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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 7/28/2026 has been entered.
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) 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kashiwagi (U.S. Pub. 2021/0245513)
Regarding claim 7, an ink jet printer comprising: a head to eject ink from an ejection port on a lower surface (Figure 1; Paragraphs 0033, 0125)
A wiper (63) to wipe an ejection surface of the head (Paragraphs 0032-0033)
A lifting mechanism to lift and lower the wiper at both of the wiping position and the standby position (wiper is raised in the Z direction; Paragraphs 0033, 0042, 0046, 0057; Figures 1-3)
An absorber (81) held at a position at least above the standby position by an absorber holder (82) at the standby position or in a vicinity of the standby position in order to, when an upper surface of the wiper is brought into contact with the absorber by moving the wiper to the standby position with the wiper moving mechanism and lifting the wiper with the lifting mechanism, the upper surface of the wiper being brought into contact with a lower surface of the absorber, absorb and remove wiper ink adhering to the upper surface of the wiper (Figures 3a, 3b; Paragraphs 0033, 0042, 0046, 0057-0058 )
The wiper wipes the ejection surface by the head scanning in a main scanning direction while the wiper is in contact with the head at the wiping position (Paragraph 0033)
Allowable Subject Matter
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
The primary reason for the allowance of claims 10-11 is the inclusion of the limitation of the absorber has a sheet shape, and is held by the absorber holder to be deployed at least above the standby position; and the absorber holder includes a receiver to support a lower surface of the absorber deployed in a horizontal direction, in a region other than a contact region with the wiper, and a lid openably/closably attached to the receiver and operatable to cover an upper surface of the absorber at least in the contact region with the wiper. It is this limitation found in each of the claims, as it is claimed in the combination, that has not been found, taught or suggested by the prior art of record which makes these claims allowable over the prior art.
The primary reason for the allowance of claim 12 is the inclusion of the limitation of a movable ink receiving container to communicate from the wiping position to the standby position, including an opened upper portion, and operable to be lifted and lowered by the lifting mechanism; and a wiper holder housed in the movable ink receiving container to be movable in a communication direction of the movable ink receiving container and to hold the wiper; wherein the wiper moving mechanism is operable to move the wiper between the wiping position and the standby position by moving the wiper holder in the communication direction; and the lifting mechanism is operable to lift and lower the wiper by lifting and lowering the movable ink receiving container. It is this limitation found in each of the claims, as it is claimed in the combination, that has not been found, taught or suggested by the prior art of record which makes these claims allowable over the prior art.
Conclusion
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 August 20, 2026
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