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) 1-3, 6-8 and 10-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Murakami et al. (2011/0074892) in view of Koizumi et al. (6,000,792).
Regarding claim 1, Murakami teaches an inkjet printing apparatus comprising:
a plurality of inkjet heads (fig. 7, items 20) configured to discharge ink;
a supply storage device (fig. 7, item 21) configured to supply the ink to the plurality of inkjet heads;
a plurality of supply flow paths (fig. 7, flow paths 46/50) configured to move the ink from the supply storage device to the plurality of inkjet heads (see fig. 7);
a plurality of discharge flow paths (fig. 7, items 54/55) configured to move the ink from the plurality of inkjet heads to the supply storage device (see fig. 7); and
a plurality of by-pass lines (fig. 7, items 64, 68) directly connecting the plurality of supply flow paths with the plurality of discharge flow paths (see fig. 7),
wherein the plurality of flow by-pass lines are directly connected to the plurality of supply flow paths and the plurality of discharge flow paths to selectively by-pass ink flow to each of the plurality of inkjet heads, individually (see fig. 7, Note that if the plurality of inkjet heads is defined to be the first head and the last head shown, and there are two by-pass lines as defined above, each of the by-pass lines can be said to selectively by-pass one of the two heads defined in the plurality of heads, individually),
further comprising a plurality of flow rate regulators (fig. 7, items 66, 67) disposed in the plurality of by-pass lines configured to individually bypass each of the plurality of inkjet heads, respectively (see fig. 7),
wherein the plurality of flow rate regulators are configured to regulate a flow rate of the ink moving along the plurality of by-pass lines (fig. 7, Note that the flow rates through the by-pass lines changes depending on whether the valves are open or closed).
Murakami does not expressly teach wherein the plurality of by-pass lines comprises at least three by-pass lines. Koizumi teaches each of four printheads having a dedicated by-pass line (Koizumi, see figs. 6, 20, Note four printheads 1/204Bk-204C, and note that each printhead has its own by-pass line 18). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide each individual printhead disclosed by Murakami with its own by-pass line, as disclosed by Koizumi, because doing so would allow for more precise control over ink flow within the printing system.
Upon combination, each of Murakami’s printheads would have its own by-pass line just upstream in the supply path and downstream in the discharge path.
Regarding claim 3, Murakami in view of Koizumi teaches the inkjet printing apparatus of claim 2, further comprising a plurality of valves (Murakami, fig. 7, items 52) disposed in the plurality of supply flow paths, wherein the plurality of valves are configured to adjust a flow of the ink moving along the plurality of supply flow paths (Murakami, fig. 7, Note valves adjust whether liquid flows or not).
Regarding claim 6, Murakami in view of Koizumi teaches the inkjet printing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the plurality of supply flow paths include first to fifth supply flow paths, the first supply flow path (Murakami, fig. 7, item 46) is connected to the supply storage device (Murakami, see fig. 7) and diverged into the second supply flow path and the third supply flow path at a first divergence point, the second supply flow path is connected to the first divergence point and a second divergence point and diverged into the fourth supply flow path and the fifth supply flow path at the second divergence point, and the fourth and fifth supply flow paths are each connected to one of the plurality of inkjet heads (Murakami, see fig. 7, Note that any four supply flow paths 50 diverged from supply flow path 46 meet the limitations of the second to fifth flow paths. That is, the language is broad enough that any of flow paths 50 can be said to “diverge from” flow path 46 at a divergence point between itself and an adjacent supply flow path 50 at a “divergence point.” Also note that the whole system can be said to be “connected” as liquid flows throughout).
Regarding claim 7, Murakami in view of Koizumi teaches the inkjet printing apparatus of claim 6, wherein the plurality of discharge flow paths include first to fifth discharge flow paths, the first discharge flow path and the second discharge flow path are each connected to one of the plurality of inkjet heads and are merged into the third discharge flow path at a first merging point, the third discharge flow path is connected to the first merging point and a second merging point, and the third discharge flow path and the fourth discharge flow path are merged into the fifth discharge flow path at the second merging point, and the fifth discharge flow path is connected to the supply storage device (Murakami, see fig. 7, Note that any four discharge flow paths 55 diverged from discharge flow path 54 meet the limitations of the second to fifth flow discharge paths. That is, the language is broad enough that any of flow paths 55 can be said to “diverge from” flow path 54 at a divergence point between itself and an adjacent discharge flow path 55 at a “divergence point.” Also note that the whole system can be said to be “connected” as liquid flows throughout).
