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 .
Status of the Claims
Claims 1 and 5 are amended. Claims 3-4, 6-13, 15, and 17 are as previously presented. Claims 2, 14, and 16 are cancelled. Therefore, claims 1, 3-13, 15, and 17 are currently pending and have been considered below.
Response to Amendment
The amendment filed on February 25, 2026 has been entered.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see Pages 5-7, filed 02/25/2026, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 1, 3-15, and 17 under U.S.C. 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 Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn.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 applicant’s amendment regarding the heaters being located on the other surfaces of the two metal plates and newly found prior art regarding this feature.
Claim Objections
Claim 5 is objected to because of the following informalities: Claim 5 states, “plurality pipe of straight portions”, but the language should be, “plurality of pipe straight portions”.
Appropriate 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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 1, 3-6, 12-13, and 17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wu (CN 201513871 U) in view of Zaba et al. (GB 2542749 A, hereinafter Zaba) and Kwon et al. (KR 20140073244 A, hereinafter Kwon).
Regarding claim 1, Wu discloses a heater unit (Abstract, “an improved heater structure”) comprising:
two metal plates (Para. 0029, “metal plate 20”, where Fig. 3 shows that multiple metal plates 20 are present);
a pipe which is disposed between the two metal plates, comes into contact with one surface of each of the two metal plates, and through which a fluid to be heated is passed (Para. 0024, “the continuous bending of the metal pipe 22. The metal pipe 22 is disposed in the second passage.”, where Fig. 2 shows that the metal pipe 22 is sandwiched and in contact with two metal plates 20); and
linear heaters coming into contact with one other surface of the metal plate (Para. 0024, “plurality of heating element 21, the heating element 21 is disposed in the first passage”),
wherein the pipe has a plurality of pipe straight portions (Modified Fig. 3, where the pipe straight sections are shown, where the curved pipe portions are located at the ends of the straight sections, where the straight sections are parallel to each other and the curved sections are in series connected to the straight sections),
each of the heaters has a plurality of heater straight portions having a same number of the pipe straight portions of the pipe (Modified Fig. 3, where the heater straight sections are shown, where there are a plurality of heaters, where for one metal plate 20 there are five pipe straight portions which correspond to the five straight heater portions), and
first contact areas where the plurality of pipe straight portions come into contact with the metal plate (Modified Fig. 3, where the pipe contacts the metal plate’s top surface) and second contact areas where the plurality of heater straight portions come into contact with the metal plate (Modified Fig. 3, where the heater contacts the metal plates bottom surface) are separated from each other in a direction along the surface of the metal plate (Modified Fig. 3, where the metal plate separates the pipe and heater from each other).
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Modified Fig. 3, Wu
Wu does not disclose:
a heater unit for heating ink in an ink supply device for supplying the ink from an ink container storing the ink to an inkjet recording apparatus; where the fluid is ink;
two linear heaters coming into contact with the other surfaces of the two metal plates.
However, Zaba discloses, in the similar field of a heater unit for heating fluids (Abstract, “heater assembly”, and Page 22, lines 4-5, “a heater and cooler apparatus for heating and cooling of fluids.”), where the heater is for heating ink in an ink supply device (Abstract, “A heater assembly suitable for heating ink of an ink jet printing system”), where the ink goes from an ink container (Page 25, lines 23-26, “ink flows through the heat exchanger, through the proportional valve and back to the ink supply tank. When the desired temperature has been reached, the proportional valve is adjusted to start regulating the ink flow to the printhead.”) to an inject recording device (Page 22, lines 26-30, “ink jet printing system…necessary that the ink supplied to one or to multiple printheads, which each incorporates one or more arrays of several nozzles, is maintained stable and within the desired preset pressure and temperature range under all specified operating conditions.”). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to have modified the heat exchanger in Wu to be used within the inkjet system as taught by Zaba, where Zaba includes a similar linear heater on the other side of a metal plate to heat up a fluid, where that linear heater is shown in Fig. 4 as being the high-density packed PTC elements 6.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to gain the advantage of being able to expand the use case of the heater system in Wu to be within inkjet printing systems, where both Zaba and Wu have heaters that are capable of heating fluids, where more use cases can allow a user to have increased marketability for their heater system, as stated by Zaba, Page 22, lines 4-7, “a heater and cooler apparatus for heating and cooling of fluids. More particularly, the invention relates to heating and cooling of ink in an ink jet printer positive or recirculating system to maintain the ink at the printhead(s) at optimum operating temperature.”.
