Prosecution Insights
Last updated: August 17, 2026
Application No. 18/959,753

COLOR PRINTER AND SOLVING METHOD

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
Nov 26, 2024
Priority
Nov 28, 2023 — JP 2023-200475
Examiner
FEGGINS, KRISTAL J
Art Unit
Tech Center
Assignee
Seiko Epson Corporation
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
90%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
2m
Est. Remaining
98%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 90% — above average
90%
Career Allowance Rate
841 granted / 936 resolved
+29.9% vs TC avg
Moderate +8% lift
Without
With
+8.5%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Fast prosecutor
1y 11m
Avg Prosecution
13 currently pending
Career history
953
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
1.7%
-38.3% vs TC avg
§103
30.0%
-10.0% vs TC avg
§102
42.9%
+2.9% vs TC avg
§112
12.4%
-27.6% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 936 resolved cases

Office Action

§102
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 § 102 2. 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. 3. 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. 4. Claim(s) 1-5, 7-9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kurasawa (US 2017/0165991). Kurasawa discloses the following claimed limitations: * Re clms 1 & 9, a color printer/inkjet apparatus 1/ and a solving method (Abst., para 0033, figs 1-9); * a printing unit/head unit 32/ configured to print check patterns/text check pattern 5/ and explanatory texts/text information including body information, No. 1…/ for the check patterns (paras 0038, 0047, 0050-0055, figs 3-6); * an interface/41. display unit 141/ configured to accept a result of checking the check patterns/5/ from a user (paras 0045-0047, 0049-0053, figs 3-6); * wherein the printing unit/head unit 32/ prints the explanatory texts/text information/ by using multiple colors and/or multiple nozzle rows (paras 0033, 0053-0055, 0058, figs 3-6). * Re clm 2, wherein the printing unit prints the explanatory texts in composite black (para 0055, figs 3-6). * Re clm 3, wherein the printing unit prints the explanatory texts in all the colors and/or a mixture of the colors from all the nozzle rows (paras 0033, 0055. figs 3-6) * Re clm 4, wherein the check patterns are nozzle check patterns/ (paras 0047-0050, 0053, figs 3-6). * Re clm 5, wherein the explanatory texts//text information including body information, No. 1/ are each a text indicating a color or a nozzle row for the pattern disposed in the vicinity of the explanatory text (paras 0033, 0047, 0050-0055, 0058, figs 3-6, 9). * Re clm 7, wherein the color printer is a serial inkjet printer (paras 0032, 0035, 0038, 0045-0046, figs 1-3). * Re clm 8, wherein the explanatory texts are printed in a multiple-pass operation (paras 0035, 0038, 0049, figs 1-6). * Re clm 9, accepting a result of checking the check patterns from a user; and solving abnormality in accordance with the result of the checking (paras 0045-0047, 0049-0058, fig 3-6). Allowable Subject Matter 5. Claim 6 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. The primary reason for indicating allowable subject matter of claim 6 is the inclusion of the limitations of a color printer that includes wherein the explanatory texts are each printed in a mixture of the colors that differs from a color of the pattern disposed in the vicinity of the explanatory text. It is this limitation found in the claim, as it is claimed in the combination of that has not been found, taught or suggested by the prior art of record, which makes these claims allowable over the prior art. The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. The following prior art also, fails to explicitly teach all limitations and/or not combinable to meet the claimed invention. Piatt et al. (US 2006/0319705) disclose a color printer calibration that determines the substrate and ink compatibility by providing a test pattern having a range of ink loading levels and including test features corresponding to at least one of text and graphics. Kurasawa (US 2017/0165991) discloses a printing method for printing sign information having characters and/or marks on a medium that has a test printing process of printing a plurality of test patters whose ink amounts are mutually different on the medium, Conclusion 6. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KRISTAL FEGGINS whose telephone number is (571)272-2254. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 930-530pm. 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, Ricardo Magallanes can be reached at 571-272-5960. 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. /KRISTAL FEGGINS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2853
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Nov 26, 2024
Application Filed
Jul 29, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12697818
CONTINUOUS INKJET PRINTER
2y 9m to grant Granted Aug 04, 2026
Patent 12697810
DRIVE DEVICE
2y 2m to grant Granted Aug 04, 2026
Patent 12686216
PRINTER
2y 3m to grant Granted Jul 21, 2026
Patent 12679118
MODULAR VARIABLE LENGTH CRUSH CUTTING APPARATUS AND METHOD
2y 8m to grant Granted Jul 14, 2026
Patent 12679089
LIQUID EJECTING HEAD UNIT AND LIQUID EJECTING APPARATUS
2y 4m to grant Granted Jul 14, 2026
Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
90%
Grant Probability
98%
With Interview (+8.5%)
1y 11m (~2m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 936 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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