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.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 7/21/2025 was considered by the examiner.
Drawings
The drawings filed on 7/21/2025 are acceptable for examination by the examiner.
Title
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
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1-9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by TSUNODA MASAMI (JP2021-086116A; cited by applicant).
Regarding claim 1, an image forming apparatus (figure 1) comprising: a toner image former that forms a toner image on paper based on image information; a fixer 124 that includes at least a pair of rollers and fixes the toner image formed on the paper at a pressure contact portion formed by the pair of rollers; an adjuster 129 that adjusts a pressure contact force in the pressure contact portion according to a paper type; and one or more controllers that control execution of a job related to image formation via the fixer, wherein the one or more controllers provide, to a user, a notification prompting the user to confirm the paper type of the paper being fed in a case where the paper type set for the execution of the job differs from the paper type of the fed paper (abstract; figures 1a, 1b; Description of Embodiments: 5th-9th paragraphs; figure 6, flowchart and description).
Regarding claim 2, the one or more controllers provide the notification to the user in a case where a paper jam of the paper occurs again during execution of the job resumed after the paper jam of the paper is cleared (this is standard paper jam activity).
Regarding claim 3, the adjuster includes an adjustment member (figure 1b) that adjusts the pressure contact force to either a first pressure contact force or a second pressure contact force weaker than the first pressure contact force, and the one or more controllers provide, to the user, a notification prompting the user to confirm whether an adjustment position of the adjustment member is located at the first pressure contact force or the second pressure contact force depending on the paper type of the paper fed to a paper feed tray (figure 1a, Description of Embodiments: 5th-9th paragraphs).
Regarding claim 4, in a case where the paper is paper of the paper type having a paper thickness greater than that of plain paper, the one or more controllers provide, to the user, a notification prompting the user to confirm whether the adjustment position of the adjustment member is located at the adjustment position related to the second pressure contact force (Description of Embodiments: 5th-9th paragraphs).
Regarding claim 5, the paper is an envelope (Description of Embodiments: 5th-9th paragraphs).
Regard claim 6, an image forming apparatus (figure 1a) comprising: a toner image former that forms a toner image on paper based on image information; a fixer that includes at least a pair of rollers and fixes the toner image formed on the paper at a pressure contact portion formed by the pair of rollers; an adjuster (figure 1b) that adjusts a pressure contact force in the pressure contact portion according to a paper type; and one or more controllers that control execution of a job related to image formation via the fixer, wherein, when a notification prompting adjustment of the pressure contact force by the adjuster is provided to a user, the one or more controllers restrict display of a selection button for receiving a selection instruction for instructing to delete the notification until a predetermined condition is satisfied (figure 1b; Description of Embodiments: 5th-9th paragraphs).
Regarding claim 7, the one or more controllers set an elapsed time from start of the notification as the predetermined condition, and display the selection button after the predetermined elapsed time has elapsed (time may be until user responds).
Regarding claim 8, a detector that detects an opening and closing operation of a cover member that covers the adjuster, wherein the one or more controllers set a detection result by the detector as the predetermined condition, and display the selection button in a case where the cover member is closed (not discussed but is critically included safety structure so as only operate the apparatus when the cover is detected as closed).
Regarding claim 9, an image forming method comprising: forming a toner image on paper based on image information; fixing the toner image formed on the paper at a pressure contact portion formed by a pair of rollers; adjusting a pressure contact force in the pressure contact portion according to a paper type; and providing, to a user, a notification prompting the user to confirm the paper type of the paper being fed in a case where the paper type set for execution of a job differs from the paper type of the fed paper (figures 1a, 1b, 6; Description of Embodiments: 5th-9th paragraphs and discussion of figure 6).
Prior Art
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. KIMATA et al. (UA 2023/0156127 A1) teaches a notifying unit for a printer.
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to QUANA GRAINGER whose telephone number is (571)272-2135. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday - Friday, 9-5.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Walter 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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/QUANA GRAINGER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2852
QG
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