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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse is acknowledged.
Claims 2-4 and 13-17 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 9/8/2025.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claim 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 6 recites the limitation "the minimum number" in 3. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim Objections
Claim 12 is objected to because of the following informalities:
Line 5, change “equal to” to “is equal to”.
Appropriate correction is required.
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, 5, 6, 18 and 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Tsubotani (EP 3318405 A1).
Tsubotani discloses, with regards to claim:
A printing apparatus comprising:
a selection unit (figure 1, element 20, [0052] ) configured to select a predetermined number of nozzles (Figure 5, Element 123) from nozzles of a printhead including a plurality of nozzles configured to discharge a liquid droplet; and
a detection unit (15, fig. 4, [0042] ) configured to detect a discharge state of a liquid droplet by using the predetermined number of nozzles being selected, wherein
the selection unit selects the predetermined number of nozzles such that a nozzle having a discharge abnormality is not included in the predetermined number of nozzles ( [0064], [0088] ).
5. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the selection unit selects the predetermined number of nozzles from nozzle groups having a same drive timing in the nozzles of the printhead (the term “drive timing” is not defined, the nozzles are detected within the same timing window).
6. The printing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the selection unit selects the predetermined number of nozzles from a nozzle group including the minimum number of nozzles having a discharge abnormality among the nozzle groups (the head unit detected has some minimum number of nozzles having a discharge abnormality).
Claims 18 and 19 are rejected for similar rationale as claim 1.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 7-12 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
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Julian D Huffman whose telephone number is (571)272-2147. The examiner can normally be reached Monday through Friday 9am-6pm.
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JULIAN D. HUFFMAN
Supervisory Patent Examiner
Art Unit 2859
/JULIAN D HUFFMAN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2859