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.
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 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, 3 and 5-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Shimizu et al. US 2018/0032023 A1 (Shimizu).
Regarding claim 1, Shimizu teaches an intermediate transfer unit comprising:
an intermediate transfer belt (6) rotatably stretched, the intermediate transfer belt having an outer circumferential surface to which a toner image is transferred from each of a plurality of image carrying members (1, ¶0028), the intermediate transfer belt (6) rotating while carrying the toner image (¶0028);
a plurality of primary transfer members (5) assigned one to each of the plurality of image carrying members (1), the primary transfer members holding the intermediate transfer belt against the corresponding image carrying members to primarily transfer the toner image to the intermediate transfer belt (FIG. 1);
a plurality of power supply portions (11, 12) assigned one to each of the plurality of primary transfer members, the power supply portions feeding a transfer voltage to the corresponding primary transfer members (5);
wherein the power supply portions each have
a power supply line connected to a source of the transfer voltage (50), and
a resistor portion (11) arranged between the corresponding primary transfer member and the power supply line,
the resistor portion includes a plurality of resistive elements having equal or different resistance values (117, 11m, 11c, 11k), and
the primary transfer members (5) are each connected to the power supply line via one or more previously selected resistive elements out of the plurality of resistive elements in the corresponding power supply portion (FIG. 1).
Regarding claim 3, Shimizu teaches the intermediate transfer unit according to claim 1, wherein the resistive elements to be connected to the power supply line are selected such that, with respect to a conveyance direction of the toner image carried and conveyed by the intermediate transfer belt (¶0040-¶0042), the resistance value of a resistor portion connected to a downstream primary transfer members is equal to the resistance value of a resistor portion connected to an upstream primary transfer members (¶0040-¶0042).
Regarding claim 5, Shimizu teaches the intermediate transfer unit according to claim 1, wherein sums of the selected resistive elements in the resistor portions are higher than the resistance value of the primary transfer member (¶0039-¶0040).
Regarding claim 6, Shimizu teaches the intermediate transfer unit according to claim 1, wherein unselected resistive elements in the resistor portions are held unconnected to the power supply lines (FIG. 1).
Regarding claim 7, Shimizu teaches an image forming apparatus comprising:
the intermediate transfer unit according to claim 1,
the plurality of image carrying members (1), and
a secondary transfer member (61) in pressed contact with the outer circumferential surface of the intermediate transfer belt to form a transfer nip against the intermediate transfer belt (¶0028), the secondary transfer member secondarily transferring the toner image on the intermediate transfer belt to a sheet that passes through the transfer nip (¶0065-¶0066).
Regarding claim 8, Shimizu teaches a method of manufacturing the intermediate transfer unit according to claim 1, comprising:
a step of feeding a predetermined voltage to each of the plurality of primary transfer members to measure current values through the plurality of primary transfer members (0056), and
a step of selecting the resistive elements to be connected to the power supply line for each of the power supply portions such that the current values through the primary transfer members are each equal to a predetermined current value (¶0037-¶0042).
Regarding claim 9, Shimizu teaches the method according to claim 8, further comprising:
a step of storing in a storage portion information representing the current values through the plurality of respective primary transfer members and the predetermined voltage (¶0040).
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 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 of this title, 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 2 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shimizu et al. US 2018/0032023 A1 (Shimizu).
Regarding claim 2, Shimizu teaches the intermediate transfer unit according to claim 1. Shimizu differs from the instant claimed invention by not explicitly disclosing: a resistance value, of 100MΩ or more. Shimizu teaches a resistance value of 50 MΩ, ¶0040. A prima facie case of obviousness exists where the claimed ranges and prior art ranges do not overlap but are close enough that one skilled in the art would have expected them to have the same properties (Titanium Metals Corp. v. Banner,) . It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the resistance value of 50 MΩ to 100 MΩ or more since doing so would have yielded the expected outcome of a more balanced power signal allowing for a higher source voltage to be used going to the primary transfer member.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 4 is objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim 1, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JESSICA L ELEY whose telephone number is (571)272-9793. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday 8:30 AM - 5:00 PM CST.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Walter Jr. 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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/JESSICA L ELEY/
Examiner, Art Unit 2852