Further, it is the Examiner’s position that the inkjet heating system in Zaba could also benefit from the heating structure from Wu, as Wu states that their heater structure allows for shortened heating times which can allow the inkjet to be ready faster, as stated by Wu, Para. 0006, “This utility model improved heater structure, which third mainly aims to shorten the heating time, and can effectively control the heating of the temperature.”.
Kwon discloses, in the similar field of heating devices for fluids (Abstract, “instant hot water heating apparatus), where a similar pipe is located between two metal plates (Page 4, Para. 1, “Second plate 120 includes a first plate 110 of the inlet 112 and outlet 114 are in communication with the space 122 is formed in the inner inlet 112 to the water flowing through the (140 ) and by the heated water to flow to be discharged through the discharge port 114. In this case, the space 122 is a flow path in a zigzag direction, is formed through in the thickness direction of the second plate (120).”, where the space 122 that includes the zigzag pattern is construed to be similar to the pipe portion, where it is located between two metal plates, Page 4, Para. 3, “In this manner, the space will be formed in the through-thickness direction of the second plate 120, 122 is sealed by the first plate 110 and the third plate 130 in close contact with each other.”),
where two linear heaters are come into contact with the other surfaces of the two metal plates (Page 4, Para. 7 from end, “140 is a planar , and the outer surface of the first plate (110) is provided at the outer surface of the third plate 130 includes and provides a heat source so as to heat the water flowing into the space 122 of the second plate 120, the electrode 142 and 144.”,
where Fig. 3 shows that a linear heater 144 is located on the outer surface of metal plate 130, then a pipe section 122 is located between metal plates 130 and 110, and then on the outer surface of metal plate 110 is another linear heater 144;
where the plates are metal, Page 6, Para. 4 from end, “The first plate 210 has an inlet that communicates with the inlet pipe 212 and the discharge pipe The outlet 214 is in communication with each of the through-formed in a thickness direction, is provided with a material such as plastic or metal.”, and Page 7, Para. 2, “third plate 230 is illustrated as the drawing was 232 suspension (SUS) in the form of a sheet formed on one side, this invention is not limited thereto, ceramics, it is possible to change the embodiments as aluminum and high temperature glass.”). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to have modified the pipe-heater-pipe configuration in modified Wu to include a heater-pipe-heater configuration as taught by Kwon.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to gain the advantage of being able to heat the pipe from both sides, where heating from both sides would allow for more uniform heating to occur, as stated by Kwon, Page 3, Para. 5 from end, “third plate 230 is illustrated as the drawing was 232 suspension (SUS) in the form of a sheet formed on one side, this invention is not limited thereto, ceramics, it is possible to change the embodiments as aluminum and high temperature glass.”.
Regarding claim 3, modified Wu teaches the apparatus according to claim 1, as set forth above, discloses wherein the first contact areas and the second contact areas are separated from each other in a direction perpendicular to the plurality of pipe straight portions (Wu, modified Fig. 3, where the straight sections of the heater and pipe are parallel along the horizontal direction, where they are separated in a vertical direction which is perpendicular to the horizontal direction due to the metal plate 20).
Regarding claim 4, modified Wu teaches the apparatus according to claim 1, as set forth above.
Modified Wu does not disclose:
explicitly state that a distance between the first contact areas and the second contact areas disposed adjacently to each other is less than 1/3 of a distance between the first contact areas disposed adjacently to each other.
However, Wu discloses in modified Fig. 3, where there is a distance between parallel straight sections and the metal plate includes a thickness. Regarding the specific dimensional parameters, it has been held that mere changes in size/proportion are obvious modifications to make. In Gardner v. TEC Syst., Inc., 725 F.2d 1338, 220 USPQ 777 (Fed. Cir. 1984), cert. denied, 469 U.S. 830, 225 USPQ 232 (1984). It is the Examiner’s position that altering the dimensions of the heater system in Wu to meet the specific limitations of the applicant’s claim 4 would not change the end function of the heater system being able to heat liquid within the pipes. Therefore, the change in dimensions would be a mere matter of user design choice.
Regarding claim 5, modified Wu teaches the apparatus according to claim 1, as set forth above, discloses wherein the plurality pipe of straight portions are disposed at equal intervals (Wu, Fig. 2, where the pipe straight sections are parallel and disposed at equal intervals, shown with where the pipe sections 22 exit out of the metal plate 20, where the exits are spaced equally).
