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 based on an application filed in Japan on 9/6/2023. It is noted, however, that applicant has not filed a certified copy of the 2023-144218 application as required by 37 CFR 1.55.
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) 1-2, 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Luid Pinol et al (U.S. Pub. 2022/0297452)
Regarding claims 1, 8, a liquid ejection comprising: a support member on which a plurality of different types of media are arranged (Paragraph 0031)
An ejection head configured to eject liquid onto the plurality of media while reciprocating along a first direction (Paragraphs 0016, 0023)
A first detection unit configured to detect an end portion of the medium arranged on the support member (Paragraph 0070; sensors detect edges of the media)
A second detection unit configured to detect a thickness of the medium arranged on the support member (Paragraphs 0059, 0068-0069)
A control unit (Paragraph 0045), wherein the control unit causes the first detection unit to detect an end portion of each of the plurality of media (Paragraphs 0069-0070)
Sets an ejection range in which the liquid is ejected for each medium based on a detection result of the first detection unit (Paragraph 0070; information is passed to the printing system to alter or adjust operation of the printing device)
Causes the second detection unit to detect a thickness of each of the plurality of media (Paragraphs 0059, 0068-0069)
Determines an adjustment amount for adjusting amount for adjusting a landing position of the liquid for each medium based on a detection result of the second detection unit; and adjusts the landing position based on the adjustment amount and causes the liquid to be ejected in the ejection ranges of the plurality of media from the ejection head (Paragraphs 0068-0070)
Regarding claim 2, a carriage configured to reciprocate in the first direction, wherein the ejection head, the first detection unit, and the second detection unit are disposed in the carriage (Figures 11a, 11b; Paragraphs 0069-0070)
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) 4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Luid Pinol et al (U.S. Pub. 2022/0297452) in view of Ernst et al (U.S. Pat. 10,500,849)
Regarding claim 4, Ernst discloses it is known in the art to display printing information to the user (Column 4, Lines 19-35; Column 11, Lines 25-37)
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 Ernst into the device of Luid Pinol, for the purpose of informing the user of the current print operation and allowing input to manipulate settings
Claim(s) 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Luid Pinol et al (U.S. Pub. 2022/0297452) in view of Praharaj et al (U.S. Pat. 10,273,102)
Regarding claim 5, Praharaj discloses it is known in the art to use optical sensors and support members (conveying members) with differing colors than the conveyed media when detecting trailing or leading edges of the media (Abstract; Column 1, Lines 23-37)
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 Praharaj into the device of Luid Pinol, for the purpose of allowing the optical sensor to determine the difference between the media and the conveying surface
Claim(s) 6-7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Luid Pinol et al (U.S. Pub. 2022/0297452) in view of Kanda (U.S. Pub. 2023/0113997)
Regarding claims 6-7, Kanda discloses it is known in the art to incorporate a drying unit to dry the media and to control the drying unit based on measured parameters of the conveyed media (Abstract; Paragraphs 0004, 0052)
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 Kanda, for the purpose of efficiently drying the liquid applied to the conveyed media
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 3 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.
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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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Douglas X. Rodriguez 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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/JASON S UHLENHAKE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2853 March 1, 2026