DETAILED ACTION
Election/Restrictions
Claims 14 and 15 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b), as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Applicant timely traversed the restriction (election) requirement in the reply filed on 7/6/2026. Applicant traverses on the basis that the search for one of the inventions would necessarily encompass search for the other inventions. Examiner maintains this is not the case. For instance, as can be seen in the prior art asserted for the invention of claims 1-13 below, no maintenance section is disclosed while the invention of claim 15 requires a maintenance section. Thus, the search for Invention I does not encompass a search for Invention III. The Requirement is maintained.
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.
Claim 2 is 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. The claim recites “a relative distance between the rack and the drive gear of the one of the pair of rack and pinion mechanisms is narrowed”
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) 1-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ohashi et al. (2018/0236797) in view of Williams et al. (5,265,487).
Regarding claim 1, Ohashi teaches a liquid ejecting apparatus comprising:
a movable body (fig. 10, item 8) including a head for ejecting a liquid ([0024]) or a maintenance section performing maintenance of the head;
a pair of rack and pinion mechanisms (fig. 10, items 503b/504, note that there is necessarily a pair, one on each side of the moveable body in the width direction) each including a rack (fig. 10, item 503b) and a drive gear (fig. 10, item 504) to move the movable body in a first direction (fig. 10, Z direction) in which the rack extends. Ohashi does not teach a switching mechanism.
Williams teaches a switching mechanism (Williams, fig. 3, all components shown), each switching mechanism being configured to switch presence and absence of meshing between the rack and the drive gear of each pair of rack and pinion mechanisms when the movable body is at an exchange position (Williams, cols. 1-2, lines 60-10),
each switching mechanism comprising:
a plug-in key (Williams, fig. 3, item 28) provided on one of the rack and the drive gear (Williams, fig. 3, item 44/24/26/42/32/46/45) of one of the pair of rack and pinion mechanisms, and a groove (Williams, fig. 3, item 38) provided on another of the rack (Williams, fig. 3, items 34/26/38) and the drive gear of the one of the pair of rack and pinion mechanisms and is configured to mesh with the plug-in key (Williams, col. 2, lines 52-59), wherein, the plug-in key is in phase with a tooth portion of the rack (Williams, fig. 4, item 36, 40, one the side if the component that does not have the groove) or a tooth portion of the drive gear (Williams, fig. 3, item 44), having a single fixed position in relation to the tooth portion of the rack or the tooth portion of the drive gear and a peak portion of the plug-in key matching a peak portion of the tooth portion of the rack or the tooth portion of the drive gear, and when viewed from an axial direction of the drive gear the plug-in key extends in the axial direction (Williams, col. 3, lines 52-59). 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 switching mechanism disclosed by Williams to the air of racks and pinions disclosed by Ohashi because doing so would allow for engaging of the racks with the pinions in a manner that ensure proper alignments.
Upon adding the switching mechanism of Williams to the racks and pinions of Ohashi, the resultant device would meet the limitation that the switching mechanism is provided for each rack and pinion mechanism of the pair of rack and pinion mechanisms.
Regarding claim 2, Ohashi in view of Willliams teaches the liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the movable body is attached, the meshing between the plug-in key and the groove of the switching mechanism is performed before the meshing between the rack and the drive gear (Williams, see fig. 3, note that the plug-in key is inserted into the groove before the teeth of the rack and drive gear are meshed), when the plug-in key and the groove of the switching mechanism mesh with each other, a relative distance between the rack and the drive gear of the one of the pair of rack and pinion mechanisms is narrowed so that the rack and the drive gear of the one of the pair of rack and pinion mechanisms are configured to mesh with each other (Williams, see fig. 3, note that the rack and drive gear are brought closer to each other when the plug-in key is inserted into the groove), and when the plug-in key and the groove of the switching mechanism do not mesh with each other, the relative distance between the rack and the drive gear of the one of the pair of rack and pinion mechanisms is not narrowed, and the rack and the drive gear of the one of the pair of rack and pinion mechanisms do not mesh with each other (Williams, see fig. 3, Note that if the plug-in-key 28 is attempted to be inserted into tooth portion 36/40, nothing meshes).
Regarding claim 3, Ohashi in view of Willliams teaches the liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein one of the plug-in key and the groove of the switching mechanism provided for each rack is provided at a position where the tooth portion of each rack of the pair of rack and pinion mechanisms mesh with each other in the same phase (Williams, see fig. 4).
