DETAILED ACTION
Election/Restrictions
Claims 10 and 11 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 1/16/2026.
Further, Applicant has failed to elect from the embodiments listed on page 4 of the Requirement for Election of Species. Election is required.
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) 1-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hirota (2019/0270307) in view of Murai et al. (2018/0039179) and Iida et al. (2023/0227651).
Regarding claim 1, Hirota teaches a fluid ejection head, comprising:
a first member ([0099], channel substrate 21);
a second member ([0099], reservoir forming member 25);
a resin layer ([0099], epoxy resin) that bonds the first member and the second member together ([0099]),
and a flow channel (fig. 4A, item 47) to which at least part of the resin layer is exposed (see fig. 4A, note that the epoxy resin binding items 21 and 25 is exposed to the flow channel 47). Hirota does not teach the specific components of the epoxy resin layer.
Murai teaches a resin layer including a cured product of a resin composition that includes
(A) an epoxy resin ([0057], triglycydil p-aminophenol),
(B) an episulfide resin ([0062], thiirane, ethylene sulfide),
(C) a polythiol compound ([0060], dipentaerythritol hexakis(3-ethyl-3-oxetanylmethyl)ether). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use the epoxy resin mixture disclosed by Murai as the adhesive epoxy binder disclosed by Hirota because doing so would amount to combining a known epoxy formulation with a device using an epoxy to obtain predictable results. In other words, because Hirota does not disclose the formulation of its epoxy mixture, it would have been obvious to look to Murai for such details.
Hirota In view of Murai does not teach (D) at least one of hydrophobic titanium oxide or hydrophobic alumina. Iida teaches this (Iida, [0094]-[0096]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add the hydrophobic filler disclosed by Iida to the adhesive disclosed by Hirota in view of Murai because doing so would increase resistance to water damage to the resin layer while also providing mechanical strength.
Regarding claim 2, Hirota in view of Murai and Iida teaches the fluid ejection head according to claim 1, wherein the (A) epoxy resin includes at least one selected from the group consisting of a polyglycidyl ether compound of a polyvalent phenol, a glycidylamino group-containing epoxy compound, and a polyglycidyl ether compound of dicyclopentadiene dimethanol (Murai, [0057], triglycydil p-aminophenol).
Regarding claim 3 Hirota in view of Murai and Iida teaches the fluid ejection head according to claim 1, wherein the (B) episulfide resin includes an aromatic ring, or an alicyclic structure, or both (Murai, [0062], thiirane, ethylene sulfide, Note that ethylene sulfide includes both).
Regarding claim 4, Hirota in view of Murai and Iida teaches the fluid ejection head according to claim 1, wherein the (C) polythiol compound includes four or more thiol groups (Murai, [0060], Note that dipentaerythritol hexakis(3-ethyl-3-oxetanylmethyl)ether) meets the limitation).
Regarding claim 5, Hirota in view of Murai and Iida teaches the fluid ejection head according to claim 1, wherein the (D) at least one of hydrophobic titanium oxide or hydrophobic alumina includes an alkylsilane moiety (Iida, [0094], note that titanium oxide meets the limitation).
Regarding claim 6, Hirota in view of Murai and Iida teaches the fluid ejection head according to claim 1, wherein an amount of the (D) at least one of hydrophobic titanium oxide or hydrophobic alumina in the resin layer is 0.1 parts by mass or greater and 20.0 parts by mass or less relative to 100.0 parts by mass of a sum of an amount of the (A) epoxy resin, an amount of the (B) episulfide resin, and an amount of the (C) polythiol compound in the resin layer (Iida, [0096]).
Regarding claim 7, Hirota in view of Murai and Iida teaches the fluid ejection assembly, comprising: the fluid ejection head according to claim 1; and
at least one selected from the group consisting of a head tank configured to store a fluid to be supplied to the fluid ejection head, a carriage (Hirota, fig. 1, item 3) on which the fluid ejection head is mounted, a supply mechanism configured to supply a fluid to the fluid ejection head, a maintenance recovery mechanism configured to perform maintenance and recovery of the fluid ejection head, and a main-scanning moving mechanism configured to move the fluid ejection head in a main-scanning direction.
Regarding claim 8, Hirota in view of Murai and Iida teaches the fluid ejection assembly according to claim 7, wherein the fluid ejection head is mounted as an integrated assembly with the at least one selected from the group consisting of the head tank, the carriage (Hirota, fig. 1), the supply mechanism, the maintenance recovery mechanism, and the main-scanning moving mechanism.
Regarding claim 9, Hirota in view of Murai and Iida teaches the fluid ejection device according to claim 1 comprising: the fluid ejection head according to claim 1; and a controller (Hirota, [0063]).
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of Iida.
Conclusion
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/ALEJANDRO VALENCIA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2853
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