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.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 2/20/2025 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 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 (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 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) 1, 3-4, 6, and 8-9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nakayama (US 2020/0230959 A1) in view of Foley et al. (US 2016/0311174 A1).
Regarding claim 1:
Nakayama disclose a liquid discharge device comprising:
a support unit (medium support section 18) configured to support a medium (paragraph 17 & Fig. 1);
a liquid discharge unit (liquid ejecting head 13) configured to discharge liquid in a discharge direction from a nozzle (12) provided at a nozzle surface (13a) onto the medium (S) supported by the support unit (paragraph 16 & Fig. 1); and
a moving unit (wiping device 30) configured to move in a first direction that is a direction intersecting the discharge direction and in a second direction that is a direction opposite to the first direction (paragraph 31 & Fig. 2).
Nakayama does not expressly disclose that the moving unit includes a scraping member.
However, Foley et al. disclose a liquid discharge device comprising moving unit (cart 700: Fig. 7) that includes a scraping unit (e.g. brushes 704, 706 or “scrapers”: Figs. 6-7) configured to scrape off paper dust accumulated (paragraphs 49-51 & Figs. 6-7), so as to prevent contaminants from accumulating on the rails (paragraphs 6, 52).
Therefore, before the effective filing date of invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to modify Nakayama’s moving unit to incorporate a scraping member, such as taught by Foley et al, so as to enable scraping of paper dust that has accumulated below the support unit.
Regarding claim 3:
Nakayama’s modified device comprises all the limitations of claim 1, and Nakayama also disclose that the device further comprises a guide unit (guide plate 39) provided below the support unit (Figs. 1-2),
wherein the guide unit is configured to guide a guided unit (moving object 37) provided in the moving unit (Fig. 2),
wherein the moving unit includes a wiping unit (wiping member 35) configured to wipe the nozzle surface (Fig. 2), and
Foley et al. also disclose that the scraping member is located in the first direction with respect to a guided unit (Figs. 6-7), the scraping member being configured to scrape off paper dust accumulated on the guide unit when the moving unit moves in the first direction (paragraphs 49-51 & Figs. 6-7).
Regarding claim 4:
Nakayama’s modified device comprises all the limitations of claim 3, and Foley et al. also disclose that the scraping member is provided in a state of being inclined with respect to a moving direction of the moving member (Fig. 6).
Regarding claims 6 and 8:
Nakayama’s modified device comprises all the limitations of claims 1/3, and Nakayama et al. also disclose that the liquid discharge unit is a line head (Figs. 1-2), the longitudinal direction of the line head being the moving direction of the moving unit (Fig. 2),
wherein the support unit includes a drive roller (18a), a driven roller (18b), and a transport belt (18c) that is an endless belt would between the drive roller and the driven roller (Fig. 1), and
wherein the transport belt is configured to move between a support position facing the liquid discharge unit and a retreat position separated from the support position (paragraph 19 & Fig. 1).
Regarding claim 9:
Nakayama’s modified device comprises all the limitations of claim 8, and Nakayama also disclose that an end portion in the second direction is set as a home position and wiping of the nozzle surface is performed by the wiping unit (paragraph 31 & Fig. 2), and the moving unit is configured to move in a second direction and wipe the nozzle surface by the wiping unit during the movement (paragraph 31); and Foley et al. also disclose that the moving unit is configured to move in the first direction (process direction 720) and scrape off the paper dust by the scraping member during the movement (paragraphs 51 & Figs. 6-7).
Claim(s) 2 and 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nakayama as modified by Foley et al., as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Kimura et al. (US 2021/0107306 A1).
Regarding claims 2 and 5:
Nakayama’s modified device comprises all the limitations of claims 1/4, but does not expressly disclose an accommodating unit provided below a position where the paper dust is scraped off by the scraping member.
However, Kimura et al. disclose a liquid discharge device comprising an accommodating unit (bottom plate 111) provided below a position where paper dust (d) originates (Figs. 1, 3), the accommodating unit being configured to accommodate falling paper dust (paragraphs 43-45 & Fig. 3).
Therefore, before the effective filing date of invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to incorporate an accommodating unit, such as that taught by Kimura et al., positioned below Nakayama et al.’s guide unit such that paper dust scraped off by the scraping member is naturally accommodated by the accommodating unit.
Claim(s) 7 and 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nakayama as modified by Foley et al., as applied to claims 6/8 above, and further in view of Sadakuni et al. (US 2018/0236785 A1).
Regarding claims 7 and 10:
Nakayama’s modified device comprises all the limitations of claims 6/8, but does not expressly comprise a paper dust removing unit that comes into contact with the transport belt.
However, Sadakuni et al. disclose a liquid discharge device comprising a paper dust removing unit (wiping device 29) that comes into contact with a transport belt (Fig. 3), the paper dust removing unit being configured to appropriately remove paper dust adhering to the transport belt (paragraphs 60, 76).
Therefore, before the effective filing date of invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to incorporate a paper dust removing unit, such as that taught by Sadakuni et al., into Nakayama’s modified apparatus.
Claim(s) 14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nakayama as modified by Foley et al. and Kimura et al., as applied to claims 2 above, and further in view of Kondo et al. (US 2009/0302521 A1)
Regarding claim 14:
Nakayama’s modified device comprises all the limitations of claim 14, but does not expressly disclose that the accommodating unit is configured to be detachable.
However, Kondo et al. disclose an accommodating unit (base plate 101) that is configured to be detachable so as to enable coupling of an optional sheet feeder (paragraph 28).
Therefore, before the effective filing date of invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to configure the accommodating unit in Nakayama’s modified device to be detachable, so as to enable coupling of an optional sheet feeder, as suggested by Kondo et al.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 11-13 are 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.
Claims 11-13 appear to contain allowable subject matter because the prior art of record does not expressly disclose or make obvious a “sheet member configured to deform in accordance with movement of the cap, wherein the sheet member is configured to cover at least a part of the moving mechanism when the cap is at the stand-by position.” It is this limitation, in combination with other features and limitations of claim 11, that indicates allowable subject matter over the prior art of record.
Communication with the USPTO
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Shelby L Fidler whose telephone number is (571)272-8455. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday, 8:30am - 5pm EST.
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 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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SHELBY L. FIDLER
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2853
/SHELBY L FIDLER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2853
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