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 .
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.
Claim(s) 1, 3, 7-9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tomikawa et al (U.S. Pat. 5,969,738) in view of Shinada et al (U.S. Pat. 6,899,417)
Regarding claim 1, Tomikawa discloses a method of manufacturing a print head including a printing element board having an ejection port array being an array of a plurality of ejection ports for ejecting a liquid (Figure 1; Column 2, Lines 48-52)
A box part in which an accommodation chamber to accommodate the liquid is formed (Figure 1; Column 2, Line 48 – Column 3, Line 10)
A channel formation part in which a channel configured to supply the liquid in the accommodation chamber to the ejection port array is formed (Figures 7-8; Column 6, Lines 32-55)
A lid member (top portion of element 6; Figure 1) covering an opening of the box part to define the accommodation chamber (Figure 1)
Method comprising: preparing a lid member, the lid member not including a supply port (Figure 1)
A second print head joins the second lid member to the housing, the second print head being detachably attachable to a printing apparatus and configured to eject the liquid from the ejection ports without the accommodation chamber supplied with the liquid (Figure 1; Figure 1; Column 1, Lines 49-52; Column 2, Line 48 – Column 3, Line 10; recording head an ink tank are detachable)
Shinada discloses it is known in the art for a lid member (4) to include a supply port (10) through which the accommodation chamber can be supplied with liquid; and forming a first print head by joining the lid member to the housing, the first print head configured to eject the liquid from the ejection ports with the accommodation chamber supplied with the liquid through the supply port (Figures 4, 6; Abstract; Column 4, Lines 55-65; Column 5, Lines 26-33)
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the teaching of Shinada into the device of Tomikawa, for the purpose of providing a continuous sink supply with an ink injection port for injecting ink into the ink accommodating chamber
Regarding claim 3, Shinada discloses it is known in the art to use an air communicating port (11) formed in the lid (Figure 2; Column 4, Lines 55-65)
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the teaching of Shinada into the device of Tomikawa, for the purpose of reducing the pressure inside the container body
Regarding claim 7, Tomikawa discloses shaping the box part and the channel formation part; and forming the housing by joining the shaped boxy part and the shaped channel formation part (Figures 1, 7-8; Column 6, Lines 32-55)
Regarding claim 8, Tomikawa discloses attaching the printing element board to the housing such that the channel and the plurality of ejection ports are continuous with each other (Figure 1; Column 2, Lines 48-52)
Regarding claim 9, Tomikawa discloses the printing element board attached to the housing in the attaching is provided with a heating resistance element (4) that differs in size between the print heads (Figure 1; Column 3, Lines 34-42)
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2, 4-6 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
The primary reason for the allowance of claims 10-13 is the inclusion of the limitation of the channel includes a first air buffer configured to hold a bubble generated in the channel and discharging the bubble in a case where a suction operation of sucking the liquid from the ejection ports is performed; and a narrow channel connected to an upstream side of the first air buffer, and has a cross-sectional area smaller than a cross-sectional area of the first air buffer as viewed from a direction in which the liquid flows in the suction operation. It is this limitation found in each of the claims, as it is claimed in the combination, that has not been found, taught or suggested by the 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 JASON S UHLENHAKE whose telephone number is (571)272-5916. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday, 8:00 am - 5:00 pm.
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/JASON S UHLENHAKE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2853 February 11, 2026
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