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 02/19/2025 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)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1, 4, 15 and 17-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by JP H0362051 A.
Regarding claims 1, 15 and 17-19, JP ‘051 discloses an image forming apparatus [Fig. 2] comprising an apparatus body [1] including a control unit [133], a wiring member including a first connector electrically connected to the control unit [Fig. 15], and a removable fixing unit [33] including a second connector [172b] insertable into and removable from the first connector [Fig. 15]; wherein the wiring member including a fuse [174] to be blown in accordance with a command from the control unit [Fig. 15].
Regarding claim 4, JP ‘051 discloses the control unit including a detection circuit configured to output a signal corresponding to whether the fuse has been blown [Claim 1].
Claims 9, 10, 12 and 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Yumiko et al. [JP 2019101276 A]
Regarding claims 9, 10 and 12, Yumiko et al., an applicant’s cited prior art, disclose an image forming apparatus [1] comprising an apparatus body [Fig. 1] including a control unit [10] electrically connected to a first connector [A11], a removable unit [U5] including a second connector [U11] insertable and removable from the first connector [Fig. 4], and a storage unit [20] configured to store information related to a deterioration such as insertion/removal of the first connector and the second connector [Fig. 8].
Regarding claim 13, Yumiko et al. disclose notification of information urging replacement of the first connector [Fig. 5; see page 4 of the detailed translation regarding Fig. 5].
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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.
Claims 2 and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over
JP H0362051 A in view of Yumiko et al.
Regarding claim 2, JP ‘051, as discussed above, disclose the claimed invention except for a storage unit configured to store information related to a deterioration of the first connector.
Yumiko et al. disclose an image forming apparatus comprising a storage unit [20] configured to store information related to a deterioration such as insertion/removal of the first connector and the control unit is configured to provide notification of information urging replacement of the wiring member based on the information [Fig. 5; see page 4 of the detailed translation regarding Fig. 5].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention was made to have the image forming apparatus disclosed by JP ‘051 having a storage unit configured to store information related to a deterioration such as insertion/removal of the first connector and the control unit is configured to provide notification of information urging replacement of the wiring member based on the information as taught by Yumiko et al. for the purpose of avoiding a failure caused by the attachment/detachment of a unit such as the fixing unit.
Regarding claim 14, JP ‘051, as discussed above, disclose the claimed invention except for the first and second connectors are drawer connectors.
Yumiko et al. disclose an image forming apparatus comprising first and second connectors are drawer connectors [Fig. 4].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention was made to have the image forming apparatus disclosed by JP ‘051 having first and second connectors are drawer connectors as taught by Yumiko et al. for the purpose of performing the attachment/detachment of the removable unit with ease.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3, 5-8, 11 and 20 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.
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the
examiner should be directed to HOAN H TRAN whose telephone number is (571)272-2141.
The examiner can normally be reached on M-F 9AM-5:30PM.
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supervisor, Walter Lindsay can be reached on 571-272-1674. The fax phone number for the
organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/HOAN H TRAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2852 04/04/26
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