DETAILED ACTION
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, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 11, 12, 17, 18 and 21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yamamoto et al. (2002/0122103) in view of Nanjo et al. (2016/0200114).
Regarding claim 1, Yamamoto teaches a container attachable to an image-forming apparatus, the container comprising:
a container body (fig. 1, item 14) defining a storage chamber (fig. 5, item 13) configured to store liquid (fig. 5, item 12) therein, the container body having a liquid supply opening (fig. 5, item 28a) that is open frontward (fig. 5, note that “open frontward” can mean anything) and a communication opening (fig. 5, item 28b) that is open to the storage chamber, the container body comprising:
a liquid channel (fig. 5, item 45);
a front wall (fig. 4, leftmost wall of 14 shown in figure on the same general side as item 21);
a rear wall (fig. 4, wall opposite front wall) opposite the front wall in the front-rear direction (see fig. 4, note that the front-rear direction is being taken as left-right on page);
a first side wall (fig. 4, unshown, unlabeled large wall shown, fig. 5, wall 11) connecting the front wall to the rear wall, the first side wall having a first outer surface (fig. 5, outer surface of item 11) and a first inner surface (fig. 5, inner surface of first side wall 11);
a second side wall (fig. 4, unshown, unlabeled large wall opposite first side wall, fig. 5, wall 11) opposite the first side wall in a left-right direction crossing the front-rear direction, the second side wall having a second outer surface (fig. 5, outer surface of item 11) and a second inner surface (fig. 5, inner surface of second side wall 11);
an upper wall (fig. 4, unshown wall facing upward) connecting the front wall to the rear wall in the front-rear direction, the upper wall also connecting the first side wall to the second side wall in the left-right direction (see fig. 4); and
a lower wall (fig. 4, unlabeled lower wall opposite upper wall) opposite the upper wall in an up-down direction crossing the front-rear direction and the left-right direction,
wherein the first side wall has a first recessed portion (fig. 5, note recessed grooves), the first recessed portion having:
an outer surface (fig. 5, lowest point in groove on exterior of container) that is recessed from the first outer surface (see fig. 5); and
an inner surface protruding from the first inner surface or the second inner surface (see fig. 5),
wherein at least a part of the first recessed portion is positioned above the liquid supply opening in the up-down direction (see fig. 5), and
wherein the inner surface of the first recessed portion defines a part of the storage chamber (see fig. 5).
(Note that the embodiment according to Figure 1 is being used. Figure 4 has been used in some citations for clarity of element-to-element matching, but Figure 1 is intended as the embodiment used).
Yamamoto does not teach wherein the liquid supply opening is positioned on the front wall and the liquid channel extends in a front-rear direction to connect the communication opening to the liquid supply opening. Nanjo teaches this (Nanjo, see figs. 4, 5, Note liquid supply opening 22 on front wall of cartridge 40, and note liquid channel 22 extending in front-rear direction X). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention to orient the liquid channel in the manner disclosed by Nanjo on the cartridge disclosed by Yamamoto because doing so would amount to applying a known liquid introduction port to a known cartridge to yield predictable results.
Regarding claim 3, Yamamoto in view of Nanjo teaches the container according to claim 1, wherein the second side wall has a second recessed portion (Yamamoto, see figs. 1, 5), the second recessed portion having: an outer surface that is recessed from the second outer surface; and an inner surface protruding from the second inner surface,
and wherein the inner surface of the first recessed portion of the first side wall faces the inner surface of the second recessed portion of the second side wall in the left-right direction (Yamamoto, see fig. 5).
Regarding claim 4, Yamamoto in view of Nanjo teaches the container according to claim 1, wherein the first inner surface of the recessed portion includes a crossing surface intersecting with the first inner surface to form an angle of not less than 90 degrees relative thereto (Yamamoto, see fig. 5, Note that any surface can be chosen to intersect the first inner surface and be called “a crossing surface”).
Regarding claim 6, Yamamoto in view of Nanjo teaches the container according to claim 1, wherein the first recessed portion is positioned to overlap with a center in the front-rear direction between the front wall and the rear wall (Yamamoto, see figs. 1, 5), and wherein the first recessed portion has a length in the front-rear direction that is equal to or greater than one half of a distance in the front-rear direction between the front wall and the rear wall (Yamamoto, see figs. 1, 5).
Regarding claim 7, Yamamoto in view of Nanjo teaches the container according to claim 1, wherein the first recessed portion is not open to any one of the front wall, the rear wall, the upper wall, and the lower wall (Yamamoto, see fig. 1).
Regarding claim 9, Yamamoto in view of Nanjo teaches the container according to claim 1, wherein the container body has a dimension in the left-right direction that is smaller than dimensions thereof in the up-down direction and in the front-rear direction (Yamamoto, see fig. 1).
Regarding claim 11, Yamamoto in view of Nanjo teaches the container according to claim 1, wherein the first inner surface of the recessed portion is connected to the communication opening (Yamamoto, see fig. 5, Note that the entire interior of the container is connected).
Regarding claim 12, Yamamoto in view of Nanjo teaches the container according to claim 1, wherein the communication opening is open to the part of the storage chamber, the part being defined by the inner surface of the first recessed portion in the left-right direction (Yamamoto, see fig. 5).
Regarding claim 17, Yamamoto in view of Nanjo teaches the container according to claim 1, wherein the liquid channel has a sloped surface that is inclined diagonally upward toward the communication opening (Nanjo, fig. 4. Note inclined liquid channel 22).
Regarding claim 18, Yamamoto in view of Nanjo teaches the container according to claim 1, wherein the communication opening is open upward in the up-down direction (Yamamoto, see fig. 5).
Regarding claim 21, Yamamoto in view of Nanjo teaches the container according to claim 1, wherein the liquid channel includes a first channel and a second channel connected to each other, the first channel extending in the front-rear direction to the liquid supply opening, the second channel extending in the up-down direction to the communication opening (Nanjo, fig. 5, Note generally horizontal portion of channel and portion that opens upward into main reservoir).
Claim(s) 2 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yamamoto in view of Nanjo as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Horade et al. (2020/0307226).
Regarding claim 2, Yamamoto in view of Nanjo teaches the container according to claim 1. Yamamoto in view of Nanjo does not teach wherein the first side wall and the second side wall have translucency capable of transmitting light therethrough to allow a level of the liquid stored in the storage chamber to be visually observed from an outside of the container body. Horade teaches this (Horade, [0076]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention to apply the translucent walls disclosed by Horade to the cartridge disclosed by Yamamoto in view of Nanjo because doing so would allow user to visually observe the remaining amount of liquid in the cartridge.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with 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 Nanjo.
Conclusion
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/ALEJANDRO VALENCIA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2853
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