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.
Claim Objections
Claim 3 is objected to because of the following informalities:
The 2nd line of claim 3 contains the phrase “the tooth of the gear”. Although the gear most certainly has a tooth, this limitation has not previously been set forth. Further, most gears have a plurality of teeth, so the recitation of “the tooth” reads as though a particular one of the plurality has already been set forth. As such, it is suggested to change the phrase “the tooth of the gear” to --a tooth of the gear-- for clarity.
Appropriate correction is required.
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, and 17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Itabashi (US 2018/0373195).
Regarding claim 1, Itabashi discloses a developing cartridge 1 (Fig. 3 [0038]) comprising:
a housing 10 configured to accommodate toner therein (Fig. 3 [0044]);
a developing roller 30 rotatable about a developing axis A1 extending in a first direction (“SECOND DIRECTION” in Fig. 4; [0044]);
a gear 41/412 (or alternatively, gear 44; Fig. 4) positioned at one end of the housing 10 in the first direction (note that elements 41 and 412 are integrally formed; Fig. 4 [0052]);
a memory 61 having an electrical contact surface 611 positioned at the one end of the housing in the first direction (Figs. 3-4 [0061]); and
a holder 2651 holding the electrical contact surface 611 (surface 65A retains memory 61; Fig. 14 [0089]), the holder 2651 being movable relative to the housing 10 (Figs. 14-15 [0109]), wherein:
the holder 2651 has a first end 65A that holds the electrical contact surface (Fig. 14 [0089]) and a second end 2651A that is separated from the first end in a second direction (“THIRD DIRECTION” in Figs. 14-15) intersecting the first direction (“SECOND DIRECTION”), and the second end 2651A of the holder 2651 and the gear 41/412 (or alternatively, gear 44) are arranged in the second direction (“THIRD DIRECTION”) (Figs. 4, 14-15).
Regarding claim 2, Itabashi discloses the developing cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the second direction (“THIRD DIRECTION”) is a direction intersecting the electrical contact surface 611 (which would coincide with the surface of 65A; Fig. 14).
Regarding claim 4, Itabashi discloses the developing cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the second end 2651A is positioned between the gear 41/412 and the first end 65A in the second direction (“THIRD DIRECTION” in Figs. 14-15).
Regarding claim 5, Itabashi discloses the developing cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the first end 65A is farther from the developing roller 30 than the second end 2651A (Figs. 3 & 14-15).
Regarding claim 6, Itabashi discloses the developing cartridge according to claim 1 further comprising: a cover (e.g., 45 in Fig. 4 or 145 in Fig. 10) positioned at the one end of the housing in the first direction covering the gear 41/412, wherein the second end 2651A of the holder is positioned between the housing and the cover in the first direction (“SECOND DIRECTION”) (see Figs. 3-4, 9-10, 14-15).
Regarding claim 7, Itabashi discloses the developing cartridge according to claim 6, wherein the second end 2651A is positioned inside the cover in the second direction (“THIRD DIRECTION”), and the first end 65A is positioned outside the cover in the second direction (see Figs. 3-4, 9-10, 14-15).
Regarding claim 8, Itabashi discloses the developing cartridge according to claim 7 wherein the first end 65A is positioned outside the housing 10 in the second direction (“THIRD DIRECTION”) (see Figs. 4 and 10, note that element 11 is the outer surface of housing 10 [0050]).
Regarding claim 9, Itabashi discloses the developing cartridge according to wherein the holder includes: a first holder 2651 having the first end; a second holder 2652 having the second end; and a spring 63 located between the first end and the second end, the spring being compressible in the second direction (“THIRD DIRECTION”) (Figs. 10, 14-15 [0109]).
Regarding claim 10, Itabashi discloses the developing cartridge according to claim 1 further comprising: an agitator 20 positioned inside the housing 10 and rotatable about an agitator axis extending in the first direction (“SECOND DIRECTION”) (Fig. 4 [0056]), wherein the gear (alternative gear 44) is an agitator gear attached to an end of the agitator in the first direction (Fig. 4 [0056]).
Regarding claim 17, Itabashi discloses the developing cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the housing includes a first boss 241 extending in the first direction (“SECOND DIRECTION”) from the one end of the housing, the holder includes a hole 1651C extending in the first direction, the holder is movable relative to the housing in a state where the first boss is inserted into the hole (Figs. 14-15 [0096]).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3 and 11-16 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Prior art of record does not disclose or suggest the claimed “wherein the second end of the holder and an end surface of the tooth of the gear face each other in the second direction” in combination with the remaining limitations of claim 3.
Prior art of record does not disclose or suggest the claimed “wherein a part of the drum frame is inserted between the holder and the gear in the second direction in a state where the developing cartridge is mounted to the drum cartridge” in combination with the remaining limitations of claims 11-16
Prior Art
The prior art made of record on form PTO-892 and not relied upon is cited as related art.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CARLA J THERRIEN whose telephone number is (571)272-2677. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8 am - 4 pm EST.
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, Stephanie Bloss can be reached at (571)272-3555. 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.
/CARLA J THERRIEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2852