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, 7, and 9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Suzuki et al. (US 2015/0192883).
Suzuki et al. discloses a supporting structure for a temperature sensor (FIG. 9, element 110), the supporting structure comprising:
a front panel; a rear panel (FIG. 2: The pannels at two ends along the left-right axis support the whole assembly);
a first supporting member having both ends in a longer-side direction of the first supporting member, the both ends removably supported by the front panel and the rear panel (FIG. 4A: The thermistor plate 120); and
a second supporting member attachable to and detachable from the first supporting
member (FIG. 4A, element 113), the temperature sensor (FIG. 4A, element 111) disposed on the second supporting member, the temperature sensor configured to detect a surface temperature of a heating roller (FIG. 5, element 41) disposed between the front panel and the rear panel, wherein the second supporting member is configured to be attachable to and detachable from the first supporting member without attaching or detaching the heating roller (FIG. 4A shows the temperature sensor assembly 110, including the supporter 113, is attachable/detachable from the support plate 120 without attaching/detaching the heating roller 41).
Regarding to claim 7: wherein the rear panel has a first positioning pin by which a rear end of the first supporting member and a rear end of the second supporting member are positioned, and wherein the front panel has a second positioning pin by which a front end of the first supporting member and a front end of the second supporting member are positioned (FIG. 4A, elements S3).
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 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Suzuki et al. (US 2015/0192883) in view of Hasegawa (US 5528345).
Suzuki et al. discloses the claimed invention as discussed above except wherein the front panel has an opening, and wherein the first supporting member and the second supporting member are disposed between the front panel and the rear panel through the opening.
Hasegawa discloses an image recording apparatus having a front pannel and a rear pannel (FIG. 5, elements 35a), and a supporting member of a fixing device (FIG. 2, element 43), wherein the front has an opening (FIG. 5, element 40), and wherein the supporting member of the fixing device is disposed between the front panel and the rear panel through the opening (column 9, lines 24-30: The fixing unit 43 is inserted through the opening 55 of the one of the side walls 36b).
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Suzuki’s apparatus to be able to insert/remove the supporting member through an opening on one of the side walls as disclosed by Hasegawa for the convenience of replacement (FIG. 6).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-6 and 8 are allowed. The reason for allowance was previously indicated in the last office action.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to the 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.
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 LAM S NGUYEN whose telephone number is (571)272-2151.
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, DOUGLAS RODRIGUEZ, can be reached on 571-431-0716. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/LAM S NGUYEN/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2853
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