Regarding claim 6, modified Wu teaches the apparatus according to claim 1, as set forth above, discloses wherein a distance between the first contact areas and the second contact areas disposed adjacently to each other is different for each of the first contact areas (Wu, modified Fig. 3, where taking into account one heater as the second contact area, each of equally spaced first contact areas of the plurality of parallel straight pipe sections would have a different distance with respect to that one heater, as the plurality of straight pipe sections increase in distance away from one singular heater).
Regarding claim 12, modified Wu teaches the apparatus according to claim 1, as set forth above, discloses the heater unit (Wu, Abstract, “an improved heater structure”).
Wu does not disclose:
wherein the metal plate has a thickness of 2 to 20 % of a diameter of a circle having the same sectional area as the pipe;
However, Wu discloses, where there is a metal plate with a thickness and a pipe with a circular cross section (Modified Fig. 3, where the pipe is 22 and the metal plate is 20). Regarding the specific relationship between the dimensions, it has been held that mere changes in size/proportion are obvious modifications to make. In Gardner v. TEC Syst., Inc., 725 F.2d 1338, 220 USPQ 777 (Fed. Cir. 1984), cert. denied, 469 U.S. 830, 225 USPQ 232 (1984). It is the Examiner’s position that altering the dimensions of the heater system in Wu to meet the specific limitations of the applicant’s claim 12 would not change the end function of the heater system being able to heat liquid within the pipes. Therefore, the change in dimensions would be a mere matter of user design choice.
Zaba discloses, in the similar field of a heater unit for heating fluids (Abstract, “heater assembly”, and Page 22, lines 4-5, “a heater and cooler apparatus for heating and cooling of fluids.”), where the heater is for heating ink in an ink supply device (Abstract, “A heater assembly suitable for heating ink of an ink jet printing system”), where the ink goes from an ink container (Page 25, lines 23-26, “ink flows through the heat exchanger, through the proportional valve and back to the ink supply tank. When the desired temperature has been reached, the proportional valve is adjusted to start regulating the ink flow to the printhead.”) to an inject recording device (Page 22, lines 26-30, “ink jet printing system…necessary that the ink supplied to one or to multiple printheads, which each incorporates one or more arrays of several nozzles, is maintained stable and within the desired preset pressure and temperature range under all specified operating conditions.”). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to have modified the heat exchanger in Wu to be used within the inkjet system as taught by Zaba, where Zaba includes a similar linear heater on the other side of a metal plate to heat up a fluid, where that linear heater is shown in Fig. 4 as being the high-density packed PTC elements 6.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to gain the advantage of being able to expand the use case of the heater system in Wu to be within inkjet printing systems, where both Zaba and Wu have heaters that are capable of heating fluids, where more use cases can allow a user to have increased marketability for their heater system, as stated by Zaba, Page 22, lines 4-7, “a heater and cooler apparatus for heating and cooling of fluids. More particularly, the invention relates to heating and cooling of ink in an ink jet printer positive or recirculating system to maintain the ink at the printhead(s) at optimum operating temperature.”.
Further, it is the Examiner’s position that the inkjet heating system in Zaba could also benefit from the heating structure from Wu, as Wu states that their heater structure allows for shortened heating times which can allow the inkjet to be ready faster, as stated by Wu, Para. 0006, “This utility model improved heater structure, which third mainly aims to shorten the heating time, and can effectively control the heating of the temperature.”.
Regarding claim 13, modified Wu teaches the apparatus according to claim 1, as set forth above, discloses the heater unit (Wu, Abstract, “an improved heater structure”), wherein the pipe and the heater each has a circular cross section (Wu, Modified Fig. 3, where both the pipe and heater elements have circular cross sections).
