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.
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) 1-2 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tanaka (US 8,950,838) and further in view of Kubo (US 2008/0204505).
With regard to claim 1, Tanaka discloses a recording apparatus (1) comprising:
a liquid ejection head (2) [Fig. 1] configured to eject liquid [ink droplets] from a nozzle (20) to a medium (4) conveyed in a first direction [transport direction] and perform recording on the medium;
a recording-time conveying path facing the liquid ejection head [Fig. 1];
a pump (7) located above the recording-time conveying path [Fig. 3] and configured to guide the liquid to a liquid storage unit (6); and
a controller (10) configured to drive the pump, wherein the pump motor is disposed below the waste liquid storage unit [Fig. 3].
Tanaka does not disclose the liquid being waste liquid discharge from the nozzle or the liquid storage unit being a waste liquid storage unit and a pump motor driving the pump.
However, Kubo teaches a pump (15) [Fig. 1] configured to guide waste liquid discharged from a nozzle [nozzle sealed with a cap 12; Para. 0033] to a waste liquid storage unit (16) [Fig. 1] and driven by a pump motor.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to configure the pump of Tanaka to guide waste liquid discharged from the nozzle to a waste liquid storage unit in order to maintenance the nozzles and store the liquid discharged.
With regard to claim 2, Tanaka’s modified recording apparatus discloses all the limitations of claim 1, and Tanaka also discloses wherein the pump is disposed side by side with the pump motor below the waste liquid storage unit [Fig. 3].
Claim(s) 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tanaka (US 8950838) view of Kubo (US 2008/0204505) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Jang (KR 101708452).
With regard to claim 5, Tanaka’s modified recording apparatus discloses all the limitations of claim 1, but does not disclose wherein the pump motor is in contact with a lower surface of the waste liquid storage unit.
However, Jang teaches a pump motor (310) in contact with a lower surface of a waste liquid storage unit (20). [Para. 0059; Fig. 15]
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to configure the pump motor of Tanaka to be in contact with a lower surface of the waste liquid storage unit as taught by Jang so that it does not obstruct the attaching and detaching of the waste liquid storage unit.
Claim(s) 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tanaka (US 8950838) view of Kubo (US 2008/0204505) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Mukaida(US 2022/0184977) in view of Ohta (US 2018/0281430)
With regard to claim 6, Tanaka’s modified recording apparatus discloses all the limitations of claim 1, and Tanaka also discloses a discharge path located downstream in the recording-time conveying path [Fig. 1], the discharge path being for discharging the medium on which the recording was performed.
Tanaka modified does not disclose further comprising: a guide path that is a medium conveying path located below the recording-time conveying path, the guide path guiding, in a second direction opposite to the first direction, the medium being passed through the recording- time conveying path; a reversing path that is a medium conveying path coupled to the guide path, the reversing path reversing the medium and causing the medium to join the recording-time conveying path; a discharge path located downstream in the recording-time conveying path, the discharge path being for discharging the medium on which the recording was performed; a reversing roller disposed in the reversing path and configured to feed the medium downstream in the reversing path; a motor for reversing configured to drive the reversing roller; a first path forming section forming a lower surface of the recording-time conveying path; a second path forming section forming an upper surface of the guide path; a discharge roller disposed in the discharge path and configured to feed the medium downstream in the discharge path; a motor for discharge configured to drive the discharge roller; a conveying roller disposed in the recording-time conveying path and configured to feed the medium downstream in the recording-time conveying path; and a motor for conveyance configured to drive the conveying roller, wherein the motor for reversing, the motor for discharge, and the motor for conveyance are disposed at positions between the first path forming section and the second path forming section.
