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 § 112
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 4-10 and 23 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.
Claim 4 recites “a value related to a corrected supply interval” and “a value related to a corrected movement distance”, then recites “from the last supply of the toner, which is a value obtained by correcting the value related to the movement distance…”. It is unclear from the wording of the claim which value “which is a value obtained” is referring to. As such, the Office is unable to ascertain the metes and bounds of the claim.
Claim 8 is 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.
Claim 8 recites “the value related to the corrected movement distance is a value further corrected so as to become a large value with a value related to a supply interval movement distance obtained by integrating the value related to the movement distance of the developing roller in the predetermined section of the surface of the developing roller from the last supply of the toner”. This phrasing is generally convoluted and unclear as to what is being claimed and which clauses are related to one another.
Claims 15 and 26 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.
Claim 15 recites “a value related to a corrected cumulative movement distance” and “a value related to a corrected movement distance”, then recites “from initial use of the developing unit, which is a value obtained by correcting the value related to the movement distance…”. It is unclear from the wording of the claim which value “which is a value obtained” is referring to. As such, the Office is unable to ascertain the metes and bounds of the claim.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
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 1-3, 11-13, 17, 19 and 21-22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hagiwara et al. (US pub.2010/0061749) in view of Sugimoto et al. (US 5,933,690) and in view of Matsushita et al. (US Pub.2009/0180791).
Regarding claim 1, Hagiwara et al. (US pub.2010/0061749) teach an image forming apparatus (fig.1) comprising: a photosensitive drum on which an electrostatic latent image is formed on a surface thereof (fig.1&19, #1); a developing unit (fig.19, #F) which includes an accommodating portion (fig.19, #T) for accommodating a one-component developer comprising toner (para.0058) and a developing roller (fig.19, #3) for supplying the toner from the accommodating portion to the photosensitive drum (para.0055) and to which a supply container for supplying the toner to the accommodating portion is detachably mountable (fig.19, #G; para.0166), wherein the developing roller is in contact with the surface of the photosensitive drum to form a developing portion (para.0055); a notifying portion configured to provide notification to a user (para.0098); and a controller configured to control the notifying portion (must be present to enable a notification unit to notify).
Regarding claim 19, Hagiwara et al. (US pub.2010/0061749) teach an image forming apparatus wherein the developing unit is included in a cartridge detachably mountable to a main assembly of the image forming apparatus (para.0049; fig.2&19, #F detachably part of #B).
However, Hagiwara et al. (US pub.2010/0061749) fail to teach how replacement of the detachable replenishment unit is determined and executed.
Regarding claim 1, Sugimoto et al. (US 5,933,690) teach an image forming apparatus (fig.1) comprising: a photosensitive drum on which an electrostatic latent image is formed on a surface thereof (fig.1&2, #48); a developing unit (fig.1&2, #54) which includes an accommodating portion for accommodating a developer comprising toner (fig.2, #66) and a developing roller (fig.2, #68) for supplying the toner from the accommodating portion to the photosensitive drum and to which a supply container for supplying the toner to the accommodating portion is detachably mountable (fig.1, #52 via #66i or #66j), wherein the developing roller is in contact with the surface of the photosensitive drum to form a developing portion; a notifying portion configured to provide notification to a user (fig.8; col.12, ln.14-15); and a controller configured to control the notifying portion (not shown, must be present to perform he function disclosed in col.12, ln.5-55), wherein the controller includes (i) a first detecting portion configured to detect information related to a rotation amount of the developing roller (not shown, but is present in some form for executing col.12, ln.23-26), and (iii) a second calculating portion configured to integrate the value from initial use of the developing unit to obtain a value related to a cumulative use (col.12, ln.22-35), and wherein in a case where the value related to the cumulative movement distance obtained by the second calculating portion is a predetermined first supply discrimination threshold or more, the controller controls the notifying portion so as to provide notification prompting the user to supply the toner (not shown, must be present to perform he function disclosed in col.12, ln.5-55).
