DETAILED ACTION
Claim Objections
Claim 1 is objected to because of the following informalities: “the downstream” lacks antecedent basis. Appropriate correction is required.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 21 is objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
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, 3-5, 7-9, 15, 17, 20 and 22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Valero Navazo et al. (10,245,849) in view of Domae (8,845,066).
Regarding claim 1, Valero Navazo teaches an inkjet printer comprising:
a platen (fig. 3, item 62) to support a recording medium (fig. 3, item 76);
a carriage (fig. 3, item 16) positioned upward relative to the platen and movable in a left-right direction (fig. 3, into page);
an ink head (fig. 3, item 20) provided on the carriage to dispense water-based ink onto the recording medium (see fig. 3);
a guide (fig. 3, note that there is a guide) including an upper wall (fig. 3, entire upper surface of guide, including portion closer to platen and portion more downstream) on which the recording medium is able to be placed (see fig. 3), and positioned downstream in a conveyance direction relative to the platen to guide movement of the recording medium (see fig. 3), the upper wall extending downstream in a conveyance direction below the platen (see fig. 3); and
a dryer (fig. 3, item 12) opposing the upper wall of the guide to send an airflow toward the recording medium on the guide (see fig. 3);
wherein the dryer includes:
a main body case (fig. 3, case of dryer) extending in the left-right direction (see fig. 3);
a first partition wall (fig. 3, wall between areas accommodating fans) that partitions an inside of the main body case into a first chamber (fig. 3, chamber with item 86/88) and a second chamber (fig. 3, item 90);
one or more first fans (fig. 3, item 86) provided in the first chamber;
one or more second fans (fig. 3, item 52) provided in the second chamber;
a heater (fig. 3, item 50) provided in the second chamber to heat air that is sent by the second fan (see fig. 3);
a first intake port (fig. 3, port through which fan 86 pulls air) provided in the main body case to take in air from outside the main body case into the first chamber (see fig 3);
a first exhaust port (fig. 3, slit portion of item 88 through which air is exhausted) provided in the main body case and including an opening facing toward the platen to discharge air of the first chamber (see fig. 3, note that slits of item 88 can generally be said to “face the platen.” That is, because a port is just an opening, and an opening does not have a direction, an opening can be said to face any direction. The claim does not require that air is blown in an upstream direction toward the platen);
a second intake port (fig. 3, port through which fan 52 pulls air) provided in the main body case and including an opening facing toward the upper wall of the guide to take in air from outside the main body case into the second chamber (see fig. 3); and
a second exhaust port (fig. 3, port through which air 91 travels) provided in the main body case below the first exhaust port and including an opening facing toward the upper wall of the guide to discharge air of the second chamber that has been heated by the heater (see fig. 3),
the upper wall of the guide is directly adjacent to the downstream in the conveyance direction relative to the platen (fig. 3, note that, as defined above, the limitation is met. That is, the entire guide is directly adjacent and downstream to the platen, and thus the entire upper wall, i.e., the entire top surface of the guide, is also adjacent and downstream of the platen); and
the first exhaust port faces toward the platen or the upper wall of the guide (see fig. 3, Note that, as defined above, the first exhaust port faces the upper wall of the guide.
While Valero Navazo does not expressly teach wherein the first chamber is not provided with any heater, it does contemplate using a single heater instead of three separate heaters, which would result in a first chamber not having a heater (col. 3, lines 39-62). Alternatively, Domae teaches a dryer with first and second chambers formed by a partition wall, wherein only a second chamber has a heater (Domae, see fig. 1, Note that if the partition wall is taken to be the unlabeled wall between heating elements 12 and area 4, and the area with the heating elements corresponds to the second chamber while area 4 corresponds to the first chamber, only the scone chamber has a heater). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention to use only a single heating element in the second chamber instead of heating elements in both of the first and second chambers because doing so would amount to the simple substitution of one heating-element arrangement for another to obtain predictable results.
Regarding claim 3, Valero Navazo in view of Domae teaches the inkjet printer according to claim 1, wherein the second intake port is positioned downward relative to the first exhaust port (Valero Navazo, see fig. 3).
Regarding claim 4, Valero Navazo in view of Domae teaches the inkjet printer according to claim 1, wherein the main body case includes an outer wall (fig. 5, item 110) that partitions between an outside of the main body case and the first chamber; and a thermal conductivity of the first partition wall is lower than a thermal conductivity of the outer wall (Valero Navazo, col. 3, lines 22-37).
