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 2/12/2024 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Election/Restrictions
Claims 4-5, 8-13, 15, and 17-20 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected Group and/or Species, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 12/3/2025.
Examiner notes that Applicant had identified claims 1-3, 6-9, and 14-16 as readable on the elected Group I and Species C. However, claims 8-9 depend from claim 4, which is directed towards a non-elected species (at least because the “third voltage is higher than the first voltage but lower than the second voltage”). Therefore, claims 8-9 are also withdrawn. Further, claim 15 depends from claim 20, which is directed towards the non-elected method group. Therefore, claim 15 is also withdrawn.
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.
(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.
Claim(s) 1-3, 6-7, 14, 16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1/2) as being anticipated by Guidotti et al. (US 2016/0176187 A1).
Regarding claim 1:
Guidotti et al. disclose a liquid discharge apparatus comprising:
a liquid chamber (202) including a discharge orifice (209: paragraph 61 & Fig. 1);
a supplier (at least the “fluid inlet”) to supply a pressurized liquid to the liquid chamber (paragraph 76 & Fig. 1);
a first valve (obturator assembly 3) to open and close the discharge orifice (Fig. 4);
an actuator (piezoelectric element 2) to move the first valve (Figs. 7-8); and
a stirrer (at least control module 4) to stir the pressurized liquid in the liquid chamber (via ejection: paragraphs 89-90).
Regarding claim 2:
Guidotti et al. disclose all the limitations of claim 1, and also that the stirrer is to stir the liquid in the liquid chamber in a state in which the discharge orifice is open (paragraph 91 & Figs. 7-8).
Regarding claim 3:
Guidotti et al. disclose all the limitations of claim 1, and also that the stirrer includes control circuitry (4) configured to control movement of the first valve by the actuator (paragraph 58),
wherein the movement of the first valve includes a first movement in which a valve component (30) is moved from a second position (reference plane A / stop surface 51) toward a first position (X1: at time T101: Fig. 9) and a second movement in which the valve component is reciprocated back and forth between the first position and a third position (X0: Fig. 9),
wherein the first position is a position where the discharge orifice is opened by the valve component (Fig. 8),
wherein the second position is a position where the discharge orifice is closed by the valve component (Fig. 6), and
wherein the third position is a position between the first position and the second position (Figs. 7, 9).
Regarding claim 6:
Guidotti et al. disclose all the limitations of claim 3, and also that the actuator is to move the first valve in accordance with an applied voltage (Fig. 9a),
wherein the control circuitry is to apply a first voltage (VL2) to the actuator to move the valve component to the first position (paragraph 122 & Figs. 8, 9), apply a second voltage (0V) to the actuator to move the valve component to the second position (paragraph 124 & Figs. 6, 9), apply a third voltage (VL1) to move the valve component to the third position (paragraph 122 & Figs. 7, 9), and
wherein the first voltage is higher than the second voltage (Fig. 9a), and
wherein the third voltage is higher than the second voltage (Fig. 9a) but lower than the first voltage (Fig. 9a).
Regarding claim 7:
Guidotti et al. disclose all the limitations of claim 6, and also that the E1 * 0.95 ≥ E3 > 0 is satisfied, wherein E1 is the first voltage and E3 is the third voltage (paragraph 122 & Fig. 9a).
Regarding claim 14:
Guidotti et al. disclose all the limitations of claim 3, and also that the actuator includes a piezoelectric element (2) to contract and expand in accordance with an applied voltage (paragraph 55).
Regarding claim 16:
Guidotti et al. disclose all the limitations of claim 3, and also that a reciprocating frequency of the second movement is higher than or equal to 100 Hz (paragraph 89).
Claim(s) 1 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1/2) as being anticipated by Fliess et al. (US 2015/0274371 A1).
Please note that the absence of a claim rejection under this heading does not necessarily constitute an indication of allowability over the cited reference.
Regarding claim 1:
Fliess et al. disclose a liquid discharge apparatus comprising:
a liquid chamber (collection cavity 17) including a discharge orifice (outlet opening 19: Fig. 3);
a supplier (dosing material reservoir 7) to supply a pressurized liquid to the liquid chamber (paragraph 78 & Fig. 2);
a first valve (plunger 21) to open and close the discharge orifice (paragraph 76);
an actuator (actuator 23a) to move the first valve (paragraph 79); and
a stirrer (at least control unit 63) to stir the pressurized liquid in the liquid chamber (paragraphs 54, 86).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
US 2020/0230953 A1 discloses a liquid discharge apparatus comprising a liquid chamber (412) having a discharge orifice (414), a supplier (430), a first valve (23), an actuator (21), and a stirrer (600), wherein the stirrer stirs pressurized liquid in the liquid chamber (paragraphs 21, 205, 211).
US 2012/0268511 A1 discloses a relative liquid discharge apparatus in which a stirrer stirs liquid in a liquid chamber (Fig. 4).
Communication with the USPTO
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Shelby L Fidler whose telephone number is (571)272-8455. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday, 8:30am - 5pm EST.
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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SHELBY L. FIDLER
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2853
/SHELBY L FIDLER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2853