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 02/18/2025 has/have been considered. The submission(s) is/are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR § 1.97.
Claim Rejections - 35 U.S.C. § 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.
Claim(s) 1 and 3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
Ambiguous
In claim 1, the phrase "a concavo-convex structure having irregularities in the axis direction" makes the claims ambiguous and therefore indefinite. Because the claim fails to sufficiently relate the "irregularities" to the other claim features, the claim is amenable of multiple plausible constructions, leaving a person having ordinary skill in the art unable to determine what the Applicant does and does not regard as the invention. Additionally, it is unclear if the “convexities” from claim 3 should be introduced or if language should be changed so that the claims match regarding that feature. See Ex parte Kenichi Miyazaki, 89 U.S.P.Q. 2d 1207, *11 (BPAI 2008).
Dependent claim(s) 2 and 4-6 is/are rejected for the reasons presented above with respect to rejected claim(s) 1 and 3 and in view of the dependence thereon.
Claim Rejections - 35 U.S.C. § 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 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 of this title, 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 set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied 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.
1. Claim(s) 1-6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Patent Publication No. 20040001126 to Oda et al. (hereinafter “Oda”) in view of CN Patent No. 112428694 to Chen (hereinafter “Chen”).
With respect to claim 1, Oda discloses A flow path connection mechanism (FIG. 9), comprising: a first coupling member that is a tubular body whose center axis is an axis extending in a prescribed direction and includes inside a circulation path for a liquid(102 FIG. 9); a second coupling member that is a tubular body centered about the center axis, is connected to the first coupling member in an axis direction, and includes inside a circulation path for the liquid so that the liquid is allowed to circulate through the first and second coupling members in the axis direction (34/36 FIG. 9); and a connection member that connects the first coupling member to the second coupling member (94), wherein the connection member has a cylindrical shape centered about the center axis and is mounted to the second coupling member so as to be rotatable about the center axis (94 FIG. 9), the first coupling member is inserted into the connection member in the axis direction (FIG. 9), and, so that engagement is established between the first coupling member and the connection member in the axis direction to bring about a connected state where the first coupling member is connected to the second coupling member ([0114]).
However, Oda fails to specifically disclose:
the connection member is rotated in one direction relative to the first coupling member, the first and second coupling members each include a concavo-convex structure having irregularities in the axis direction, the concavo-convex structure is provided in each of parts of the first and second coupling members opposed to each other in the axis direction, and the first coupling member is inserted into the connection member, and thus the respective concavo-convex structures of the first and second coupling members engage with each other in a circumferential direction.
Chen discloses:
the connection member is rotated in one direction relative to the first coupling member (rotating FIG.s 4-6 [0032]) the first and second coupling members each include a concavo-convex structure having irregularities in the axis direction (512, 521 FIG.s 4-6), the concavo-convex structure is provided in each of parts of the first and second coupling members opposed to each other in the axis direction (512, 521 FIG.s 4-6), and the first coupling member is inserted into the connection member, and thus the respective concavo-convex structures of the first and second coupling members engage with each other in a circumferential direction (512, 521 FIG.s 4-6 [0031]-[0045]).
At the time of the invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use the concavo-convex structure and rotate the connection member disclosed by Chen with the method/apparatus of Oda. The motivation for doing so would have been to improve the connection, prevent spillage and increase convenient operation. (Background of Chen).
With respect to claim 2, Oda in view of Chen discloses wherein at least one of the first and second coupling members includes a biasing member that generates a biasing force in the axis direction, the biasing member biases the first and second coupling members in directions away from each other, and in the connected state, by the biasing member, the first and second coupling members are biased in the directions away from each other, and thus the respective concavo-convex structures of the first and second coupling members are away from each other in the axis direction (Spring 450, 512, 521 FIG.s 4-6 [0031]-[0045]).
With respect to claim 3, Oda in view of Chen discloses wherein as viewed from a radial direction, convexities of the concavo-convex structure each have a shape tapering down from a root toward a distal end thereof (512, 521 FIG.s 4-6 [0031]-[0045]).
With respect to claim 4, Oda in view of Chen discloses wherein as viewed from the radial direction, a first side surface of each of the convexities facing the circumferential direction is a surface forming a first angle of 45º or more with a direction orthogonal to the center axis (512, 521 FIG.s 4-6 [0031]-[0045]).
With respect to claim 5, Oda in view of Chen discloses wherein as viewed from the radial direction, a second side surface of each of the convexities on an opposite side in the circumferential direction to the first side surface is a surface forming, with the direction orthogonal to the center axis, a second angle larger than the first angle, and in a state where the respective concavo-convex structures of the first and second coupling members engage with each other, the second side surface of the concavo-convex structure of one of the first and second coupling members engages with the second side surface of the concavo-convex structure of another of the first and second coupling members in the circumferential direction (512, 521 FIG.s 4-6 [0031]-[0045]).
With respect to claim 6, Oda in view of Chen discloses the flow path connection mechanism claimed in the flow path connection mechanism claimed in claim 1, wherein the liquid is ink, and the inkjet recording apparatus uses the ink to perform printing ([0053]-[0054] of Oda).
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.
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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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