Regarding claim 5, Valero Navazo in view of Domae teaches the inkjet printer according to claim 1, wherein the first chamber includes a first exhaust channel that connects to the first exhaust port; and a channel cross-sectional area of the first exhaust channel decreases upstream in the conveyance direction (Valero Navazo, see fig. 3, Note that this is the case).
Regarding claim 7, Valero Navazo in view of Domae teaches the inkjet printer according to claim 1, wherein the first intake port is provided in a front portion of the main body case Valero Navazo, (see fig. 3, Note that the front and back of the main body case have not been defined, and thus the portion of Valero Navazo’s main body with is being defined as the front portion).
Regarding claim 8, Valero Navazo in view of Domae teaches the inkjet printer according to claim 1, wherein the first exhaust port is positioned rearward relative to the second exhaust port (Valero Navazo, see fig. 3, Note that front and rear have not been defined. Note that the first exhaust port has a different horizontal position than the second exhaust port).
Regarding claim 9, Valero Navazo in view of Domae teaches the inkjet printer according to claim 1, wherein the second intake port is positioned downward relative to the first exhaust port (Valero Navazo, see fig. 3, Note that the up and down directions have not been defined, and Valero Navazo’s heater can be oriented in any rotational position).
Regarding claim 15, Valero Navazo in view of Domae teaches the inkjet printer according to claim 1, wherein the main body case includes a rear wall opposing the guide, a lower wall extending forward relative to a lower end of the rear wall, a front wall extending upward relative to a front end of the lower wall, and an upper wall extending rearward relative to an upper end of the front wall; and the first intake port is provided in the front wall of the main body case (Valero Navazo, see fig. 3, Note that Valero Navazo teaches all of the walls shown in Figure 10 of the immediate application).
Regarding claim 17, Valero Navazo in view of Domae teaches the inkjet printer according to claim 1, wherein the guide includes: a case including the upper wall and extending in a left-right direction; an inlet port provided in the case through which air is taken from outside the case into the case; and an outlet port provided in the case to discharge air from inside the case to outside the case; an air channel extending from the inlet port toward the outlet port is provided inside the case; and the inkjet printer includes a cooling fan to send air to the air channel of the guide so that air that is sucked in through the inlet port flows through the air channel to be discharged through the outlet port (Valero Navazo, see fig. 3).
Regarding claim 20, Valero Navazo in view of Domae teaches the inkjet printer according to claim 1, wherein the main body case includes a rear wall opposing the guide; the dryer includes an extension wall positioned downward relative to the rear wall, and extending downward (Valero Navazo, see fig. 3, Note rear wall and unlabeled thicker wall downstream and just below rear wall).
Regarding claim 22, Valero Navazo in view of Domae teaches the inkjet printer according to claim 1, wherein the first exhaust port has a slit shape extending in the left-right direction (Valero Navazo, see fig. 3, Note left-right direction slit in item 88).
Claim(s) 10-14, 16, 18 and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Valero Navazo in view of Domae as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Sasaki (2016/0159111).
Regarding claim 10, Valero Navazo in view of Domae teaches the inkjet printer according to claim 1. Valero Navazo in view of Domae does not teach wherein the dryer includes a second partition wall that partitions an inside of the first chamber into a first air-sending chamber and a second air-sending chamber; the first partition wall partitions between the second air-sending chamber and the second chamber; the first fan is operable to send air of the first air-sending chamber; the first exhaust port is operable to discharge air of the first air-sending chamber; and the dryer includes: a third exhaust port provided in the main body case to discharge air of the second air-sending chamber; and a third fan to send air of the second air-sending chamber. Sasaki teaches an air curtain forming section (Sasaki, see fig. 7, Note that if the entire interior of the body is taken to be equivalent to the first chamber of Valero Navazo in view of Domae, wall 45 would serve as a second partition wall, the two sides of the partition wall having a first and second air-sending chamber and the sides having corresponding first and third exhaust ports and first and third fans 61, 42). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention to add the air curtain forming section disclosed by Sasaki as an upstream-most air flow section on the main body of Valero Navazo in view of Domae because doing so would prevent heated air from flowing upstream to the printing area, thereby maintaining the heated air in the heating section so as to dry the medium.
Upon addition of the air curtain forming section to Valero Navazo in view of Domae, a second partition wall would create two adjacent exhaust ports with two adjacent channels and two corresponding fans.
