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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on 18 February 2025 and 12 September 2025 have been considered by the examiner.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, “the second member of one of the coupling members [being] connected to the second member of another of the coupling members in the axis direction” (claim 7) must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claim 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention. The drawings and language do not seem to teach the coupling member being modular, but claim 7 recites two coupling members being connected through their respective second member.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 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 (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 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.
Claims 1-2 and 4-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1)/(a)(2) as being anticipated by Oda et al. (US 2004/0001126 – hereinafter Oda.)
Regarding claim 1,
Oda discloses a coupling member [92 in figs. 9 and 11, which includes pipe 94] that is a tubular body whose center axis is an axis extending in a prescribed direction [as seen in figs. 9 and 11] and includes inside a circulation path for a liquid so as to allow the liquid to circulate therethrough in an axis direction [as seen in fig. 11; paragraph 0080], the coupling member comprising:
a first member [100 in figs. 9 and 11] connected to a tube through which the liquid circulates [as seen in fig. 11; paragraph 081]; and
a second member [102 in figs. 9 and 11] secured to the first member, wherein
one of the first and second members includes an outer fitting portion having a cylindrical shape centered about the center axis [as seen in figs. 9 and 11],
another of the first and second members includes an inner fitting portion having a cylindrical shape centered about the center axis [as seen in figs. 9 and 11],
the inner fitting portion is internally fitted to the outer fitting portion [connection of portions 100 and 102 in figs. 9 and 11], and
an inner circumferential surface of the outer fitting portion and an outer circumferential surface of the inner fitting portion are each so tapered as to increase in distance from the center axis from one side toward another side in the axis direction [narrowing portion in fig. 11.]
Regarding claim 2,
Oda further discloses wherein a clearance between the inner circumferential surface of the outer fitting portion and the outer circumferential surface of the inner fitting portion is not more than 0.1 mm [as seen in fig. 11.]
Regarding claim 4,
Oda further discloses wherein
the second member includes a biasing member that is provided on a radial inner side thereof and generates a biasing force in the axis direction [as seen in figs. 9-11],
the biasing member biases the first member in a direction away from the second member [as seen in figs. 9-11],
the outer fitting portion has an outer engagement part [as seen in figs. 9-11],
the inner fitting portion includes an inner engagement part engageable with the outer engagement part [as seen in figs. 9-11], and
the outer engagement part engages with the inner engagement part, and thus movements of the first member and the second member in directions away from each other are restricted [as seen in figs. 9-11.]
Regarding claim 5,
Oda further discloses wherein
the outer engagement part is an engagement hole penetrating through the outer fitting portion in a radial direction [[as seen in figs. 9-11],
the inner engagement part is an engagement projection protruding from the inner fitting portion to a radial outer side thereof [[as seen in figs. 9-11],
the outer fitting portion has a plurality of engagement holes arranged at positions point-symmetrical about the center axis [[as seen in figs. 9-11], and
the inner fitting portion includes a plurality of engagement projections to be inserted into and thus engaged with the plurality of engagement holes [[as seen in figs. 9-11.]
Regarding claim 6,
Oda further discloses wherein in a state where the first member is secured to the second member, a gap is provided between the engagement hole and the engagement projection in the axis direction [[as seen in figs. 9-11; paragraph 0108.]
Regarding claim 7,
Oda further discloses a flow path connection mechanism, comprising:
two coupling members [as seen in figs. 2 and 5-6] each claimed in claim 1 [see Rejection above],
wherein the second member of one of the coupling members is connected to the second member of another of the coupling members in the axis direction [as seen in figs. 2 and 5-6.]
Regarding claim 8,
Oda further discloses an inkjet recording apparatus [12 in fig. 1], comprising:
the coupling member claimed claim 1 [see Rejection above], wherein
the liquid is ink [paragraphs 0053-0058], and
the inkjet recording apparatus uses the ink to perform printing [paragraphs 0053-0058.]
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.
Claims 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Oda.
Regarding claim 3,
Oda discloses the claimed limitations as set forth above but fails to expressly disclose wherein the outer fitting portion has a light absorption rate lower than that of the inner fitting portion.
However, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to use an outer fitting portion made out of a material that has a light absorption rate lower than that of the inner fitting portion, since it has been held to be within the ordinary skill of a worker in the art to select a known material on the basis of its suitability for the intended use. Sinclair & Carroll Co. v. Interchemical Corp., 325 U.S. 327, 65 USPQ 297 (1945). One would have been motivated to use an outer fitting portion made out of a material that has a light absorption rate lower than that of the inner fitting portion for the purpose of achieving an efficient/ desired thermal management and structural integrity.
Communication with the USPTO
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JANNELLE M LEBRON whose telephone number is (571) 272-2729. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday: 9:00am - 5:00pm.
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, Douglas X Rodriguez can be reached at (571) 431-0716. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/JANNELLE M LEBRON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2853
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