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 .
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the “wherein an inner diameter of the first end coil is smaller than an outer diameter of the boss” (see claim 10) must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
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 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.
Claim(s) 1-4, 8-9, 11, and 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Nakamura et al. (US 2002/0118978; “Nakamura”).
Regarding claim 1, Nakamura discloses a heating device (Fig. 1 [0056]) comprising:
a heater 8 (Fig. 1 [0057]);
a temperature sensor 1 to detect a temperature of the heater 8 (Fig. 1 [0057]);
a compression coil spring 6 (Fig. 1 [0058, 0080]) having:
a first end coil at one end of the compression coil spring (see annotated partial Fig. 1 below);
a second end coil at another end of the compression coil spring (see partial Fig. 1 below); and
an active coil between the first end coil and the second end coil (see partial Fig. 1 below), and directly attached to the first end coil (at some point, presumably on the rear side of Fig. 1, the active coil directly attaches to the first end coil);
a receiver (part of element 7; [0058]) receiving the second end coil (see partial Fig. 1 below); and
a sensor holder 4 including:
a holding portion 5 to hold the temperature sensor 1 at one side (bottom side) of the sensor holder 4 (Fig. 1 [0057]); and
a boss, into which the first end coil is inserted in an insertion direction (upward in Fig. 1), to support the first end coil at another side (upper side) of the sensor holder 4 (see partial Fig. 1 below),
the boss having a fixing portion (lower portion of the boss directly in contact with sensor holder 4) contacting an inner face of the first end coil, and the active coil spaced apart from the fixing portion in the insertion direction (see Fig. 1), and
a space between coils of the first end coil (see the spacing of the lowermost two coils of the first end coil on the right side of Fig. 1) and a space between coils of the second end coil (see the spacing of the uppermost two coils of the second end coil on the left side of Fig. 1) being less than a space between coils of the active coil (see Fig. 1).
Regarding claim 2, Nakamura discloses the heating device according to claim 1, wherein the boss has a guide (upper tapered portion of boss) on the fixing portion, and the active coil has a portion facing the guide of the boss (see annotated partial Fig. 1 above).
Regarding claim 3, Nakamura discloses the heating device according to claim 2, wherein the guide has a taper tapering toward a tip of the guide (see Fig. 1).
Regarding claim 4, Nakamura discloses the heating device according to claim 3, wherein the active coil has a portion facing the taper of the guide (see Fig. 1).
Regarding claim 8, Nakamura discloses a fixing device 212 comprising the heating device according to claim 1 (Fig. 5 [0004, 0056]).
Regarding claim 9, Nakamura discloses an image forming apparatus comprising the fixing device according to claim 8 (Fig. 5 [0004, 0056]).
Regarding claim 11, Nakamura discloses the heating device according to claim 1, wherein the fixing portion (lower portion of the boss directly in contact with sensor holder 4) has a cylindrical shape and is pressed and fitted to an inside of the first end coil (at least during manufacturing, the fixing portion would have to be pressed and fitted to the inside of the first end coil in order to be inserted into the first end coil; see Fig. 1).
Regarding claim 13, Nakamura discloses the heating device according to claim 1, the first end coil has an axial length (i.e., a length in the vertical direction of Fig. 1) that is greater than an axial length of the second end coil (see partial Fig. 1 above).
Claim(s) 1 and 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Nakamura (US 2002/0118978).
Regarding claim 1, Nakamura discloses a heating device (Fig. 10B [0091]) comprising:
a heater 8 (Fig. 10B [0092]);
a temperature sensor 1 to detect a temperature of the heater 8 (Fig. 10B [0092]);
a compression coil spring 5 (Fig. 10B [0092]) having:
a first end coil at one end of the compression coil spring (see partial Fig. 10B below);
a second end coil at another end of the compression coil spring (see partial Fig. 10B below); and
an active coil between the first end coil and the second end coil (see partial Fig. 10B below), and directly attached to the first end coil (at some point, presumably on the rear side of Fig. 10B, the active coil directly attaches to the first end coil);
a receiver receiving the second end coil (although not shown in Fig. 10B, a receiver receiving the second end coil must be present in order for the compression springs to be able to apply biasing force as required for the apparatus to function as intended); and
a sensor holder 13 (Fig. 10B [0092]) including:
a holding portion 13a to hold the temperature sensor 1 at one side (bottom side) of the sensor holder 13 (Fig. 10B [0092]); and
a boss 9b, into which the first end coil is inserted in an insertion direction (upward in Fig. 10B), to support the first end coil at another side (upper side) of the sensor holder 13 (see Fig. 10B),
the boss having a fixing portion contacting an inner face of the first end coil (as 13e is described as a “positioning hole,” contact between an inner face of the first end coil and fixing portion is able to occur at least during the manufacturing process), and the active coil spaced apart from the fixing portion in the insertion direction (see partial Fig. 10B below), and
a space between coils of the first end coil (see the spacing of the lowermost two coils of the first end coil on the left side of Fig. 10B) and a space between coils of the second end coil (see the spacing of the uppermost two coils of the second end coil on the left side of Fig. 10B) being less than a space between coils of the active coil (see partial Fig. 10B).
[AltContent: textbox (Fixing portion)]
Regarding claim 5, Nakamura discloses the heating device according to claim 1, wherein the boss 9b has a reduced diameter portion between the fixing portion and the holding portion 13a (boss 9b has a reduced diameter compared to the diameter of spring receiving surface 13c; Figs. 10A-10B [0092]), one end of the first end coil faces the reduced diameter portion (see Fig. 10B), and the reduced diameter portion has a diameter smaller than an inner diameter of the first end coil and is separated from the first end coil in a radial direction of the first end coil (see Fig. 10B).
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) 10 and 12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nakamura (US 2002/0118978) in view of Noda et al. (US 2002/0018666; “Noda”).
Regarding claim 10, Nakamura discloses the heating device according to claim 1, but fails to disclose wherein an inner diameter of the first end coil is smaller than an outer diameter of the boss.
Noda teaches placing a spring 22a on a boss 12k, wherein an inner diameter of the first end coil is smaller than an outer diameter of the boss (Fig. 31 [0237]; the end of spring 22a is press-fitted to boss 12k, which requires an inner diameter of the first end coil to be smaller than an outer diameter of the boss 12k).
Based on the teachings of Noda, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to configure the inner diameter of the first end coil to be smaller than an outer diameter of the boss. One would have been motivated to do so in order to press-fit the spring and the boss to ensure that the elements do not separate.
Regarding claim 12, Nakamura discloses the heating device according to claim 2, further comprising a tapered portion (see “guide” in partial Fig. 1 above), but fails to disclose the boss further comprises a cylindrical guide protruding from a tip of the tapered portion.
Noda teaches placing a spring 22a on a boss 12k, the boss comprising a cylindrical guide 12n protruding from the boss 12k (Fig. 31 [0237]).
Based on the teachings of Noda, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to include a cylindrical guide protruding from the tip of the tapered portion of Nakamura. This structure would essentially be a mere extension of the tip of the tapered portion. It has been held to be within the general skill of a worker in the art to combine prior art elements according to known methods to yield predictable results. In this instance, the predictable results would be effectively guiding the spring to the boss when manufacturing.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 6-7 stand as 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, for reasons set forth in the previous Office action.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 7/28/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant argues that the amendments render the rejections moot. The Office respectfully disagrees as outlined in the rejections above.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). 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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CARLA J THERRIEN whose telephone number is (571)272-2677. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8 am - 4 pm EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Stephanie Bloss can be reached at (571)272-3555. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/CARLA J THERRIEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2852
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