However, Mukaida teaches a guide path (R1) [supply path; Para. 0045] that is a medium conveying path located below a recording-time conveying path (T2) [recording transport path; Para. 0049; Fig. 1], the guide path guiding, in a second direction (X direction) opposite to the first direction [Z direction; Fig. 1], the medium being passed through the recording- time conveying path [Fig. 1]; a reversing path (R2) [second curved path; Para. 0048; Para. 0048] that is a medium conveying path coupled to the guide path [Fig. 1], the reversing path reversing the medium and causing the medium to join the recording-time conveying path [Fig. 1]; a discharge path [path connected to port (A1/A2); Para. ; Fig. 1] located downstream in the recording-time conveying path [Fig. 1], the discharge path being for discharging the medium on which the recording was performed [Para. 0053]; a reversing roller (31) [transport rollers; Para. 0045] disposed in the reversing path and configured to feed the medium downstream in the reversing path [Fig. 1]; a motor for reversing (not shown) configured to drive the reversing roller [Para. 0043]; a discharge roller (37, 38) disposed in the discharge path and configured to feed the medium downstream in the discharge path [Fig. 1]; a motor (not shown) for discharge configured to drive the discharge roller [Para. 0043]; a conveying roller (31) disposed in the recording-time conveying path and configured to feed the medium downstream in the recording-time conveying path [Fig. 1]; and a motor (not shown) for conveyance configured to drive the conveying roller [Para. 0043], wherein the motor for reversing, the motor for discharge, and the motor for conveyance are disposed at positions between the first path forming section and the second path forming section.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to configure the recording apparatus of Tanaka with a guide path, reversing path, motors to drive the reversing roller, the discharge roller and the conveying roller since it would be an obvious matter of design choice since applicant has not disclosed that a guide path, reversing path, and motor drive the rollers associated with each path solves any stated problem or is for any particular purpose and it appears that the invention would perform equally well with a guide path and conveying rollers.
In addition, Ohta teaches a first path forming section forming a lower surface of the recording-time conveying path [Fig. 1]; and a second path forming section forming an upper surface of the guide path [Fig. 1];
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It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to configure the first path and second path of Tanaka modified with a lower surface and upper surface as taught by Ohta in order to keep the recording material from bending outside of the path and creating a paper jam.
Claim(s) 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tanaka (US 8,950,838) in view of Kubo (US 2008/0204505) and further in view of Yoda (US 2020/290381).
With regard to claim 7, Tanaka discloses a recording apparatus (1) [Fig. 1] comprising:
a liquid ejection head (2) [Col. 3; line 33; Fig. 3] configured to eject liquid [ink droplets; Col. 3; lines 47-48] from a nozzle (20) [nozzle chips; Col. 3; lines 39-40] to a medium (4) [Col. 3; lines 48-49] conveyed in a first direction [transport direction; Fig. 1] and perform recording on the medium;
a recording-time conveying path (not labeled) [area under ejection head; Fig. 1] facing the liquid ejection head [Fig. 1];
a pump (7) [Col. 4; line 25] located above the recording-time conveying path [Fig. 3] and configured to guide the liquid to a liquid storage unit (6) [Col. 4; lines 25-27]; and
a controller (10) [Col. 4; line 32] configured to drive the pump [Col. 4; lines 31-33; Fig. 1]; and
wherein the controller is disposed below the mounting unit [Fig. 1].
Tanaka does not disclose the liquid being waste liquid discharge from the nozzle; the liquid storage unit being a waste liquid storage unit; a pump motor driving the pump and a mounting unit to which the waste liquid storage unit is detachably mounted,.
However, Kubo teaches a pump (15) [Fig. 1] configured to guide waste liquid discharged from a nozzle [nozzle sealed with a cap 12; Para. 0033] to a waste liquid storage unit (16) [Fig. 1] and driven by a pump motor.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to configure the pump of Tanaka to guide waste liquid discharged from the nozzle to a waste liquid storage unit in order to maintenance the nozzles and store the liquid discharged.
In addition, Yoda teaches a mounting unit (73) [holding section; Para. 0073] to which a waste liquid storage unit (71) [waste liquid box; Para. 0073] is detachably mounted [Para. 0073].
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art to configure the recording apparatus of Tanaka modified with a mounting unit to which the waste liquid storage unit is detachably mounted in order to prevent or minimize leakage of the waste liquid.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-4 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.
Claims 3-4 are objected to because the prior art does not teach or make obvious “a guide frame that guides the liquid ejection head moving in a direction in which the liquid ejection head advances and retracts with respect to the medium, wherein the guide frame separates the pump motor and the liquid ejection head.”
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TRACEY M MCMILLION whose telephone number is (571)270-5193. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 6AM-2:30PM EST.
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/TRACEY M MCMILLION/Examiner, Art Unit 2853
/RICARDO I MAGALLANES/Supervisor Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2853