CTNF 18/946,754 CTNF 81623 DETAILED ACTION Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status 07-03-aia AIA 15-10-aia 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 07-06 AIA 15-10-15 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. 07-20-aia AIA 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. 07-21-aia AIA Claim (s) 1, 5-8, 18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nakano (JP2018008513) in view of Khawaja et al (U.S. Pub. 2011/0304870) Regarding claims 1, 18, a printing apparatus comprising: a moving unit configured to relatively move a printing medium and a discharging unit configured to discharge a liquid onto the printing medium (Paragraph 0019) A control unit configured to obtain information related to a speed of airflow at a discharge port surface of the discharging unit [calculation during recording operation or during non-recording operation; Paragraphs 0071, 0075, 0077] and, based on the obtained information, control an adjustment operation for adjusting a density of a solid component of the liquid [pigment concentration is calculated based on evaporation] Pigment concentration is calculated from an evaporation amount calculated based on an evaporation rate and a non-discharge ratio, wherein there is a calculation of evaporation during a recording operation and a calculation of evaporation during a non-recording operation to find a total evaporation amount. The recording operation would include an airflow speed while the non-recording operation would not include an airflow speed at a discharge port surface (the recording head is covered by the cap member); therefore, the current operation (recording vs non-recording) is information related to a speed of airflow at a discharge port surface (Paragraphs 0073-0077, 0081-0089). Nakano discloses setting a recording mode (Paragraph 0018) Nakano does not expressly disclose the modes to be set or selected, Khawaja discloses it is known in the art wherein a printing mode is selectable from a plurality of types of printing modes (Figures 3-4; Paragraph 0026; selecting a non-print mode or enabling a print mode), therefore the selected mode will be information used (non-recording vs recording) for pigment concentration being calculated from an evaporation amount as disclosed by Nakano above. 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 Khawaja into the device of Nakano, for the purpose of maintaining a proper working ejection apparatus Regarding claim 5, a circulation unit configured to circulate the liquid between a liquid storage unit configured to store the liquid and the discharging unit (Paragraphs 0012-0013) Regarding claim 6, the adjustment operation includes an operation of discharging the liquid from the discharging unit (Paragraphs 0012-0013, 0036-0039) Regarding claim 7, the adjustment operation includes an operation of suctioning the liquid from the discharge head (Paragraph 0092) Regarding claim 8, the discharging unit is a full-line discharge head (Figure 1) Allowable Subject Matter 12-151-08 AIA 07-43 12-51-08 Claim s 2-4, 9-17 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. 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. Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice. 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. Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /JASON S UHLENHAKE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2853 June 11, 2026 Application/Control Number: 18/946,754 Page 2 Art Unit: 2853 Application/Control Number: 18/946,754 Page 3 Art Unit: 2853 Application/Control Number: 18/946,754 Page 4 Art Unit: 2853 Application/Control Number: 18/946,754 Page 5 Art Unit: 2853 Application/Control Number: 18/946,754 Page 6 Art Unit: 2853
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