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)(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.
Claims 1, 2, 6, and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Brown et al., U.S.P.G. Pub. No. 2011/0206408.
Applicant has incorporated former claims 3 and 5 into independent claim 1, and former claims 7 and 9 into independent claim 6. Examiner incorporates the rejections of claims 3 and 5 into that of independent claim 1, and former claims 7 and 9 into that of independent claim 6.
As previously indicated, “the air duct shares a common wall with the housing” does not mean that the duct has no separate wall there, nor that the housing has no separate wall there. All the claim limitation means is that the walls of each are shared. Brown et al. share the common wall through integration of the duct to the housing.
Should Applicants intend to claim that one of the duct or the housing has no wall when separated, Applicants are free to include such in the claims. Examiner has provided references in the Relevant Prior Art section for guidance, should Applicants intend to so claim.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 4/24/26 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant argues:
Nothing in Brown describes body 210 as using the cartridge housing wall as one wall of the conduit, much less as using a shared wall portion that simultaneously defines toner-storage volume and an air path.
The claims do not require “using the cartridge housing wall as one wall of the conduit”. The features upon which applicant relies are not recited in the rejected claims. Although the claims are interpreted in light of the specification, limitations from the specification are not read into the claims. See In re Van Geuns, 988 F.2d 1181, 26 USPQ2d 1057 (Fed. Cir. 1993).
All that the claims require is that “the air duct shares a common wall with the housing”. Brown et al. share at least one wall through integration, so that the two formerly separate walls are commonly shared when integrated. Nothing in the claims prohibits walls from having several integrated layers. One can still interpose a myriad of things between the separate walls, integrate them, and still have them share a common wall. In much the same way, two adjacent rooms in a building can share a common wall, even though there is a crawlspace full of insulation between the separate walls of the adjacent rooms.
Again, should Applicants intend to claim that one of the duct or the housing does not have a wall when the two are separated, Applicants are invited to specify as such in the claims, without limiting the intended scope of the present claims. Examiner can only reject the claims as written, rather than as intended to have been written. Examiner has provided references in the Relevant Prior Art section for guidance, should Applicants wish to amend the claims to say what they are intended to mean - using the cartridge housing wall as one wall of the conduit.
Relevant Prior Art
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Murakami et al., U.S.P.G. Pub. No. 2011/0222921; and, Hata, U.S.P.G. Pub. No. 2020/0233376; teach providing two components that share a common wall, such that one of the two has no separate wall when the components are separated.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
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/SEVAN A AYDIN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2852
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