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 .
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.
Specification
TITLE - The title of the invention is not descriptive. A new title is required that is clearly indicative of the invention to which the claims are directed.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
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.
Claims 6-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention. Claim 6 recites inter alia, “a remaining toner amount sensing portion disposed at a plurality of places in the container, the toner supplying device, and the developing device”. The originally filed specification does not describe a remaining toner amount sensing portion disposed at a plurality of places in the container, and at a plurality of places the toner supplying device, and at a plurality of places in the developing device, as can be interpreted by the referenced recitation.
Claims 6-10 are 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. Claim 6 recites inter alia, “a remaining toner amount sensing portion disposed at a plurality of places in the container, the toner supplying device, and the developing device”. It is unclear is the plurality of places refers to
each of the container, the toner supplying device, and the developing device has a plurality of places where a remaining toner amount sensing portion is disposed, or
at least one of the container, the toner supplying device, and the developing device has a plurality of places where a remaining toner amount sensing portion is disposed, or
the plurality of places where a remaining toner amount sensing portion is disposed including at least two of the container, the toner supplying device, and the developing device.
In addition, since a [singular] remaining toner amount sensing portion is recited, it is unclear how it can also be disposed at a plurality of places. For the purpose of examination over prior art, this limitation is interpreted as any mean for sensing remaining toner amount based on more than one place in the image forming apparatus.
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.
Claim(s) 1, 2, 4-10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by US 2020/0033753 to Soda.
Soda teaches:
(claim 1) An image forming apparatus (1, Fig.1) comprising:
a developing device (33) that supplies toner to an image carrying member (29) [0032];
a container (41) that stores the toner supplied to the developing device [0034];
a toner supplying device (37) that transports the toner in the container to the developing device to supply the toner thereto [0035-0038]; and
a control portion (8) that controls operation of the developing device and the toner supplying device [0030],
wherein the control portion senses toner emptiness in the container by using a plurality of emptiness sensing paths and uses different emptiness sensing conditions for the plurality of emptiness sensing paths (e.g., by remaining toner amount X in the toner container, toner conveyance amount Y by the intermediate hopper, toner concentration level D in the developing device) (Fig.9, Fig.15).
(claim 2) The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus has at least three of the emptiness sensing paths.
(claim 4) The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control portion recognizes toner emptiness on sensing toner emptiness in at least one of the plurality of emptiness sensing paths (Fig.9, Fig.15).
(claim 5) The image forming apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the control portion recognizes toner emptiness on sensing toner emptiness in the plurality of emptiness sensing paths (Fig. 15 requires conditions of all of X, Y, and D).
(claim 6) The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a remaining toner amount sensing portion disposed at a plurality of places in the container (e.g.51), the toner supplying device (e.g. 49), and the developing device (e.g. 39), the remaining toner amount sensing portion sensing an amount of remaining toner, wherein based on a result of sensing by the remaining toner amount sensing portion, the control portion senses toner emptiness in the container by using the plurality of emptiness sensing paths.
(claim 7) The image forming apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the remaining toner amount sensing portion is disposed in each of the container, the toner supplying device, and the developing device (Fig.3, Fig.12).
(claim 8) The image forming apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the remaining toner amount sensing portion includes a remaining developer amount sensing portion (39) that senses the amount of remaining toner by sensing a toner concentration in the developing device (Fig.2, Fig.11).
(claim 9) The image forming apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the remaining toner amount sensing portion includes an intermediate remaining amount sensing portion (49) that senses the amount of remaining toner on a toner supply path of the toner supplying device (Fig.2).
(claim 10) The image forming apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the remaining toner amount sensing portion includes a container remaining amount sensing portion (51) that senses the amount of remaining toner in the container (Fig.2).
Claim(s) 1 and 3-5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by US 10,545,430 to Nohara et al.
Nohara teaches:
(claim 1) An image forming apparatus (10, Fig.1) comprising:
a developing device (23) that supplies toner to an image carrying member (20);
a container (51) that stores the toner supplied to the developing device;
a toner supplying device (53) that transports the toner in the container to the developing device to supply the toner thereto; and
a control portion (70) that controls operation of the developing device and the toner supplying device,
wherein the control portion senses toner emptiness in the container by using a plurality of emptiness sensing paths and uses different emptiness sensing conditions for the plurality of emptiness sensing paths (e.g., at the upper toner container 51 and at the third vertical conveyance unit 65).
(claim 3) The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, comprising: a plurality of the containers (51, 52) storing the toner of a same color, wherein on sensing toner emptiness in one of the containers in use, the control portion switches a toner supply path to another of the containers of the same color (col. 9 lines 24-35).
(claim 4) The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control portion recognizes toner emptiness on sensing toner emptiness in at least one of the plurality of emptiness sensing paths (col. 9 lines 35-39).
(claim 5) The image forming apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the control portion recognizes toner emptiness on sensing toner emptiness in the plurality of emptiness sensing paths (col. 9 lines 40-49).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ARLENE HEREDIA whose telephone number is (571)272-8393. The examiner can normally be reached M-F: 9:30-5:30.
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/Arlene Heredia Ocasio/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2852
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