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.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claim 1 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 1 recites the limitation "the outside" in line 9. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 1 recites the limitation “the outside” in line 9. It is unclear to Examiner what the “outside” is referring to.
Claim 7 recites “an outer side” in line 7. It is unclear to Examiner what an “outer side” is referring to. There are multiple “outer sides” of the liquid discharge head that can be chosen relative to the head cover.
Claim 9 recites “an outer side” in line 7. It is unclear to Examiner what the “outer side” is referring to. There are multiple “outer sides” of the liquid discharge head that can be chosen relative to the heat dissipation plate.
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)(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.
Claim(s) 1-4 and 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Togashi (US 2017/0120586).
With regard to claim 1, Togashi discloses a liquid supply member (2) [Figs. 2-6] comprising:
a first member (30);
a second member (40);
a channel (202) located between the first member and the second member [Fig. 2];
a joint (50) located at an interface between the first member and the second member [Para. 0088; Figs. 4, 6, 9], the joint surrounding the channel;
an opening (203) communicating with an inside of the liquid supply member [Fig. 2]; and
a dam (34a) located between the opening and the outside [Fig. 6].
With regard to claim 2, Togashi discloses wherein the dam extends from the joint in a direction intersecting the joint [the dam extends in the Y direction; Figs. 4, 6 and 9].
With regard to claim 3, Togashi discloses wherein the dam lies up to an edge of the first member [Figs. 2, 6].
With regard to claim 4, Togashi discloses wherein the dam is a laser-welded portion, and the second member comprises a first portion (34) a covering a periphery of an edge of the first member [Para. 0088; Fig. 6].
With regard to claim 6, Togashi discloses wherein the dam surrounds a periphery of the opening [Fig. 6].
With regard to claim 11, Togashi discloses a recording device (10) [recording apparatus; Para. 0054] comprising the liquid discharge head according to claim 1 [Fig. 1].
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
Claim(s) 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Togashi (US 2017/0120586) as applied to claim 4 above.
With regard to claim 5, Togashi does not explicitly disclose wherein the first portion located on an outer side relative to the dam is larger in surface roughness than another portion of the second member.
However, Togashi teaches the first portion is used for subjecting the first member and the second member to a fusing treatment. [Para. 0085]
Since it is known that surface roughness plays an important role in determining how a surface will interact with its environment, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to configure the first portion located on an outer side relative to the dam with a larger surface roughness than another portion of the second member in order to improve adhesion properties of the first portion.
Claim(s) 7-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Togashi (US 2017/0120586) as applied to claim 1 above, and in view of Kinoshita (US 2014/0292953).
With regard to claim 7, Togashi discloses a liquid discharge head (2) comprising: the liquid supply member according to claim any one of claims 1.
Togashi does not disclose a pressurizing member, a drive member configured to drive the pressurizing member and a head cover covering the driving member, wherein the dam is located on an outer side relative to the head cover.
However, Kinoshita teaches a pressurizing member (40) [Para. 0035], a drive member (27a) [Para. 0029; Figs. 2-3] configured to drive the pressurizing member [Fig. 3] and a head cover (12d) [bottom wall; Para. 0032] covering the driving member [Fig. 3]; wherein a dam (25c) [continuous seal part; Para. 0066] is located on an outer side relative to the head cover (12d) [Figs. 3 and 8]
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to utilize a pressurizing member, a drive IC and a head cover as taught by Kinoshita with the supply member of Togashi for the purpose of suppressing inflow of liquid supplied.
In addition, it would have been obvious to locate a dam on an outer side relative to the head cover for the purpose of allowing the channel of the first member and the second member to communicate with the opening in a liquid tight manner.
With regard to claim 8, Togashi does not disclose wherein the opening in the liquid supply member communicates with the pressurizing member.
However, Kinoshita teaches wherein the opening (12b) in the liquid supply member communicates with a pressurizing member (31) [Fig. 3].
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to utilize the liquid supply member communicating with the pressurizing member as taught by Kinoshita for the purpose of ejecting ink drops from the nozzle.
Claim(s) 9-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Togashi (US 2017/0120586) as applied to claim 1 above, and in view of Gejima (US 2018/0147846) and further view of Kinoshita (US 2014/0292953).
With regard to claim 9, Togashi discloses a liquid discharge head (2) comprising: the liquid supply member according to claim any one of claims 1.
Togashi does not disclose a pressurizing member, a drive IC configured to supply a signal to the pressurizing member and a heat dissipation plate wherein the dam is located on an outer side relative to the heat dissipation plate.
However, Gejima teaches a pressurizing member (40) [Para. 0035], a drive IC (62) [Para. 0029; Figs. 2-3] configured to supply a signal to the pressurizing member [Fig. 3B] and a heat dissipation plate (52) [Para. 0029; Figs. 2-3].
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to utilize a pressurizing member, a drive IC and a heat dissipation plate as taught by Gejima with the supply member of Togashi for the purpose of suppressing inflow of liquid supplied.
In addition, Kinoshita teaches a dam (25c) located on an outer side relative to a head cover (12d) [Figs. 3 and 8]
Since Gejima teaches the head cover is coupled to the head dissipation plate, it would have been obvious to utilize the dam on an outer side relative to the heat dissipation plate for the purpose of allowing the channel of the first member and the second member to communicate with the opening in a liquid tight manner.
With regard to claim 10, Togashi does not disclose, wherein opening in the liquid supply member communicates with the pressurizing member.
However, Kinoshita teaches an opening (12b) in the liquid supply member communicates with the pressurizing member (31) [piezoelectric actuator part; Figs. 3 and 8].
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to utilize the opening in the liquid supply member to communicate with the pressurizing member as taught by Kinoshita in view of Togashi and Gejima, for the purpose of ejecting ink drops from the nozzle.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TRACEY M MCMILLION whose telephone number is (571)270-5193. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 6AM-2:30PM EST.
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/TRACEY M MCMILLION/Examiner, Art Unit 2853
/RICARDO I MAGALLANES/Supervisor Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2853
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