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 § 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 1 - 7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sumioka (US PGP 2020/0174389) in view of Shimizu et al (WO 2023/281883) (machine translation of which is referred to henceforth).
Sumioka teaches a toner which may be used as part of a two-component developer ([0019]). The toner particles include toner mother particles and externally added resin particles ([0020]). The externally added resin particles preferably have a number-average particle diameter of 60 – 140 nm, reading on the range stated in Claim 1. The externally added resin particles are preferably added in an amount of 0.2 – 1.0 parts by mass relative to 100 parts of toner mother particles, reading on the range stated in Claim 1. Sumioka teaches that the externally added resin particles are made of a crosslinked resin ([0069] - [0070]).
Sumioka does not appear to teach a carrier having a coating layer which contains silicone resin.
Shimizu teaches a two-component developer comprising a toner and a carrier ([0006]). The toner particles comprise toner particles and externally added resin particles, which contain a crosslinked resin. The carrier includes carrier particles, which comprise a carrier core and a coating layer ([0063]). Shimizu teaches that the coating layer comprises a coating resin and barium titanate particles ([0006]). The coating resin includes silicone resin, which allows for effective triboelectric charging of the toner ([0086]).
In preparing a two-component developer comprising the toner taught by Sumioka, one of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to enhance the triboelectric charging of the toner by using the carrier taught by Shimizu. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant application to prepare a two-component developer in which the toner taught by Sumioka is paired with the carrier taught by Shimizu, resulting in a two-component developer described by Claim 1.
Sumioka discloses a preparative example of the externally added crosslinked resin particles P2 ([0102]). These particles have a molar ratio of monomers used (styrene : methyl methacrylate : ethylene glycol dimethacrylate) of 12 : 28 : 1. This is the same monomer ratio as instant specific resin particles (a) (Specification, Table 1). Instant specific resin particles (a) also possess a “St rate” of 30% by mole. Therefore, Sumioka’s resin particles P2 have 30% by mole of the first repeating unit derived from styrene, reading on the range stated in Claim 2.
As mentioned above, Sumioka’s crosslinked resin particles P2 are prepared from monomers of styrene, methyl methacrylate, and ethylene glycol dimethacrylate, satisfying Claim 3.
Sumioka’s crosslinked resin particles P2 have a cationic surfactant attached to the surface of the resin particle base, satisfying Claim 4 and Claim 5.
As mentioned above, Shimizu’s carrier has a coating layer comprising barium titanate particles ([0085], [0088]), which are metal oxide particles. In addition, Shimizu teaches that the coating layer preferably also contains carbon black particles ([0085], [0092]), reading on Claim 6.
As mentioned above, Sumioka’s externally added crosslinked resin particles P2 are essentially the same as instant specific resin particles (a). As also mentioned above, Sumioka teaches a preferred particle diameter and a preferred addition amount reading on the ranges presently claimed. According to the instant specification, the amount of contaminated resin particles is controlled by setting the number-average particle diameter and addition amount of the specific resin particles (page 24, lines 8 – 23). In addition, Sumioka gives a discussion of externally added resin particles detaching from the toner mother particles and contaminating the carrier particles ([0024]). Therefore, where Sumioka describes externally added crosslinked resin fine particles having a number-average diameter and addition amount in ranges overlapping the claimed ranges, the developer would necessarily possess an amount of contaminated resin particles lying in the range stated in Claim 7.
Conclusion
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/GRANT STEVEN SEILER/Examiner, Art Unit 1734
/PETER L VAJDA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1737 07/22/2026
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