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, 2, 4 and 6-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Komatsu (2022/0250385) in view of Nagashima (2007/0229611).
Regarding claim 1, Komatsu teaches a maintenance assembly for an inkjet head, which comprises:
a housing (fig. 4, item 51) having an upper face (fig. 4, face of portion generally denoted by 107 facing nozzles 105) facing a nozzle face (fig. 11, inside face of cap 51 facing nozzles 22) on which nozzles for discharging a chemical liquid on a substrate are arranged (note that ink contains chemicals); and
a fluid supplying part (fig. 4, item 55a) for providing a humidity control fluid onto the nozzles and the nozzle face such that a humidity of the nozzles and a humidity of the nozzle face are adjusted to a set humidity if the humidity of the nozzles and the humidity of the nozzle face are different from the set humidity ([0065], [0088]-[0090], [0141]), wherein the humidity control fluid is selected from an oxygen gas, a nitrogen gas, a clean dried air and combinations thereof ([0101], note that clean air carries vapor),
a fluid distributing part (fig. 4, item 52) between the fluid supplying part and the nozzle face (see fig. 4), configured to uniformly distribute the humidity control fluid over the nozzles and the nozzle face (see fig. 4), wherein the fluid distributing part has a mesh structure ([0058]).
Komatsu does not teach wherein the fluid supply part includes a heater. Nagashima teaches this ([0150], fig. 11, item 113). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add a heater of the type disclosed by Nagashima to the fluid supply part of Komatsu because doing so would allow for further control of the exact humidity in the fluid, thereby allowing for more precise control over the evaporative condition of the nozzles.
Regarding claim 2, Komatsu in view of Nagashima teaches the maintenance assembly for an inkjet head of claim 1, wherein the fluid supplying part includes an inflow line (Komatsu, fig. 5, item 66e) through which the humidity control fluid is provided from an external source (Komatsu, fig. 5, item 61), a humidity controlling part (Komatsu, fig. 16, item 91/60) for enabling the humidity control fluid to have the set humidity, and a supply line for providing the humidity control fluid having the set humidity onto the nozzles and the nozzle face (Komatsu, [0091]-[0092]).
Regarding claim 4, Komatsu in view of Nagashima teaches the maintenance assembly for an inkjet head of claim 2, further comprising a humidity sensing part for measuring the humidity of the nozzles and the humidity of the nozzle face, wherein the humidity controlling part adjusts the humidity of the humidity control fluid in accordance with results measured by the humidity sensing part (Nagashima, [0136]-[0138]).
Regarding claim 6, Komatsu in view of Nagashima teaches the maintenance assembly for an inkjet head of claim 1, further comprising a guide part (Komatsu, fig. 4, item 56C) for maintaining a constant distance between the upper face of the housing and the nozzle face (Komatsu, fig. 4).
Regarding claim 7, Komatsu in view of Nagashima teaches the maintenance assembly for an inkjet head of claim 1, further comprising a pressure controlling part for adjusting a pressure of the humidity control fluid, and a fluid discharging part for discharging the humidity control fluid to an outside (Komatsu, see fig. 4, Note that the pressure of the fluid is necessarily “controlled,” and note that “an outside” has not been defined. The fluid is supplied from fluid accommodating portion 61 to an outside of the fluid accommodating portion).
Regarding claim 9, Komatsu in view of Nagashima teaches the maintenance assembly for an inkjet head of claim 1, further comprising a chemical liquid collecting part (Komatsu, fig. 4, item 56b) for collecting a remaining chemical liquid or a falling chemical liquid from the nozzles and the nozzle face in a vacuum suction manner (Komatsu, see fig. 4).
Regarding claim 10, Komatsu in view of Nagashima teaches the maintenance assembly for an inkjet head of claim 9, wherein the chemical liquid collecting part includes a chemical liquid receiving part for receiving the remaining chemical liquid or the falling chemical liquid, a chemical liquid discharging part for temporally storing and discharging the remaining chemical liquid or the falling chemical liquid, and a connection line coupled to the chemical liquid receiving part and the chemical liquid discharging part (Komatsu, fig. 5, Note evacuation path 56b, 81a, 83-84).
Claim(s) 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Komatsu in view of Nagashima as applied to claim 1, and further in view of Vronsky (2019/0280204)
Regarding claim 8, Komatsu in view of Nagashima teaches the maintenance assembly for an inkjet head of claim 1. Komatsu in view of Nagashima does not teach wherein the maintenance assembly further comprises an oxygen sensing part for measuring an amount of oxygen in the humidity control fluid over the nozzles and the nozzle face, and an amount of the humidity control fluid provided onto the nozzles and the nozzle face is adjusted in accordance with results measured by the oxygen sensing part. Vronsky teaches a printing apparatus with an oxygen sensor to monitor and adjust oxygen and humidity levels according to readings (Vronsky, [0060]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention to apply the oxygen-concentration metering and supply system disclosed by Vronsky to the device disclosed by Komatsu in view of Nagashima would allow for precise control of the levels of oxygen present in the environment and more specifically proximate to the nozzle surface.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1 have been considered but are moot in light of the new ground(s) of rejection.
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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