Regarding claim 4, Ohashi in view of Willliams teaches the liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the switching mechanism has a first portion (Williams, fig. 3, item 24) on the drive gear and a second portion on the rack (Williams, see fig. 3), and the first portion has a cylindrical flange (Williams, fig. 3, item 24) that is concentric with the tooth portion of the drive gear (Williams, see fig. 3, note flange 24 concentric with base of tooth portion 44) and has an outer diameter larger than an outer diameter of the tooth portion of the drive gear, and the groove that is formed in the flange (Williams, see fig. 3).
Regarding claim 5, Ohashi in view of Willliams teaches the liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the tooth portion provided on one of the drive gear and the rack comprises first teeth, and the plug-in key of each of the switching mechanisms has second teeth having a meshing length longer than a meshing length of the first teeth, and a meshing depth of the second teeth is longer than a meshing depth of the first teeth and the meshing is performed at a switching position (Williams, see fig. 3, Note that plug-in key 28 has a longer length than the other teeth of the switching mechanisms, and note that the plug-in key is inserted deeper into the teeth of the rack at 38 than the other meshing teeth).
Regarding claim 6, Ohashi in view of Willliams teaches the liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the plug-in key of the switching mechanism is provided at a position different from the tooth portions of the rack and pinion mechanism in an axial direction of the drive gear (Williams, see fig. 3, Note tooth portion 44 and plug-in key 28 at different positions in the axial direction).
Regarding claim 7, Ohashi in view of Willliams teaches the liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a length of the rack is longer than a length of one circumference of the drive gear (Ohashi, see fig. 10).
Regarding claim 8 Ohashi in view of Willliams teaches the liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the pair of rack and pinion mechanisms are provided on both sides in a width direction intersecting a moving direction of the movable body (Ohashi, see fig. 10, note that this is the case), and first teeth of the tooth portion of each of the rack and pinion mechanisms are provided on a movable body side with respect to second teeth of the plug-in key of the switching mechanism in the width direction of the movable body (Ohashi, fig. 10, Williams, fig. 3, Note that, upon combination of the references, the resultant device meets the limitation).
Regarding claim 9, Ohashi in view of Willliams teaches the liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a first guide portion (Ohashi, fig. 10, portion of slot 501a intersecting rack direction) and a second guide portion (Ohashi, fig. 10, portion of slot 501a parallel to rack 503b) for guiding the movable body, wherein the first guide portion extends in a second direction (Ohashi, fig. 10, perpendicular to platen surface 9) that intersects the first direction in which each of the racks of the pair of rack and pinion mechanisms extend (Ohashi, see fig. 10), from the exchange position of the movable body, and the second guide portion extends in the first direction from the exchange position (Ohashi, fig. 10).
Regarding claim 10, Ohashi in view of Willliams teaches the liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the switching mechanism is meshed by rotating the drive gear in a direction in which the movable body moves in a gravity direction (Ohashi, fig. 10, Williams, fig. 3, Note that, upon combination of the references, the resultant device meets the limitation).
Regarding claim 11, Ohashi in view of Willliams teaches the liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the switching mechanism is meshed by rotating the drive gear in a direction in which the movable body moves in a gravity direction (Ohashi, fig. 10, Williams, fig. 3, Note that, upon combination of the references, the resultant device meets the limitation).
Regarding claim 12, Ohashi in view of Willliams teaches the liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the pair of rack and pinion mechanisms include a first rack and pinion mechanism and a second rack and pinion mechanism (Ohashi, see fig. 10, note that there are two total assemblies), and the first rack and pinion mechanism and the second rack and pinion mechanism are provided on one end side and the other end side of the head in a third direction intersecting both of the first direction and a second direction that intersects the direction in which the racks of the pair of rack and pinion mechanisms extend (Ohashi, see fig. 10, Note that third direction in the width direction meets the limitation).
Claim(s) 13 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ohashi in view of Williams as applied to claim 11 above, and further in view of Nakahata et al. (2020/0377323).
Regarding claim 13, Ohashi in view of Willliams teaches the liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 11. Ohashi in view of Williams does not expressly teaches wherein the drive gear of the first rack and pinion mechanism, and the drive gear of the second rack and pinion mechanism are attached to a shaft extending in the third direction. Nakahata teaches this (Nakahata, see fig. 4). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to attach the two drive gears of the claimed switching mechanisms via a shaft so as to ensure that both drive gears stayed at the same positions relative to their corresponding pinions.
Conclusion
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/ALEJANDRO VALENCIA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2853
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