DETAILED ACTION
Claim Objections
Claims 22 and 23 are objected to because of the following informalities: “the encoder disk” lacks antecedent basis. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 22 and 23 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention. The claim recites “the encoder disk,” but to that point in the claims, no encoder disk has been claimed. Correction is required.
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) 1, 14, 15 and 17-23 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Naruse et al. (8,079,679) in view of Tanaka et al. (10,538,095).
Regarding claims 1, 14, 15 and 17-23, Naruse teaches an ink-jet printer, comprising:
a tray (fig. 3, item holding paper P) configured to support a sheet (fig. 3, item P);
a recording section (fig. 3, item 23/24) including a carriage (fig. 3, item 23) positioned above the tray in an up-down direction and configured to move in a first direction (fig. 1, into page) orthogonal to the up-down direction (fig. 1, right/left on page), and a head (fig. 1, item 24) carried on the carriage and including a nozzle ([0039]) configured to discharge an ink droplet;
a reservoir (fig. 3, item 26) with a first end in the first direction and a second end in the second direction configured to store an ink (see fig. 3);
a tube (fig. 7, item 61) connecting the reservoir and the recording section (compare figs. 3, 7);
a support member (fig. 5, item 21) configured to support the carriage so that the carriage is movable (see fig. 5);
a platen (fig. 3, item 35) located between the recording section and the tray in the up-down direction, and configured to support a first surface of the sheet that is conveyed, below the head, from the first side (fig. 3, side higher on page) toward a second side (fig. 1, side lower on page) in the front-rear direction;
a first guide member (fig. 3, item 7) arranged at the first side of the recording section in the second direction and including a first curved surface (fig. 3, note curved surface of item 7) configured to guide the first surface of the sheet conveyed from the tray toward the platen (see fig. 3);
a discharge section (fig. 13, unlabeled rollers discharging sheet P to area 9) configured to discharge the sheet having an image recorded by the recording section from the second side toward the first side in the second direction, the discharge section being arranged at the second side of the recording section in the second direction (see fig. 3);
a second guide member (fig. 3, item 8) arranged at the second side of the recording section in the second direction and having a second curved surface configured to guide the first surface of the sheet conveyed from the platen toward the discharge section (fig. 3, note curved surface of conveyance path);
a loading section (fig. 3, item 9) configured to load the sheet discharged from the discharge section thereon, at least a part of the loading section being positioned above the recording section (see fig. 1),
wherein the loading section includes an inclined portion at the second side of the recording section in the second direction (see fig. 3, note inclined portion of surface 9), the inclined portion being inclined upward toward the first side of the recording section in the second direction (see fig. 3), and
wherein the tube passes through a specified space positioned at the first side of the recording section in the second direction and is connected to the recording section (compare figs. 3, 5, 7);
wherein the reservoir includes a connection section connected to the tube (see fig. 3, note unlabeled connection section), a first end (fig. 3) in the first direction and a second end (fig. 3) in the second direction (see figs. 3, 5, 7, note that a connection section meeting the limitations is necessarily present or the device would not function),
wherein the reservoir and the tray are arranged side by side in he first direction and spaced apart from one another (see figs. 3-5)
a fixing section (fig. 7, item 52) configured to fix the tube, wherein the fixing section is located between the connection section of the reservoir and the carriage of the recording section in the second direction (see figs. 3, 5, 7, note that this is necessarily the case),
wherein the fixing section is positioned in the specified space (see fig. 7), and the tube and the fixing section overlap with the first guide member in the up-down direction (compare figs. 3, 7, note that this is the case),
the fixing section is located at the first side of a conveyance roller in the second direction, the conveyance roller being configured to convey the sheet guided by the first guide member to the second side in the second direction, toward the platen (figs. 5, 7, Note that fixing section 52 is located upstream of belt 30, which itself is upstream in the second direction from the conveyance roller 36),
wherein the fixing section is located between the connection section of the reservoir and the carriage of the recording section in the second direction (see fig. 7).
Naruse does not teach wherein at least a part of the reservoir is located at a first side of the recording section in a second direction orthogonal to the up-down direction and the first direction or a cover located at the first side in the second direction of the reservoir, the cover being movable between a first position at which the cover covers the reservoir and a second position at which the cover exposes the reservoir. Tanaka teaches this (Tanaka, see figs. 1, 4, Note reservoir 27 on the downstream side in the second direction. Note cover 6 provided so as to be openable and closable to expose reservoir 27). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention to position an ink reservoir as disclosed by Tanaka instead of in the manner disclosed by Naruse because doing so would amount to a simple rearrangement of parts, which under MPEP 2144.04, is not patentable. That section states that such a rearrangement is not patentable unless the rearrangement modifies an operation of the device. Here, in both Naruse and Tanaka, the reservoir serves the exact same purpose of containing liquid to be supplied to the recording portion by a tube, and no patentable modification of the operation of the device is affected. Further, as evidenced by the embodiments disclosed by Sakamoto, any number of modifications of the position of the reservoir relative to the other components in the printer would have been obvious variants.
Claim(s) 2-5, 13 and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Naruse in view of Tanaka et al. (10,0538,095) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Nishida (2006/0187288).
Regarding claim 2, Naruse in view of Tanaka and Nishida teaches the ink-jet printer according to claim 1, wherein the reservoir and the encoder disk are positioned at a side of an end in the first direction of the platen (Nishida, see fig. 8,). Regarding claim 3, Naruse in view of Tanaka and Nishida teaches the ink-jet printer according to claim 2, wherein the encoder disk is positioned between the platen and the reservoir in the first direction (Nishida, see fig. 8,, Note that the encoder disk is positioned between the platen and at least a portion of the reservoir in the width direction). Regarding claim 4, Naruse in view of Tanaka and Nishida teaches the ink-jet printer according to claim 2, wherein the connection section is positioned at a front side of the encoder disk (Nishida, see fig. 9, Note that such a connection section exists). Regarding claim 5, Naruse in view of Tanaka and Nishida teaches the ink-jet printer according to claim 4, wherein the connection section is provided in a surface facing inward in the first direction (Nishida, see figs. 8, 9). Regarding claim 13, Naruse in view of Tanaka and Nishida teaches the ink-jet printer according to claim 1, wherein the specified space is a space positioned at the second side in the second direction of an upper end of the first curved surface (Nishida, see figs. 1, 8).
Regarding claim 16, Naruse in view of Tanaka teaches the ink-jet printer according to claim 1. Naruse in view of Tanaka does not teach an encoder disk. Nishida teaches an encoder disk configured to measure rotation of a conveyance roller configured to convey the sheet (Nishida, [0085]) and located entirely outside f the platen in the first direction (Nishida, see fig. 8, note disk 137 outside of platen in front/rear direction). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention to add an encoder disk of the type disclosed by Nishida to the device disclosed by Naruse in view of Tanaka because doing so would allow for accurate measurement of conveyance distances.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 6/27/2025 have been fully considered but are moot in light of the new ground(s) of rejection.
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.
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/ALEJANDRO VALENCIA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2853