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 .
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.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the “waste toner developing unit that uses the waste toner collected by the waste toner collection unit to develop a toner image on an image holding body of the plurality of image holding bodies or an additional image holding body” of claim 1 must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
The drawings show two mutually exclusive embodiments and do not show a single embodiment in which the waste toner image can be formed on one of the plurality of image holding bodies OR on an additional image holding body.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1, 3, and 5-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
Regarding claims 1, 3, and 5-15, the recited “waste toner developing unit that uses the waste toner collected by the waste toner collection unit to develop a toner image on an image holding body of the plurality of image holding bodies or an additional image holding body” is not described in the specification. The specification describes two mutually exclusive embodiments and does not disclose a single embodiment in which the waste toner image is formed on one of the plurality of image holding bodies OR on an additional image holding body.
Claims 1, 3, and 5-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Regarding claims 1, 3, and 5-15, the recited “waste toner developing unit that uses the waste toner collected by the waste toner collection unit to develop a toner image on an image holding body of the plurality of image holding bodies or an additional image holding body” renders the claims indefinite since it is unclear whether the “additional image holding body” is part of the recited “plurality of image holding bodies” or a separate image holding body not included in the recited “plurality of image holding bodies”.
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.
Claims 1, 3, 8-11, 14, and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a)(1) as being anticipated by Ono US 20060002750.
Regarding claim 1, Ono discloses:
An image forming apparatus comprising:
a plurality of image holding bodies (11Y/M/C/Bk) (FIG. 1) that are provided for respective colors of toners and hold toner images having the respective colors;
an intermediate transfer body (19) (FIG. 1) onto which the toner images having the respective colors held by the plurality of image holding bodies are transferred;
a waste toner collection unit (30) (FIG. 1) that collects toners remaining on the intermediate transfer body as a waste toner in a case where the toner images having the respective colors transferred onto the intermediate transfer body are transferred onto a recording material [0075];
a waste toner developing unit (12Bk) (FIG. 1) that uses the waste toner collected by the waste toner collection unit to develop a toner image on an image holding body of the plurality of image holding bodies or an additional image holding body [0086]; and
a control unit that performs a control to cause the waste toner developing unit to develop the toner image in a case where a predetermined condition about a ratio of a waste toner having each color to the waste toner stored in the waste toner collection unit is satisfied [0104 and 0192-193] (ratio of black waste toner or ratio of other colors being in specific range),
wherein the predetermined condition about the ratio of a waste toner having each color to the waste toner in the control unit is determined on the basis of whether or not an image printed using the waste toner is capable of being used as a black image [0192],
wherein the predetermined condition about the ratio of the waste toner having each color to the waste toner in the control unit comprises a condition where differences between ratios of amounts of waste toners having colors other than black to an amount of the waste toner stored in the waste toner collection unit are within 3% [0192-193].
Regarding claim 3, Ono discloses:
wherein the predetermined condition about the ratio of a waste toner having each color to the waste toner in the control unit further comprises a condition where a ratio of an amount of a black waste toner to the amount of the waste toner stored in the waste toner collection unit is 50% or more [0104].
Regarding claim 8, Ono discloses:
wherein the control unit calculates the ratio of a waste toner having each color to the waste toner, which is stored in the waste toner collection unit, on the basis of an amount of a toner used in the image holding body corresponding to each color [0098 and 0103].
Regarding claim 9, Ono discloses:
wherein the amount of the toner used in the image holding body corresponding to each color is calculated on the basis of the number of pixels, which are exposed to light and correspond to each color, and consumption of the toner of each of the pixels exposed to light [0098 and 0103].
Regarding claim 10, Ono discloses:
wherein the control unit performs a control to cause the waste toner developing unit to develop the toner image in a case where a volume of the waste toner stored in the waste toner collection unit is equal to or larger than a volume predetermined on the basis of an amount of the waste toner used during a use of the waste toner [0095 and 0103] (in order to form a black image using the waste toner).
Regarding claim 11, Ono discloses:
wherein the volume of the waste toner is calculated on the basis of an amount of a toner used in the image holding body corresponding to each color and a collection ratio of a toner, which is collected as a waste toner, to the toner used in the image holding body corresponding to each color [0098, 0103, and 0134-135].
