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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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 and 8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tetsuhiro et al. (attached translation of Applicant disclosed WO 2017217000A1) in view of Hamamoto (attached translation of JP 2016196093) and Osanai et al. (US 20040248130).
Regrading claim 1, Tetsuhiro et al. discloses a stirring device (Fig. 3, Abstract) shown below:
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Tetsuhiro et al. discloses the stirring device comprises a rotating holder (cartridge holder 30A) that is capable of performing a rotating operation in a state where the rotating holder holds a cartridge (ink cartridge 31) that accommodates a liquid agent in which a solute is precipitated in a solvent by the liquid agent being left still (the ink is liquid, being pumpable, para. [0014], and includes a precipitated solute: “sedimented ink”, Abstract); a drive motor (motor 43) that causes the rotating holder to perform the rotating operation (rotation X1); and a posture controller (control device 60 with control unit 71 controls operation of the motor 43 to move between the first posture, F1, and the second posture, F2, para. [0031]) that corrects (correcting in that it is returned to the initial position F1, such as for operation and delivering ink) a stop position (upon reaching the position F2 shown above, Fig. 11, the holder and motor are stopped at least insofar as it reaches zero velocity during transition to the reverse direction X2) of the rotating holder to position the cartridge in a first posture in a case where an operation of the drive motor is stopped (the motor 43 must reach zero velocity and be “stopped” during transition between clockwise rotation X1 and counterclockwise rotation X2) in a state where the cartridge is in a second posture (position F2) that is different from the first posture (position F1), wherein the first posture is a state in which the cartridge is in a normal stop posture (the position F1 is the initial position and the position to which the cartridge is returned, para. [0031]).
Assuming, arguendo, that the return to the initial position does not constitute a correction of the posture; Hamamoto discloses a holder (container 40) for agitating a liquid (ink, Abstract) wherein the agitation is conducted using a rotating mechanism (cam 85) having a rotating shaft (shaft 84) connected to a motor (motor 81) and Hamamoto teaches using a detector (detector 86) for determining the posture by detecting the shaft position as shown below:
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Hamamoto further teaches correcting the posture based on the detection (the posture is moved from one position to a first position verified by a detector, pars. [0014], [0018], [0072], [0079]).
Likewise, Osanai et al. discloses a device which is analogous art at least because it is reasonably pertinent to correcting the posture of rotating devices (including mixers/shakers, Fig. 7 and separators, Fig. 10) to an origin position using a detector (sensor 5B, Fig. 10) for determining the position of the motor shaft (shaft 3Aa, Fig. 7, shaft 5G, Fig. 10) and to and to correct the position (para. [0008]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the teachings of Tetsuhiro et al. wherein a detector is utilized for determining the position of the motor shaft (Tetsuhiro et al., shaft for motor 43) and to correct the position (by placing the shaft and cartridge in the appropriate position, such as a first position for printing, para. [0079]) based on the detection.
The person of ordinary skill would have been motivated to ensure the holder is in the correct position and make corrections to the posture if it is not in the correct position in order to ensure or help to ensure good flow of ink for printing (Hamamoto, ensuring it is in the ink outflow position, pars. [0014] and para. [0079]).
Regarding claim 8, Tetsuhiro et al. discloses a stirring method shown outlined above for claim 1.
Tetsuhiro et al. discloses the stirring method includes causing a rotating holder (cartridge holder 30A) to perform a rotating operation (Fig. 11, rotation X1) in a state where the rotating holder holds a cartridge (ink cartridge 31) that accommodates a liquid agent in which a solute is precipitated in a solvent by the liquid agent being left still (the ink is liquid, being pumpable, para. [0014], and includes a precipitated solute: “sedimented ink”, Abstract).
