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 statement (IDS) submitted on 08/07/2024, 12/13/2024 are being considered by the examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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.
Claims 1-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Moribe et al. (US 2008/0280043) in view of Sato (US 2012/0141692).
Regarding claim 1, Moribe et al teaches an ink jet recording method using an ink jet recording apparatus (figs.2-4), the ink jet recording apparatus (figs.2-4) comprising:
an aqueous ink comprising a dye (abstract, paragraphs 0013-0021,0094,0133);
an ink storage portion (H1900 figs.5,3) which is configured to store the aqueous ink, and
a recording head (H1100 of H1001 figs.7,5,6) to be bonded to the ink storage portion (H1900 fig.5), the recording head having formed therein an ejection orifice array (for instance H2000, H2100, H2200 fig.7) configured to eject the aqueous ink supplied from the ink storage portion (H1900),
the ink jet recording method comprising recording an image by applying the aqueous ink ejected from the ejection orifice array (H2000, H2100, H2200 fig.7) to a recording medium (paragraphs 0127-0129,0137),
wherein the ink storage portion (H1900 figs.5,3) comprises three or more storage parts (storage parts for each color in H1900) divided independently of each other by a partition portion (partitions between storage parts in H1900) arranged orthogonal to a longitudinal direction of the ink storage portion (H1900), and the three or more storage parts are arrayed in one predetermined direction (figs.5,6,3),
wherein the aqueous ink comprises a cyan ink, a magenta ink and a yellow ink (nozzle array H2000 is for ejecting yellow ink, nozzle array H2100 is for ejecting magenta ink, nozzle array H2200 is for ejecting cyan ink fig.7, paragraph 0136),
wherein the ejection orifice array (H2000, H2100, H2200 fig.7) comprises three rows of ejection orifice arrays corresponding to the cyan ink (H2200), the magenta ink (H2100) and the yellow ink (H2000), respectively, the three rows of ejection orifice arrays being formed in the recording head along the longitudinal direction of the ink storage portion (figs.5,6,3), and
wherein among a dynamic surface tension γ10 at a lifetime of 10 milliseconds of the cyan ink (H2200), the magenta ink (H2100) and the yellow ink (H2000), an ink corresponding to the ejection orifice array arranged at a middle out of the three rows of ejection orifice arrays (H2100) has a smallest dynamic surface tension γ10 at a lifetime of 10 milliseconds (page 15, Table 7. See the values of surface tensions in example 25 and reference example 1).
Moribe et al does not explicitly teaches wherein the ink storage portion is formed from a thermoplastic resin composition comprising a filler material.
However, Sato teaches similar ink storage portion (14 fig.1) formed from a thermoplastic resin composition comprising a filler material (paragraph 0031).
Therefore, it would have been obvious for a person of ordinary skill in the art, as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to form the ink storage portion of Moribe et al from a thermoplastic resin composition comprising a filler material based on the teachings of Sato for instance to use material that is light in weight, corrosion resistant, and cost effective.
Regarding claim 2, Moribe et al as modified by Sato further teaches wherein the ink jet recording apparatus (figs.2-4 of Moribe et al) further comprises an ink flow path comprising a horizontal part through which the aqueous ink flows between the ink storage portion (H1900 figs.5,3) and an ejection orifice of the ejection orifice array (H2000, H2100, H2200 fig.7), and the horizontal part corresponding to an ink having a smallest static surface tension (mN/m) out of the cyan ink, the magenta ink and the yellow ink has a largest length (paragraphs 0051,0063,0093,0094,0154,0159,0165, 0168; page 15 Table 7 of Moribe et al).
Regarding claim 3, Moribe et al as modified by Sato further teaches wherein an ink having the largest content of the dye out of the cyan ink, the magenta ink and the yellow ink is stored in a corresponding one of the three or more storage parts arranged on an inner side (paragraphs 0097,0098-0104 of Moribe et al).
Regarding claim 4, Moribe et al as modified by Sato further teaches wherein a difference (η1−η2) between a largest viscosity η1 (mPa.Math.s) and a smallest viscosity η2 (mPa.Math.s) out of viscosities of the cyan ink, the magenta ink and the yellow ink is 0.2 mPa.Math.s or less (paragraphs 0007,0086,0090, Table 5, Table 6, Table 7 of Moribe et al).
