DETAILED ACTION
Claim Objections
Claim 1 is objected to because of the following informalities: “the ink tank” lacks antecedent basis. “Other tank” and “supplying operation” seem to lack articles. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 2 is objected to because of the following informalities: “the ink tank inside which the amount of dissolved oxygen amount of the ink is precited to arrive the supplying target value most quickly” lacks antecedent basis. Appropriate correction is required.
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 1 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 plurality of ink tanks but then recites a decompression part and a degassing channel that interact with “the ink tank.” It is not clear to which of the plurality of ink tanks the ink tank is intended to refer.
Correction is required.
Because all other claims depend from claim 1, they are also rejected on this basis.
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. It is not understood what exactly the claim is intended to mean. Specifically, the claim seems to be missing some language. Further, claim 1, from which claim 2 depends, recites one ink tank and the other ink tank. Claim to recites “the ink tank inside which the amount of dissolved oxygen amount of the ink is precited to arrive the supplying target value most quickly,” but this is not in line with either of the ink tanks recited in claim 1, and it is unclear as to which tank this tank of claim 2 is intended to refer.
Claim 4 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 “one ink tank,” but claim 1, from which claim 4 depends, already recites “one ink tank,” and it is unclear whether one ink tank of claim 4 is intended to refer to the same one ink tank recited in claim 1. Further, the claim recites a switching tank “to be switched” after the one tank. It is not clear what is meant by a tank “being switched.”
Correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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) 1-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Yokota et al. (2010/0085396).
Regarding claims 1 and 7, Yokota teaches an ink supplying mechanism comprising:
an ink supply mechanism (fig. 7, fig. 100)
an ink container (fig. 7, item 102) containing ink;
a plurality of ink tanks (fig. 7, item 120, 130) storing the ink supplied from the ink container to a recording head (fig. 7, item 50);
a decompressing part (fig. 7, item 152) decompressing the inside of the ink tank; and
a degassing channel (fig. 7, items. 140/150b/150c) circulating the ink flowed out from the ink tank and flowing the ink into the ink tank (see fig. 7),
wherein, to the recording head, the plurality of the ink tanks (fig. 7, items 120, 130) are arranged in parallel (see fig. 7),
when one ink tank (fig. 7, item 120) among the plurality of ink tanks is used for supplying the ink to the recording head in printing (see fig. 7), other tank (fig. 7, item 130) among the plurality of tanks inside which an amount of dissolved oxygen and which is selected according to predetermined degassing selection criteria, is used for a degassing operation ([0129], note that deaeration level measurement device is located between 144 and 120 and determined whether the gas level is low enough to print with the liquid or too high to print with the liquid. If the level is low enough, valve 162 is opened and valve 182 is closed, and liquid is supplied from the one tank 120 to the head. If the gas level is still too high, valve 162 is closed and valve 182 is opened, and the liquid is recirculated through the loop to further lower the oxygen level. Note also that all components shown are “used for” the degassing operation as degassing occurs during ink circulation), and in the degassing operation the ink inside the other ink tank is circulated by using the degassing channel ([0128]), in a state that the inside of the other ink tank is decompressed by the decompressing part (see fig. 7), to perform degassing operation of degassing degas the ink inside the degassing other ink tank ([0128]).
Note that, for purposes of the rejection, the prior art device is being interpreted to degas the liquid at 144, feed degassed liquid from the one tank 120 either to the printhead 50 for printing if the liquid is degassed enough or open valve 182 to recirculated to the other tank 130 an, in turn, to be refed through the degassing unit 144 Thus, all liquid downstream of 144, including in both tanks and the head, is being taken to have the same level of oxygen.
Regarding claim 2, Yokota teaches the ink supplying mechanism according to claim 1, wherein it is decided that the ink tank inside which the amount of dissolved oxygen amount of the ink is predicted to arrive the supplying target value most quickly by the degassing operation satisfies the degassing selection criteria for selecting the other ink tank (see fig. 7, Note that degassing is carried out when the level of deaeration is low).
Regarding claim 3, Yokota teaches the ink supplying mechanism according to claim 1, wherein it is decided that the ink tank with the highest ink capacity satisfies the degassing selection criteria for selecting the other ink tank (see fig. 7, Note that both tanks have the same, highest capacity).
Regarding claim 4, Yokota teaches the ink supplying mechanism according to claim 1, wherein when one ink tank among the plurality of ink tanks is used for the supplying operation, other ink tank among the plurality of ink tanks, inside which and amount of dissolved oxygen target value and which is selected according to predetermined switching selection criteria, is selected as a switching tank to be switched after the one ink tank (see fig. 7, [0140]-[0142]).
Regarding claim 5, Yokota teaches the ink supplying mechanism according to claim 4, wherein it is decided that the ink tank, which is predicted to take the longest time until the dissolved oxygen amount of the ink arrives a predetermined switching target value when used for printing, satisfies the switching selection criteria for selecting the switching tank ([0128]).
Regarding claim 6, Yokota teaches the ink supplying mechanism according to claim 1 comprising: a degassing pump (fig. 7, item 128) common to the plurality of ink tanks in the degassing channel (fig. 7, note that all components are connected and thus “common to” all other components), wherein the degassing operation of each of the plurality of ink tanks is performed by using the degassing pump (see fig. 7).
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 2/24/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. The claims have been amended to further specify the operation of the device, but the amendments fail to distinguish the claimed invention from the prior art. The rejections above have been updated to reflect the changes to the claims. The standing prior art rejection is maintained.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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.
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/ALEJANDRO VALENCIA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2853