Regarding claim 17, modified Wu teaches the apparatus according to claim 1, as set forth above, discloses an image forming system (Teaching from Zaba, Abstract, “A heater assembly suitable for heating ink of an ink jet printing system”, where an inkjet printing system would be creating images through the ink) comprising:
an ink supply device including the heater unit according to claim 1 (Teaching from Zaba, Page 25, lines 23-26, “ink flows through the heat exchanger, through the proportional valve and back to the ink supply tank. When the desired temperature has been reached, the proportional valve is adjusted to start regulating the ink flow to the printhead.”, where a heater is connected with the ink jet system, where combined with Wu would have the heater system from Wu be inserted in for the heat exchanger in Zaba to have the benefits as explained in the rejection to claim 1); and
an inkjet recording apparatus which discharges the ink fed from the ink supply device and forms an image (Teaching from Zaba, Page 22, lines 26-30, “ink jet printing system…necessary that the ink supplied to one or to multiple printheads, which each incorporates one or more arrays of several nozzles, is maintained stable and within the desired preset pressure and temperature range under all specified operating conditions.”).
Claims 7-9, and 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wu (CN 201513871 U) in view of Zaba et al. (GB 2542749 A, hereinafter Zaba) and Kwon et al. (KR 20140073244 A, hereinafter Kwon) in further view of Bowen (CA 3057247 A1).
Regarding claim 7, modified Wu teaches the apparatus according to claim 1, as set forth above, discloses comprising: an opening provided in the metal plate at a portion corresponding to the first temperature sensor (Wu, Fig. 3, where the temperature sensor is 23 and there is an opening in the metal plate to hold that temperature in place); and
a controller configured to control the heater by using a temperature measured by the first temperature sensor (Wu, Para. 0028, “sensing component 23 can measure temperature metal plate 20 so as to control the heating temperature output of the heating element 21, and effectively shorten heating time, the control can adopt automatic control, semi-automatic control or manual control mode is executed, the control technology is a known technology can be achieved”).
Modified Wu does not disclose:
a first temperature sensor provided in the pipe at a portion not along the heater.
However, Bowen discloses, in the similar field of heaters for pipes containing fluid (Abstract, “A fluid path is associated with each of the first and at least second heating elements and arranged such that heat can be transferred from the heating element to fluid containable within the associated fluid path”), where there is a temperature sensor provided in the pipe at a portion not along the heater (Page 30, Para. 2, “temperature sensor in the form of a thermistor 40 is provided on the main water inlet pipe so that the temperature of the inflowing water can be measured.”, and Page 30, Para. 3, “The main water outlet pipe 20 also has a temperature sensor 1n the form of a thermistor 40.”). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to have modified the temperature sensor in modified Wu to be located somewhere not along the heating elements as taught by Bowen.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to gain the advantage of being able to measure the temperature of the liquid within the pipe at different areas, including the inflow and outflow areas, which can prevent a user from being scaled at the outflow by knowing what the temperature would be, as stated by Bowen, Page 30, Para. 3, “The main water outlet pipe 20 also has a temperature sensor 1n the form of a thermistor 40. An anti-scald valve 44 is provided on the main water outlet pipe to allow cold water to be mixed with the water leaving the boiler 2, if necessary, so as not to scald a user in use.”.
Regarding claim 8, modified Wu teaches the apparatus according to claim 7, as set forth above, discloses wherein the first temperature sensor is separated from the heater by a predetermined distance or more (Wu, Fig. 3, where the temperature sensor is 23, Para. 0028, “heater structure 2 proper position is provided with a temperature sensing element 23”, where the sensor 23 is a distance away from the heater as it is on the opposite side of the heating elements 21).
Regarding claim 9, modified Wu teaches the apparatus according to claim 7, as set forth above, discloses wherein the pipe contains a plurality of sections divided along a flow direction of the ink (Wu, modified Fig. 3, where different sections of the pipe are shown, where the fluid flows in a winding path along the straight and bent portions; teaching from Zaba, where ink is the fluid being heated).
Modified Wu does not disclose:
the heater and the first temperature sensor are provided for each section of the pipe, and the controller controls the heater for each section of the pipe by using a temperature measured by the first temperature sensor.
However, Wu discloses where temperature sensors can be used to control the heating elements (Para. 0028, “sensing component 23 can measure temperature metal plate 20 so as to control the heating temperature output of the heating element 21, and effectively shorten heating time, the control can adopt automatic control, semi-automatic control or manual control mode is executed, the control technology is a known technology can be achieved”) and Bowen discloses where there can be a temperature sensor associated at different locations within a pipe (Page 30, Para. 2, “temperature sensor in the form of a thermistor 40 is provided on the main water inlet pipe so that the temperature of the inflowing water can be measured.”, and Page 30, Para. 3, “The main water outlet pipe 20 also has a temperature sensor 1n the form of a thermistor 40.”).