Regarding claim 14, Ono discloses:
wherein even though the ratio of a waste toner having each color to the waste toner stored in the waste toner collection unit does not satisfy the predetermined condition about the ratio of a waste toner having each color to the waste toner, the control unit uses the waste toner as a lubricant for a cleaning blade [0075] that collects the waste toner remaining on the intermediate transfer body in a case where volume of the stored waste toner is equal to or larger than a predetermined volume (the waste toner lubricates the cleaning blade during any image formation in which the waste toner contacts the cleaning blade).
Regarding claim 15, Ono discloses:
wherein the control unit performs a control to use a black toner in a case where the ratio of a waste toner having each color to the waste toner stored in the waste toner collection unit is out of the predetermined condition about the ratio of a waste toner having each color to the waste toner [0118] (pure black toner is used).
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 5-7, 12, and 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ono US 20060002750.
Regarding claim 5, Ono discloses the limitations of claim 1 as set forth above, but does not explicitly disclose wherein the control unit performs a control to forcibly change a toner having a color, which does not satisfy the condition, into a waste toner in a case where the differences between the ratios of the amounts of waste toners having colors other than black to the amount of the waste toner stored in the waste toner collection unit are not within 3%.
Ono discloses wherein when amounts of waste toners having colors other than black are equal to each other, these waste toners can be used in place of black toner [0192-193]. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to modify Ono to include wherein the control unit performs a control to forcibly change a toner having a color, which does not satisfy the condition, into a waste toner in a case where the differences between the ratios of the amounts of waste toners having colors other than black to the amount of the waste toner stored in the waste toner collection unit are not within 3% in order to use the cyan, yellow, and magenta waste toners in place black toner.
Regarding claim 6, Ono as modified above teaches wherein the control to forcibly change the toner into a waste toner (by forcibly discharging the specific color toner on to the intermediate transfer body) performed by the control unit is to use the toner having the color, which does not satisfy the condition, as a lubricant for a cleaning blade [0075] that collects the waste toner remaining on the intermediate transfer body (the waste toner lubricates the cleaning blade during any time in which the waste toner contacts the cleaning blade).
Regarding claim 7, Ono discloses the limitations of claim 1 as set forth above, but does not explicitly disclose wherein the predetermined condition about the ratio of a waste toner having each color to the waste toner in the control unit is set by a user.
Ono discloses where a ratio of a black waste toner is 80% or more, but does not specifically disclose wherein the ratio is set by a user.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to modify the apparatus as disclosed by Ono to include allowing a user to set the predetermined condition about the ratio of a waste toner having each color to the waste toner in order to allow the user to achieve a desired print quality when printing with the waste toner.
Regarding claim 12, Ono discloses the limitations of claim 1 as set forth above, but does not explicitly disclose wherein the control unit performs a control to cause the waste toner developing unit to develop the toner image in a case where a user sets a reuse mode in which the waste toner is used.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to modify the apparatus as disclosed by Ono to include the ability for the user to set the reuse mode in order to enable the user to decide if waste toner should be used for printing.
Regarding claim 13, Ono as modified above teaches wherein the control unit notifies the user that the reuse mode is capable of being used in a case where the predetermined condition about the ratio of a waste toner having each color to the waste toner is satisfied (when providing the option for the user to set the reuse mode).
Regarding claims 7, 12, and 13, Kadota et al. US 20060013604 additionally discloses user-selectable settings/modes when printing using waste toner.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 3/3/26 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Regarding claim 1, applicant argues that Ono does not disclose wherein the predetermined condition comprises “a condition where differences between ratios of amounts of waste toners having colors other than black to an amount of the waste toner stored in the waste toner collection unit are within 3%” (see page 10 of applicant’s arguments). However, as set forth above, Ono discloses wherein when amounts of waste toners having colors other than black are equal to each other, these waste toners can be used in place of black toner [0192-193]. When amounts of waste toners having colors other than black are equal to each other, differences between ratios of amounts of waste toners having colors other than black to an amount of the waste toner stored in the waste toner collection unit are within 3%.
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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to THOMAS S GIAMPAOLO II whose telephone number is (571)272-6619. The examiner can normally be reached T-Th 9-5.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Stephanie Bloss can be reached at (571) 272-3555. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/THOMAS S GIAMPAOLO II/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2852
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