Regarding claim 5, Moribe et al as modified by Sato further teaches wherein a difference (γs1−γs2) between a static surface tension γs1 (mN/m) of an ink having a smallest lightness and a static surface tension γs2 (mN/m) of an ink having a largest lightness out of static surface tensions of the cyan ink, the magenta ink and the yellow ink is 0.0 mN/m or more to 2.0 mN/m or less (paragraphs 0013-0015,0020,0040-0048, 0061,0062,0156, 159,0165,0168, Table 5, Table 6, Table 7 of Moribe et al).
Regarding claim 6, Moribe et al as modified by Sato further teaches wherein the three rows of ejection orifice arrays (H2000, H2100, H2200 fig.7) are arranged in order of a lightness of a corresponding ink (paragraphs 0013-0015,0020,0040-0048, 0061,0062,0156,159, 0165,0168, Table 5, Table 6, Table 7 of Moribe et al).
Regarding claim 7, Moribe et al as modified by Sato further teaches wherein the ink storage portion (H1900 figs.5,3) has a ratio (A/B) of a length A in the longitudinal direction to a length B in a transverse direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction, the ratio (A/B) being 2.0 times or more to 4.4 times or less (in Moribe et al, H1900 figs.5,3 the length of each storage portion is more than twice longer than its width).
Regarding claim 8, Moribe et al as modified by Sato further teaches wherein the ink storage portion is replaced with another ink storage portion after the aqueous ink stored therein has been consumed (Moribe et al in figs.5,6; paragraphs 0065,0132,0133 the ink cartridges are detachable).
Regarding claim 9, Moribe et al as modified by Sato further teaches wherein the ink jet recording apparatus (figs.2-4 of Moribe et al) further comprises: a second ink storage portion (figs.5,3,7) having a capacity larger than a capacity of the ink storage portion; and a tube through which the aqueous ink flows between the second ink storage portion and the ink storage portion (figs.3,5,6; paragraph 0086,0134,0135,0138, 0140,0141,0145,0160,0169 of Moribe et al).
Regarding claim 10, Moribe et al as modified by Sato further teaches an ink jet recording apparatus (figs.2-4 of Moribe et al) comprising:
an aqueous ink comprising a dye (abstract, paragraphs 0013-0021,0094,0133 of Moribe et al);
an ink storage portion (H1900 figs.5,3 of Moribe et al) which is configured to store the aqueous ink, and is formed from a thermoplastic resin composition comprising a filler material (14 fig.1, paragraph 0031 of Sato as applied above); and
a recording head (H1100 of H1001 figs.7,5,6 of Moribe et al) to be bonded to the ink storage portion (H1900 fig.5), the recording head having formed therein an ejection orifice array (for instance H2000, H2100, H2200 fig.7) configured to eject the aqueous ink supplied from the ink storage portion (H1900),
wherein the ink storage portion (H1900 figs.5,3 of Moribe et al) comprises three or more storage parts (storage parts for each color in H1900) divided independently of each other by a partition portion (partitions between storage parts in H1900) arranged orthogonal to a longitudinal direction of the ink storage portion (H1900), and the three or more storage parts are arrayed in one predetermined direction (figs.5,6,3),
wherein the aqueous ink comprises a cyan ink, a magenta ink and a yellow ink (nozzle array H2000 is for ejecting yellow ink, nozzle array H2100 is for ejecting magenta ink, nozzle array H2200 is for ejecting cyan ink fig.7, paragraph 0136 of Moribe et al),
wherein the ejection orifice array (H2000, H2100, H2200 fig.7 of Moribe et al) comprises three rows of ejection orifice arrays corresponding to the cyan ink (H2200), the magenta ink (H2100) and the yellow ink (H2000), respectively, the three rows of ejection orifice arrays being formed in the recording head along the longitudinal direction of the ink storage portion (figs.5,6,3), and
wherein among a dynamic surface tension γ10 at a lifetime of 10 milliseconds of the cyan ink (H2200 of Moribe et al), the magenta ink (H2100) and the yellow ink (H2000), an ink corresponding to the ejection orifice array arranged at a middle out of the three rows of ejection orifice arrays (H2100) has a smallest dynamic surface tension γ10 at a lifetime of 10 milliseconds (page 15, Table 7. See the values of surface tensions in example 25 and reference example 1).
Conclusion
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/HENOK D LEGESSE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2853