DETAILED CORRESPONDENCE
This Office action is in response to the amendment received May 15, 2026.
Any bolded text is new to the office action.
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 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 set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied 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 13-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over ATOBE et al (6,113,218) in view of OBER et al (2009/0258315) and ARIMITSU et al (2017/0293225).
The claimed invention recites the following:
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ATOBE et al report a method for manufacturing an inkjet head. Applicants are directed to column 21 and 22 wherein the photo-resist pattern is formed on a substrate which has been thermally-oxidization-treated in an oxygen-steam atmosphere at 1100o C for 4 hours which essentially places functional groups/membranes such as SiO2 on the surface of the substrate, see col. 21, lines 55-60 and col. 22, lines 7-12, see below:
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The photo-resist composition pattern corresponds to the outlines of the shapes of the nozzle holes.
OBER et al disclose known photoresist composition for forming fabricating micro- and nano-size patterns which can also be used to manufacturing inkjet print heads, see (PAENG et al (2013/0169715), para. [0044] to [0045]). The components of the photoresist composition include a photoacid/photo base, (para. [0154])., an epoxy compound (para. [0141]) and salicylic acid, (para. [0142]), see below:
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ARIMITSU et al report a photosensitive composition comprising a photo base, a base proliferator and an epoxy resin, see para. [0012] and [0017] below:
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Para. [0017] is on page 3
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These components meet the claimed photo base generator, epoxy compound and aromatic compound of general formula (1) recited in claim 13.
Claim 14 is met by salicylic acid in OBER et al.
Claims 15 and 16 are met by the disclosed content of the salicylic acid and low molecular weight component above meet the claims 15 and 16 when the crosslinker is in a content of 1 to 25 parts by weight per 100 parts by weight of the solids in the composition.
Claims 17-19 are met by the disclosure above in ARIMITSU et al wherein the use of a base proliferating compound such as a urethane is added to a photosensitive composition.
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art of inkjet head manufacture to use the known photosensitive composition of OBER et al or ARIMITSU et al to form an photoresist pattern for forming an inkjet printhead as disclosed in ATOBE et al wherein the substrate is treated with an oxygen-steam at 1100o C for 4 hours to form a substrate which is excellent in adhesion to the photosensitive composition of OBER et al with the reasonable expectation of same or similar results for high pattern formation and simultaneously be environmentally friendly.
The arguments have been carefully considered; however, the rejection is repeated wherein the use of any of the known photoresist composition such as those disclosed in OBER et al or ARIMITSU et al would be exchangeable with the photoresists disclosed in ATOBE et al with the reasonable expectation of same or similar results for high pattern formation and environmentally friendly.
With respect to OBER et al, the use of a salicylic acid is listed in a group of specific aromatic compounds requiring at least two phenol and/or carboxyl groups with salicylic acid being a preferred compound as highlighted above.
Thus, the skilled artisan would be directed to use any of the listed photoresist composition such as OBER et al or ARIMITSU et al with a salicylic acid and expect same or similar results as reported in OBER et al for improved adhesion, see para. [0140] in OBER et al wherein phenolic hydroxyl and carboxyl groups for improved adhesion to the substrate improved etching resistance and the controlling dissolution rate in the alkali developer:
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The rejection is repeated.
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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JOHN S. CHU whose telephone number is (571)272-1329. The examiner can normally be reached on IFP-Flex.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Keith Hendricks, can be reached at telephone number 571-272-1401. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from Patent Center. Status information for published applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Patent Center to authorized users only. Should you have questions about access to the USPTO patent electronic filing system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free).
Examiner interviews are available via a variety of formats. See MPEP § 713.01. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) Form at https://www.uspto.gov/InterviewPractice.
/John S. Chu/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1737
J. Chu
July 22, 2026
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