Regarding claim 2, Sugimoto et al. (US 5,933,690) teach an image forming apparatus wherein in a case where a value related to a supply interval movement distance obtained by integrating the value related to the movement distance of the developing roller in the predetermined section of the surface of the developing roller from the last supply of the toner is a predetermined second supply discrimination threshold or more, the controller controls the notifying portion so as to provide the notification prompting the user to supply the toner (col.12, ln.5-38).
Regarding claim 3, Sugimoto et al. (US 5,933,690) teach an image forming apparatus wherein in a case where a use amount of the toner from the last supply of the toner is a predetermined threshold or less and the value related to the supply interval movement distance is the second supply discrimination threshold or more, the controller controls the notifying portion so as to provide the notification prompting the user to supply the toner (col.12, ln.5-50; prompts from notification threshold until second threshold when printing stops).
Regarding claim 17, Sugimoto et al. (US 5,933,690) teach an image forming apparatus wherein the value related to the movement distance in the predetermined section is a value related to a movement distance from a start to an end of an image forming operation (while not explicitly spelled out, a cumulative number of rotations of the developing roller will be incremented during each image forming operation and then paused until the next operation, thus this limitation will necessarily be met; col.12, ln.5-55).
Regarding claim 21, Sugimoto et al. (US 5,933,690) teach an image forming apparatus wherein the value related to the movement distance comprises at least one of: (i) a rotation count of the developing roller, (ii) a surface movement distance of the developing roller, and (iii) a value converted based on the circumference of the developing roller (col.12, ln.5-8).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to modify the apparatus of Hagiwara et al. (US pub.2010/0061749) by using a cumulative use metric related to the developing roller movement as in Sugimoto et al. (US 5,933,690) because it is a known means of determining life in a developing unit and in order to be able to appropriately notify a user when the life of the developer is nearly over (col.12, ln.9-13).
However, Hagiwara et al. (US pub.2010/0061749) and Sugimoto et al. (US 5,933,690) also fail to teach the control process including (ii) a first calculating portion configured to calculate, based on the information and a circumference of the developing roller, a value related to a movement distance of the developing roller in a predetermined section of a surface of the developing roller, and (iii) a second calculating portion configured to integrate the value related to the movement distance calculated by the first calculating portion from initial use of the developing unit to obtain a value related to a cumulative movement distance, wherein the predetermined section is a circumferential section of the surface of the developing roller having a length corresponding to the circumference of the developing roller.
Regarding claim 1, Matsushita et al. (US Pub.2009/0180791) teach an image forming apparatus (fig.1) comprising: a photosensitive drum on which an electrostatic latent image is formed on a surface thereof (fig.1, #20C-K); a developing unit (fig.1, #50C-K) which includes an accommodating portion for accommodating a one-component developer comprising toner (para.0089) and a developing roller for supplying the toner from the accommodating portion to the photosensitive drum (fig.1, #51C-K), wherein the developing roller is in contact with the surface of the photosensitive drum to form a developing portion (para.0089); wherein a controller includes (i) a first detecting portion configured to detect information related to a rotation amount of the developing roller (para.0119), (ii) a first calculating portion configured to calculate, based on the information and a circumference of the developing roller, a value related to a movement distance of the developing roller in a predetermined section of a surface of the developing roller (para.0120), and (iii) a second calculating portion configured to integrate the value related to the movement distance calculated by the first calculating portion from initial use of the developing unit to obtain a value related to a cumulative movement distance (based on para.0119-0121, this presumably is carried out over the course of the life of the development rollers), wherein the predetermined section is a circumferential section of the surface of the developing roller having a length corresponding to the circumference of the developing roller (para.0120).
Regarding claim 11, Matsushita et al. (US Pub.2009/0180791) teach an image forming apparatus wherein in a situation in which deterioration of the toner or consumption of the developing roller is likely to progress, the controller is configured to, depending on a first parameter relating to progression of the deterioration of the toner or the consumption of the developing roller (para.0120&0123), change a second parameter used when determining whether to provide one or both of the notification prompting the user to supply the toner and a notification to the effect that the developing unit reaches an end of a lifetime thereof, such that the notification is provided earlier (para.0123).
