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 .
Specification
The use of the term MYLAR, which is a trade name or a mark used in commerce, has been noted in this application. The term should be accompanied by the generic terminology; furthermore the term should be capitalized wherever it appears or, where appropriate, include a proper symbol indicating use in commerce such as ™, SM , or ® following the term.
Although the use of trade names and marks used in commerce (i.e., trademarks, service marks, certification marks, and collective marks) are permissible in patent applications, the proprietary nature of the marks should be respected and every effort made to prevent their use in any manner which might adversely affect their validity as commercial marks.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
Claim(s) 1 and 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Takashima et al. (US 8,369,736).
Regarding claim 1, Takashima et al. (hereinafter Takashima) developing device comprising: a storage portion 73 that stores a developer and has an exit 76 for the developer and a hole portion 78, the hole portion 78 including a limiting portion (inner surface of the hole portion) (Fig. 26C); a sealing member 88 with which the exit 76 of the storage portion is sealed (col. 18 lines 8-20); a loosening member 91 that is disposed in the storage portion 73 (col. 18 lines 63-66) so as to be pulled out through the hole portion 78 of the storage portion 73 and loosens the developer by being pulled out of the storage portion 73 (col. 20 lines 10-16); and a closing member 79 that is disposed in the hole portion 78 of the storage portion 73 (col. 20 lines 10-16), cleans the loosening member 91 that is pulled out of the hole portion 78 by being in contact with the loosening member 91, and closes the hole portion 78 of which the loosening member 91 has been pulled out (col. 24 lines 27-35), the closing member 79 including a caught portion (outer surface that contacts the inner surface of the hole portion (the limiting portion), wherein: the limiting portion of the hole portion 78 of the storage portion 73 limits a movement of the closing member 79 in a pull-out direction of the loosening member 91 by catching the caught portion (through friction).
Regarding claim 11, Takashima teaches an image forming apparatus comprising: a holding body PR that holds a latent image (Fig. 2); and the developing device G, according to claim 1, that develops the latent image (Fig. 2).
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.
Claim(s) 2, 9, 12, and 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Takashima et al. (US 8,369,736) in view of Mokoto (JP2013-242512).
Regarding claim 2, Takashima teaches the developing device according to claim 1, but remains silent as to wherein: the limiting portion is a protruding portion provided on an inner surface of the hole portion.
Mokoto teaches a sealing member 202 wherein the limiting portion 212 is a protruding portion but is not provide on an inner surface of the hole portion (Fig. 12). Mokoto teaches that the limiting portion 212 prevents the sealing member from falling out of the developing frame while the sealing member is removed (fourth paragraph in (Example 2)).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the hole portion to include the protruding portion instead of on the sealing member as doing so is merely a rearrangement of parts.
Further, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the sealing member of Takashima to include the protruding portion in order to ensure the sealing member stays in the developing frame, as taught by Mokoto.
Regarding claim 9, Takashima as modified by Mokoto above teaches the developing device according to claim 1, wherein: the limiting portion 212 is a recessed portion provided in an inner surface of the hole portion.
Regarding claim 12 and 19, Takashima as modified by Mokoto teaches an image forming apparatus comprising a holding body PR that holds a latent image (Takashima, Fig. 2); and the developing device G, according to claim 2 and 9, that develops the latent image (Takashima, Fig. 2).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-8, 10, 13-18, and 20 are 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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ANDREW V DO whose telephone number is (571)270-3420. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 7:30-4:30.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Walter L Lindsay can be reached at 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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/WALTER L LINDSAY JR/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2852
/A.V.D/Examiner, Art Unit 2852