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 6/3/2024 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
The required foreign document translations have been provided with parent application 17/653759.
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election of Group II in the reply filed on 2/27/2026 is acknowledged. Because applicant did not distinctly and specifically point out the supposed errors in the restriction requirement, the election has been treated as an election without traverse (MPEP § 818.01(a)).
Claim 13 is withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected Group II, there being no allowable generic or linking claim.
Double Patenting
The nonstatutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper timewise extension of the “right to exclude” granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A nonstatutory double patenting rejection is appropriate where the conflicting claims are not identical, but at least one examined application claim is not patentably distinct from the reference claim(s) because the examined application claim is either anticipated by, or would have been obvious over, the reference claim(s). See, e.g., In re Berg, 140 F.3d 1428, 46 USPQ2d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Goodman, 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi, 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Van Ornum, 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969).
A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on nonstatutory double patenting provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with the examined application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. See MPEP § 717.02 for applications subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA as explained in MPEP § 2159. See MPEP § 2146 et seq. for applications not subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b).
The filing of a terminal disclaimer by itself is not a complete reply to a nonstatutory double patenting (NSDP) rejection. A complete reply requires that the terminal disclaimer be accompanied by a reply requesting reconsideration of the prior Office action. Even where the NSDP rejection is provisional the reply must be complete. See MPEP § 804, subsection I.B.1. For a reply to a non-final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.111(a). For a reply to final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.113(c). A request for reconsideration while not provided for in 37 CFR 1.113(c) may be filed after final for consideration. See MPEP §§ 706.07(e) and 714.13.
The USPTO Internet website contains terminal disclaimer forms which may be used. Please visit www.uspto.gov/patent/patents-forms. The actual filing date of the application in which the form is filed determines what form (e.g., PTO/SB/25, PTO/SB/26, PTO/AIA /25, or PTO/AIA /26) should be used. A web-based eTerminal Disclaimer may be filled out completely online using web-screens. An eTerminal Disclaimer that meets all requirements is auto-processed and approved immediately upon submission. For more information about eTerminal Disclaimers, refer to www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/applying-online/eterminal-disclaimer.
Claim 1 is rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claim 8 of U.S. Patent No. 12128683 B2. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because the patented claim anticipates the instant claim.
Claim 12 is rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claim 1 of U.S. Patent No. 12128683 B2 in view of Iraqi et al. (US 2018/0179681 A1).
Regarding claim 12:
Patented claim 8 comprises all the limitations of instant claim 1, but does not expressly disclose that a viscosity of liquid in the liquid discharging head is 20 millipascal seconds or more.
However, Iraqi et al. disclose a process for of forming a digital burnout pattern using liquid having a viscosity of 2-25 millipascal seconds, which is suitable for inkjet printheads (paragraph 62).
Therefore, before the effective filing date of invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to perform ejection of liquid having viscosity of 20 millipascal seconds, as taught by Iraqi et al., with the invention of patented claim 1.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-11 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the Double Patenting rejection(s) set forth in this Office action and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
Pankert (WO96/14987) disclose a liquid discharging apparatus in which a drive signal includes a first waveform (Vi) and a second waveform (Vj), wherein the first waveform is configured to cause pressure inside a pressure chamber without discharging when supplied alone (page 7, lines 9-12), wherein the second waveform is configured to cause pressure inside the pressure chamber without discharging when supplied alone (page 7, lines 9-12), and wherein the second waveform is configured to cause ejection of a droplet by supplying the second waveform in combination with the first waveform (page 7, lines 13-14). However, Pankert does not disclose forming first or second liquid columns with the first and/or second waveforms.
Satou et al. (US 2013/0038651 A1) disclose a liquid discharging apparatus in which a drive signal includes a first waveform (SP1) that does not cause discharge alone, and a second waveform (SP2) that does not cause discharge alone, and wherein the apparatus performs discharge through application of both the first waveform and the second waveform (Figs. 9-11). However, Satou et al. do not disclose that the second waveform is configured to drive the drive element to grow the first liquid column to a second liquid column and discharge a part or all of liquid constituting the second liquid column as a droplet from the nozzle, by supplying the second waveform to the drive signal during a time that the first liquid column is forming.
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
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