Regarding claim 12, Matsushita et al. (US Pub.2009/0180791) teach an image forming apparatus wherein the first parameter is at least one of a use environment of the image forming apparatus, a number of times of supply of the toner, an amount of the toner accommodated in the accommodating portion when the last supply of the toner is executed, a supply amount of the toner when the last supply of the toner is executed, the value related to the cumulative movement distance from the initial use of the developing unit when the last supply of the toner is executed, and a value related to a supply interval movement distance of the developing unit when the last supply of the toner is executed (para.0120).
Regarding claim 13, Matsushita et al. (US Pub.2009/0180791) teach an image forming apparatus wherein the second parameter is at least one of a first supply discrimination threshold, a second supply discrimination threshold, a third supply discrimination threshold, and a correction coefficient used for calculating a value related to a corrected movement distance (para.0123).
Regarding claim 21, Matsushita et al. (US Pub.2009/0180791) teach an image forming apparatus wherein the value related to the movement distance comprises at least one of: (i) a rotation count of the developing roller, (ii) a surface movement distance of the developing roller, and (iii) a value converted based on the circumference of the developing roller (para.0119&0120).
Regarding claim 22, Matsushita et al. (US Pub.2009/0180791) teach an image forming apparatus wherein the information related to the rotation amount of the developing roller comprises at least one of: (i) an encoder signal associated with rotation of the developing roller, (ii) a pulse signal associated with driving of the developing roller, and (iii) a gear rotation signal associated with the developing roller (para.0119).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to modify the rotation-based use amount of Hagiwara et al. (US pub.2010/0061749) in view of Sugimoto et al. (US 5,933,690) by using the cumulative distance calculation of Matsushita et al. (US Pub.2009/0180791) because it is another known method in the art that can also serve the purpose of determining a degradation degree of the developing rollers as well as the image forming stations overall (para.0113), imparting further functionality to the detection system.
Claims 14, 18, 20 and 24-25 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hagiwara et al. (US pub.2010/0061749) in view of Sugimoto et al. (US 5,933,690) and in view of Matsushita et al. (US Pub.2009/0180791).
Regarding claim 14, Hagiwara et al. (US pub.2010/0061749) teach an image forming apparatus (fig.1) comprising: a photosensitive drum on which an electrostatic latent image is formed on a surface thereof (fig.1&19, #1); a developing unit (fig.19, #F) which includes an accommodating portion (fig.19, #T) for accommodating a non-magnetic one-component developer comprising toner (para.0058) and a developing roller (fig.19, #3) for supplying the toner from the accommodating portion to the photosensitive drum (para.0055) and to which a supply container for supplying the toner to the accommodating portion is detachably mountable (fig.19, #G; para.0166), wherein the developing roller is in contact with the surface of the photosensitive drum to form a developing portion (para.0055); a notifying portion configured to provide notification to a user (para.0098); and a controller configured to control the notifying portion (must be present to enable a notification unit to notify).
Regarding claim 20, Hagiwara et al. (US pub.2010/0061749) teach an image forming apparatus wherein the developing unit is included in a cartridge detachably mountable to a main assembly of the image forming apparatus (para.0049; fig.2&19, #F detachably part of #B).
However, Hagiwara et al. (US pub.2010/0061749) fail to teach how replacement of the detachable replenishment unit is determined and executed.
