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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant's election with traverse of Group I, Species A2 and Species B1 in the reply filed on January 16, 2026 is acknowledged. The traversal is on the ground(s) that there is no serious undue burden. This is found persuasive. Therefore, the Restriction requirement dated November 19, 2025 is withdrawn.
Claims 1-14 are pending.
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.
Claims 3-8 are 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.
Claim 3 recites “the liquid contains the defoaming agent of glycol ethers in a ratio of 20% or more.” A ratio is a quantitative relation between two amounts, and it is unclear what the amount of glycol ether is being compared with to achieve a ratio of 20% or more. Is it the overall amount of liquid, the amount of cleaning liquid, the amount of surfactant, or something else? Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 4 recites “the liquid contains the defoaming agent of glycol ethers in a ratio of 30% or more.” A ratio is a quantitative relation between two amounts, and it is unclear what the amount of glycol ether is being compared with to achieve a ratio of 30% or more. Is it the overall amount of liquid, the amount of cleaning liquid, the amount of surfactant, or something else? Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 5 recites “the liquid contains the defoaming agent of polyhydric alcohols in a ratio of 6% or more.” A ratio is a quantitative relation between two amounts, and it is unclear what the amount of polyhydric alcohols is being compared with to achieve a ratio of 6% or more. Is it the overall amount of liquid, the amount of cleaning liquid, the amount of surfactant, or something else? Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 6 recites “the liquid contains the defoaming agent of polyhydric alcohols in a ratio of 10% or more.” A ratio is a quantitative relation between two amounts, and it is unclear what the amount of polyhydric alcohols is being compared with to achieve a ratio of 10% or more. Is it the overall amount of liquid, the amount of cleaning liquid, the amount of surfactant, or something else? Appropriate correction is required.
Claims 7 and 8 are rejected for depending on rejected claims 4 or 6.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1, 2 and 9-14 are allowed.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance: The closest prior art is U.S. Patent App. Pub. No. 2013/0257975 to Aoyama et al.
Aoyama discloses a maintenance method and an image recording device (see Aoyama Abstract) wherein a cleaning liquid containing a surfactant is supplied to a predetermined portion of an inkjet printer (see Aoyama paragraphs [0059]-[0068] disclosing a first cleaning liquid A with a surfactant) and a second liquid containing a defoaming agent is supplied to the predetermined portion to which the cleaning liquid is supplied (see Aoyama paragraphs [0075]-[0081] disclosing a second liquid B containing a defoaming agent).
No prior art was located disclosing that the second liquid has a ratio of a defoaming distance to a foaming distance of 4.41% or more, the foaming distance is a first height of bubbles generated when the cleaning liquid is stirred by a stirrer for 1 minute, the cleaning liquid being put into a bottle having an inner diameter of 38 mm and a capacity of 50 ml so as to have a height of 20 mm, and the defoaming distance is a value obtained by subtracting, from the first height of the bubbles, a second height of bubbles after 1 ml of the liquid is dropped into the bottle after the bubbles are generated.
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DOUGLAS LEE whose telephone number is (571)270-3296. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 7:30-4:30pm.
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/DOUGLAS LEE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1714