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 statements (IDSs) submitted on 9/9/2024 and 3/31/2025 are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statements have been considered by the examiner.
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.
Claim(s) 1 and 2 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US Pub. 2018/0257409 to Meuleman as modified by JP H11348248A to Kurosawa et al. “Kurosawa.”
With regard to Claim 1, Meuleman teaches a head module support mechanism (figs. 5a and 5b) that supports plurality of head modules (27) of a liquid jet head (8) including the plurality of head modules (27), the head module support mechanism comprising:
a fixing portion (25 and 26) that is joined to a frame of the liquid jet head (8) [0044];
a movement portion (30) that supports the plurality of head modules (27) and is supported to be movable in a first direction with respect to the fixing portion (25 and 26) [0044 and 0046];
a first direction movement portion that moves the movement portion (30) that supports the plurality of head modules (27) in the first direction with respect to the fixing portion (fig. 5a, 60, 29, 30); and
a guide portion (32) that guides the movement portion with respect to the fixing portion (25 and 26) [0044];
wherein the head module support mechanism supports the plurality of head modules (27) which are connected to each other in the first direction (fig. 5a).
Meuleman does not teach a guide portion to which a rolling guide extending in the first direction is applied.
However, Kurosawa teaches (figs. 1 and 2) a guide portion to which a rolling guide (5a and 5b) extending in the first direction is applied. It would been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Meuleman with the teachings of Kurosawa to provide a mechanism for adjusting the inclination and distance of the printing unit with high accuracy [0007].
With regard to Claim 2, Meuleman teaches the claimed invention except for wherein the guide portion includes a plurality of the rolling guides, and a total length of the rolling guide in the first direction is shorter than a total length of the fixing portion in the first direction.
However, Kurosawa teaches wherein the guide portion includes a plurality of the rolling guides, and a total length of the rolling guide in the first direction is shorter than a total length of the fixing portion in the first direction (fig. 2). The same motivation applies as discussed in claim 1.
With regard to Claim 14, Meuleman teaches wherein the plurality of head modules are joined to module support members, respectively, the fixing portion has groove structures formed on a surface joined to the module support members, and each of the module support members has a projection structure having a shape fitted to each of the groove structures and formed on a surface joined to the fixing portion (figs. 1, 3, 5a and 5b).
With regard to Claim 15, Meuleman teaches wherein each of the module support members includes a first member to which a head module is joined, and a second member in which the projection structure is formed, and each of the module support members has a structure in which the first member and the second member are orthogonal to each other (figs. 1, 3, 5a and 5b).
With regard to Claim 16, Meuleman teaches a liquid jet head (8) comprising: a plurality of head modules (27); a module support mechanism that supports the plurality of head modules (figs. 5a and b); and a frame (1), wherein the module support mechanism includes a fixing portion (25 and 26) that is joined to the frame, a movement portion (30) that supports the plurality of head modules (27) and is supported to be movable in a first direction with respect to the fixing portion (fig. 5a, 60, 29, 30), a first direction movement portion that moves the movement portion that supports the plurality of head modules in the first direction with respect to the fixing portion, and a guide portion (32) that guides the movement portion with respect to the fixing portion (25 and 26) [0044]; and, and the module support mechanism supports the plurality of head modules which are connected to each other in the first direction (fig. 5a).
Meuleman does not teach a guide portion to which a rolling guide extending in the first direction is applied.
However, Kurosawa teaches (figs. 1 and 2) a guide portion to which a rolling guide (5a and 5b) extending in the first direction is applied. It would been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the claimed invention to modify Meuleman with the teachings of Kurosawa to provide a mechanism for adjusting the inclination and distance of the printing unit with high accuracy [0007].
With regard to Claim 17, Meuleman teaches liquid jet system [0008 and 0009] comprising: a liquid jet head (8), wherein the liquid jet head includes a plurality of head modules (27), and a module support mechanism (figs. 5a and 5b) that supports the plurality of head modules (27), and the module support mechanism includes a fixing portion (25 and 26) that is joined to a frame of the liquid jet head (8), a movement portion (30) that supports the plurality of head modules (27) and is supported to be movable in a first direction with respect to the fixing portion (fig. 5a, 60, 29, 30), a first direction movement portion that moves the movement portion that supports the plurality of head modules (27) in the first direction with respect to the fixing portion, and a guide portion (32) that guides the movement portion with respect to the fixing portion, and the module support mechanism supports the plurality of head modules which are connected to each other in the first direction (fig. 5a).
