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.
(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) 16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being antici--pated by UMEMURA et al. (WO 2017090692 A1; cited by applicant).
UMEMURA teaches regarding claim 16, a heater in which a plurality of heat-generating cells partitioned by a virtual boundary line are arranged side by side on a base body, the heater configured to heat an object-to-be-heated in a state of facing the base body, the heater comprising: the base body; and one resistive heating wire formed in each of the heat-generating cells and having a zig-zag shape as a whole, the resistive heating wire being formed by connecting a parallel wiring in which a plurality of wirings are formed in parallel and a turn-back wiring formed so as to turn back the parallel wiring in a vicinity of the boundary line between adjacent ones of the heat-generating cells; wherein in the adjacent ones of the heat-generating cells, the resistive heating wire of one of the heat-generating cells has an extension portion formed so as to extend the parallel wiring past the boundary line, and the resistive heating wire of the other of the heat-generating cells is shortened or deformed so that a wiring of a portion facing the extension portion maintains an electrical insulation with the extension portion; the resistive heating wires of the adjacent ones of the heat-generating cells include the extension portions alternately along the boundary line; and the parallel wiring extended to form the extension portion has an inclined portion that is inclined with respect to the arrangement direction of the plurality of heat-generating cells ((UMEMURA teaches a heater (figures 8-15) in which a plurality of heat-generating cells (A, B, C, D, E, E’) , the base body 11; and one resistive heating wire 12 formed in each of the heat-generating cells (A-E’), the resistive heating wire 12 being formed by connecting a parallel wiring (for example, X11, X12 are parallel) in which a plurality of wirings are formed in parallel and a turn-back wiring (circles A-E’) formed so as to turn back the parallel wiring in a vicinity of the boundary line (drawn through centers of cells A and E (or A and B) for example) between adjacent ones of the heat-generating cells A-E’; (figures 4-15; page 6, lines 264-300; page 14, lines 629-654 discusses parallel wiring; bounty line are drawn through centers of cells A, B, C); a one straight line would be along X11, X12; the turn-back wiring is formed in parallel with the one straight line at an upper end portion or a lower end portion in the boundary line direction (shown in figure 7-15, in figure 7, line along Xt3 and Xt4 is parallel)).
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.
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.
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/QUANA GRAINGER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2852
QG