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 § 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.
Claim(s) 1, 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Moon (CN-100474176-C) in view of Kim (KR-20120017740-A).
Regarding claim 1
Moon discloses
A developing cartridge (¶ 1 – 3 under The Background Technology) comprising:
a developing roller (¶ 4 under The Background Technology) rotatable about a first axis extending in a first direction (Fig. 1, Ref 12, first axis is going into the page);
a housing configured to accommodate developer (Fig. 1, Ref 4, ¶ 4 & 5 under The Background Technology) therein;
a coupling rotatable about a second axis extending in the first direction, the coupling being positioned at one side of the housing in the first direction (Fig. 3, Ref 17, ¶ 8 under The Background Technology, the axis is in the same direction as that of the developing roller);
a gear rotatable about a third axis extending in the first direction, the gear being rotatable in accordance with a rotation of the coupling, the gear being positioned at the one side of the housing in the first direction (Fig. 2, Ref 6a, ¶ 6 under The Background Technology); and
Although strongly implied, Moon does not explicitly teach
“a protrusion movable in accordance with a rotation of the gear, wherein the protrusion is movable at a first speed,
wherein the protrusion is movable at a second speed after the protrusion moves at the first speed, and
wherein the first speed is different from the second speed”.
Kim, however, teaches
a protrusion movable in accordance with a rotation of the gear, wherein the protrusion is movable at a first speed,
wherein the protrusion is movable at a second speed after the protrusion moves at the first speed, and
wherein the first speed is different from the second speed (¶ 28 under DESCRIPTION-OF-EMBODIMENTS).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include the “protrusion moving with a gear at first and second speeds” as taught by Kim in the cartridge of Moon.
The justification for this modification would be to have a clutch-like mechanism using a protrusion to adjust the gears at different speeds to allow the toner cartridge a smooth, easy fit into the machine.
Regarding claim 8
Moon in view of Kim teach the developing cartridge according to claim 1,
Moon, applied to claim 7, further teaches
further comprising: an agitator configured to agitate the developer in the housing (¶ 12 under The Background Technology).
Claim(s) 2 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Moon (CN-100474176-C) in view of Kim (KR-20120017740-A) in view of Hosoi (JP-2001193794-A).
Regarding claim 2
Moon in view of Kim teach the developing cartridge according to claim 1,
Moon in view of Kim do not teach
“wherein the gear rotates at the same speed when the speed of the protrusion changes”.
Hosoi, however, teaches
wherein the gear rotates at the same speed when the speed of the protrusion changes (lines or ¶ 80 above [Brief description of the drawings]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include the “speed or protrusion change: acceleration” as taught by Hosoi in the cartridge of Moon in view of Kim.
The justification for this modification would be to accelerate the protrusion as part of the meshing process when the cartridge is inserted into the machine.
Claim(s) 3 – 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Moon (CN-100474176-C) in view of Kim (KR-20120017740-A) in view of Eikatsu (JP-3501511-B2)
Regarding claim 3
Moon in view of Kim teach the developing cartridge according to claim 1,
Moon in view of Kim do not teach
“further comprising: an input gear formed integrally and coaxially with the coupling”.
Eikatsu, however, teaches
further comprising: an input gear formed integrally and coaxially with the coupling (Claim 2).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include the “protrusion integral with the gear” as taught by Eikatsu in the cartridge of Moon in view of Kim.
The justification for this modification would be to miniature the moving parts to make the toner container small and compact.
Regarding claim 4
Moon in view of Kim in view of Hosoi teach the developing cartridge according to claim 3,
Moon, applied to claim, further teaches
further comprising:
a developing roller drive gear supported by a rotation shaft of the developing roller, wherein the developing roller drive gear meshes with the input gear (Claim 7, developing roller gear meshes with “first drive bear”, i.e., “input gear”).
Regarding claim 5
Moon in view of Kim in view of Hosoi teach the developing cartridge according to claim 3,
Moon, applied to claim 5, further teaches
further comprising:
a supply roller rotatable about a fourth axis extending in the first direction (Fig. 1, Ref 13, ¶ 8 under The Background Technology, the fourth axis is in the same direction as the first direction of the other rollers); and
a supply roller drive gear supported by a rotation shaft of the supply roller, wherein the supply roller drive gear meshes with the input gear (Fig. 7, Ref 175 and 165a, ¶ 12 under The Background Technology).
Regarding claim 6
Moon in view of Kim teach the developing cartridge according to claim 1,
Moon in view of Kim do not teach
“wherein the protrusion is positioned at the one side of the housing in the first direction”.
Eikatsu, however, teaches
wherein the protrusion is positioned at the one side of the housing in the first direction (Fig. 13, Ref 85, line or ¶ 65 under [0025], the protrusion is to the furthest side of the rotating member, so positioned at one side of the housing).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include the “protrusion on rotating member positioned at one side of the housing” as taught by Eikatsu in the cartridge of Moon in view of Kim.
The justification for this modification would be to help the various gears mesh into one another when the developing cartridge is inserted.
Regarding claim 7
Moon in view of Kim teach the developing cartridge according to claim 1,
Moon in view of Kim do not teach
“wherein the protrusion is formed integral with the gear”.
Eikatsu, however, teaches
wherein the protrusion is formed integral with the gear (Claim 2).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include the “protrusion integral with the gear” as taught by Eikatsu in the cartridge of Moon in view of Kim.
The justification for this modification would be to miniature the moving parts to make the toner container small and compact.
Claim(s) 9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Moon (CN-100474176-C) in view of Kim (KR-20120017740-A) in view of Itabashi et al. (US-20140086613-A1).
Regarding claim 9
Moon in view of Kim teach the developing cartridge according to claim 8,
Moon, applied to claim 9, further
further comprising a second gear rotatable about a second-gear axis extending in the first direction and meshing with the gear, the second gear being rotatable in accordance with the rotation of the coupling (Fig. 7 & 8),
Moon in view of Kim teach the
“wherein the second gear is supported by a rotation shaft of the agitator”
Itabashi, however, teaches
wherein the second gear is supported by a rotation shaft of the agitator ([0202]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include the “second gear rotated by shaft of agitator” as taught by Itabashi in the cartridge of Moon in view of Kim.
The justification for this modification would be to use the drive power of the agitator to transfer power to the new cartridge detection gear ([0202], Itabashi).
Claim(s) 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Moon (CN-100474176-C) in view of Kim (KR-20120017740-A) in view of Isfort (RU-2348142-C2).
Regarding claim 10
Moon in view of Kim teach the developing cartridge according to claim 1,
Moon in view of Kim do not teach
“wherein the second speed is faster than the first speed”.
Isfort, however, discloses
wherein the second speed is faster than the first speed (¶ 10 under Disclosure of Invention).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include the “second speed faster than the first speed” as taught by Isfort in the cartridge of Moon in view of Kim.
The justification for this modification would be to assist the positioning process and meshing of gears.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FREDERICK WENDEROTH whose telephone number is (571)270-1945. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 7 a.m. - 4 p.m.
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/WALTER L LINDSAY JR/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2852
/Frederick Wenderoth/
Examiner, Art Unit 2852
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