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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 2/6/25 and 6/4/25 has been considered.
Specification
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 § 102
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.
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.
Claims 1-2 and 5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Soda (US 10,527,996).
Regarding claim 1, Soda discloses an image forming apparatus (10, fig. 1, col. 3, line 46), comprising: a developing device 23 that supplies toner to an image carrier (col. 4, line 59, fig. 1); a container 51,52 that contains the toner to be replenished to the developing device (col. 6, lines 10-14, fig. 2); a toner replenishment device 5 that includes a plurality of toner replenishment paths 56, 57 (col. 7, lines 53-63, fig. 3) through which the toner in the container is conveyed and replenished to the developing device 23; a toner conveyance detection portion S1, S2 (col. 11, lines 40-64, fig. 4) that detects a toner conveyance error in toner conveyance performed by using the plurality of toner replenishment paths 56, 57 (when sensors S1, S2 output a low signal when there is an absence of toner in the replenishment path, col. 14, lines 7-33); and a control portion 90 (col. 13, lines 20-35, fig. 8) that controls operations of the developing device and the toner replenishment device, wherein in a case where the toner conveyance detection portion has detected the toner conveyance error in one of the toner replenishment paths that is in use, the control portion switches to another one of the toner replenishment paths to convey the toner (controller 90 switches between a first and a second replenishment state, col. 13, line 55 – col. 14, line 65, fig. 8).
Regarding claim 2, Soda discloses wherein the toner conveyance detection portion includes a toner amount detection portion 93 that detects a toner amount in the developing device, in the container, and in the plurality of toner conveyance paths, and the control portion detects, based on a result of detection performed by the toner amount detection portion, the toner conveyance error in one of the toner replenishment paths that is in use (col. 13, line 20 – col. 14, line 65).
Regarding claim 5, Soda discloses wherein the container includes a first container and a second container 51, 52, the toner in the first container and the toner in the second container being of a same color, and the toner replenishment device includes a first toner replenishment path 56 through which the toner is conveyed from the first container toward the developing device, a second toner replenishment path 57 through which the toner is conveyed from the second container toward the developing device, a confluence portion 500 that is disposed at downstream ends of the first toner replenishment path and the second toner replenishment path in respective toner conveyance directions thereof so as to allow the toner to join together to flow into the developing device, a first intermediate toner amount detection portion S1 that detects the toner amount on the first toner replenishment path, and a second intermediate toner amount detection portion S2 that detects the toner amount on the second toner replenishment path (col. 13, line 55- col. 14, line 65).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3 and 4 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:
As to claims 3 and 4, the prior art of record neither disclose or suggest the image forming apparatus comprising all the features of claim 1 and wherein in a case where the control portion has detected that the toner amount is smaller than a predetermined value by means of the intermediate toner amount detection portion and has also detected that the toner amount is larger than a predetermined value by means of the container toner amount detection portion, the control portion determines that the toner conveyance error has occurred.
Conclusion
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/HOANG X NGO/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2852