Tetsuhiro et al. discloses correcting (correcting in that the holder is returned to the initial position F1 from position F2, such as for operation and delivering ink) a stop position (upon reaching the position F2 shown above for claim 1, Fig. 11, the holder and motor are stopped at least because they reach zero velocity during transition to the reverse direction X2) of the rotating holder to position the cartridge in a first posture (position F1) in a case where the rotating operation is stopped in a state where the cartridge is in a second posture (the rotation must at least involve zero velocity and thus be “stopped” at position F2 before reversing rotation in the X2 direction, Fig. 11) that is different from the first posture (position F2 is different from the first posture F1), wherein the first posture is a state in which the cartridge is in a normal stop posture (the position F1 is the initial position and the position to which the cartridge is returned, para. [0031]).
Otherwise, Hamamoto discloses a holder (container 40) for agitating a liquid (ink, Abstract) wherein the agitation is conducted using a rotating mechanism (cam 85) having a rotating shaft (shaft 84) connected to a motor (motor 81) and Hamamoto teaches correcting a stop position (such as a third position, para. [0032], corrected back to a first position where printing may be conducted, para. [0079]) of the holder (container 40) to position the holder in a first posture (first position) in a case where the rotating operation is stopped in a state where the cartridge is in a second posture (such as a third position, para. [0032]) that is different from the first posture, wherein the first posture is a state in which the cartridge is in a normal stop posture (a first position for printing, para. [0079]) where a detector (detector 86) is used to confirm the posture (para. [0071]).
Likewise, Osanai et al. discloses a method which is analogous art at least because it is reasonably pertinent to correcting the posture of rotating devices (including mixers/shakers, Fig. 7 and separators, Fig. 10) to an origin position using a detector (sensor 37, Fig. 7, sensor 5B, Fig. 10) for determining the position of the motor shaft (shaft 3Aa, Fig. 7, shaft 5G, Fig. 10) and to correct the position (para. [0008]) and Osanai et al. teaches correcting a stop position (para. [0008]) of a holder (holder 31, Fig. 7, holder 53, Fig. 10) to position a cartridge (tube 32, Fig. 7, tube 52, Fig. 10) in a first posture (a specified position, para. [0008]) in a case where the rotating operation is stopped in a state where the cartridge is in a second posture that is different from the first posture (para. [0008]), wherein the first posture is a state in which the cartridge is in a normal stop posture (a specified position, para. [0008]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the teachings of Tetsuhiro et al. wherein the method includes correcting a stop position of the rotating holder to position the cartridge in a first posture in a case where the rotating operation is stopped in a state where the cartridge is in a second posture that is different from the first posture, wherein the first posture is a state in which the cartridge is in a normal stop posture.
The person of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to correct a stop position using a detector (Hamamoto, detector 86) in order to ensure that the holder is in a position for printing (Hamamoto, para. [0079]).
Claim 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tetsuhiro et al. (attached translation of Applicant disclosed WO 2017217000A1) in view of Hamamoto (attached translation of JP 2016196093) and Osanai et al. (US 20040248130) as applied to claim 1 above and in further view of Kawate (US 20130321536) and Kamatsu et al. (US 6802893).
Regarding claim 5, Tetsuhiro et al. discloses wherein the cartridge includes, an ejection port (discharge port 38C) that ejects the liquid agent, and wherein the first posture is a posture in a state where the surface with the ejection port provided therein faces down (in position F1, the discharge at 38A is angled downward); Otherwise, Kawate teaches an ink cartridge (ink cartridge 10) and further teaches the discharge port faces down in a posture for delivering ink (Fig. 11A, para. [0075]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the teachings of Tetsuhiro et al. wherein the first posture is a posture in a state where the surface with the ejection port provided therein faces down.
The person of ordinary skill would have been motivated to have the port facing down in the first posture in order to facilitate delivery of ink.
Tetsuhiro et al. does not explicitly disclose a ventilation port in a surface that is different from a surface where the ejection port is provided.
However, Kawate et al. further teaches a ventilation port (air vent 16) in a surface that is different from a surface where the ejection port (port 13, Fig. 6) is provided.
