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 .
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.
Specification
The Title has been updated according to the amended Specification dated 09/04/2026. The objection to the Title has been withdrawn.
Claim Interpretation
The claims have been amended to avoid a rebuttal presumption that the claim elements are to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 1, 3, and 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being obvious over US 2024/0152074 to Nitta et al. in view of US 2010/0226663 to Takashima.
The applied reference has a common Assignee with the instant application. Based upon the earlier effectively filed date of the reference, it constitutes prior art under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2).
This rejection under 35 U.S.C. 103 might be overcome by: (1) a showing under 37 CFR 1.130(a) that the subject matter disclosed in the reference was obtained directly or indirectly from the inventor or a joint inventor of this application and is thus not prior art in accordance with 35 U.S.C.102(b)(2)(A); (2) a showing under 37 CFR 1.130(b) of a prior public disclosure under 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(B); or (3) a statement pursuant to 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) establishing that, not later than the effective filing date of the claimed invention, the subject matter disclosed and the claimed invention were either owned by the same person or subject to an obligation of assignment to the same person or subject to a joint research agreement. See generally MPEP § 717.02.
Regarding claim 1, Nitta teaches an image forming apparatus 1 to which a cartridge 70 that stores developer is removably attachable, the image forming apparatus comprising:
a photosensitive member 2 on which an electrostatic latent image is formed;
a rotary 90 including a developing frame 50 that stores the developer supplied from the cartridge, a developing roller 51 that forms a developer image by developing the electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive member using the developer stored in the developing frame, and a rotary frame 90f that supports the developing frame;
a moving device 80+15 that moves the cartridge between an attachment position at which the cartridge is inside the rotary and a displaced position at which the cartridge is outside the rotary, the moving device including a motor M2 configured to generate a driving force for moving the cartridge [0045];
a controller that controls the moving device [0096-0097];
an output tray configured to support a recording material on which an image has been formed and which has been discharged from inside of a main body of the image forming apparatus to outside of the main body (see sheet conveyance path in Fig.1, [0064]); and
wherein a movement direction of the cartridge from the attachment position to the displaced position intersects both a direction of a rotational axis of the rotary and a vertical direction of the image forming apparatus (Fig.12A & 12B).
Nitta appears silent about a reading unit, as claimed.
Takashima discloses an image forming apparatus to which a cartridge 40 that stores developer is removably attachable, a photosensitive member 10, a rotary 31 including a developing frame 32 that stores the developer supplied from the cartridge, an output tray 28, and a reading unit 2 that reads an image formed on a recording material using light, wherein the reading unit is positioned above the output tray.
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include “a reading unit” above the output tray, as disclosed by Takashima, in the image forming apparatus of Nitta, for at least the purpose of enabling copy functionality in the apparatus. The resulting apparatus, further renders obvious the feature
wherein the reading unit is positioned such that the reading unit does not overlap a trajectory of the cartridge along which the cartridge moves from the attachment position to the displaced position
The modification above further renders obvious:
(claim 3) The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the moving device includes a tray 8 that holds the cartridge, wherein the tray is movable between an accommodation position (Nitta: Fig.11A) at which the cartridge is at the attachment position and a removal position (Nitta: Fig.11B) at which the cartridge is at the displaced position, and
wherein the reading unit is positioned such that the reading unit does not overlap a trajectory of the tray along which the tray moves from the accommodation position to the removal position (upon modification, the reading unit would be at the top of the image forming apparatus), and wherein a movement direction (Dk) of the tray from the accommodation position to the removal position intersects both the direction (Y) of the rotational axis of the rotary and the a vertical direction (Z) of the image forming apparatus (Nitta: Fig.11B).
(claim 8) The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an outlet through which the recording material is discharged from the inside of the main body to the outside of the main body is formed in the main body (implicitly disclosed), and wherein, in a discharge direction (Nitta: +X, Fig.1) in which the recording material is discharged through the outlet, the cartridge at the displaced position is positioned downstream of the cartridge at the attachment position (see Figs.11A-12B).
Claims 4-6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being obvious over US 2024/0152074 to Nitta et al. in view of US 2010/0226663 to Takashima, as applied to claim 3 above, and further in view of US 2012/0099160 to Ohgi et al.
Regarding claims 4-6, Nitta not Takashima explicitly disclose a rotational axis of the
reading unit. Ohgi discloses an image forming apparatus comprising a document reading device
(16) to read a document and rotatable about a rotational axis (112, Fig.2). The document
reading device includes a document conveyance device (104), a transport direction of a
document in the document conveyance device is in the same direction of the rotational axis of a
photoreceptor drum (52) and a developing device (58) of an image forming part (40) of the
image forming apparatus (Figs.1-4). It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in
the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of
Nitta, Takashima, and Ohgi to arrive at an image forming apparatus according to claim 3
(claim 4) wherein a rotational axis of the reading unit extends in the direction of the rotational axis of the rotary;
(claim 5) wherein a position of the tray and a position of the reading unit at least
partially overlap in the direction of the rotational axis of the rotary; and
(claim 6) wherein the reading unit includes a document transport roller that
transports a recording material, and wherein the document transport roller transports the recording material in the direction of the rotational axis of the rotary
for a at least the purpose of facilitating user access to the different part of the apparatus.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see pages 8-10, filed 09/04/2026, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 1 and 3-6 under 35 USC § 103 have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of a different prior art combination.
Applicant’s arguments, see pages 10-11, filed 09/04/2026, with respect to Double Patenting rejections have been fully considered and are persuasive. The rejection of claims 1-4 and 7 in view of Application No. 19/191,623 has been withdrawn.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. US 5549473 and DE 112009001827 are relevant to the teachings of attaching a toner cartridge to a rotary in a direction that intersects both a direction of a rotational axis of the rotary and a vertical direction of the image forming apparatus.
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 ARLENE HEREDIA whose telephone number is (571)272-8393. The examiner can normally be reached M-F: 9:30-5:30.
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/Arlene Heredia Ocasio/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2852