Regarding claim 14, Sugimoto et al. (US 5,933,690) teach an image forming apparatus (fig.1) comprising: a photosensitive drum on which an electrostatic latent image is formed on a surface thereof (fig.1&2, #48); a developing unit (fig.1&2, #54) which includes an accommodating portion for accommodating a developer comprising toner (fig.2, #66) and a developing roller (fig.2, #68) for supplying the toner from the accommodating portion to the photosensitive drum and to which a supply container for supplying the toner to the accommodating portion is detachably mountable (fig.1, #52 via #66i or #66j), wherein the developing roller is in contact with the surface of the photosensitive drum to form a developing portion; a notifying portion configured to provide notification to a user (fig.8; col.12, ln.14-15); and a controller configured to control the notifying portion (not shown, must be present to perform he function disclosed in col.12, ln.5-55), wherein the controller includes (i) a first detecting portion configured to detect information related to a rotation amount of the developing roller (not shown, but is present in some form for executing col.12, ln.23-26), and (iii) a second calculating portion configured to integrate the value from initial use of the developing unit to obtain a value related to a cumulative use (col.12, ln.22-35), and wherein in a case where the value related to the cumulative movement distance obtained by the second calculating portion is a predetermined lifetime discrimination threshold or more, the controller controls the notifying portion so as to provide notification to the effect that the developing unit reaches an end of a lifetime thereof (not shown, must be present to perform he function disclosed in col.12, ln.5-55).
Regarding claim 18, Sugimoto et al. (US 5,933,690) teach an image forming apparatus wherein the value related to the movement distance in the predetermined section is a value related to a movement distance from a start to an end of an image forming operation (while not explicitly spelled out, a cumulative number of rotations of the developing roller will be incremented during each image forming operation and then paused until the next operation, thus this limitation will necessarily be met; col.12, ln.5-55).
Regarding claim 24, Sugimoto et al. (US 5,933,690) teach an image forming apparatus wherein the value related to the movement distance comprises at least one of: (i) a rotation count of the developing roller, (ii) a surface movement distance of the developing roller, and (iii) a value converted based on the circumference of the developing roller (col.12, ln.5-8).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to modify the apparatus of Hagiwara et al. (US pub.2010/0061749) by using a cumulative use metric related to the developing roller movement as in Sugimoto et al. (US 5,933,690) because it is a known means of determining life in a developing unit and in order to be able to appropriately notify a user when the life of the developer is nearly over (col.12, ln.9-13).
However, Hagiwara et al. (US pub.2010/0061749) and Sugimoto et al. (US 5,933,690) also fail to teach the control process including (ii) a first calculating portion configured to calculate, based on the information and a circumference of the developing roller, a value related to a movement distance of the developing roller in a predetermined section of a surface of the developing roller, and (iii) a second calculating portion configured to integrate the value related to the movement distance calculated by the first calculating portion from initial use of the developing unit to obtain a value related to a cumulative movement distance, wherein the predetermined section is a circumferential section of the surface of the developing roller having a length corresponding to the circumference of the developing roller.
Regarding claim 14, Matsushita et al. (US Pub.2009/0180791) teach an image forming apparatus (fig.1) comprising: a photosensitive drum on which an electrostatic latent image is formed on a surface thereof (fig.1, #20C-K); a developing unit (fig.1, #50C-K) which includes an accommodating portion for accommodating a non-magnetic one-component developer comprising toner (para.0089) and a developing roller for supplying the toner from the accommodating portion to the photosensitive drum (fig.1, #51C-K), wherein the developing roller is in contact with the surface of the photosensitive drum to form a developing portion (para.0089); and wherein a controller includes (i) a first detecting portion configured to detect information related to a rotation amount of the developing roller (para.0119), (ii) a first calculating portion configured to calculate, based on the information and a circumference of the developing roller, a value related to a movement distance of the developing roller in a predetermined section of a surface of the developing roller (para.0120), and (iii) a second calculating portion configured to integrate the value related to the movement distance calculated by the first calculating portion from initial use of the developing unit to obtain a value related to a cumulative movement distance (based on para.0119-0121, this presumably is carried out over the course of the life of the development rollers), wherein the predetermined section is a circumferential section of the surface of the developing roller having a length corresponding to the circumference of the developing roller (para.0120).
Regarding claim 24, Matsushita et al. (US Pub.2009/0180791) teach an image forming apparatus wherein the value related to the movement distance comprises at least one of: (i) a rotation count of the developing roller, (ii) a surface movement distance of the developing roller, and (iii) a value converted based on the circumference of the developing roller (para.0119&0120).