Likewise, Kamatsu et al. teaches an ink cartridge (Fig. 1) and further teaches a ventilation port (vent holes 103) in a surface that is different from a surface where the ejection port (port 121) is provided.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the teachings of Tetsuhiro et al. wherein the device includes a ventilation port in a surface that is different from a surface where the ejection port is provided.
The person of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to include a ventilation port in order to vent the cartridge such as to allow for pressure regulation as ink is dispensed and to locate the ventilation port on a different side in order to provide for headspace in the cartridge.
Claim 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tetsuhiro et al. (attached translation of Applicant disclosed WO 2017217000A1) in view of Hamamoto (attached translation of JP 2016196093).
Regarding claim 6, Tetsuhiro et al. discloses a stirring device (Fig. 3, Abstract) shown above for claim 1.
Tetsuhiro et al. discloses the stirring device comprises a rotating holder (cartridge holder 30A) that is capable of performing a rotating operation in a state where the rotating holder holds a cartridge (ink cartridge 31) that accommodates a liquid agent in which a solute is precipitated in a solvent by the liquid agent being left still (the ink is liquid, being pumpable, para. [0014], and includes a precipitated solute: “sedimented ink”, Abstract); a drive motor (motor 43) that causes the rotating holder to perform the rotating operation (rotation X1); and a posture controller (control device 60 with control unit 71 controls operation of the motor 43 to move between the first posture, F1, and the second posture, F2, para. [0031]) and Tetsuhiro et al. discloses a first posture (posture F1, Fig. 11) and a second posture (posture F2, Fig. 11).
Tetsuhiro et al. does not disclose a posture controller that includes a photointerrupter
and an operation controller that controls an operation of the drive motor to stop the rotating holder at a position where the cartridge is in a first posture on a basis of a detection result of the photointerrupter.
However, Hamamoto discloses a holder (container 40) for agitating a liquid (ink, Abstract) wherein the agitation is conducted using a rotating mechanism (cam 85) having a rotating shaft (shaft 84) connected to a motor (motor 81) and Hamamoto teaches using a detector (detector 86) with a photointerrupter (sensors 87 and 88 of detector 86 may be photointerrupters, para. [0070]) for determining the posture by detecting the shaft position (shown above for claim 1) and Hamamoto further teaches a posture controller (comprising components of attitude changing unit 80, pars. [0069] and [0079]) that includes the photointerrupter (pars. [0069]-[0070]) that detects a stop position (para. [0079], a position that is not the first position, such as a second position/posture, para. [0080], or a third position, para. [0032]) of the holder and an operation controller (control unit 5 controls various subunits of the device, para. [0038], including the motor, para. [0078]) that controls an operation of the drive motor (motor 81, para. [0070]) to stop the holder at a position where the cartridge is in a first posture (the first position, para. [0079]) on a basis of a detection result of the photointerrupter (pars. [0078]-[0079]) wherein the first posture is a state in which the cartridge is in a normal stop posture (“normal” such as for printing, para. [0079]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the teachings of Tetsuhiro et al. wherein the device includes a posture controller that includes a photointerrupter (Hamamoto, components of attitude changing unit 80, pars. [0069] and [0079], which includes a photointerrupter, para. [0070]) that detects a stop position of the rotating holder and an operation controller (Tetsuhiro et al., control device 60 with control unit 71 and motor 43, Hamamoto, control unit 5) that controls an operation of the drive motor to stop the rotating holder at a position where the cartridge is in a first posture on a basis of a detection result of the photointerrupter, wherein the first posture is a state in which the cartridge is in a normal stop posture.
The person of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to include a posture controller that includes a photointerrupter and an operation controller that controls an operation of the drive motor to stop the rotating holder at a position where the cartridge is in a first posture on a basis of a detection result of the photointerrupter in order to ensure the cartridge is in the printing position (Hamamoto, para. [0079]).
