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
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d). The certified copy has been filed on 4/22/2025, the requirements 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d) are met.
Information Disclosure Statement
The references cited on a Form PTO 1449 have been considered.
Specification
The specification has been checked to the extent necessary to determine the presence of all possible minor errors. However, the applicant's cooperation is requested in correcting any errors of which applicant may become aware in the specification.
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 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kosuge et al. (U.S. 2013/0135636 A1) in view of Srivatsan et al. (U.S. 2012/0087467 A1).
Tomita et al. disclose the following claimed limitations:
Regarding independent Claim 1, a printing device (Title) comprising:
a printing section (119, §0089 and Figs. 9-11) configured to print an image onto a medium by ejecting liquid and
a colorimetry section (114, §0089 and Figs. 9-11) configured to measure color of the image, wherein
the colorimetry section includes an imaging element (201, §§0090, 0108 and Figs. 9-11) configured to capture the image,
a case configured to accommodate the imaging element (101, §0089 and Fig. 9),
a shutter attached to the case (201, §§0090, 0108 and Figs. 9-11), and
an exposure opening configured to expose the imaging element is formed in the case (Fig. 9),
Tomita et al. do not disclose the following claimed limitations:
Regarding independent Claim 1, a pressurizing member configured to pressurize inside the case,
the shutter is attached to the case so as to close the exposure opening,
the pressurizing member is configured to pressurize inside the case in a state in which the shutter is closed, and
the shutter is opened in a state in which inside the case is pressurized by the pressurizing member.
Srivatsan et al. disclose the following claimed limitations:
Regarding independent Claim 1, a pressurizing member (e.g. 430, §0057 and Fig. 4B) configured to pressurize inside the case (e.g. 420, §0057 and Fig. 4B),
the shutter (406, §0057 and Fig. 4B) is attached to the case so as to close the exposure opening,
the pressurizing member is configured to pressurize inside the case in a state in which the shutter is closed (§0057), and
the shutter is opened in a state in which inside the case is pressurized by the pressurizing member (§0057).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to apply the arrangement of Srivatsan et al. to the printing device of Tomita et al. to block contaminants from optical surfaces.
Claim(s) 6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kosuge et al. (U.S. 2013/0135636 A1) and Srivatsan et al. (U.S. 2012/0087467 A1) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Maczura et al. (U.S. 2001/0055116 A1).
Tomita et al. and Srivatsan et al., in combination, disclose the following claimed limitations:
Regarding Claim 6, all limitations of Claim 1 (from which this Claim depends).
Tomita et al. and Srivatsan et al. do not disclose the following claimed limitations:
Regarding Claim 6, wherein the colorimetry section includes a calibration plate configured to calibrate the imaging element and the calibration plate is attached to the shutter.
Maczura et al. disclose the following claimed limitations:
Regarding Claim 6, wherein the colorimetry section includes a calibration plate (520, §§0091-0092 and Figs. 3A-B) configured to calibrate the imaging element and the calibration plate is attached to the shutter (e.g. 550, §§0091-0097 and Figs. 3-6).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to apply the calibration plate of Maczura et al. to the printing device of Tomita et al. to enable calibration of the colorimetry section.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-5 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. The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: the primary reason for indicating allowable subject matter of claim 2 is the inclusion of the limitations of a printing device including wherein the pressurizing member includes a cylinder attached to the case and a piston that moves in the cylinder. It is these limitations found in the claims, as it is claimed in the combination of that has not been found, taught or suggested by prior art of record, which makes these claims allowable over the prior art.
The primary reason for indicating allowable subject matter of claims 3-5 is the inclusion of the limitations of a printing device including wherein the colorimetry section includes an intake section configured to take air into the case from outside the case and the intake section includes an intake pipe bringing inside the case and outside the case into communication with each other and an intake valve configured to open and close the intake pipe. It is these limitations found in the claims, as it is claimed in the combination of that has not been found, taught or suggested by prior art of record, which makes these claims allowable over the prior art.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ALEXANDER D SHENDEROV whose telephone number is (571)270-7049. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9-5.
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 Rodrigues 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.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/ALEXANDER D SHENDEROV/ Examiner, Art Unit 2853
/JASON S UHLENHAKE/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2853
Prosecution Insights