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 .
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 1-7 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.
Claim 1 discloses a plurality of ink tanks, however in lines 5-7 of claim 1, “the ink tank” is referenced regarding the decompressing part and the degassing channel. It is unclear whether “the ink tank” is a part of the plurality of tanks or a separate tank, and if it is a part of the plurality of tanks would it be considered one or all of the plurality of tanks. Please correct and/or advise.
Because all of the remaining claims are dependent from claim 1, they are also rejected on this basis.
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.
Claim(s) 1-2, 4-5, 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Yokota et al (U.S. Pub. 2010/0085396)
Regarding claims 1, 7, an ink supplying mechanism comprising: an ink container (102) containing ink
A plurality of ink tanks (120, 130) storing the ink supplied from the ink container to a recording head (50) (Figure 7; Paragraphs 0097-0100)
A decompressing part (152) decompressing the inside of the ink tank (Figure 7)
A degassing channel (140, 150, 150c, 150b) circulating the ink flowed out from the ink tank and flowing the ink into the ink tank (Figure 7; Paragraphs 0104-0105); wherein, to the recording head, a plurality of the ink tanks (120, 130) are arranged in parallel (Figure 7)
When one ink tank (120) among the plurality of ink tanks is used for supplying operation supplying the ink to the recording head in printing (Figure 7), other ink tank (130) among the plurality of ink tanks is used for degassing operation, and, in the degassing operation, in a state that the inside of the other ink tank is decompressed by the decompressing part, the ink inside the other ink tank is circulated by using the degassing channel to degas the ink inside the other ink tank (Paragraph 0128; ink is circulated through the second ink circulation path to promote removal of dissolved gas inside the ink; if the gas level is too high, valve 162 is closed and valve 182 is opened, and the ink is recirculated through the deaeration device; Paragraphs 0125-0129)
Regarding claim 2, a start timing of the degassing operation of the other ink tank is determined on the basis of an ink remaining amount and/or a dissolved oxygen amount of the ink in the one ink tank (Paragraph 0129; when the deaeration level is low, valve 202 opens to allow for ink circulation), and/or the ink remaining amount and/or the dissolved oxygen amount of the ink in the other ink tank (Figure 7; Paragraphs 0125-0129, 0140-0142)
Regarding claim 4, the ink remaining amount in the one ink tank is measured during printing (Paragraph 0060)
Regarding claim 5, the dissolved oxygen amount of the ink in the one ink tank is measured during printing or waiting for printing (Paragraphs 0129-0131)
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) 3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yokota et al (U.S. Pub. 2010/0085396) in view of Stockle et al (U.S. Pub. 2019/0143708)
Regarding claim 3, Stockle discloses it is known in the art to start timing of the degassing operation of the other ink tank is determined on the basis of a printing frequency of a user (Paragraph 0036; depends on the frequency of the activation of the negative pressure pump, thus depends directly on the quantity of ink that is transported from the supply container into the negative pressure container)
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to incorporate the teaching of Stockle into the device of Yokota, for the purpose of reducing the risk of nozzle failures due to gas inclusions
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JASON S UHLENHAKE whose telephone number is (571)272-5916. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday, 8:00 am - 5:00 pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Douglas X. 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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/JASON S UHLENHAKE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2853 May 21, 2026
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