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 § 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 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Katakura (US 2023/0286267).
With regard to claim 1, Katakura discloses a method of driving a liquid ejecting apparatus [Fig. 3] including
a piezoelectric element (PZ) [Para. 0042] having a first electrode (Qu) [Para. 0044], a second electrode (Qd) [Para. 0044], and a piezoelectric body (Qm) [Para. 0044] disposed between the first electrode and the second electrode [Fig. 3],
a pressure chamber (320) [Para. 0042] having a volume that changes according to deformation of the piezoelectric element,
a drive signal generator (2, 3) [Fig. 1] that is configured to generate a pair of a first drive signal (Com) and a second drive signal (Vbs), the first drive signal including an electrical potential-changing element [Com comprises ComA and ComB; ComA is an ejection waveform and ComB is a waveform to detect residual vibration; Paras. 0083-0087; Fig. 9] that change in electrical potential over predetermined electrical potential differences from starting electrical potential to ending electrical potential, and the second drive signal (Vbs) including an electrical potential-maintained element (Vct) that maintain fixed electrical potential [Paras. 0088, 094; Fig. 9], and
a detector (20) [detecting circuit; Para. 0034] that is configured to detect, as a residual vibration signal (NES[m]) [Para. 0037], variations in electromotive force of the piezoelectric element according to variations in residual pressure in liquid in the pressure chamber after the electrical potential-changing element is supplied to the first electrode while the electrical potential-maintained element is supplied to the second electrode [Paras. 0086, 0125-0126], the method comprising:
generating a plurality of the pair of the first drive signals and the second drive signals [Para. 0033; Fig. 14], differences between the ending electrical potentials of the electrical potential- changing elements of the first drive signals and the electrical potentials of the electrical potential-maintained elements of the second drive signals are different each other in the plurality of pairs [Para. 0033];
detecting a plurality of the residual vibration signals for the plurality of pairs [Para. 0038; Fig. 1]; and
identifying a first deformation property of the piezoelectric element based on the plurality of the residual vibration signals for the plurality of pairs [the difference between the detection of the first and second residual vibrations result detection of the ejection information items Stt that gives information about the amount of deformation of the piezoelectric element, this information can be for instance the number of times the corresponding piezoelectric element has been used; Paras. 0125-0126].
With regard to claim 2, Katakura discloses wherein the first deformation property includes a coercive voltage of the piezoelectric element [deformation can be obtained when the coercive electric field when the ejecting apparatus is used; Para. 0102].
With regard to claim 3, Katakura discloses wherein the first deformation property indicates a change in an amount of the deformation of the piezoelectric element, the change corresponding to a change in a difference in electrical potential between the first electrode and the second electrode [Para. 0125-0128].
With regard to claim 7, Katakura discloses wherein when the electrical potential-changing elements of the first drive signals are supplied, a volume of the pressure chamber when the starting electrical potentials are supplied is less than a volume of the pressure chamber when the ending electrical potentials are supplied [Fig. 14].
With regard to claim 8, Katakura discloses wherein the differences between the starting electrical potentials and the ending electrical potentials of the electrical potential-changing elements are equal for the plurality of pairs [Fig. 14].
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) 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Katakura (US 2023/0286267) as applied to claim 1 above, and in view of Miyagishi (JP 2023139519).
With regard to claim 4, Katakura discloses a lowest electrical potential and a highest electrical potential of the ejection electrical potential-changing element are set according to property information including the first deformation property [ComA is the ejection waveform that is adapted according to the information Stt; Para. 0101; Figs. 15 and 16].
Katakura does not explicitly disclose wherein generating a third drive signal that is supplied to the first electrode and includes an ejection electrical potential-changing element that deforms the piezoelectric element to cause the pressure applied to the liquid in the pressure chamber to fluctuate to an extent that a droplet is ejected from a nozzle communicating with the pressure chamber.
However, Miyagishi teaches multiple drive signals (COM,VBS) generated by a drive signal generation unit supplied to a first electrode and include an ejection potential-change element that displaces the piezoelectric element to cause a droplet to eject. [Paras. 0005, 0016]
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 third signal that is supplied to the first electrode and include an ejection electrical potential-changing element that deforms the piezoelectric element to cause the pressure applied to the liquid in the pressure chamber to fluctuate to an extent that a droplet is ejected from a nozzle communicating with the pressure chamber as taught by Miyagishi, since it is known in the art that a plurality of drive signals (COM, VBS) can be generated to include a waveform and a plurality of base potential signals VBS having different potential designated.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5-6 and 9-13 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 allowance of claims 5 is the inclusion of a method step wherein the ending electrical potentials of the electrical potential-changing elements of the first drive signals are different for the plurality of pairs, and the electrical potentials of the electrical potential-maintained elements of the second drive signals are equal for the plurality of pairs. It is this method step 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 primary reason for indicating allowance of claims 6 is the inclusion of a method step wherein the ending electrical potentials of the electrical potential-changing elements of the first drive signals are equal for the plurality of pairs, and the electrical potentials of the electrical potential-maintained elements of the second drive signals are different for the plurality of pairs. It is this method step 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 primary reason for indicating allowance of claims 9-13 is the inclusion of a method step at a second timing after a predetermined period of time from the first timing, generating the plurality of the pair of the first drive signals and the second drive signals, detecting the plurality of the residual vibration signals for the plurality of the pair, identifying a second deformation property of the piezoelectric element based on the plurality of the residual vibration signals for the plurality of pairs, and determining a state of change in a deformation property of the piezoelectric element based on a difference between the first deformation property and the second deformation property. It is this method step 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.
Conclusion
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/RICARDO I MAGALLANES/Supervisor Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2853
/TRACEY M MCMILLION/Examiner, Art Unit 2853
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