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)(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 1-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being clearly anticipated by Eiki et al., U.S.P.G. Pub. No. 2019/0056685, as evinced by Takagi et al., U.S.P.G. Pub. No. 2017/0364001.
Eiki et al. teach:
Regarding independent claim 1, a heater (the embodiment of fig 7), comprising: a plurality of resistance blocks (41, 42, 43, 44, 45) each including a plurality of resistance elements (40 and 40C in each block) arranged at a first interval in a main direction (the widths of each of 40 is at least the first interval so that each resistance element is at least that width apart in a direction Fr-Rr); and
a plurality of power feed electrodes which are respectively connected to (51, 52, 53, 54, 55) one ends of the plurality of resistance blocks in a sub direction (in a direction L-R) that intersects with the main direction and are capable of individually supplying power to the plurality of resistance blocks, respectively, wherein the plurality of resistance blocks are arrayed at a second interval larger than the first interval in the main direction (the widths of each of blocks 41, 42, 43, 44, 45 is at least the second interval so that each resistance block is at least that width apart in a direction Fr-Rr, where the second interval is greater than the first interval to that all the elements fit side by side without overlapping),
the plurality of resistance blocks include a target block and an adjacent block provided next to the target block (any one block reads on the target block, and any other block is adjacent to that because they fit on the same figure),
the plurality of resistance elements of the target block include one or a plurality of end portion resistance elements positioned at an end portion of the target block (40C) on a side of the adjacent block (40C are on both ends of each block, so regardless of which other block is chosen as the adjacent block, this limitation is met) and a target resistance element positioned next to the one or a plurality of end portion resistance elements (any one or all of 40), and
when power is supplied to the target block, a heat generation amount of the target resistance element is larger than a heat generation amount of the one end portion resistance element or a heat generation amount of each of the plurality of end portion resistance elements (each of 40C is less wide in the first direction than each of 40 and made of the same material: ¶ 75, “size ratios (L/W) of heating resistors 40 that correspond to ends in the axial direction of the sheet S that passes through the pressing area N (hereinafter, these heating resistors 40 are stated using a reference character 40C in order to discriminate from the other heating resistors 40) are set to be greater than those of the other heating resistors 40. That is, two heating resistors 40C that form both ends in the axial direction of each of the heating parts 41 to 45 are formed to be shorter in the axial direction (i.e., narrower) than the other heating resistors 40.” The longer widths of each of 40 in the first direction means that each of 40 have a larger heat generation amount that 40C, as evinced by Takagi, ¶ 41, “In order to reduce such a temperature decrease, the width of the resistive members 61 positioned at the both ends of each of the blocks 71 to 77 is set longer than the width of the resistive member 62, so that the resistive member 61 reliably has an area larger than that of the resistive member 62. Due to such a larger area, temperature in the resistive member 61 becomes higher than temperature in the resistive member 62 (shown with the solid line on the temperature distribution graph). In other words, in the resistive members 61 and 62 in each of the blocks 71 to 77, the amount of heat generation in each of the resistive members 61 positioned at the both ends in the Y-axis direction is greater than the amount of heat generation in each of the other resistive members 62.” Even if Eiki et al. are silent with respect to the respective heat generation amounts, Takagi show that such a characteristic is inherent in Ten et al. due to the different widths, MPEP 2131.01 (III). See MPEP 2112 (V), 2131.05 and 2123 (I) for guidance.).
Regarding claim 2, which depends from claim 1, wherein the target resistance element is a second or third resistance element from an end on the side of the adjacent block out of the plurality of resistance elements of the target block (whenever one chooses the second or third resistance element from an end as the target resistance element).
Regarding claim 3, which depends from claim 1, a fixing device (fig 2) which heats and pressurizes a toner image on a sheet at a fixing position on a conveying path of the sheet, to fix the toner image onto the sheet, comprising:
a support member (25) arranged along a main direction that intersects with a sheet conveying direction at the fixing position (fig 2);
a cylindrical fixing member (21) rotatably supported by the support member; and
the heater according to claim 1 (supra), wherein the heater is supported by the support member while being provided along the main direction and heats the fixing member (fig 2).
Regarding claim 4, which depends from claim 3, wherein the plurality of resistance blocks of the heater are formed to have lengths corresponding to a plurality of standard sizes of the sheet (¶ 75, “According to this constitution, the heating resistors 40C that are narrow in the axial direction correspond to ends in width direction of each standard size of the sheet S, which facilitates arranging the heating resistors 40 (40C) in accordance with the widths of the sheets S. Thereby the sizes in the axial direction of the heating parts 41 to 45 are accurately fitted to the widths of the sheets S, which can restrain overheating or insufficient heating at the ends in the width direction of sheets S.”).
Regarding claim 5, which depends from claim 3, an image forming apparatus (fig 1), comprising: a transfer device (16) which transfers a toner image onto a sheet; and
the fixing device according to claim 3 (supra).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SEVAN A AYDIN whose telephone number is (571)270-3209. The examiner can normally be reached M-Th 9AM-6PM PT.
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 at (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 published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/SEVAN A AYDIN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2852
Prosecution Insights