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 § 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.
Claim 16 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.
In claim 16, lines 12-14 are unclear as to what Applicant intended to claim, where it appears that these lines claim that the claimed delivering pole is adjacent to itself and has a magnetic polarity different from itself.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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.
Claims 16 and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Hirobe et al. (US 2004/0022560).
Hirobe et al. (…560) disclose a developing device comprising: a developing container (2) configured to accommodate a developer including toner and a carrier ([0049]); a first rotatable member (8) to which the developer accommodated in the developing container is supplied and which carries and feeds the developer to a first developing position where an electrostatic latent image formed on an image bearing member (10) is developed; a first magnet (8’) provided non-rotatably and stationarily inside the first rotatable member, wherein the first magnet includes a first developing pole (S2) provided opposed to the image bearing member in the first developing position, and a delivering pole (N3) provided downstream of the first developing pole (figure 11); a second rotatable member (11) provided opposed to the first rotatable member and to which the developer is delivered from the first rotatable member by a magnetic field generated by the first magnet, wherein the second rotatable member carries and feeds the developer to a second developing position where the electrostatic latent image is developed, and wherein a rotational direction of the second rotatable member in a position where on an outer peripheral surface of the second rotatable member, the second rotatable member is closest to the first rotatable member is opposite to the rotational direction of the first rotatable member in a position where on an outer peripheral surface of the first rotatable member, the first rotatable member is closest to the second rotatable member (figure 11); and a second magnet (11’) provided non-rotatably and stationarily inside the second rotatable member, wherein the second magnet includes a plurality of magnetic poles including a second developing pole (S4) provided opposed to the image bearing member in the second developing position, a receiving pole (S3) provided upstream of the second developing pole with respect to the rotational direction of the second rotatable member and having a magnetic polarity different from that of the delivering pole (figure 11), and a feeding pole (N4) provided downstream of the receiving pole and adjacent to the receiving pole, with respect to the rotational direction of the second rotatable member, and having a magnetic polarity different from that of the receiving pole, the receiving pole being a magnetic pole, of the plurality of magnetic poles, provided closest to the delivering pole ([0105]-[0107]; and figure 11) [see Applicant’s claim 16]. A developing device comprising: a developing container (2) configured to accommodate a developer including toner and a carrier ([0049]); a first rotatable member (8) to which the developer accommodated in the developing container is supplied and which carries and feeds the developer to a first developing position where an electrostatic latent image formed on an image bearing member (10) is developed; a first magnet (8’) provided non-rotatably and stationarily inside the first rotatable member, wherein the first magnet includes a first developing pole (N2) provided opposed to the image bearing member in the first developing position, a delivering pole (N3) provided downstream of the first developing pole with respect to a rotational direction of the first rotatable member, and a feeding pole (S1) provided upstream of the delivering pole (N3) and adjacent to the delivering pole, with respect to the rotational direction of the first rotatable member, and having a magnetic polarity different from the delivering pole (figure 1); a second rotatable member (11) provided opposed to the first rotatable member and to which the developer is delivered from the first rotatable member by a magnetic field generated by the first magnet, wherein the second rotatable member carries and feeds the developer to a second developing position where the electrostatic latent image is developed, and wherein a rotational direction of the second rotatable member in a position where on an outer peripheral surface of the second rotatable member, the second rotatable member is closest to the first rotatable member is opposite to the rotational direction of the first rotatable member in a position where on an outer peripheral surface of the first rotatable member, the first rotatable member is closest to the second rotatable member (figure 1); and a second magnet (11’) provided non-rotatably and stationarily inside the second rotatable member, wherein the second magnet includes a plurality of magnetic poles including a second developing pole (N4) provided opposed to the image bearing member in the second developing position, and a receiving pole (S3) provided upstream of the second developing pole and adjacent to the second developing pole with respect to the rotational direction of the second rotatable member and having a magnetic polarity different from that of the second developing pole and different from that of the delivering pole, the receiving pole being a magnetic pole, of the plurality of magnetic poles, provided closest to the delivering pole ([0051]-[0055]; and figure 1) [see Applicant’s claim 17].
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-15 are allowed.
Prior Art
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Fukuda (US 2005/0238390), Kato et al. (US 2014/0023408), Sato et al. (US2014/0140739) and Nakayama et al. (US 2018/0143581) disclose a developing device including a first developing member and a second developing member.
Inquiry
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SANDRA BRASE whose telephone number is (571)272-2131. The examiner can normally be reached M-F.
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.
/SANDRA BRASE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2852 December 9, 2025