DETAILED ACTION
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.
Claim 10 is 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 a wide portion, a first narrow portion and a second narrow portion “in the width direction,” but portion does not itself have a direction. That is, a portion can have a width in a direction, but the portion has no directionality in itself.
Further, the claim now recites wherein “no other wiring line among the plurality of wiring lines” extends between the electrodes. However, the plurality of wiring lines has been defined as extending between the electrodes, and thus to state that there could be a wiring line that is included in the plurality of wiring lines that does not extend between the electrodes would appear to contradict itself.
Correction is required.
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.
Claim(s) 10, 16, 17 and 20-26 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Matsuura (2011/0205309).
Regarding claim 10, Matsuura teaches a piezoelectric actuator comprising:
a piezoelectric layer (fig. 6, item 17a); and
a conductor layer (figs. 6, item 18) that is provided directly or indirectly on the piezoelectric layer (see fig. 6),
wherein, in a plan view (see figs. 6, 7), the conductor layer includes
a plurality of individual electrodes (figs. 6, 7, items 19a) that are arranged with intervals therebetween (see figs. 6, 7), and
a plurality of wiring lines (figs. 6, 7, items 19b/19d between each set of adjacent individual electrodes), each wiring line extending and no other wiring line among the plurality of wiring lines extending between the one individual electrode and the adjacent individual electrode (see illustration below), and
wherein a width, in a width direction of the plan view, of conductive material of each wiring line differs at different positions in a length direction of the plan view, which is orthogonal to the width direction of the plan view, such that each wiring line of the plurality of wiring lines includes
a wide portion (see illustration below) in the width direction of the plan view including a part positioned at a center of the wiring line in a length direction (see fig. 7, sub-scanning direction), and
a first narrow portion (see illustration below) in the width direction of the plan view disposed between the wide portion and one individual electrode (fig. 7, individual electrode 19a closer to bottom of page) of the plurality of individual electrodes to which the wiring line is connected,
a second narrow portion (see illustration below) in the width direction of the plan view disposed between the wide portion and the adjacent individual electrode, the second narrow portion having a width less than the width of the wide portion (see illustration below),
wherein the width of the conductive material of the wiring line at the first narrow portion is less than the width of the conductive material of the wiring line at the wide portion (see illustration),
wherein three or more individual electrodes are connected in a chain by the plurality of wiring lines (see figs. 3, 6C).
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Regarding claims 16 and 17, Matsuura teaches the piezoelectric actuator according to claim 10, a liquid discharge head, a flow passage member, pressurizing chambers, discharge holes and a control unit (see fig. 4, Note head with pressure chambers 16, discharge holes 14a, flow passage members 12, control unit 1p).
Regarding claim 20, Matsuura teaches the piezoelectric actuator according to claim 10, wherein each wiring line among the plurality of wiring lines is connected to the one individual electrode of the plurality of individual electrodes at one position (see illustration, Note that this language can mean almost anything. Note that all shown components are connected electrically).
Regarding claim 21, Matsuura teaches the piezoelectric actuator according to claim 10, wherein a minimum width of the first narrow portion differs from a minimum width of the second narrow portion (see illustration).
Regarding claim 22, Matsuura teaches the piezoelectric actuator according to claim 10, see illustration, Note that the first and second narrow portions are located at different distances from the wide portion, making the variation rate different.
Regarding claim 23, Matsuura teaches the piezoelectric actuator according to claim 10, note that the a straight line can be drawn through the wiring line shown.
Regarding claim 24, Matsuura teaches the piezoelectric actuator according to claim 10, note that if the wiring line is defined to contain only a single portion of the parallel wiring lines at the individual electrodes, the limitation is met.
Regarding claim 25, Matsuura teaches the piezoelectric actuator according to claim 10, see illustration.
Regarding claim 26, Matsuura teaches the piezoelectric actuator according to claim 10, see fig. 6.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 8/21/2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. The claims have been amended to further specify the structure of the device, but the amendments fail to distinguish the claimed invention from the prior art. The rejections above have been updated to reflect the changes to the claims. The standing prior art rejection is maintained.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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