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 § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claim 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
With regard to claim 6, it is unclear to Examiner how the second layer “covers” the first layer and “uncovers” an area above the heat element. In addition, the limitation “uncovers an area above the heat element” is not disclosed in the specification and according to paragraph [0030] in Applicant’s specification. For the purpose of examination, Examiner will assume the second layer does not cover the area above the heat element.
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, 5 and 7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Watanabe (JP 2022059849).
With regard to claim 1, Watanabe discloses a thermal print head (100A) [Para. 0034; Fig. 1], comprising:
a substrate (15) [Fig. 2];
a glaze layer (33) [Para. 0038; Fig. 2];
a wiring layer (not shown) [Para. 0068];
a heat element (50) [heating resistor; Para. 0034; Fig. 2]; and
a protective layer (52) [Para. 0034; Fig. 2], wherein
the glaze layer is disposed on the substrate [Fig. 2],
the wiring layer is disposed on the glaze layer [not shown; Para. 0068],
the wiring layer has a common electrode (32) and a plurality of individual electrodes (31) [Para. 0034],
the common electrode has protrusions (32A) arranged in intervals along a first direction (X direction) in a plan view [Para. 0034; Fig. 1] and extending along a second direction perpendicular to the first direction in the plan view (Y direction),
the plurality of individual electrodes have tip portions (not labeled) extending along the second direction [Fig. 5],
the protrusions and the tip portions are alternately arranged in intervals along the first direction in the plan view [Fig. 5],
the heat element extends along the first direction in the plan view [Fig. 1], is disposed on the glaze layer [Fig. 2], and overlaps with the protrusions and the tip portions [Fig. 1],
the protective layer is disposed on the glaze layer to cover the wiring layer and the heat element [Fig. 2],
a recess (not labeled) is formed on a surface of the protective layer [Fig. 2, concave portion on layer 54 and formed on the surface of layer 52], and
the recess extends along the first direction in a manner of overlapping with the heat element [50] in the plan view [Fig. 2].
With regard to claim 3, wherein a bottom surface of the recess has an upwardly convex curved shape in a cross-sectional view perpendicular to the first direction [Fig. 2].
With regard to claim 5, Watanabe discloses a method of manufacturing a thermal print head, comprising:
providing a substrate (15) [Fig. 2];
forming a glaze layer (33) [Para. 0038; Fig. 2];
forming a wiring layer (not shown) [Para. 0068];
forming a heat element (50) [heating resistor; Para. 0034; Fig. 2]; and
forming a protective layer (52) [Para. 0034; Fig. 2] on the glaze layer to cover the wiring layer and the heat element [Fig. 2], wherein
the wiring layer has a common electrode (32) and a plurality of individual electrodes (31) [Para. 0034],
the common electrode has protrusions (32A) arranged in intervals along a first direction (X direction) in a plan view [Para. 0034; Fig. 1] and extending along a second direction perpendicular to the first direction in the plan view (Y direction),
the plurality of individual electrodes have tip portions (not labeled) extending along the second direction [Fig. 5],
the protrusions and the tip portions are alternately arranged in intervals along the first direction in the plan view [Fig. 5],
the heat element extends along the first direction in the plan view [Fig. 1] and is disposed on the glaze layer [Fig. 2] while overlapping with the protrusions and the tip portions [Fig. 1],
the protective layer is disposed on the glaze layer to cover the wiring layer and the heat element [Fig. 2],
a recess (not labeled) is formed on a surface of the protective layer [Fig. 2], and
the recess extends along the first direction in a manner of overlapping with the heat element in the plan view [Fig. 2].
With regard to claim 7, wherein the protective layer includes a first layer (52) and a second layer (54), in the forming of the protective layer, the second layer is formed after the first layer is formed [Fig. 2], the first layer covers the wiring layer (not shown) [Para. 0068], and the second layer covers the heat element and the first layer [Fig. 2].
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) 2 and 4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Watanabe (JP 2022059849) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Kyunai (EP 4223544).
With regard to claim 2, Watanabe’s thermal print head discloses all the limitations of claim 1, but does not disclose wherein a width of the recess along the second direction is within a range of about ±50 µm with respect to a width of the heat element along the second direction.
However, Kyunai teaches a width of a recess [Fig. 8] along a second direction (D2) is within a range of about ±50 µm (10 to 50 µm) with respect to a width of a heat element (17c) along the second direction.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to utilize a width of a recess along a second direction within a range of ±50 µm with respect to a width of a heat element along the second direction for the purpose of reducing the thermal conduction distance to the surface of the protective layer which improves the print image quality.
With regard to claim 4, Watanabe’s modified thermal print head discloses all the limitations of claim 2, and Watanabe also discloses wherein a bottom surface of the recess has an upwardly convex curved shape in a cross-sectional view perpendicular to the first direction [Fig. 2].
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 6 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.
Claim 6 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Claim 6 is objected to because the prior art does not teach or make obvious “the second layer covers the first layer and uncovers an area above the heat element.”
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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/RICARDO I MAGALLANES/Supervisor Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2853
/TRACEY M MCMILLION/ Examiner, Art Unit 2853
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