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 Invention I in the reply filed on 3/4/26 is acknowledged. The traversal is on the ground(s) that there would be no undue burden to examine all inventions. This is not found persuasive because each of Inventions I through XI has a two-way distinctiveness with the other inventions, and a search for one invention will not necessarily encompass another invention. Therefore, each of the Inventions requires a different search.
The requirement is still deemed proper and is therefore made FINAL.
Claims 4-19 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b), as being drawn to a nonelected Invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Applicant timely traversed the restriction (election) requirement in the reply filed on 3/4/26.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
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) 1-3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Iwakura (US 2010/0034558 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Iwakura discloses A recording apparatus, comprising:
a carriage (51, fig. 1,2, para 28) configured to carry a recording head (7, fig. 1,3A,6A,8A, para 29) that discharges a liquid (see para 29), the carriage including:
a main body (inherent in fig. 2 and para 28-29) which is provided with an opening (opening in which head 7 is mounted into carriage 51, see para 29) for internally housing the recording head and which includes a locking portion (unlabeled engaging portion of the front cover 55, see para 38 and fig. 2); and
a cover (52a, fig. 2,6A,8A, para 38,50,64) which is rotatable between a closed state, in which the opening is blocked (see fig. 8A), and an open state, which exposes the opening (see fig. 2A,6A), and which includes a locked portion (524, fig. 2, para 38) that engages with the locking portion in the closed state (see para 38),
wherein the cover includes an operating portion (see annotated fig. 6A below) including a protruded portion (see annotated fig. 6A below) which protrudes, from a surface constituting an outer wall surface of the carriage (see annotated fig. 6A below), in a rotating direction of the cover from the closed state to the open state (see fig. 6A), the operating portion having an attitude which changes so that an engagement between the locked portion and the locking portion is released due to the protruded portion being pressed (see fig. 2,6A,8A, and para 38,64).
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Regarding claim 2, Iwakura further discloses The recording apparatus according to claim 1,
wherein the surface constituting the outer wall surface of the carriage, which is provided with the protruded portion is a surface facing upward in a vertical direction (see fig. 6A), and
wherein the protruded portion is positioned higher than the surface constituting the outer wall surface of the carriage in a case where the cover is in the closed state (see fig. 8A).
Regarding claim 3, Iwakura further discloses The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein in a case where a side, on which a center of rotation is positioned, in a radial direction during a rotation of the cover is considered a basal side and an opposite side to the basal side is considered a distal end side, the protruded portion is provided on the distal end side of the cover (see fig. 2,6A,8A).
The following reference(s) is/are considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure and is/are cited for disclosing related limitations to the applicant’s claimed and disclosed invention.
US 20090278902 A1
A printer includes a set cover pivotally movably provided on a carriage. The cover can be set in a closed state in which the cover presses a head of the cartridge housed in the housing portion and an open state in which the cover opens the housing portion when the cartridge is replaced. A release lever is subjected to a bias force so as to protrude from an inner wall surface of the housing portion. The release lever is movable against the bias force. The release lever comes into contact with an end of the cartridge which faces the bottom surface when the cartridge is inserted into the housing portion. The release lever contacts the rear surface of the cartridge housed in the housing portion. The bias force is stronger when the cover is in the open state than when the cover is in the closed state.
US 20110063383 A1
A fail-safe capability is realized that not only forestalls the execution by the user of the head replacement operation in an erroneous sequence while the printing apparatus is in operation but also prevents the splashing of ink even if the user attempts to inadvertently replace the print head. For this purpose, the ink supply and the opening and closing of the print head replacement cover are performed by a predetermined rotation of one drive source.
US 20170120603 A1
The printing apparatus according to the present invention includes a carriage, a supply tube, a head set cover that moves to a first orientation at which the printing head is fixed to the carriage and a second orientation at which the printing head is attachable to or detachable from the carriage, and a joint unit that moves to a first position connected to the printing head and a second position separated from the printing head, wherein the joint unit does not, move to the first position from the second position when the head set cover moves to the first orientation from the second orientation, and moves to the second position from the first position in cooperation with movement of the head set cover when the head set cover moves to the second orientation from the first orientation.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JUSTIN SEO whose telephone number is (571)270-1327. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9am-5pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Ricardo I Magallanes can be reached at 571-272-5960. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/JUSTIN SEO/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2853
May 2, 2026
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