Regarding claim 8, Murakami in view of Koizumi teaches the inkjet printing apparatus of claim 7, wherein the plurality of by-pass lines include at least one of a first by-pass line or a second by-pass line (Murakami, see fig. 7), the first by-pass line connects the fourth supply flow path with the first discharge flow path, and the second by-pass line connects the fifth supply flow path with the second discharge flow path (Murakami, Again, note that the entire system is connected. Note that bypass lines are connected to supply and discharge lines on opposite ends of the first and second supply and discharge lines. Thus, if the second and third supply and discharge lines are defined as those on one side of the main supply and discharge lines, and the fourth and fifth supply and discharge lines are on an opposite end of the main supply and discharge lines, the limitations are met).
Regarding claim 10, Murakami in view of Koizumi teaches the inkjet printing apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a pump disposed in the plurality of supply flow paths (Murakami, fig. 7, item 48), wherein the pump is configured to provide a driving force so that the ink moves along the plurality of supply flow paths (Murakami, see fig. 7).
Regarding claim 11, Murakami in view of Koizumi teaches the inkjet printing apparatus of claim 10, wherein the supply storage device is provided as one or more, the pump is provided as one or more, a total number of the one or more supply storage devices and a total number of the one or more pumps are each smaller than a total number of the plurality of inkjet heads (Murakami, see fig. 7).
Regarding claim 12, Murakami in view of Koizumi teaches the inkjet printing apparatus of claim 11, wherein the plurality of inkjet heads are connected to one supply storage device and one pump (Murakami, see fig. 7).
Regarding claim 13, Murakami in view of Koizumi teaches the inkjet printing apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a buffer storage device (Murakami, fig. 7, item 86) configured to supply the ink to the supply storage device (Murakami, fig. 7, Note that subtank 86 in discharge line supplies ink back to the supply storage device 21).
Regarding claim 14, Murakami in view of Koizumi teaches the inkjet printing apparatus of claim 13, further comprising: a first buffer flow path (Murakami, fig. 7, path between 86 and 21) configured to move the ink from the buffer storage device to the supply storage device (Murakami, see fig. 7); and a second buffer flow path (Murakami, fig. 7, path between item 86 in supply path) configured to move the ink from the first buffer flow path to the buffer storage device (Murakami, see fig. 7, Note that liquid is moved circulated through the entire system, so any component can be said to move ink to any other component).
Regarding claim 15, Murakami in view of Koizumi teaches the inkjet printing apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of manifolds (Murakami, fig. 7, items 40) disposed between the plurality of supply flow paths and the plurality of inkjet heads, wherein the plurality of manifolds are configured to supply the ink to a plurality of nozzles included in the plurality of inkjet heads (Murakami, see fig. 7).
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 6/18/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. The claims have been amended to further specify the structure of the device, but the amendments fail to distinguish the claimed invention from the prior art. The rejections above have been updated to reflect the changes to the claims. The standing prior art rejection is maintained.
Further, Applicant argues that Murakami’s elements 64 and 68 are not by-pass lines but rather circulation tubes that do not serves to bypass individual heads. Examiner maintains items 64 and 68 can reasonably be said to bypass individual heads. Specifically, when valve 52 of head 40 lowest on page is closed and valve 66 is open, ink bypasses the ink head supply line 50(51) and is returned to the ink tank 21. Similarly, when valve 67 is open, ink from the return path bypasses head 40 highest on page and is refed to the supply path further downstream than the head supply path 50(51) of the head highest on page. Thus, while Murakami teaches “circulating paths” rather than “by-pass lines,” the effect of bypassing printheads is the same. Further, while the by-pass lines of the claimed invention may be intended to serve a different purpose from the circulation paths disclosed by Murakami, nothing in the claimed language structurally distinguishes the two.
Alternatively, Koizumi very expressly teaches wherein each head has a dedicated by-pass line.
The standing prior art rejection is maintained.
Conclusion
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/ALEJANDRO VALENCIA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2853
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