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 statement (IDS) submitted on 4/24/26 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities: The last sentence of Paragraph [0007] as originally filed (which is essentially claim 1) is unclear. It is not clear if two elements are in contact with each other or if two elements form another element or both. Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claims 1-8 are 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.
With regard to Claim 1, as written, it is unclear. A protrusion is claimed on the lower surface (of the cl. However, it is not clear if the protrusion is in contact with the cleaning liquid discharged from the opening. Or what is formed between the protrusion, opening and the cleaning liquid?
With regard to claim 2, there is a lack of antecedent basis with regard to the claimed “the protrusions.” Also, “is provided,” should be “are provided.”
With regard to claim 5, there is a lack of antecedent basis with regard to the claimed “openings.”
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, 4 and 7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by JP 2011051281A to Onishi.
With regard to Claim 1, as best understood, Onishi teaches an ink jet recording apparatus (1) comprising:
an inkjet head (40) provided with a nozzle surface (42) on which ink ejection ports of a plurality of nozzles (not labeled) are opened;
a blade (121) movable in contact with the nozzle surface (42); and
a cleaning liquid supply member (101) which supplies a cleaning liquid to at least one of the nozzle surface and the blade (121),
wherein the cleaning liquid supply member (101) has a lower surface, and on the lower surface, an opening through which the cleaning liquid is discharged (not labeled. See bottom of 101 in figure 3) and a protrusion (on the bottom of 121 is a protrusion) with which the cleaning liquid discharged through the opening (fig. 3) can be in contact are formed.
With regard to Claim 4, as best understood, Onishi teaches wherein the protrusion is arranged corresponding to the opening in a moving direction of the blade (fig. 3)
With regard to Claim 7, as best understood, Onishi teaches further comprising: a cleaning liquid supply mechanism (102) which is disposed separated away from the inkjet head (40) and supplies the cleaning liquid to the cleaning liquid supply member (101), wherein the cleaning liquid supply member (101) is supplied with the cleaning liquid from the cleaning liquid supply mechanism (102), is then separated away from the cleaning liquid supply mechanism and moved to a position where it can be in contact with the nozzle surface (42) while holding the supplied cleaning liquid.
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.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-3, 5-6 and 8 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: The primary reason for the allowance of Claim 2 is the inclusion of the limitations wherein a plurality of the protrusions is provided. It is these features found in the claim(s) which have not been found, taught or suggested by the prior art of record, which makes this claim allowable over the prior art.
The primary reason for the allowance of Claim 3 is the inclusion of the limitations wherein a tip end surface of the protrusion is hemispherical. It is these features found in the claim(s) which have not been found, taught or suggested by the prior art of record, which makes this claim allowable over the prior art.
The primary reason for the allowance of Claims 5 and 8 is the inclusion of the limitations wherein the protrusion is arranged between the openings adjacent to each other in a direction intersecting a moving direction of the blade. It is these features found in the claim(s) which have not been found, taught or suggested by the prior art of record, which makes these claims allowable over the prior art.
The primary reason for the allowance of Claim 6 is the inclusion of the limitations wherein the protrusion is arranged between a moving start position of the blade and the opening. It is these features found in the claim(s) which have not been found, taught or suggested by the prior art of record, which makes this claim allowable over the prior art.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. US 2018/0194141 discloses a recording head is provided with an ink ejection surface and a cleaning liquid supply surface. The ink ejection surface includes a nozzle region in which a plurality of ink ejection nozzles for ejecting ink onto a recording medium are open. The cleaning liquid supply surface is provided, with respect to the nozzle region, on an upstream side in a wiping direction in which a wiper wipes the ink ejection surface, and a plurality of cleaning liquid supply ports for supplying a cleaning liquid are open through the cleaning liquid supply surface.
US Pub. 2003/0197753 discloses a cleaning device for cleaning a printhead of an inkjet printer includes a cleaning blade, a cleaning blade reciprocating system, a cap member, a cap member moving system, and a first driving force supplying system. The cleaning blade reciprocating system reciprocates the cleaning blade near the printhead so that the cleaning blade wipes an ink ejecting surface of the printhead.
US 20210070053 A1 discloses an ink jet recording apparatus includes a recording head, a wiper element, and a controller. The recording head includes a cleaning solution supplier, an ink ejecting surface, and an abutment member. To perform a cleaning operation, the controller causes a cleaning solution to be squeezed from a cleaning solution outlet, moves the wiper element over the ink ejecting surface in a wiping direction, from a travel start position where the wiper element contacts with the cleaning solution supplier, to an end position corresponding to the abutment member, moves the wiper element away from the end position in a vertical descending direction, and performs, a predetermined number of times, an operation including: bringing the wiper element into contact with the abutment member by moving the wiper element in a vertical ascending direction; and moving the wiper element in the vertical descending direction to separate from the abutment member.
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