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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on 01 July 2024 and 13 December 2024 have been considered by the examiner.
Claim Objections
Claims 1-13 objected to because of the following informalities: the preamble in Claim 1 recites “A liquid discharge unit”, while the dependent claims recite “The liquid discharge head”. Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claims 1-4, 7, 9-10, and 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1)/(a)(2) as being anticipated by Yamada et al. (US 2021/0394525.)
Regarding claim 1,
Yamada discloses a liquid discharge unit [1000 in figs. 2-4] comprising:
a discharge port [103 in figs. 2-4] which discharges liquid [paragraph 0038];
a supply path [through tubes 1001/R2/11c in figs. 2-4], which supplies the liquid to the discharge port [paragraphs 0030, 0035, and 0040]; and
a pressure control unit [200 in figs. 2-4] which controls a pressure of the liquid supplied from a liquid supply source [2001 in figs. 2-4] to the supply path [paragraph 0033], wherein
the pressure control unit comprises:
a fluid chamber [2025/2026 in figs. 2-4] having an inflow port [2028 in figs. 2-4] into which the liquid from the liquid supply source flows [as seen in figs. 3-4] and an outflow port [at the bottom of pressure regulator 202 in figs. 2-4, connecting chamber 2026 to channel 11c; see below] which causes the liquid having flown in through the inflow port to flow out to the supply path [paragraphs 0034-0035; as seen in figs. 2-4];
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a valve body [2027 in figs. 2-4] configured to be capable of taking a closed position where the inflow port is closed [as seen in fig. 2] and an open position where the inflow port is opened [as seen in figs. 3-4; paragraphs 0034-0035];
a movable member [2022 in figs. 2-4] configured to be capable of taking a first position acting on the valve body such that the valve body is located at the closed position and a second position acting on the valve body such that the valve body is located at the open position in the fluid chamber [paragraphs 0035; as seen in figs. 2-4]; and
an urging member [2021 in figs. 2-4] which applies an urging force to the movable member for causing the movable member to be located at the first position [paragraphs 0034-0035],
the movable member moves from the first position to the second position when a magnitude of a pressure in the fluid chamber becomes larger than the urging force of the urging member [paragraphs 0034-0035; as seen in figs. 2-4], and
in a state where the liquid discharge head is attached to a liquid discharge device which discharges the liquid to recordings by using the liquid discharge head, a direction [indicated by arrow A1 in figs. 3-4] in which the liquid flows into the inflow port is a direction intersecting with a gravity direction [as seen in figs. 3-4; paragraph 0058.]
Regarding claim 2,
Yamada further discloses wherein
the inflow port is opened in a wall surface extending along a first direction [the port is a three-dimensional orifice/opening that extends in three directions; please see figure below for clarification] intersecting with the gravity direction in wall surfaces forming the fluid chamber [as seen in figs. 3-4], and
the valve body has an annular projection [at the end of shaft 2024 in fig. 3] brought into contact with and surrounding the inflow port with respect to the wall surface, when the valve body is at the closed position [as seen in fig. 2.]
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Regarding claim 3,
Yamada further discloses wherein
a direction in which the urging force of the urging member acts is a second direction [intersecting with the gravity direction and is orthogonal to the first direction [indicated by arrow A1 in figs. 3-4; also, see figure above for clarification.]
Regarding claim 4,
Yamada further discloses wherein the first direction and the second direction are directions orthogonal to the gravity direction [see figure above for clarification.]
Regarding claim 7,
Yamada further discloses wherein when viewed in the second direction, an opening center of the inflow port is located below the center of the movable member in a gravity direction [as seen in figs. 2-4.]
Regarding claim 9,
Yamada further discloses wherein the supply path is connected to a plurality of recording element boards having a nozzle row constituted by the discharge ports [as seen in fig. 8.]
Regarding claim 10,
Yamada further discloses wherein two units of the pressure control units are coupled such that a direction in which the liquid flows into the inflow port of each is the same direction [paragraph 0082 teaches there being a circulation unit 200 (i.e. pressure control unit) for each color; there’s no teaching of each unit being positioned/constructed differently, so it is implicit that the liquid flows into each inflow port in the same direction.]
Regarding claim 13,
Yamada further discloses wherein the second position of the movable member is fluctuated in accordance with a pressure in the fluid chamber [paragraph 0035.]
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claims 8 and 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yamada.
Regarding claim 8,
Yamada discloses the claimed limitations as set forth above but fails to expressly disclose wherein the liquid is ink containing titanium oxide.
However, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to use ink containing titanium oxide, since it has been held to be within the ordinary skill of a worker in the art to select a known material on the basis of its suitability for the intended use. Sinclair & Carroll Co. v. Interchemical Corp., 325 U.S. 327, 65 USPQ 297 (1945). One would have been motivated to use titanium oxide for the purpose of providing superior durability, brightness and opacity to printed materials.
Regarding claim 11,
Yamada discloses the claimed limitations as set forth above but fails to expressly disclose wherein two units of the pressure control units are coupled such that a direction in which the liquid flows into the inflow port of each is opposite to each other.
However, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to rearrange the pressure control units such that a direction in which the liquid flows into the inflow port of each is opposite to each other, since it has been held that a mere rearrangement of elements without modification of the operation of the device involves only routine skill in the art. In re Japikse, 181 F.2d 1019, 86 USPQ 70 (CCPA 1950). One would have been motivated to rearrange the pressure control units for the purpose of improving pressure stability, while maintaining a consistent, balanced, and reliable liquid delivery to the liquid discharge heads.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5-6 and 12 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Regarding claim 5,
The primary reason for allowance for this claim is the inclusion of the limitations of claims 1-4, the pressure control unit in the liquid discharge head further comprising:
a power transmitting member provided capable of rotational movement around a rotation axis orthogonal to both the first direction and the second direction and having one end capable of being brought into contact with the movable member and the other end coupled with the valve body,
the movable member is brought into contact with the one end when moving from the first position to the second position by a pressure in the fluid chamber against the urging force, and
the power transmitting member moves the valve body from the closed position to the open position by rotationally moving in accordance with displacement of the movable member brought into contact with the one end.
It is these limitations, in combination as claimed, that have not been taught, found, or suggested by prior art.
Regarding claims 6 and 12,
These claims are considered to have allowable subject matter due to their dependency on claim 5
Communication with the USPTO
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JANNELLE M LEBRON whose telephone number is (571)272-2729. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday: 9:00am - 5:00pm.
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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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/JANNELLE M LEBRON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2853