Regarding claim 25, Matsushita et al. (US Pub.2009/0180791) teach an image forming apparatus wherein the information related to the rotation amount of the developing roller comprises at least one of: (i) an encoder signal associated with rotation of the developing roller, (ii) a pulse signal associated with driving of the developing roller, and (iii) a gear rotation signal associated with the developing roller (para.0119).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to modify the rotation-based use amount of Hagiwara et al. (US pub.2010/0061749) in view of Sugimoto et al. (US 5,933,690) by using the cumulative distance calculation of Matsushita et al. (US Pub.2009/0180791) because it is another known method in the art that can also serve the purpose of determining a degradation degree of the developing rollers as well as the image forming stations overall (para.0113) with the ability to factor in other considerations that affect developing roller wear such as amount of toner used and environmental considerations (para.0123-0124), imparting further functionality to the detection system.
Claim 16 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hagiwara et al. (US pub.2010/0061749) in view of Sugimoto et al. (US 5,933,690) and in view of Matsushita et al. (US Pub.2009/0180791) as applied to claim 14 above, and further in view of Takamatsu et al. (US 4,974,020).
Hagiwara et al. (US pub.2010/0061749) in view of Sugimoto et al. (US 5,933,690) and in view of Matsushita et al. (US Pub.2009/0180791) teach all of the limitations of claim 14, upon which claim 16 depends.
However, while the configuration of Sugimoto et al. (US 5,933,690) (fig.1) suggests that the apparatus is configured such that the toner cartridges (fig.1, #52) would be replaced more frequently than the developing unit, this aspect is not explicitly discussed and the means for determining lifetime of the developing cartridge is not disclosed.
Regarding claim 16, Takamatsu et al. (US 4,974,020) teach an image forming apparatus (fig.1) comprising: a photosensitive drum on which an electrostatic latent image is formed on a surface thereof (fig.1, #28); a developing unit (fig.1, #34) which includes an accommodating portion for accommodating a developer (fig.1, #178) and a developing roller (fig.1, #180) for supplying the developer from the accommodating portion to the photosensitive drum and to which a supply container for supplying the developer to the accommodating portion is detachably mountable (fig.1, #179; see also fig.2, #196 for #179 and fig.8, #179); a notifying portion configured to provide notification to a user (fig.11, #252/#254); and a controller configured to control the notifying portion, wherein in a case where a parameter is a predetermined lifetime discrimination threshold or more, the controller controls the notifying portion so as to provide notification to the effect that the process cartridge reaches an end of a lifetime thereof (col.19, ln.18-38); and prior to the process cartridge lifetime determination, toner cartridge replacement indicators can be triggered (col.17, ln.1-11; col.18, ln.8-25); wherein the controller counts a number of times of supply of the toner and stores the number of times of supply in a memory (col.20, ln.30-36), and wherein in a case where the number of times of supply of the toner is a predetermined threshold or more, the controller controls the notifying portion so as to provide notification to the effect that the developing unit reaches the end of the lifetime thereof (col.19, ln.18-38).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to modify the apparatus of Hagiwara et al. (US pub.2010/0061749) in view of Sugimoto et al. (US 5,933,690) and in view of Matsushita et al. (US Pub.2009/0180791) to also determine the overall end of life for the combined developing unit or process cartridge as in Takamatsu et al. (US 4,974,020) because it is desirable in the art (col.1, ln.51-60) and Takamatsu et al. (US 4,974,020) demonstrates that the developing unit life is longer than the toner replacement interval (see col.19, ln.18-38).
Allowable Subject Matter
While no art rejection is currently put forward for claims 4-10, 15, 23 and 26, potential patentability cannot be determined based on the outstanding rejections under 35 U.S.C. 112.
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 claims 1-20 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.
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to LAURA K ROTH whose telephone number is (571)272-2154. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday, 7:30AM-3:30 PM.
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/LKR/
4/29/2026
/STEPHANIE E BLOSS/ Supervisory Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2852
Prosecution Insights