a variety of colored pigment may be used to create colored toners ([0052-53]), but is silent regarding the use of an isoindoline pigment as the colorant to form a yellow toner. Yoshiakira teaches a yellow toner that uses an isoindoline-based colorant with C.I. Solvent Yellow 162 (SY 162) to produce a toner excellent in coloring power and color stability and having a wide color reproduction range (Abstract). Isoindoline pigments have a strong coloring power, and can be used with SY 162 to improve the color reproduction range ([0015]). 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 toner of Sacripante to have included the yellow colorants of Yoshiakira in order to produce a yellow toner having excellent coloring power, color stability, and a wide color reproduction range.
The amount of the SY 162 in the colorant is described by formula 0.05≤Y/(X+Y)≤0.50, wherein Y is the amount of SY 162 and X is the amount of the isoindoline pigment ([0021]), and Exemplary Toners 1-10 have an amount (Y/(X+Y)) of 0.25 (Table 1-1). Therefore, in these examples the isoindoline pigment makes up 75% of the total colorant in the toner. Sacripante teaches that the colorant is used in an amount from 7% to 17% by weight of the toner ([0055]). Regarding the formula (A/(B+C)), wherein A is the content of the isoindoline pigment, B is the 14C concentration, and C is the polyethylene terephthalate content, the result would be greater than 1/15. Considering a toner with 100 total parts; a content of the colorant at the low end of the range, 7%, and a sustainability content of 70%, the outcome of (A/(B+C)) would be approximately 1/13. The content of the isoindoline pigment being 75% of 7 parts, or 5.25 parts, the sustainability content being used as the combination of the 14C concentration and the content of the polyethylene terephthalate.
(A/(B+C)) = 5.25/70 = 0.075, or just less than 1/13
The value determined from the equation would vary depending on the proportions of the bio-based material and recycled material, as the percent of biomass would need to be converted to pMC, however the variance is small and this example is at the bottom of the range for the amount of isoindoline pigment.
Claims 8 and 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sacripante and Yoshiakira as applied to claims 1-4, 6-7, and 10 above, and further in view of Kamiwaki (US PGP 2017-0242366).
The entire discussion of Sacripante and Yoshiakira above is included herein. Sacripante teaches that the toner may be used for electrophotographic processes ([0136]), but is silent regarding a specific image forming apparatus and image forming method. Kamiwaki teaches an image forming apparatus and image forming method (Figures 1 and 2, [0147-186]) comprising a photoreceptor (1), an exposure device (3) that forms an electrostatic latent image on the photoreceptor, a developing device (4) that develops the latent image, a transfer roller (5) that transfers the toner image onto the recording medium, and a fixing device (28) that fixes the toner image to the recording medium. The toner is housed in a toner cartridge ([8, [0185]). 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 apparatus and image forming method of Kamiwaki with the toner of Sacripante and Yoshiakira as it is well known in the art that these are the components and steps for an electrophotographic process.
Conclusion
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/J.K./Examiner, Art Unit 1734
/PETER L VAJDA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1737 01/21/2026