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 .
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s 12/8/25 arguments with respect to the 112 rejections, dated 8/8/25, are persuasive.
Applicant’s arguments with respect to the prior art rejections of claim(s) 1-3 and 13 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Claim Objections
Claims 14-19 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.
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) 1, 3, and 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Ribiero et al. (US 2016/0039216 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Ribiero discloses A continuous inkjet printer comprising:
a cabinet (see fig. 11A,B) having a first side and a second side (inherent in fig. 11A,B);
components of an ink circuit of the continuous inkjet printer that are to be accessed by a printer technician (intended-use) being located in and accessible from the first side of the cabinet (12 and 22, fig. 11A, para 119); and
components of the continuous inkjet printer that are to be accessed by a printer user (intended-use) being located in the second side of the cabinet (70, fig. 11A, para 202), wherein the components of the continuous inkjet printer that are located in the second side of the cabinet comprise one or more single-block or whole-block removable assemblies (see para 202), wherein the one or more single-block or whole-block removable assemblies comprise an ink pump module, a filter module, or an ink recovery module (see para 202).
Regarding claim 3, Ribiero further discloses The continuous inkjet printer of claim 1 wherein the one or more single-block or whole-block removable assemblies comprise the ink pump module, the filter module, and the ink recovery module (see para 202).
Regarding claim 13, Ribiero further discloses The continuous inkjet printer of claim 1, comprising a removable hydraulic module comprising two or more components of the continuous inkjet printer that are most active during operation of the continuous inkjet printer and thus tend to wear out before other components of the continuous inkjet printer (50/80, fig. 10, para 152,230).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 14-19 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.
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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JUSTIN SEO whose telephone number is (571)270-1327. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9am-5pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Ricardo I Magallanes can be reached at 571-272-5960. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/JUSTIN SEO/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2853
February 11, 2026