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 .
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)(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 and 2 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Fujioka (US 2008/0181638).
Fujioka (…638) discloses an image forming apparatus (figure 1) comprising: an image bearing member (3); a development device (1) ([0037]; and figures 1 and 3) configured to include a developer accommodation portion (101) configured to accommodate a developer ([0058]; and figure 3) including a toner and a carrier ([0041]; and [0058]), and a developer bearing member (102) configured to carry and convey the developer, and develop an electrostatic image formed on the image bearing member using the toner ([0058]; and figure 3); a detection portion (109) configured to detect a toner density of the developer accommodated in the developer accommodation portion ([0060]; and figure 3); a developer replenishment container (12) configured to be detachably attached to the image forming apparatus, accommodate the developer (figure 3) including the toner having a fine particle attached to a surface of the toner ([0043]), and replenish the developer to the developer accommodation portion ([0061]; and figure 3); a storage portion (30) configured to be provided in the developer replenishment container, and store information specific to the toner accommodated in the developer replenishment container ([0055]; [0062]; [0096]; and figure 3); and a control portion (41) configured to set a target toner density of the developer based on the information stored in the storage portion ([0056]; and [0103]) and then control the toner density of the developer accommodated in the developer accommodation portion based on a result detected by the detection portion so that the toner density of the developer accommodated in the developer accommodation portion is the target toner density of the developer ([0093]; and [0101]-[0102]) [see Applicant’s claim 1]. The storage portion is configured to store, as the information, information related to an adhesion state of the fine particle to the toner ([0079]) [see Applicant’s claim 2].
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-7 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.
Inquiry
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SANDRA BRASE whose telephone number is (571)272-2131. The examiner can normally be reached M-F.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Walter Lindsay can be reached at 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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/SANDRA BRASE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2852 July 10, 2026
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