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 Amendment
Acknowledgement is made of the receipt of Preliminary Amendment filed 21 September 2023.
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for priority a national stage application under 35 U.S.C. 371. The requirements 35 U.S.C. 371 are met.
Information Disclosure Statement
The references cited on a Form PTO 1449 have been considered.
Specification
The specification has been checked to the extent necessary to determine the presence of all possible minor errors. However, the applicant's cooperation is requested in correcting any errors of which applicant may become aware in the specification.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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) 1-5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by DeBrabander et al. (U.S. 2001/0028378 A1).
DeBrabander at al. disclose the following claimed limitations:
Regarding independent Claim 1, a method for manufacturing a nozzle plate for a fluid ejection head (Abstract, §§0025-0028 and Figs. 27-28) through following steps 1 to 5, a nozzle plate having at least a nozzle tapered portion and a straight communication passage (Abstract, §§0025-0028 and Figs. 27-28) in a nozzle hole, the nozzle plate manufacturing method comprising:
step 1: a step of preparing a single crystal silicon substrate whose surface has a crystal orientation of a [100] plane (40, §0014 and Fig. 1);
step 2: a step of uniformly forming a mask layer on the surface of the single crystal silicon substrate (50, §0014 and Fig. 1);
step 3: a step of forming an opening pattern in the mask layer (§0015 and Figs. 2-4);
step 4: a step of forming a through hole by penetrating the single crystal silicon substrate located below the opening pattern from the surface by dry etching (§0017 and Figs. 9-10); and
step 5: a step of forming a nozzle tapered portion and a straight communication passage continuous with the nozzle tapered portion by enlarging the through hole by anisotropic wet etching on the single crystal silicon substrate (§0018 and Figs. 11-12).
Regarding Claim 2, wherein following steps 6 and 7 are performed between steps 3 and 4,
step 6: a step of forming a hole by deep-etching the single crystal silicon substrate located below the opening pattern from the surface by dry etching (§0015 and Figs. 5-8), and
step 7: a step of forming a mask layer on a side wall of the hole (§0016 and Fig. 9-10).
Regarding Claim 3, wherein a step of forming a protective film covering a surface including an inside of the nozzle tapered portion and an inside of the straight communication passage is performed after step 5 (§0019 and Fig. 15).
Regarding independent Claim 4, a nozzle plate for a fluid ejection head (350, 360, Abstract, §§0025-0028 and Figs. 27-28), comprising:
a straight communication passage (§0018 and Figs. 11-12) in a direction in which a diameter of a nozzle tapered portion, which is formed by four [111] planes of single crystal silicon, increases.
Regarding Claim 5, a fluid ejection head, comprising the nozzle plate (350, 360, Abstract, §§0025-0028 and Figs. 27-28).
DeBrabander at al. disclose the following claimed limitations:
Regarding independent Claim 4, the straight communication passage being formed by four [100] planes continuous in the direction in which a diameter of a nozzle tapered portion, which is formed by four [111] planes of single crystal silicon, increases. However, instant specification is also silent with respect to any particulars of how this limitation is specifically met. There is a presumption that an adequate written description of the claimed invention is present when the application is filed (see MPEP §2163 A). It is, therefore, considered that the claimed limitation is inherent in a nozzle plate meting the other limitations of Claim 4.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ALEXANDER D SHENDEROV whose telephone number is (571)270-7049. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9-5.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Douglas X Rodrigues can be reached at (571) 431-0716. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ALEXANDER D SHENDEROV/Examiner, Art Unit 2853
/JASON S UHLENHAKE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2853
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