DETAILED ACTION
This office action is in response to correcting an error in which the secondary reference cited had the incorrect PGPUB number listed in the previous action. This action replaces/supersedes the previous non-final OA. Claims 1-11 are pending.
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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on 09/15/2025 and 05/15/2026 were filed after the filing date of the application. The submissions are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statements are being considered by the examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 & 8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hsu US 20150306749 A1 (Hereinafter “Hsu”), in view of MacFarlane US 20180208286 A1 (Hereinafter “MacFarlane”).
Regarding Claim 1, Hsu teaches a motor control apparatus (Fig. 2, 10) comprising:
a motor (Fig. 3, 7) configured to drive a load; and
a control unit (Fig. 3, 5) configured to control the motor, wherein
the control unit is configured to activate the motor in a first mode (Fig. 3, ECO; [0011] soft start-up mode) when activating the motor for a fist time after replacing the load (Fig. 4; [0034]), and activate the motor in a second mode (Fig. 3, Sport; [0012]) in other cases, and
Hsu does not expressly disclose the first mode is a mode in which an increase in rotation speed of the motor is gentler than an increase in rotation speed of the motor in the second mode.
However, MacFarlane teaches soft start-up mode is an increase in rotation speed of the motor is gentler than an increase in rotation speed of the motor (MacFarlane [0061] The power control module 23 may also incorporate other motor control functions, for example a soft start integrated circuit which ramps the speed of the motor up gently]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement soft start-up mode is an increase in rotation speed of the motor is gentler than an increase in rotation speed of the motor as taught by MacFarlane in the control system of Hsu, for the purpose to avoid mechanical shock to the drivetrain and/or high inrush current to the electrical system.
Regarding Claim 8, Hsu in view of MacFarlane teaches motor control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the motor is a sensorless motor not including a sensor that detects a rotation position of a rotor ([0040], speed is not measured).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 10 and 11 are allowed.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
An image forming apparatus to which a cartridge is attachable and from which the cartridge is detachable, comprising: a motor configured to drive a load included in the cartridge; and a control unit configured to activate the motor in a first mode when the cartridge has been replaced to a new cartridge, and activate the motor in a second mode when the cartridge has not been replaced since the motor was activated last time
wherein the control unit is configured to activate the motor in a first mode when a stopping time of the motor is longer than a predetermined time, and activate the motor in a second mode when the stopping time of the motor is shorter than the predetermined time,
Claims 2-7 and 9 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.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Yoshida et al. US 10391599 B2 teaches he control unit 27 performs soft start control for gradually increasing the duty ratio such that in the normal mode, the duty ratio becomes 100% when about 0.6 seconds elapses, and in the economy mode, in an no-load state, the circular saw blade 8 rotates at the predetermined rotation speed when about 0.4 seconds elapses.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CORTEZ M COOK whose telephone number is (571)270-7954. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Thursday 7:30-5pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Eduardo Colon-Santana can be reached at 571-272-2060. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/CORTEZ M COOK/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2837
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