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
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The references cited in the information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 19 December 2024, have been considered.
Drawings
The drawings received on 19 December 2024 are accepted.
Specification
The specification has not been checked to the extent necessary to determine the presence of all possible minor errors. Applicant’s cooperation is requested in correcting any errors of which applicant may become aware in the specification.
Examiner’s Note
The examiner has pointed out particular references contained in the prior art of record in the body of this action for the convenience of the applicant. Although the specified citations are representative of the teachings in the art and are applied to the specific limitations within the individual claim, other passages and figures may apply as well. Applicant should consider the entire prior art as applicable as to the limitations of the claims. It is respectfully requested from the applicant, in preparing the response, to consider fully the entire references as potentially teaching all or part of the claimed invention, as well as the context of the passage as taught by the prior art or disclosed by the examiner.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 1-6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kawate et al. (US 2018/0104955).
With respect to claim 1, Kawate discloses a liquid ejecting device, comprising:
a liquid ejecting unit (Fig. 1, element 21) configured to eject liquid (paragraph 0060);
a main body (Fig. 1, element 12) at which the liquid ejecting unit is mounted (paragraph 0058);
a liquid supply device (Fig. 4, element 50) configured to move independently of the main body (paragraph 0093) and supply the liquid to the liquid ejecting unit via a liquid supply path (Fig. 2, element 30; paragraph 0064);
a main body side engaging portion (Fig. 2, element 14) provided at the main body and configured to engage with the liquid supply device (paragraph 0063); and
a liquid supply device side engaging portion (Fig. 4, element 51) provided at the liquid supply device and configured to engage with the main body (paragraph 0076), wherein
one of the main body side engaging portion and the liquid supply device side engaging portion (Fig. 4, element 51) includes an insertion portion (Fig. 4, element 53) formed of a conductive member (paragraphs 0077-0078) and configured to move (Fig. 5, element 73; paragraphs 0087-0088) in a vertical direction (Fig. 5, -Z direction),
another of the main body side engaging portion (Fig. 2, element 14) and the liquid supply device side engaging portion includes an accommodating portion (Fig. 3, element 29f) for accommodating the insertion portion (paragraphs 0067-0068), and
the accommodating portion is provided with a contact member (Fig. 3, element 29) formed of a conductive member (Fig. 3, element 40), and configured to accommodate the insertion portion in a state in which the contact member and the insertion portion are in contact with each other (paragraph 0096).
The examiner notes to applicant that the limitations concerning the main body and the liquid supply device are broad in scope and would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art in view of Kawate as applied above.
With respect to claim 2, Kawate discloses the accommodating portion (Fig. 3, element 29f) includes an opening (Fig. 3, element 25; paragraphs 0062-0063) in the vertical direction (Fig. 2, -Z direction), and is configured such that the contact member (Fig. 3, element 29) and the insertion portion (Fig. 4, element 53) come into contact with each other by the insertion portion being inserted into the opening (paragraph 0096).
With respect to claim 3, Kawate discloses the main body side engaging portion (Fig. 2, element 14) includes the insertion portion (Fig. 4, element 53), and the liquid supply device side engaging portion (Fig. 4, element 51) includes the accommodating portion (Fig. 3, element 29f; paragraphs 0094-0097, i.e. connection completed).
With respect to claim 4, Kawate discloses a first locking member (Fig. 4, element 78) disposed so as to be spaced from the insertion portion (Fig. 4, element 53) at the one of the main body side engaging portion and the liquid supply device side engaging portion (Fig. 4, element 51), and extending in the vertical direction (Fig. 4, -Z direction); and a second locking member (Fig. 3, element 39) disposed so as to be spaced from the accommodating portion (Fig. 3, element 29F) at the other of the main body side engaging portion (Fig. 2, element 14) and the liquid supply device side engaging portion and configured such that movement relative to the first locking member is locked (paragraph 0067).
With respect to claim 5, Kawate discloses the first locking member (Fig. 4, element 78) and the second locking member (Fig. 3, element 39) are configured to come into contact with each other to regulate separation (paragraph 0067) of the main body (Fig. 1, element 12) and the liquid supply device (Fig. 4, element 50).
With respect to claim 6, Kawate discloses a surface treatment method for the insertion portion (Fig. 4, element 53) and a surface treatment method for the first locking member (Fig. 4, element 78) are different from each other.
The examiner notes to applicant that the limitations concerning how the liquid ejecting device is manufactured are not seen to further limit the structure of the claims and are not seen to distinguish the structure in view of Kawate.
Conclusion
In view of the foregoing, the above claims have failed to patentably distinguish over the applied art.
The remaining references listed on forms 892 and 1449 have been reviewed by the examiner and are considered to be cumulative to or less material than the prior art references relied upon in the rejection above.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Geoffrey Mruk whose telephone number is (571)272-2810. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8-4:30 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, 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.
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/GEOFFREY S MRUK/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2853 06/17/2026
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