Claim 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tetsuhiro et al. (attached translation of Applicant disclosed WO 2017217000A1) in view of Hamamoto (attached translation of JP 2016196093) as applied to claim 6 above and in further view of Kawate (US 20130321536) and Kamatsu et al. (US 6802893).
Regarding claim 7, Tetsuhiro et al. discloses wherein the cartridge includes, an ejection port (discharge port 38C) that ejects the liquid agent, and wherein the first posture is a posture in a state where the surface with the ejection port provided therein faces down (in position F1, the discharge at 38A is angled downward); Otherwise, Kawate teaches an ink cartridge (ink cartridge 10) and further teaches the discharge port faces down in a posture for delivering ink (Fig. 11A, para. [0075]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the teachings of Tetsuhiro et al. wherein the first posture is a posture in a state where the surface with the ejection port provided therein faces down.
The person of ordinary skill would have been motivated to have the port facing down in the first posture in order to facilitate delivery of ink.
Tetsuhiro et al. does not explicitly disclose a ventilation port in a surface that is different from a surface where the ejection port is provided.
However, Kawate et al. further teaches a ventilation port (air vent 16) in a surface that is different from a surface where the ejection port (port 13, Fig. 6) is provided.
Likewise, Kamatsu et al. teaches an ink cartridge (Fig. 1) and further teaches a ventilation port (vent holes 103) in a surface that is different from a surface where the ejection port (port 121) is provided.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the teachings of Tetsuhiro et al. to include a ventilation port in a surface that is different from a surface where the ejection port is provided.
The person of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to include a ventilation port in order to vent the cartridge such as to allow for pressure regulation as ink is dispensed and to locate the ventilation port on a different side in order to provide for headspace in the cartridge.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-4 are 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
The prior art of record discloses mixing devices which mix by rotating a container and which return to a normal position upon completing rotation/mixing. The prior art of record includes devices which comprise a rotating holder which holds a container or cartridge, including devices specifically for mixing ink, and which include a drive motor and a posture controller.
However, the prior art of record did not reasonably disclose, teach or otherwise suggest a device which comprises a rotating holder powered by a drive motor where the rotating holder holds a cartridge which undergoes a rotating mixing/stirring/agitating operation and which includes a posture controller which corrects a stop position of the rotating holder to rotate the holder back to a normal position and wherein the posture controller includes a spring member that applies a load to stop the rotating holder at a position where the cartridge is in the normal position.
Likewise, the prior art of record did not reasonably disclose, teach or otherwise suggest a device which comprises a rotating holder powered by a drive motor where the rotating holder holds a cartridge which undergoes a rotating mixing/stirring/agitating operation and which includes a posture controller which corrects a stop position of the rotating holder to rotate the holder back to a normal position and wherein the posture controller includes a weight that sets a center of gravity of the rotating holder to stop the rotating holder at a position where the cartridge is in the normal position.
Likewise, the prior art of record did not reasonably disclose, teach or otherwise suggest a device which comprises a rotating holder powered by a drive motor where the rotating holder holds a cartridge which undergoes a rotating mixing/stirring/agitating operation and which includes a posture controller which corrects a stop position of the rotating holder to rotate the holder back to a normal position and wherein the posture controller includes a magnet that stops the rotating holder at a position where the cartridge is in the normal position.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
Park et al. (attached translation of KR 101888051B1) discloses a mixing device for a container (fire extinguisher) where the container undergoes rotation manually and is returned to a normal position by a spring mechanism after rotation.
Rigas (attached WO 2019079220A) discloses a mixing device (a blender) able to be manually pivoted and where a magnet is used to secure the device in a normal position (vertical) when the device is not being pivoted.
Lyons et al. (US 20190172594) discloses an apparatus which includes a rotating shaft where a weight positions the shaft in a normal configuration after a motor stops.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to PATRICK M MCCARTY whose telephone number is (571)272-4398. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Thursday 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM.
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/P.M.M./Examiner, Art Unit 1774
/CLAIRE X WANG/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1774