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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDSs) submitted on 1/2/24 and 4/16/24 are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statements have been considered by the examiner.
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Species 3 (fig. 7), claims 1-7 and 9-13 in the reply filed on 12/26/2025 is acknowledged.
However, the examiner disagrees with applicant’s election, for reasons discussed below. Thus, claims 1, 7 and 9-11 (which read on fig. 7) will be examined.
Applicant argues that while the pump is not explicitly depicted in fig 7, claims 2-4 also encompass the elected species. Paragraphs [0128]-[0138] were cited to support the assertion. This is not found persuasive because the drawing descriptions in paragraphs [0015] and [0016,] relating to figures 6 and 7 (the subject of [0128]-[0138],) read as follows; “FIG. 6 is a view showing the control of movement of cleaning liquid in an inkjet printing apparatus according to an embodiment,” and, “FIG. 7, is a view showing the control of movement of cleaning liquid in an inkjet printing apparatus according to another embodiment.” (Emphasis added.) They are described as two different embodiments. One includes a pump (FIGURE 6). One does not (FIGURE 7).
There is no discussion of claims 5, 6, 12 and 13 as to why they encompass the elected Species 3 (figure 7). Further, it is not understood, how claims 1-7, 12 and 13 are generic, as indicated.
Claims 2-6, 8 and 12-13 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected species, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 12/25/2025.
The requirement is still deemed proper and is therefore made FINAL.
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, 7, 9 and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by US 2020/0254765 to McConville et al. “McConville.”
With regard to Claim 1, McConville teaches an inkjet printing apparatus (204) comprising:
an inkjet print head (116) including at least one nozzle (118) configured to spray ink onto a print medium (106) [0021]; and
a cap (112) configured to be coupled to at least one area of the inkjet print head (116), and configured to protect the at least one nozzle in response to being coupled to the inkjet print head [0022],
wherein the cap (112) includes an accommodation space (114) opened toward the at least one nozzle (118) [0022], and
wherein the accommodation space (118) is configured to accommodate cleaning liquid for preventing ink from coagulating in the at least one nozzle [0032].
With regard to Claim 7, McConville teaches wherein the cap (112) comprises a cleaning liquid inlet (not labeled, but supply line 138 is shown penetrating the cap in fig. 4) penetrating the cap (112) and configured to introduce the cleaning liquid (134) into the accommodation space (114) [0024 and 0028].
With regard to Claim 9, McConville teaches wherein the cap (112) further comprises a cleaning liquid outlet (not labeled, but supply line 136 is shown penetrating the cap in fig. 4) penetrating the cap (112) and configured to discharge the cleaning liquid (134) accommodated in the accommodation space (114) to outside of the cap [0029].
With regard to Claim 10, McConville teaches a sealing member (28) arranged adjacent to at least one of the cleaning liquid inlet and the cleaning liquid outlet and blocking fluid communication between the accommodation space and outside of the cap (112) [0029].
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) 11 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over McConville as modified by JP 2017-128010 A to Wanibe.
With regard to Claim 11, McConville teaches the claimed invention except for
further comprising: a cleaning liquid supply path connected to the cleaning liquid inlet and configured to supply the cleaning liquid to the cap; a cleaning liquid discharge path connected to the cleaning liquid outlet and configured to discharge the cleaning liquid from the cap; and a 1-way valve arranged on at least one of the cleaning liquid supply path and the cleaning liquid discharge path and configured to control movement of a fluid.
However, Wanibe teaches a cleaning liquid supply path (15) connected to the cleaning liquid inlet (not shown) and configured to supply the cleaning liquid to the cap (7); a cleaning liquid discharge path (18) connected to the cleaning liquid outlet (not shown) and configured to discharge the cleaning liquid from the cap (7); and a 1-way valve (19) arranged on at least one of the cleaning liquid supply path (15) and the cleaning liquid discharge path and configured to control movement of a fluid [0050]. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the claimed invention to modify McConville with the teachings of Wanibe to fill the filling liquid in the cap for an amount and for a period sufficient to reduce ink stains. Ink stains can be reduced [0050].
Examiner Note
The examiner cites particular columns and lines numbers (or paragraphs or figures) in the references as applied to the claims above for the convenience of the applicant. The specified citations are representative of the teachings in the art and are applied to the specific limitations within the individual claim. Other passages and figures may apply as well. It is respectfully requested that, in preparing responses, applicant fully consider the references in their entirety as potentially teaching all or part of the claimed invention, as well as the context of the passage as taught by the prior art or disclosed by the examiner.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. JP 2009000911 A discloses a cap unit 131 is a device that holds a cap that covers the nozzle surface 14 of the print head 12 and prevents the nozzle holes from drying. The cap unit 131 also has a function of creating a reduced pressure state by extracting air from the cap with a pump (not shown) and sucking and discharging ink in the nozzle holes of the print head 12.
US 20200254761 A1 discloses a cap is positioned to contact a printhead when the printhead is not ejecting liquid ink. The cap and the printhead create a sealed space adjacent printhead nozzles when contacting each other. A flexible blade is positioned to contact the printhead when the printhead is not in contact with the cap. The flexible blade is adapted to fold over to spread a liquid solution on the nozzles in a first direction, and the flexible blade is adapted to remove excess amounts of the liquid solution from the nozzles in a second direction. A humidifier is connected to the cap and adapted to supply a moisture form of the liquid solution to the sealed space. A moisture sensor is connected to the cap. The humidifier is adapted to vary supply of the moisture to the sealed space based on the amount of moisture detected by the moisture sensor.
Communication with the PTO
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SHARON A POLK whose telephone number is (571)270-7910. The examiner can normally be reached M-F, 7-3.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Douglas Rodriguez 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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SHARON A. POLK
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2853
/Sharon Polk/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2853