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 (IDS) submitted on 1/5/2026 and 3/8/2024 are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statements are being considered by the examiner.
Election/Restrictions
Claims 8-9 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected species, there being no allowable generic or linking claim.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 1/5/2026.
Claim Objections
Claim 5 is objected to because of the following informalities: please change the recitation of “The” (line 2 of the claim) to “the” to place the claim in proper sentence format. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 11 is objected to because of the following informalities: please change the recitation of “the effective area” (line 2 of the claim) to “an effective area” to correct a minor antecedent basis issue. Appropriate correction is required.
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1, 3, 5, 10, 14, 16, and 18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1/2) as being anticipated by Goto (US 2021/0016570 A1).
Regarding claims 1 and 14:
Goto discloses a liquid ejection apparatus using a liquid ejection head (printhead 3) and ejecting liquid from the liquid ejection head (paragraph 36), the liquid ejection apparatus comprising:
a driving unit (of controller 600) configured to drive a heating element (electrothermal transducer 102); and
a detection unit (of controller 600) configured to detect an ejection state of the liquid ejection head based on an output from a temperature detection element (a temperature detection element 132) provided in the liquid ejection head (Figs. 4A-B) in a case where the driving unit drives the heating element to eject liquid from an ejection port (orifice 121) of the liquid ejection head (paragraphs 68-69),
wherein the liquid ejection head includes, in correspondence to the ejection port:
a foaming chamber (liquid chamber 300) communicating with the ejection port (Fig. 4B);
a first heating element (heating resistor layer 104 of transducer 102) for ejecting liquid from the ejection port by providing thermal energy to liquid in the foaming chamber (paragraph 54);
the temperature detection element for detecting temperature in the foaming chamber (Figs. 4A-B); and
a second heating element (heating resistor layer 104 of temperature detection element 132) generating thermal energy (paragraph 63) and arranged closer to the temperature detection element than the first heating element (Fig. 4B).
Regarding claims 3 and 16:
Goto discloses all the limitations of claims 1/14, and also that the first and second heating elements are provided in a substrate (element substrate 100) configuring the liquid ejection head (Fig. 4),
wherein the temperature detection element is provided at a position other than a position above the first heating element (Figs 4A-B) and so that at least part of the temperature detection element exists within the foaming chamber on a surface facing the foaming chamber of the substrate (Fig. 4).
Regarding claims 5 and 18:
Goto discloses all the limitations of claims 1/14, and also that the first heating element and the second heating element are formed of the same material (paragraph 62).
Regarding claim 10:
Goto discloses all the limitations of claim 1, and also that the driving unit controls thermal energy generated by the second heating element so that air bubbles do not occur in liquid (“does not cause foaming of the ink”: paragraph 70).
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, 4, 12-15, and 17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kuk (US 2010/0039477 A1) in view of Campbell et al. (US 4870433).
Please note that the absence of a claim rejection under this heading does constitute an indication of allowability over the cited prior art, unless otherwise indicated.
Regarding claims 1 and 15:
Kuk disclose a liquid ejection apparatus using a liquid ejection head (“thermal inkjet printhead”) and ejecting liquid from the liquid ejection head (paragraph 30), the liquid ejection apparatus comprising:
a driving unit (at least driving transistors 160) configured to drive a heating element (e.g. heaters 114); and
a detection unit configured to detect an ejection state of the liquid ejection head based on an output from a temperature detection element (resistor 150) provided in the liquid ejection head (Fig. 3) in a case where the driving unit drives the heating element to eject liquid from an ejection port (nozzle 132) of the liquid ejection head (paragraphs 38-42),
wherein the liquid ejection head includes, in correspondence to the ejection port:
a foaming chamber (ink chamber 122) communicating with the ejection port (Fig. 2);
heating element (heater 114) for ejecting liquid from the ejection port by providing thermal energy to liquid in the foaming chamber (paragraph 38);
the temperature detection element for detecting temperature in the foaming chamber (Figs. 3-4).
Kuk does not expressly disclose that the liquid ejection head includes a second heating element generating thermal energy and arranged closer to the temperature detection element than the first heating element.
However, Campbell et al. disclose a liquid ejection head that includes first and second heating elements (respective heating portions 31/32: Fig. 3) that generate thermal energy (col. 3, lines 50-66) with improved reliability (col. 4, lines 14-20).
Therefore, at the time of filing, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to modify Kuk’s hearing element to include first and second heating elements, as taught by Campbell et al. In doing so, the second heating element is naturally closer to the temperature detection element than the first heating element.
Regarding claims 4 and 17:
Kuk’s modified apparatus comprises all the limitations of claims 1/14, and Campbell et al. also disclose that the first heating element and the second heating element are connected in parallel (at least two heating portions 31 on opposite sides of opening 30: Fig. 3).
Regarding claim 11:
Kuk’s modified apparatus comprises all the limitations of claim 4, and Campbell et al. also disclose that a length of an effective area of each of the first heating element and the second heating element is determined such that thermal energy generated by a power density of the second heating element does not cause air bubbles to occur in liquid (col. 4, lines 48-68 teach that the geometry of the heating elements are determined).
Examiner notes that the limitation “such that the thermal energy generated by a power density of the second heating element does not cause air bubbles to occur in liquid” is a recitation of intended use for the claimed second heating element. Specifically, the result of “not causing air bubbles to occur” is dependent on the “power density” that a user applies to the heating elements. Because, for any given heating element, a user may apply a sufficiently low power density such that air bubbles do not occur (e.g. preheating pulses), this limitation fails to structurally limit the claimed heating elements.
Regarding claim 12:
Kuk’s modified apparatus comprises all the limitations of claim 11, and Campbell et al. also disclose that a driving unit drives the first heating element and the second heating element at the same time (col. 4, lines 1-20 & Fig. 3).
Regarding claim 13:
Kuk’s modified apparatus comprises all the limitations of claim 12, and Campbell et al. also disclose that a driving unit drives the first heating element and the second heating element at the same time (at least when the first and second heating elements are disposed at different respective positions in the parallel legs of heater 12: col. 4, lines 1-20 & Fig. 3).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2, 6-7, 15, and 19-20 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 2 and 6-7 appear to contain allowable subject matter because the prior art of record does not expressly disclose or make obvious a liquid ejection apparatus comprising a liquid ejection head comprising a temperature detection element that is “provided above the second heating element on the surface facing the foaming chamber of the substrate.” It is this limitation, in combination with other features and limitations of claim 2, that indicates allowable subject matter over the prior art of record.
Claims 15 and 19-20 appear to contain allowable subject matter because the prior art of record does not expressly disclose or make obvious a liquid ejection head comprising a temperature detection element that is “provided above the second heating element on the surface facing the foaming chamber of the substrate.” It is this limitation, in combination with other features and limitations of claim 15, that indicates allowable subject matter over the prior art of record.
Communication with the USPTO
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Shelby L Fidler whose telephone number is (571)272-8455. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday, 8:30am - 5pm EST.
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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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SHELBY L. FIDLER
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2853
/SHELBY L FIDLER/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2853