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) 1-2 6-8, and 11-15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by HIRAI et al. (US 2002/088789 A1).
Regarding claim 1, a heater comprising: a substrate 30; at least one heat generation resistance element 32 that is provided on the substrate 30 and that extends in a longitudinal direction of the substrate 30; a power supply electrode 33 that is provided on the substrate 30 and that is configured to supply electric current [0072] to the at least one heat generation resistance element 32; an auxiliary layer 35 that is provided to superpose only a partial region of the at least one heat generation resistance element 32 and that has insulation property [0089]; and a protection layer 36 [0090] that is layered on the auxiliary layer 35 and provided to cover a whole region of the at least one heat generation resistance element 32 and that is configured to protect the at least one heat generation resistance element 32; and the at least one heat generation resistance element 32 comprises two heat generation resistance elements 32 (shown in figure 3-4; [0036]), and wherein the auxiliary layer 35 is provided so as to fill a space between the two heat generation resistance elements 89 (figures 3-4, [0089-0090, 0131]; the insulating layer 35 partially covers a heat generation resistance element 32 shown in figure 4).
Regarding claim 6, an end portion of the auxiliary layer 35 and an end portion of the protection layer 36 in a width direction of the heater are provided with a distance as a space between the end portions (figures 7B-7C shows one end).
Regarding claim 7, the auxiliary layer is made of glass 35 [0081].
Regarding claim 8, the protection layer includes a plurality of layers [0096].
Regarding claim 11, the heater further comprising a conductive pattern (wires) configured to supply electric current from the power supply electrode to the at least one heat generation resistance element (figures 7C).
Regarding claim 12, HIRAI teaches a fixing apparatus comprising: a substrate 30; at least one heat generation resistance element 32 that is provided on the substrate and that extends in a longitudinal direction of the substrate; a power supply electrode that is provided on the substrate and that is configured to supply electric current to the at least one heat generation resistance element 83; an auxiliary layer 35 that is provided to superpose only a partial region of the at least one heat generation resistance element 32 and that has insulation property; and a protection layer that is layered on the auxiliary layer 35 and provided to cover a whole region of the at least one heat generation resistance element 32 and that is configured to protect the at least one heat generation resistance element 32 ; a first rotating body 1 configured to be heated by the heat generation resistance element; and a second rotating body 4 configured to form, together with a fixing film 1, a nip portion, wherein the fixing apparatus 111 is configured to fix a toner image formed on a recording material by heat (figures 2-5, [0036, 0047], [0067-0068]; the insulating layer 35 partially covers a heat generation resistance element 32 shown in figure 3).
Regarding claim 13, the first rotating body is a fixing film 1.
Regarding claim 14, the heater 3 is provided in contact with an inner surface of the fixing film 1, and the nip portion N is formed by the heater 3 and the second rotating body via the fixing film 1 (figure 2).
HIRAI teaches regarding claim 15, an image forming apparatus (figure 1) comprising: an image forming unit configured to form a toner image on a recording material; and a fixing apparatus 46 wherein the fixing apparatus comprises: a substrate; at least one heat generation resistance element that is provided on the substrate 30 and that extends in a longitudinal direction of the substrate; a power supply electrode that is provided on the substrate and that is configured to supply electric current to the at least one heat generation resistance element; an auxiliary layer 35 that is provided to superpose only a partial region of the at least one heat generation resistance element and that has insulation property; and a protection layer 88 that is layered on the auxiliary layer 35 and provided to cover a whole region of the at least one heat generation resistance element and that is configured to protect the at least one heat generation resistance element; a first rotating body 1 configured to be heated by the heat generation resistance element; and a second rotating body 4 configured to form, together with a fixing film 1, a nip portion, wherein the fixing apparatus is configured to fix a toner image formed by the image forming unit (figures 1, 3-5, [0089-0090]).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2, 4-5 and 10 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Claims 16- 28 are allowed.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 6/8/2026 have been fully considered but they are not moot, new grounds of rejection.
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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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Walter Lindsay can be reached on 571-272-1674. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/QUANA GRAINGER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2852
QG
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