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
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d). The certified copy has been filed on 9/12/25, the requirements 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d) are met.
Information Disclosure Statement
The references cited on a Form PTO 1449 have been considered.
Specification
The specification has been checked to the extent necessary to determine the presence of all possible minor errors. However, the applicant's cooperation is requested in correcting any errors of which applicant may become aware in the specification.
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.
Claim(s) 1-6 and 11-13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Nagahashi et al. (U.S. 2015/0077483 A1).
Nagahashi et al. disclose the following claimed limitations:
Regarding independent Claim 1, an ink container (70, §§0065-0067 and Figs. 1, 12) that is configured to be attachable and detachable to and from an apparatus main body (11a) of a recording apparatus (11, §0061 and Fig. 1), the ink container comprising:
an ink storage portion (91, §§0125-0127 and Fig. 13) that is configured to be capable of storing ink in an interior thereof;
an ink supply portion (81, §§0125-0130 and Figs. 13-14) that is configured to be capable of supplying the ink to the apparatus main body by being connected to an ink inlet portion of the apparatus main body; and
an electrical connection portion (30, §0087 and Figs. 8-10, 12-13) that is configured to be functionally connectable to an electric contact of the apparatus main body,
wherein the electrical connection portion is disposed such that, when the electrical connection portion is projected on a plane (XZ, Fig. 12) orthogonal to a mounting direction (Y, Fig. 12) in which the ink container is mounted onto the apparatus main body, a long side of a projected portion of the electrical connection portion crosses a direction of gravity at an angle of less than 90 degrees (see Figs. 9A, 10B) while the ink container is in a mounting position by being mounted on the apparatus main body. Please note that examiner regards an upper surface of the circuit board 30 to read on the limitation “projected portion of the electrical connection portion”; please also see §0272 of Nagahashi et al.
Regarding Claim 2, wherein the ink supply portion and the electrical connection portion are provided at an end of the ink container in the mounting direction. (Figs. 9A, 10B).
Regarding Claim 3, wherein, when viewed from the mounting direction, the ink supply portion is disposed in such a manner as to be offset with respect to the electrical connection portion in the direction of gravity (Figs. 8A, 9A, 10B).
Regarding Claim 4, wherein the electrical connection portion and the ink supply portion are arranged such that a distance between the long side of the projected portion of the electrical connection portion and the ink supply portion is shorter than a distance between a short side of the projected portion of the electrical connection portion and the ink supply portion (Figs. 8A, 9A, 10B; the upper edge of the circuit board 30 is assume to read on the limitation “a short side of the projected portion”).
Regarding Claim 5, wherein the electrical connection portion includes a memory device substrate for connection to the electric contact and a memory-device-substrate accommodating portion that accommodates the memory device substrate (§0105 and Figs. 8-10).
Regarding Claim 6, wherein the memory device substrate includes a plurality of pad electrodes each of which is configured to be electrically connectable to the electric contact (§00-87 and Figs. 8A-B, 9A).
Regarding independent Claim 11, an ink container (70, §§0065-0067 and Figs. 1, 12) that is configured to be attachable and detachable to and from an apparatus main body (11a) of a recording apparatus (11, §0061 and Fig. 1), the ink container comprising:
an ink storage portion (91, §§0125-0127 and Fig. 13) that is configured to be capable of storing ink in an interior thereof;
an ink supply portion (81, §§0125-0130 and Figs. 13-14) that is configured to be capable of supplying the ink to the apparatus main body by being connected to an ink inlet portion of the apparatus main body; and
a memory-device-substrate accommodating portion that accommodates a memory device substrate (30, §0087 and Figs. 8-10, 12-13) configured to be functionally connectable to an electric contact of the apparatus main body,
wherein the memory-device-substrate accommodating portion is disposed such that, when the memory-device-substrate accommodating portion is projected on a plane (XZ, Fig. 12) orthogonal to a mounting direction (Y, Fig. 12) in which the ink container is mounted onto the apparatus main body, a long side of a projected portion of the memory-device-substrate accommodating portion crosses a direction of gravity at an angle of less than 90 degrees (see Figs. 9A, 10B) while the ink container is in a mounting position by being mounted on the apparatus main body. Please note that examiner regards an upper surface of the circuit board 30 to read on the limitation “projected portion of the electrical connection portion”; please also see §0272 of Nagahashi et al.
Regarding independent Claim 12, an ink container (70, §§0065-0067 and Figs. 1, 12) comprising:
an ink storage portion (91, §§0125-0127 and Fig. 13) that is configured to be capable of storing ink in an interior thereof;
an ink storage portion that is configured to be capable of storing ink in an interior thereof; and
an ink supply member (81, §§0125-0130 and Figs. 13-14) that supplies the ink, which is stored in the ink storage portion, to outside,
wherein the ink supply member includes
a first end portion (e.g. 82, §§0133-0135 and Figs. 15A-B) that faces the interior of the ink storage portion, and
a second end portion (e.g. 85, §§0136-0137 and Figs. 15A-B) that faces outward from the ink storage portion and that is opposite to the first end portion,
wherein the second end portion of the ink supply member is provided with an opening (see Fig. 15A) serving as an ink supply portion that supplies the ink to the outside and with an electrical connection portion including a plurality of pad electrodes (see Figs. 12-13), and
wherein the electrical connection portion is disposed such that, when the electrical connection portion is projected on a plane (XZ, Fig. 12) orthogonal to a direction (Y, Fig. 12) from the second end portion toward the first end portion, a long side of a projected portion of the electrical connection portion crosses a direction of gravity at an angle of less than 90 degrees (see Figs. 9A, 10B) while the ink container is in a usage position. Please note that examiner regards an upper surface of the circuit board 30 to read on the limitation “projected portion of the electrical connection portion”; please also see §0272 of Nagahashi et al.
