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 Abstract and Title of the application have been updated according to the amended Specification dated ***. The objection to the Title has been withdrawn.
“JUMBO CASE” - The lengthy specification has not been checked to the extent necessary to determine the presence of all possible minor errors. Applicant’s cooperation is requested in correcting any errors of which applicant may become aware in the specification.
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 Objections
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(d):
(d) REFERENCE IN DEPENDENT FORMS.—Subject to subsection (e), a claim in dependent form shall contain a reference to a claim previously set forth and then specify a further limitation of the subject matter claimed. A claim in dependent form shall be construed to incorporate by reference all the limitations of the claim to which it refers.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, fourth paragraph:
Subject to the following paragraph [i.e., the fifth paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112], a claim in dependent form shall contain a reference to a claim previously set forth and then specify a further limitation of the subject matter claimed. A claim in dependent form shall be construed to incorporate by reference all the limitations of the claim to which it refers.
A series of singular dependent claims is permissible in which a dependent claim refers to a preceding claim which, in turn, refers to another preceding claim.
A claim which depends from a dependent claim should not be separated by any claim which does not also depend from said dependent claim. It should be kept in mind that a dependent claim may refer to any preceding independent claim. In general, applicant's sequence will not be changed. See MPEP § 608.01(n).
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.
Claim(s) 1-14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over JP 2002-221846 to Shiraki et al. in view of JP 2016-057400 to Yoshimura.
Regarding claim 1, Shiraki teaches an image forming apparatus (Fig.7) comprising:
a photosensitive drum (2);
a rotary (4) rotatable about a rotation axis extending in an axial direction;
a toner cartridge (41c, Fig.8) which is supported by the rotary and includes a discharge opening from which toner is discharged; and
a developing unit (41d, Fig.8) which is supported by the rotary and configured to develop an electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive drum at a development position, wherein the developing unit has a receiving opening configured to receive the toner discharged from the discharge opening, an accommodating chamber configured to accommodate the toner received from the receiving opening, a developing roller (44) configured to carry the toner, a supply roller (43) configured to rotate about a roller axis extending along the axial direction to supply the toner accommodated in the accommodating chamber to the developing roller.
Shiraki appears silent about the developing unit including a guide portion, as claimed.
Yoshimura discloses an image forming apparatus (Fig.1) comprising a photosensitive drum (3); a toner cartridge (38) including a discharge opening from which toner is discharged; and a developing unit (42) configured to develop an electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive drum at a development position, wherein the developing unit has a receiving opening configured to receive the toner discharged from the discharge opening, an accommodating chamber configured to accommodate the toner received from the receiving opening, a developing roller (13) configured to carry the toner, a supply roller (44) configured to rotate about a roller axis extending along the axial direction to supply the toner accommodated in the accommodating chamber to the developing roller, and a guide portion (112,112-1,112-2) including a toner guide surface extending in a direction intersecting the axial direction, and the guide portion is configured to contact and guide the toner, which moves in the direction intersecting the axial direction in accordance with the rotation of the supply roller, away from the receiving opening in the axial direction.
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the developing unit of Shiraki to further comprise a guide portion, and the guide portion is configured to guide the toner, which moves in a direction intersecting the axial direction in accordance with the rotation of the supply roller, away from the receiving opening in the axial direction, as suggested by Yoshimura’s invention, for at least the purpose of ensuring even distribution of toner utilizing the rotation of the supply roller.
The modified image forming apparatus further renders obvious:
(claim 2) The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the guide portion is a rib which protrudes, in an area between an inner surface of the accommodating chamber of the developing unit and the supply roller, from the inner surface toward the supply roller and extends in the direction intersecting the axial direction (Yoshimura: Figs. 7 & 8).
(claim 3) The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the rib has a first rib end which is an end on an upstream side in a rotation direction of the supply roller and a second rib end which is an end on a downstream side, and the toner moves from the second rib end toward the first rib end in accordance with the rotation of the supply roller (Yoshimura: Figs. 7 & 8).
(claim 4) The image forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein, in a cross-section orthogonal to the axial direction, the shortest distance between an outer circumference of the supply roller and the first rib end is longer than the shortest distance between the outer circumference of the supply roller and the second rib end (Yoshimura:[0071]).