Regarding claim 11, Valero Navazo in view of Domae and Sasaki teaches the inkjet printer according to claim 10, wherein the third exhaust port is positioned downward relative to the first exhaust port and upward relative to the second exhaust port, and includes an opening facing toward the platen or the upper wall of the guide (see Valero Navazo, fig. 3, Sasaki, fig. 7, Note that, upon combination, the limitation would be met).
Regarding claim 12, Valero Navazo in view of Domae and Sasaki teaches the inkjet printer according to claim 10, wherein the third exhaust port is positioned rearward relative to the second intake port, and includes an opening facing rearward and downward toward the upper wall of the guide (see Valero Navazo, fig. 3, Sasaki, fig. 7, Note that, upon combination, the limitation would be met. Note that a rear and a front have not been defined, and thus to recite “rearward” relative to another component does not add specificity).
Regarding claim 13, Valero Navazo in view of Domae and Sasaki teaches the inkjet printer according to claim 10, wherein the first fan and the third fan are set so that an air-blowing speed of the third exhaust port is greater than an air-blowing speed of the first exhaust port (see Valero Navazo, fig. 3, Sasaki, fig. 7, Note that, upon combination, the limitation would be met. Note that a rear and a front have not been defined, and thus to recite “rearward” relative to another component does not add specificity). Further, according to MPEP 2114, the manner of operating a device does not differentiate an apparatus claim from the prior art. Here, the speed at which fans operate is directed to the manner of operation of the device and does not add patentable weight.
Regarding claim 14, Valero Navazo in view of Domae and Sasaki teaches the inkjet printer according to claim 10, wherein the first chamber includes an intake chamber that connects to the first air sending chamber and the second air-sending chamber; and the first intake port is structured to take in air from outside the main body case into the intake chamber (see Valero Navazo, fig. 3, Note that this is the case).
Regarding claim 16, Valero Navazo in view of Domae and Sasaki teaches the inkjet printer according to claim 1, wherein the main body case includes a rear wall opposing the guide, a lower wall extending forward relative to a lower end of the rear wall, a front wall extending upward relative to a front end of the lower wall, and an upper wall extending rearward relative to an upper end of the front wall; the second exhaust port is provided in the rear wall; and the dryer includes: a third chamber provided inside the main body case such that a portion of the third chamber is defined by the lower wall; a fourth fan provided in the third chamber; and a fourth exhaust port provided in the lower wall of the main body case to discharge air of the third chamber (see Valero Navazo, fig. 3, Sasaki, fig. 7, Note that, upon combination, the limitation would be met).
Regarding claim 18, Valero Navazo in view of Domae and Sasaki teaches the inkjet printer according to claim 1, wherein the dryer includes a mounting plate connected to the main body case; the mounting plate partitions a portion of the first chamber; a plurality of first fans are provided in the first chamber; and the plurality of first fans are attached to the mounting plate (Sasaki, see fig. 7, Note that if the mounting plate is taken to be the exterior of the main body, fans 61 and 42 can be said to be mounted to the mounting plate. Because the entire interior of main body 60 is being analogized to Valero Navazo’s first chamber, the limitation is met).
Regarding claim 19, Valero Navazo in view of Domae and Sasaki teaches the inkjet printer according to claim 1, wherein the main body case includes a rear wall opposing the guide; a portion of the second chamber is partitioned by the rear wall; the second exhaust port is provided in the rear wall and communicates an outside of the main body case and the second chamber; the second fan sends air of the second chamber so that air from outside the second chamber is sucked into the second chamber through the second intake port and the air of the second chamber is discharged through the second exhaust port; the second chamber includes an upstream chamber into which air from outside is taken through the second intake port, a downstream chamber into which air that has been taken into the upstream chamber and pressurized by the second fan flows, and an exit chamber that is partitioned from the upstream chamber and the downstream chamber and connects to the downstream chamber; a pressure of the upstream chamber is set to a negative pressure, a pressure of the downstream chamber is set to a positive pressure, and a pressure of the exit chamber is set to a positive pressure lower than the pressure of the downstream chamber; and the second exhaust port is provided in the exit chamber (see Valero Navazo, fig. 3, Sasaki, fig. 7, Note that, upon combination, the limitation would be met).
Further, according to MPEP 2114, the manner of operating a device does not differentiate an apparatus claim from the prior art. Here, the speed at which fans operate, i.e., local pressure at certain points of the system, is directed to the manner of operation of the device and does not add patentable weight.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 3/6/2026 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
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