Meuleman does not teach a guide portion to which a rolling guide extending in the first direction is applied.
However, Kurosawa teaches (figs. 1 and 2) a guide portion to which a rolling guide (5a and 5b) extending in the first direction is applied. It would been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Meuleman with the teachings of Kurosawa to provide a mechanism for adjusting the inclination and distance of the printing unit with high accuracy [0007].
With regard to Claim 18, Meuleman teaches wherein a direction that is orthogonal to the first direction and in which the fixing portion (fig. 5a, 60, 29, 30) and the movement portion (30) are arranged is defined as a second direction, and the liquid jet system further comprises a relative movement device that moves a substrate to which a liquid jetted from the liquid jet head adheres and the liquid jet head relative to each other in the second direction (abstract).
Claim(s) 9-10 and 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Meuleman as modified by Kurosawa and further in view of US Pub. 2022/0001663 to Hashimoto.
With regard to Claim 9, Meuleman as modified by Kurosawa teach the claimed invention except for further comprising: a position detection unit that detects a position of the movement portion in the first direction with respect to the fixing portion.
However, Hashimoto teaches further comprising: a position detection unit that detects a position of the movement portion in the first direction with respect to the fixing portion [0016 and 0050]. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the claimed invention to modify Meuleman as modified by Kurosawa with the teachings of Hashimoto to specify the reference position of the head with high accuracy [0017].
With regard to Claim 10, Meuleman as modified by Kurosawa teach the claimed invention except for wherein the first direction movement portion includes a cam member, a contact member that abuts on the cam member and moves in the first direction in response to rotation of the cam member, and a biasing force applying member that applies a biasing force in a direction in which the contact member abuts on the cam member to the contact member.
However, Hashimoto teaches wherein the first direction movement portion includes a cam member, a contact member that abuts on the cam member and moves in the first direction in response to rotation of the cam member, and a biasing force applying member that applies a biasing force in a direction in which the contact member abuts on the cam member to the contact member [0071-0074]. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the claimed invention to modify Meuleman as modified by Kurosawa with the teachings of Hashimoto to provide automatic adjustment of the plurality of head modules at a low cost [0076].
With regard to Claim 13, Meuleman as modified by Kurosawa teach the claimed invention except for further comprising: a frictional force applying portion that applies a frictional force to a rotation shaft of the cam member.
However, Hashimoto teaches further comprising: a frictional force applying portion that applies a frictional force to a rotation shaft of the cam member [0065]. The same motivation applies as discussed above in claim 10.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-8 and 11-12 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 primary reason for the allowance of Claims 3-4 is the inclusion of the limitations the plurality of rolling guides are disposed in a distributed manner in the first direction and the third direction. It is these features found in the claim(s) which have 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 Claims 5-6 is the inclusion of the limitations the total length of the rolling guide in the first direction corresponds to the total length of the fixing portion in the first direction. It is these features found in the claim(s) which have 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 Claims 7-8 is the inclusion of the limitations the first guide member and the second guide member are subjected to a hardening treatment on surfaces. It is these features found in the claim(s) which have 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 11 is the inclusion of the limitations a surface treatment of applying a lubricity to at least any one of a surface of the cam member or a surface of the contact member is performed. It is these features found in the claim(s) which have not been found, taught or suggested by the prior art of record, which makes this claim allowable over the prior art.
The primary reason for the allowance of Claim 12 is the inclusion of the limitations wherein a rolling element member is applied to the contact member. It is these features found in the claim(s) which have not been found, taught or suggested by the prior art of record, which makes this claim allowable over the prior art.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. JP 5626585 B2 discloses an adjustment mechanism and a liquid discharge apparatus, and more particularly, to an adjustment mechanism for adjusting a mounting position of a head or the like that discharges liquid and a liquid discharge apparatus using the adjustment mechanism.
JP 5940183 B2 discloses an inkjet head 200 is configured by connecting a plurality of head modules 210 in a line. Each head module 210 has the same structure, and is arranged in a row on the base frame 212 to constitute one inkjet head 200.
Communication with the PTO
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SHARON A POLK whose telephone number is (571)270-7910. The examiner can normally be reached M-F, 7-3.
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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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SHARON A. POLK
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2853
/Sharon Polk/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2853