(claim 5) The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the guide portion to include a plurality of the ribs aligned along the axial direction, as a mere duplication of parts having a similar expected result of guiding the developer towards the supply position Y0shimura: Figs. 7 & 8).
(claim 6) The image forming apparatus according to claim 5, wherein, in a case where one side of the developing unit with respect to a central portion in the axial direction is defined as a first portion and the other portion is defined as a second portion, a first receiving opening is provided in the first portion, and a second receiving opening is provided in the second portion, and the guide portion includes a first rib that is disposed in the first portion and a second rib that is disposed in the second portion (Yoshimura: [0065])
(claim 7) The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the inner surface includes a supply roller opposing portion having a shape extending along an outer circumference surface of the supply roller in a cross-section orthogonal to the axial direction, and the guide portion is disposed in the supply roller opposing portion (Yoshimura: Fig.3).
(claim 8) The image forming apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the guide portion is disposed from a surface on which the receiving opening is provided to the supply roller opposing portion in the developing unit (Shiraki: Fig.8 in view of Yoshimura: Fig.5).
(claim 9) The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the supply roller has a foam body configured to absorb the toner housed in the accommodating chamber on an outer circumference, the supply roller is configured to rotate while being brought into contact with the developing roller such that a nip portion is formed between the developing roller and the supply roller, and the toner absorbed by the foam body on a downstream side of the nip portion in the rotation direction of the supply roller is discharged from the foam body on an upstream side of the nip portion to move the toner in the direction intersecting the axial direction (Yoshimura: [0002, 0014]).
(claim 10) Shiraki in view of Yoshimura teaches an image forming apparatus according to claim 3. Although the combination does not explicitly teach wherein, in a state in which the developing unit is at the development position, the second rib end is located below the first rib end, the relative positioning of the parts is deemed an obvious matter of design choice would not have modified the operation of the device (MPEP 2144.04).
(claim 11) The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the guide portion has a portion located below the roller axis of the supply roller in a state in which the developing unit is at the development position, and a portion located above the roller axis in the state in which the developing unit is at the development position (Shiraki:Fig.7 in view of Yoshimura:Fig.3; the guide portion extends along greater than a quarter circumference of the supply roller).
(claim 12) The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the developing unit has a developing blade (Shiraki:33) regulating a thickness of toner supplied to the developing roller, and, in a state in which the developing unit is at the development position, the developing blade is located below the developing roller (Shiraki: Fig.8).
(claim 13) The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein, when the developing unit is at an attachment and detachment position that is a position different from the development position, the toner cartridge is attachable to and detachable from the developing unit (Shiraki: Figs. 7 & 8, [0037-0039]).
(claim 14) The image forming apparatus according to claim 13, wherein a positional relation between the supply roller and the rib is different, in at least one of a vertical direction and a horizontal direction, between a case in which the developing unit is at the development position and a case in which the developing unit is at the attachment and detachment position (due to rotation of the rotary).
Claim(s) 15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over JP 2002-221846 to Shiraki et al. in view of JP 2016-057400 to Yoshimura, as applied to claim 2 above, and further in view of KR 2008-0072366 to Hwang.
Regarding claim 15, Shiraki in view of Yoshimura teach an image forming apparatus according to claim 2, but appear silent about a time in which the supply roller is rotating during execution of the image forming operation. Hwang discloses the rotational speed of the supply roller as a result effective variable impacting how smoothly developer is supplied to the developing roller and, hence, to the photosensitive member; if the developer is not smoothly supplied to the photosensitive member, image quality is deteriorated. Thus, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to discover the optimum or workable range of a time in which the supply roller is rotating during execution of the image forming operation, as a recognized result-effective variable, by routine experimentation (MPEP 2144.05). As a result, its relative value compared to a time acquired by dividing 360 degrees by an angular velocity of the rotary could also be optimized.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to Double Patenting and 35 USC § 112(b) rejections have been fully considered and are persuasive. These rejections have been withdrawn.
Applicant’s arguments, see pages 8-10, filed 09/08/2026, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 1-15 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 new prior art combination.
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 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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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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/Arlene Heredia Ocasio/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2852
