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.
Claim(s) 1, 3-5, 9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee US 2005/0190232 in view of Stephany US 5,422,665 and Tsukamoto et al US 2011/0175956].
Regarding claim 1: Lee teaches: A drive method of a liquid discharge apparatus (inkjet, abstract) including a first liquid discharge section having a first nozzle (nozzle (paragraph 0054), a first pressure chamber (104, fig. 4) that is configured to communicate with the first nozzle, a first piezoelectric element (piezoelectric actuator, paragraph 0054) that is configured to apply a pressure to a liquid in the first pressure chamber (pressure, paragraph 54), a first drive line (151 fig. 4) that is configured to be coupled to the first piezoelectric element, and a first resistor (238, fig. 6, paragraph 0018, 0074) that is configured to measure a temperature of the liquid in the first pressure chamber (temperature detector 238, paragraph 0074), and a second liquid discharge section having a second nozzle, a second pressure chamber that is configured to communicate with the second nozzle, and a second piezoelectric element that is configured to apply a pressure to a liquid in the second pressure chamber (fig. 4, showing 2 identical ink jet nozzles arrangement), in which each of the first piezoelectric element and the second piezoelectric element has a first electrode (141, fig. 4), a second electrode (143, fig. 4), and a piezoelectric body (142, fig. 4) disposed between the first electrode and the second electrode, and the first resistor is made of the same material as any of the first electrode, the second electrode, and the first drive line (paragraph 0074, paragraph 0033, the metal layer may be formed of platinum, note: since electrode and drive wire are all metal conductors, it would have been obvious to use platinum to reduce the effort in searching different metal material for manufacturing the printhead. It would also reduce the design cost), wherein the first resistor has a portion in contact with the piezoelectric body of the first piezoelectric element, and does not contact the second liquid discharge section. (fig. 6, 238 is in contact with 242 but bot showing contacting second liquid discharge section, also see paragraph 0076, temperature detector 238 for detecting ink temperature is integrally formed with the piezoelectric actuator 140).
Lee does not teach: the method comprising: detecting a potential of the first resistor when a state of a potential applied to the first drive line is in a state of causing no liquid to be discharged from the first nozzle, during an execution period of a first printing process of printing a first image on a recording medium by a liquid discharged from the second nozzle without discharging a liquid from the first nozzle.
Stephany teaches to continuously measure the ink temperature or to update the readings from the device as often as possible, in order to obtain a high speed or high quality printing system (column 2, lines 1-7). Stephany, column 5, lines 60-65, teaches in order to measure the temperature of the thermistor, the change of voltage needed to be monitored. (note: simple mathematics, the change of voltage = previous voltage-current voltage), and hence the potential of the first resistors needs to be monitored to determine the potential change. Stephany column 1, lines 10-15 further teaches droplets of ink are selective emitted from a plurality of drop ejectors in a print head, in accordance with digital instructions, to create a desired image on a surface.
Tsukamoto fig. 12C and paragraph 0092, 0096 teaches to continue applying potential to the drive line in an idle state during a printing process (state of causing no liquid to discharged from the first nozzle when the first nozzle is in idle state) to avoid ejection failure (paragraph 95).
Therefore, it would have been obvious toa person with ordinary skill in the art to have modified Lee to include selectively emitting ink for the first and second such that there is an execution period of a first printing process of printing a first image on a recording medium by a liquid discharged from the second nozzle without discharging a liquid from the first nozzle in order to create a desired/high quality image.
It would have been further obvious to modify Lee to include: detecting a potential of the first resistor when a state of a potential applied to the first drive line is in a state of causing no liquid to be discharged from the first nozzle (first nozzle is in idle state), during an execution period of a first printing process of printing a first image on a recording medium by a liquid discharged from the second nozzle without discharging a liquid from the first nozzle in order to prevent ink ejection failure as well as obtaining a high quality print.
Regarding claim 3: Tsukamoto teaches: the drive method of a liquid discharge apparatus according to claim 1, wherein during the execution period of the first printing process, no potential is applied to the first drive line over a period during which the potential of the first resistor is detected (fig. 12 showing there are period during which no potential is applies (the period between pulses. Note: as previous discussed, the potential of the first resistor is continuously monitored and therefore, during the period of no potential is applied to the first drive line, the potential of the first resistor is detected).
Regarding claim 4: Tsukamoto teaches: the drive method of a liquid discharge apparatus according to claim 1, wherein during the execution period of the first printing process, a constant potential is applied to the first drive line over a period during which the potential of the first resistor is detected. (fig. 12, the top of the pulse showing a constant potential is applies to the first drive line. Note: as previous discussed, the potential of the first resistor is continuously monitored and therefore, during the period of constant potential is applied to the first drive line, the potential of the first resistor is detected).
Regarding claim 5: Lee teaches: the drive method of a liquid discharge apparatus according to claim 1, wherein during the execution period of the first printing process, the second piezoelectric element is driven to discharge the liquid from the second nozzle by receiving a supply of a drive signal (paragraph 0008, paragraph 0004), and
Tsukamoto teaches during the execution period of the first printing process, a potential with a smaller potential change than the drive signal is applied to the first drive line over a period during which the potential of the first resistor is detected (fig. 12. 106, 104, showing a potential with a smaller potential change than the drive signal is applied to the drive line when the nozzle is idle. Note: as previous discussed, the potential of the first resistor is continuously monitored and therefore, during the period of smaller potential change than the drive signal is applied to the first drive line, the potential of the first resistor is detected).
Regarding claim 9: Lee, Stephany, and Tsukamoto teach the drive method of a liquid discharge apparatus according to claim 1, wherein
the second liquid discharge section (see fig. 4 of Lee showing 2 identical nozzles) further has a second drive line (151, fig. 4) that is configured to couple to the second piezoelectric element, and a second resistor (238, fig. 6) that is configured to measure a temperature of the liquid in the second pressure chamber, the second resistor is made of the same material as any of the first electrode, the second electrode, and the second drive line, and a potential of the second resistor is detected when a state of a potential applied to the second drive line is in a state of causing no liquid to be discharged from the second nozzle, during an execution period of a second printing process of printing a second image on the recording medium by a liquid discharged from the first nozzle without discharging a liquid from the second nozzle.
Note: this is the situation that when second nozzle is idle and the first nozzle is printing. The same logic in discussing claim 1 applies here. Please see rejection of claim 1.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 6-8 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.
Claims 10-21 are allowed.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 10/09/2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Applicant argues that Lee does not disclose or suggest a temperature detector that includes a portion in contact with the piezoelectric layer 142 of the piezoelectric actuator 140 that is configured to apply pressure to a liquid in a pressure chamber 104. Rather, it appears that Lee discloses a temperature detector 238 that includes a portion in contact with the dummy piezoelectric layer 242 and that is not configured to apply pressure to a liquid in a pressure chamber 104.
In response, Fig. 6 of Lee is only showing a portion of the temperature 238 and piezoelectric layer 242. The examiner is viewing the piezoelectric layer 242 is part of the piezoelectric actuator 140. Furthermore, paragraph 54 of Lee discussed the piezoelectric actuator is used to apply pressure to the liquid in pressure chamber 104. (see paragraph 54); paragraph 76 of Lee disclosed that the temperature detector 238 for detecting ink temperature is integrally formed with the piezoelectric actuator. Furthermore the temperature detector is used to detect the temperature of the pressure chamber; it would have been obvious that the temperature detector for the first pressure chamber should not be in contact with the second pressure chamber in order to correctly measuring the temperature of the first pressure chamber and vice vera.
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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/KING Y POON/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2617