Regarding independent Claim 13, a recording apparatus (11, §0061 and Fig. 1) comprising:
an apparatus main body (11a, §0061 and Fig. 1); and
an ink container (70, §§0065-0067 and Figs. 1, 12) that is configured to be attachable and detachable to and from the apparatus main body,
wherein the apparatus main body includes an ink inlet portion (29, §0110 and Fig. 4) and an electric contact (34, §0102 and Fig. 4),
wherein the ink container includes
an ink storage portion (91, §§0125-0127 and Fig. 13) that is configured to be capable of storing ink in an interior thereof,
an ink supply portion (81, §§0125-0130 and Figs. 13-14) that is configured to be capable of supplying the ink to the apparatus main body by being connected to the ink inlet portion, and
an electrical connection portion (30, §0087 and Figs. 8-10, 12-13) that is configured to be functionally connectable to the electric contact, and
wherein the electrical connection portion is disposed such that, when the electrical connection portion is projected on a plane (XZ, Fig. 12) orthogonal to a mounting direction (Y, Fig. 12) in which the ink container is mounted onto the apparatus main body, a long side of a projected portion of the electrical connection portion crosses a direction of gravity at an angle of less than 90 degrees (see Figs. 9A, 10B) while the ink container is in a mounting position by being mounted on the apparatus main body. Please note that examiner regards an upper surface of the circuit board 30 to read on the limitation “projected portion of the electrical connection portion”; please also see §0272 of Nagahashi et al.
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) 7-8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nagahashi et al. (U.S. 2015/0077483 A1) as applied to claim 6 above, and further in view of Asauchi (U.S. 2012/0098901 A1).
Nagahashi et al. disclose the following claimed limitations:
Regarding Claims 7-8, all limitations of Claim 6, from which these claims depend.
Nagahashi et al. do not disclose the following claimed limitations:
Regarding Claim 7, wherein a center of gravity of the plurality of pad electrodes as a whole does not coincide with a center of gravity of the memory device substrate.
Regarding Claim 8, wherein the plurality of pad electrodes are arranged in a bilaterally asymmetric manner when viewed from a direction perpendicular to the memory device substrate.
Asauchi discloses the following claimed limitations:
Regarding Claim 7, wherein a center of gravity of the plurality of pad electrodes as a whole does not coincide with a center of gravity of the memory device substrate (Figs. 3A-B, 6B). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to apply the position-shifted electrodes of Asauchi to the ink container of Nagahashi et al. to ensure reliable electrical contact with a contact mechanism utilizing known type of contact members.
Regarding Claim 8, wherein the plurality of pad electrodes are arranged in a bilaterally asymmetric manner when viewed from a direction perpendicular to the memory device substrate (Figs. 3A-B, 6B; the pad electrodes 210, 220, 230, 240, 250, 260, 270, 280 and 290 are arranged in a bilaterally asymmetric manner with respect to the vertical direction). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to apply the bilaterally asymmetric electrodes of Asauchi to the ink container of Nagahashi et al. to ensure reliable electrical contact with a contact mechanism utilizing known type of contact members.
Claim(s) 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nagahashi et al. (U.S. 2015/0077483 A1) as applied to claim 6 above, and further in view of Yamamoto et al. (U.S. 2002/0122103 A1).
Nagahashi et al. disclose the following claimed limitations:
Regarding Claim 10, all limitations of Claim 5, from which this claim depends.
Nagahashi et al. do not disclose the following claimed limitations:
Regarding Claim 10, wherein the memory-device-substrate accommodating portion includes a memory-device-substrate holder that is configured to be movable in the memory-device-substrate accommodating portion, and the memory device substrate is accommodated in the memory-device-substrate holder.
Yamamoto et al. not disclose the following claimed limitations:
Regarding Claim 10, wherein the memory-device-substrate accommodating portion includes a memory-device-substrate holder (17, §§0116-0122, 0135-0137 and Figs. 6, 13-16) that is configured to be movable in the memory-device-substrate accommodating portion, and the memory device substrate is accommodated in the memory-device-substrate holder. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to apply the movable holder of Yamamoto et al. to the ink container of Nagahashi et al. to ensure reliable electrical contact by accomodating inevitable variations of a manual attachment procedure.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 9 is 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: the primary reason for indicating allowable subject matter of claim 9 is the inclusion of the limitations of an ink container including wherein the memory-device-substrate accommodating portion has a space that has a shape of a rectangular prism extending in a direction opposite to the mounting direction, and the memory device substrate is disposed on one of inner surfaces of the rectangular prism, the one inner surface being farthest from the ink supply portion. It is these limitations found in the claims, as it is claimed in the combination of that has not been found, taught or suggested by prior art of record, which makes these claims allowable over the prior art.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ALEXANDER D SHENDEROV whose telephone number is (571)270-7049. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9-5.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Douglas X Rodrigues 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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/ALEXANDER D SHENDEROV/Examiner, Art Unit 2853
/JASON S UHLENHAKE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2853
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