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
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 Mokoto (JP2013-24512).
Regarding claim 1, Mokoto developing device comprising: a storage portion 13b that stores a developer and has an exit 13d for the developer and a hole portion 101, the hole portion 101 including a limiting portion 111 (Fig. 24(c)); a loosening member 103 that is disposed in the storage portion 13b (Fig. 24(c)) so as to be pulled out through the hole portion 101 of the storage portion 13b and loosens the developer by being pulled out of the storage portion 13b (Fig. 24(c)); and a closing member 902 that is disposed in the hole portion 101 of the storage portion 13b, cleans the loosening member 103 that is pulled out of the hole portion 101 by being in contact with the loosening member 103 (Fig. 24(c)), and closes the hole portion 101 of which the loosening member 103 has been pulled out (Fig. 16), the closing member 902 including a caught portion (edge surface, perpendicular to the x-direction, abutting the face of the limiting portion 111 (Fig. 24(c)), wherein: the limiting portion 111 of the hole portion 101 of the storage portion 13b is a protruding portion provided on an inner surface of the hole portion 101 to limit a movement of the closing member 902 in a pull-out direction of the loosening member 103 by catching the caught portion (Fig. 24(c)).
Regarding claim 11, Mokoto 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).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 9 and 19 are allowable.
Claims 3-8 and 13-18 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.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
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
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