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 papers submitted under 35 U.S.C. 119(a)-(d), which papers have been placed of record in the file.
Information Disclosure Statement
The references cited on a Form PTO 1449 have been considered.
Specification
The specification has been checked to the extent necessary to determine the presence of all possible minor errors. However, the applicant's cooperation is requested in correcting any errors of which applicant may become aware in the specification.
Claim Rejections
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. (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.
Claims 4-7 and 9-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Mizutani et al. (US Pub. 2023/0109391).
Mizutani et al. disclose in Figures an ink replenishment container for replenishing ink into an ink tank comprising:
Regarding claim 4, a container body (300) configured to store ink (Figure 3);
an ink-outlet forming portion (400) connected to the container body (300) and including a tubular portion (420) having an ink outlet (420) that enables the ink to flow out and a valve (500) located at the ink outlet (420) (Figures 3 and 7); and
a cap (600) configured to be detachably attached to the ink-outlet forming portion (400), wherein the cap (600) includes an inner top-surface portion configured to face the ink outlet (420) in an attached state in which the cap (600) is attached to the ink-outlet forming portion (400), when a direction parallel to a center axis of the ink refill container (200) in the attached state is defined as an axial direction, the inner top-surface portion includes a center protrusion (602) configured to push the valve (500) to open the valve in the attached state and a large diameter portion located on the inner top-surface portion side relative to a distal end portion of the center protrusion (602) in the axial direction and having an outer circumferential shape larger than the center protrusion (602), the valve (500) includes a valve member (520), a sealing member (510) configured to be in contact with the valve member (520) in a valve closed state of the valve (500), and a spring member (530) configured to urge the valve member (520) toward the sealing member (510) in the valve closed state, the sealing member (510) includes a cylindrical portion extending in the axial direction and an elastic membrane portion extending from an inner circumferential wall of the cylindrical portion toward the center axis, having a through hole (510h) at center corresponding to the center axis, and separated by slits (Ap) extending from the through hole (510h) toward the inner circumferential wall in radial directions, the center protrusion (602) in the attached state extends through the through hole (510h) and pushes the valve member (520) to put the valve in a valve open state, and a distal end of the large diameter portion in the attached state is in contact with at least part of the elastic membrane portion (512) (Figures 3, 6-7, 13-14 and 26).
Regarding claim 5, wherein in the attached state, the distal end of the large diameter portion is in contact with the elastic membrane portion (512) so as to cover the entire slits (513) (Figure 26, paragraph 0089).
Regarding claim 6, a container body (300) configured to store ink;
an ink-outlet forming portion (400) connected to the container body (300) and including a tubular portion (420) having an ink outlet (460) that enables the ink to flow out and a valve (500) located at the ink outlet (420) (Figures 3 and 7); and
a cap (600) configured to be detachably attached to the ink-outlet forming portion (400) and configured to be removed upward in an attached state in which the cap (600) is attached to the ink-outlet forming portion (400) and in a state in which the ink outlet (460) faces upward, wherein the cap (600) includes an inner top-surface portion configured to face the ink outlet (460) in the attached state in which the cap (600) is attached to the ink-outlet forming portion (400) and an inner annular protrusion (602) protruding from the inner top-surface portion downward and including an inner sealing portion configured to be in contact with an inside of the tubular portion (420) in the attached state and in the state in which the ink outlet (460) faces upward, the ink-outlet forming portion (400) includes a first fitting portion (right number 450) recessed or protruding from an upper end surface of the tubular portion (420) in the state in which the ink outlet (460) faces upward, and the cap (600) includes a second fitting portion (left number 450) configured to fit into the first fitting portion in the attached state, and the second fitting portion is located outside the inner annular protrusion in radial directions of the tubular portion (420) (Figures 3, 7-8 and 13-14).
Regarding claim 7, wherein the first fitting portion (right number 450) is a fitting recess open in the upper end surface of the tubular portion (420), and the second fitting portion (left number 450) is a fitting protrusion extending downward from the inner top-surface portion (Figures 3, 7-8 and 13-15).
Regarding claim 9, a container body (300) configured to store ink;
an ink-outlet forming portion (400) connected to the container body (300) and including a tubular portion (420) having an ink outlet (460) that enables the ink to flow out and a valve (500) located at the ink outlet (420) (Figures 3 and 7); and
a cap (600) configured to be detachably attached to the ink-outlet forming portion (400), wherein the cap (600) includes an inner top-surface portion configured to face the ink outlet (460) in an attached state in which the cap (600) is attached to the ink-outlet forming portion (400) and a tubular inner side-surface portion extending in a direction intersecting the inner top-surface portion, when a direction parallel to a center axis of the ink refill container (200) in the attached state is defined as an axial direction, the inner top-surface portion includes a center protrusion (602) configured to push the valve (500) to open the valve in the attached state and an annular protrusion located outside the center protrusion in radial directions with respect to the center protrusion (602), the annular protrusion, in the attached state, protruding from the inner top-surface portion toward the ink-outlet forming portion (400) in the axial direction and including a cap-side sealing portion configured to be in contact with the tubular portion (420) to seal the tubular portion, and an ink holding portion away from the ink-outlet forming portion (400) is located in at least one of the inner side-surface portion and a portion of the inner top-surface portion, the portion being located radially outside the annular protrusion (Figures 3, 7-8 and 13-15).
Regarding claim 10, wherein the cap (600) includes at least one of a groove portion (unmarked groove portion that is close by a number 600) and a step portion (unmarked step portion that is close by a word Fp, see Fig. 14) as the ink holding portion (Figures 14-15).
Citation of Pertinent Prior Art
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. These prior art references (US Pat. 10,350,901; US Pub. 2017/0355191) cited in the PTO 892 form show an ink refill tank which is deemed to be relevant to the present invention. These references should be reviewed.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-3 and 8 are allowed because none of the prior art references of record teaches an ink refill container for refilling a printer with ink, comprising an annular protrusion located outside the center protrusion in radial directions with respect to the center protrusion, the annular protrusion, in the attached state, protruding from the inner top-surface portion toward the ink-outlet forming portion in the axial direction and including a cap-side sealing portion configured to be in contact with the tubular portion to seal the tubular portion, and at least one of an annular peripheral wall portion and a plurality of ribs, the peripheral wall portion being located between the center protrusion and the annular protrusion in the radial directions and having a height lower than a distal end of the center protrusion, the plurality of ribs being located between the center protrusion and the cap-side sealing portion in the radial directions and having a height lower than the distal end of the center protrusion, and a gap between the center protrusion and the peripheral wall portion or each of gaps between the ribs has a shape of a recess, and the recess has a bottom on the inner top-surface portion side and an opening open toward the ink-outlet forming portion and is configured to hold the ink in the combination as claimed.
CONCLUSION
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Examiner Anh Vo whose telephone number is (571) 272-2262. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday to Friday from 9:30 A.M.to 6:00 P.M..
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner'ssupervisor, Douglas Rodriguez can be reached on (571) 431-0716. The fax phonenumber for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ANH T VO/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2853