Regarding having multiple temperature sensors at different areas of the pipe and controlling the pipe sections, it has been held that mere duplication of parts is an obvious modification to make. In re Harza, 274 F.2d 669, 124 USPQ 378 (CCPA 1960). It is the Examiner’s position that the function of the temperature sensor from the combination of Bowen and Wu would not be changed if the sensor were to be duplicated and placed at different sections of the piping system. Thus, duplicating the sensor would be a mere matter of user design choice.
Regarding claim 11, modified Wu teaches the apparatus according to claim 7, as set forth above, discloses comprising a second temperature sensor in the metal plate, wherein the controller controls the heater by using the temperatures measured by the first temperature sensor and the second temperature sensor (Wu, where the temperature sensor 23 in Fig. 3 is located at two different locations within the metal plate, where the temperature sensors can be used to control the heater, Para. 0028, “sensing component 23 can measure temperature metal plate 20 so as to control the heating temperature output of the heating element 21, and effectively shorten heating time, the control can adopt automatic control, semi-automatic control or manual control mode is executed, the control technology is a known technology can be achieved”).
Claims 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wu (CN 201513871 U) in view of Zaba et al. (GB 2542749 A, hereinafter Zaba) and Kwon et al. (KR 20140073244 A, hereinafter Kwon) and Bowen (CA 3057247 A1) in further view of Rogan (CN 107205495 A).
Regarding claim 10, modified Wu teaches the apparatus according to claim 9, as set forth above.
Modified Wu does not disclose:
wherein the section on a downstream side in the flowing direction is smaller than the section on an upstream side in the flowing direction.
However, Rogan discloses, in the similar field of pipes (Page 4, Para. 2 from end, “aerosol delivery apparatus can include a pipe”), where the cross section of an upstream portion of the pipe is smaller than a downstream portion (Fig. 1A, where the intake is 11 and where if you are positioned between 11 and 13, you would see that 13 has a smaller cross section compared to 11). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to have modified piping within modified Wu to include the changing cross sections as taught by Rogan.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to gain the advantage of the venturi effect, where the speed and pressure of the liquid flow can be controlled by a user, as stated by Rogan, Page 3, Para. 3 from end, “use the Venturi effect to control air flow speed in the device by changing the cross section area of the air flow path upstream of the capillary core. through increased speed of airflow of the shrinkage section, so as to satisfy the principle of continuity, while its pressure must decrease so that mechanical energy conservation. Likewise, the air flow through the wider section of the speed must be reduced, while its pressure increases.”.
Claims 15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wu (CN 201513871 U) in view of Zaba et al. (GB 2542749 A, hereinafter Zaba) and Kwon et al. (KR 20140073244 A, hereinafter Kwon) and Bowen (CA 3057247 A1) in further view of Lesage et al. (CA 02859511 C1, hereinafter Lesage).
Regarding claim 15, modified Wu teaches the apparatus according to claim 11, as set forth above.
Modified Wu does not disclose:
further comprising: a casing in which the metal plate, the pipe and the heaters are stored; and an insulation material disposed between the casing and the heaters and pressing the heater against the metal plate.
However, Lesage discloses, in the similar field of heaters (Abstract, “water heater”), where there is a fluid container enclosed within insulation that is enclosed within a casing (Para. 0024, “An outer casing 21 surrounds the tank 15 and insulation 22 is injected or otherwise disposed in the gap 23 between the tank 15 and the outer casing 21, as is conventional in the construction of water heaters.”, where the insulation would press upon the tank and keep it within place). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to have modified the heating system of modified Wu to include the feature as taught by Lesage.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to gain the advantage of being able to protect other components outside of the heater unit from excessive heat transfer, through the conventional construction methods such as with an insulation and casing structure, as stated by Lesage, Para. 0024, “An outer casing 21 surrounds the tank 15 and insulation 22 is injected or otherwise disposed in the gap 23 between the tank 15 and the outer casing 21, as is conventional in the construction of water heaters.”.
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 KEVIN GUANHUA WEN whose telephone number is (571)272-9940 and whose email is kevin.wen@uspto.gov. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 10:00 am - 6:00 pm.
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, Ibrahime Abraham can be reached on 571-270-5569. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/KEVIN GUANHUA WEN/Examiner, Art Unit 3761
05/04/2026
/IBRAHIME A ABRAHAM/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3761
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