Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 02, 2026
Application No. 18/978,508

Liquid Ejecting Head And Liquid Ejecting Apparatus

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
Dec 12, 2024
Priority
Dec 13, 2023 — JP 2023-210268
Examiner
HUFFMAN, JULIAN D
Art Unit
Tech Center
Assignee
Seiko Epson Corporation
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
80%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
7m
Est. Remaining
84%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 80% — above average
80%
Career Allowance Rate
547 granted / 688 resolved
+19.5% vs TC avg
Minimal +4% lift
Without
With
+4.4%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 5m
Avg Prosecution
20 currently pending
Career history
708
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
3.1%
-36.9% vs TC avg
§103
43.4%
+3.4% vs TC avg
§102
31.8%
-8.2% vs TC avg
§112
16.9%
-23.1% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 688 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 . Election/Restrictions Claims 3 and 5-13 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected species, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 23 July 2026. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 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 and 4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Hirai et al. (U.S. 20180065365 A1). 1. A liquid ejecting head (figs. 1 and 6) comprising: a nozzle substrate (20) provided with a nozzle (21) for ejecting a liquid; a pressure chamber substrate (15) provided with a plurality of pressure chambers (12, fig. 6) for applying pressure to the liquid; a piezoelectric element (150) including a piezoelectric body (70, fig. 3), an individual electrode (60, [0044] ) individually provided for each of the plurality of pressure chambers, and a common electrode (80, [0048] ) provided in common to the plurality of pressure chambers; and a wiring substrate (30) provided with an individual wiring line (31) for applying a voltage to the individual electrode, a common wiring line (32) for applying a voltage to the common electrode, and an auxiliary wiring line (33) that is electrically coupled to the common wiring line ( [0083], [0084] ) to reduce resistance of the common electrode (since Hirai et al. discloses the claimed structure, it also reduces resistance of the common electrode). 2. The liquid ejecting head according to claim 1, wherein the individual wiring line and the common wiring line are provided on a first surface of the wiring substrate, and the auxiliary wiring line is provided on a second surface on a back of the first surface of the wiring substrate [0088]. 4. The liquid ejecting head according to claim 2, wherein the wiring substrate is further provided with an integrated circuit (120) to which the individual wiring line is coupled, and when the wiring substrate is viewed in plan view, the auxiliary wiring line and the integrated circuit are installed at positions that overlap each other (fig. 6, wiring substrate 33 and IC 120 overlap). Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Julian D Huffman whose telephone number is (571)272-2147. The examiner can normally be reached Monday through Friday 9am-6pm. 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, Group Director Andrea Wellington can be reached at (571)272-4483. 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. JULIAN D. HUFFMAN Supervisory Patent Examiner Art Unit 2859 /JULIAN D HUFFMAN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2859
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Dec 12, 2024
Application Filed
Aug 27, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12744143
WOUND CORE
3y 5m to grant Granted Sep 22, 2026
Patent 12722372
Head Unit And Liquid Ejection Apparatus
1y 9m to grant Granted Sep 01, 2026
Patent 12720928
LIGHT EMITTING DEVICE
4y 1m to grant Granted Aug 25, 2026
Patent 12683341
Radio Frequency Controller and a Communication Module having the Same
3y 4m to grant Granted Jul 14, 2026
Patent 12661904
FLUID RESERVOIR AND ASSOCIATED FLUID CIRCULATION SYSTEM AND METHOD
2y 7m to grant Granted Jun 23, 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
80%
Grant Probability
84%
With Interview (+4.4%)
2y 5m (~7m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 688 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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