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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 3/6/2024 was considered by the examiner.
Drawings
The drawings filed on 3/6/2024 are acceptable for examination by the examiner.
Title
The title of the invention is not descriptive. A new title is required that is clearly indicative of the invention to which the claims are directed.
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1 and 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by HATAZAKI (US 2014/0270866A1).
HATAZAKI teaches regarding claim 1, a fixing device (shown in figure 2) comprising: a heating roll 21 that heats a recording medium having a toner image formed on the recording medium while rotating in contact with the recording medium; a pressure roll 22 that sandwiches the recording medium with the heating roll to pressurize the recording medium; a first cleaning section 60 that removes toner adhering to the heating roll; and a second cleaning section 50 that is located downstream of the first cleaning section 60 in a rotation direction of the heating roll 21 and removes wax adhering to the heating roll (figure 2; second cleaning section 50; first cleaning section 60; [0058-0062]).
Regarding claim 8, an image forming apparatus (figure 1) comprising the fixing device 20.
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 2, 9, and 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over HATAZAKI in view of MONMA et al. (JP2017-009661A).
HATAZAKI teaches (regarding claim 2) first and second cleaning members. The first cleaning member is a web cleaning member.
HATAZAKI does not teach a second cleaning section including a web member.
MONMA teaches regarding claim 2, a web member cleaning station 79 that removes wax, wherein [each of the first cleaning section and] the second cleaning section 74 includes a web member 75 that contacts the heating roll 84 (heats at the nip), and a feed mechanism 77-78 that feeds the web member 75 such that an unused portion of the web member 75 contacts the heating roll (abstract; heating roll at nip; figures 1 and 3).
Regarding claim 9, an image forming apparatus comprising the fixing device 19.
Regarding claim 11, an image forming apparatus (figure 1) comprising the fixing device 19.
HATAZAKI and MONMA are concerned with fixing devices. HATZAKI teaches the use of a toner containing wax. MONMA teach a wax remover web for a fixing device that uses toner comprising wax.
The rationale for combining the teachings of MONMA with the teachings of HATAZAKI relates to the rationale of use of known technique to improve similar devices (methods, or products) in the same way.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains to use the teaching of MONMA with the teaching of HATAZAKI to improve control over toner that comprising wax.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-7, 10, and 12-14 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.
Prior Art
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. YAMADA ET AL. (US 2007/0053729 A1), ZESS ET AL. (US 2008/0101828 A1), AND MURAI ET AL. (US 2008/0124144 A1) teach fixing devices with web cleaning devices.
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to QUANA GRAINGER whose telephone number is (571)272-2135. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday - Friday, 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, Walter Lindsay can be reached on 571-272-1674. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/QUANA GRAINGER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2852
QG
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