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
Foreign priority papers submitted under 35 U.S.C. § 119(a)-(d) or 35 U.S.C. § 365(a)-(c) are acknowledged.
Information Disclosure Statement
The Information Disclosure Statement(s) submitted by applicant on 12/20/2024 and 01/30/2025 has/have been considered. The submission(s) is/are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR § 1.97.
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because of the title of the invention is not descriptive. A new title is required that is clearly indicative of the invention to which the claims are directed.
Correction is required. See MPEP § 608.01(b).
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.
Claim Rejections - 35 U.S.C. § 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 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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
1. Claim(s) 1-8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by 20160067978 to Okuno et al. (hereinafter "Okuno").
With respect to claim 1, Okuno discloses a liquid ejecting device (10 Printer FIG. 1), comprising: a liquid ejecting unit configured to eject liquid (12 Print Head FIG. 1); a main body on which the liquid ejecting unit is mounted (housing 19 FIG. 1); a liquid supply device configured to be movable independently of the main body and configured to supply the liquid to the liquid ejecting unit via a liquid supply path (liquid accommodating body 50 FIG. 10); a main body side engaging portion provided at the main body and configured to engage with the liquid supply device (32/34 FIG. 10); and a liquid supply device side engaging portion provided at the liquid supply device and configured to engage with the main body (511 FIG. 10), wherein the main body side engaging portion includes a lower receiving portion that receives the liquid supply device side engaging portion from below in a vertical direction (32/34 511 FIG. 10), and the liquid supply device side engaging portion includes an upper receiving portion that engages with the lower receiving portion (32/34 511 FIG. 10), and is received by the main body side engaging portion from below in the vertical direction by the upper receiving portion engaging with and received by the lower receiving portion (32/34 511 FIG. 10).
With respect to claim 2, Okuno discloses wherein the upper receiving portion and the lower receiving portion extend in an intersecting direction intersecting both a facing direction in which the liquid supply device and the main body face each other in an engagement state in which the main body and the liquid supply device are engaged with each other, and the vertical direction (32/34 511 FIG. 10).
With respect to claim 3, Okuno discloses wherein one of the upper receiving portion and the lower receiving portion is an inner rail extending in the intersecting direction, and another of the upper receiving portion and the lower receiving portion is an outer rail extending in the intersecting direction and covering the inner rail when viewed from the intersecting direction (32/34 511 FIG. 10).
With respect to claim 4, Okuno discloses wherein the upper receiving portion includes an upper rail received by the lower receiving portion from below in the vertical direction, and the lower receiving portion includes a lower rail received by the upper receiving portion from above in the vertical direction (32/34 511 FIG. 10).
With respect to claim 5, Okuno discloses wherein the upper receiving portion and the lower receiving portion engage with each other by the main body and the liquid supply device being relatively moved along the intersecting direction (32/34 511 FIG. 10).
With respect to claim 6, Okuno discloses wherein the lower receiving portion includes an upward protruding portion extending in the intersecting direction and protruding upward in the vertical direction toward the upper receiving portion, the upper receiving portion includes a downward protruding portion extending in the intersecting direction and protruding downward in the vertical direction toward the lower receiving portion, and a length in the vertical direction from the upward protruding portion to the upper receiving portion and a length in the vertical direction from the downward protruding portion to the lower receiving portion are the same (32/34 511 FIG. 10).
With respect to claim 7, Okuno discloses wherein a coupling portion between the main body and the liquid supply device is configured to be brought into a usable state of being coupled by the liquid supply path in an engagement state in which the main body and the liquid supply device are engaged with each other, and a relative movable range of the main body and the liquid supply device at the coupling portion is wider than a relative movable range of the main body side engaging portion and the liquid supply device side engaging portion in the usable state (32/34 511 FIG. 10).
With respect to claim 8, Okuno discloses wherein the main body side engaging portion and the liquid supply device side engaging portion have strength so as not to break even when the liquid supply device is brought into a state of being separated from an installation surface in an engagement state in which the main body and the liquid supply device are engaged with each other (32/34 511 FIG. 10).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Bradley W Thies whose telephone number is (571)270-5667. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9:30 am -6:00 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, 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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/BRADLEY W THIES/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2853
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