20Notice 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 .
DETAILED ACTION
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of papers submitted under 35 U.S.C. 119(a)-(d), which papers have been placed of record in the file.
Information Disclosure Statement
The references cited on 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
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)(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, 6-7, 10 and 17-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kawate et al. (US Pub. 2022/0009239).
Kawate et al. disclose in Figures 1-3 an ink supply container for using in an inkjet printer comprising:
Regarding claim 1, an ink bottle (200) for replenishing an ink tank of a liquid ejection apparatus (100) with an ink (315), the ink bottle (200) (Figures 1-2) comprising:
a main body portion (310) provided with a storage chamber (unmarked storage chamber that contains ink 315) and having a tubular body portion that surrounds at least part of the storage chamber, the storage chamber configured to store the ink (Figure 2); and
a head portion (400) having an opening (415) that allows the storage chamber to communicate with an outside, wherein a side wall of the body portion is provided with a rib (300) extending between portions near an upper end and a lower end of the side wall, in a direction including a height direction of the side wall as a component (Figures 2-3, paragraph 0025).
Regarding claim 2, wherein a ratio X/Y that is a ratio of a thickness X of the rib to a thickness Y of the side wall satisfies a relationship of 0.5≤X/Y≤2.0 (Figure 3).
Regarding claims 6-7, wherein the rib (300) is provided on an outer surface of the side wall of the body portion (310) and/ or wherein the rib (300) is provided on an inner surface of the side wall of the body portion. (Figure 3).
Regarding claim 10, wherein an annular rib (300) extending in a circumferential direction of the side wall of the body portion (310) is further provided on an outer surface of the side wall of the body portion (310) (Figure 3).
Regarding claim 17, wherein the rib (300) extends from the upper end to the lower end of the side wall (Figure 3).
Regarding claim 18, wherein an opposite surface to a surface having a protruding portion forming at least one of the ribs is a smooth surface (Figure 3).
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 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.
Claims 3-5, 9, 11 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kawate et al. (US Pub. 2022/0009239) in view of Tajima et al. (US 2020/0290362).
Kawate et al. disclose in Figures 1-3 an ink supply container for using in an inkjet printer comprising:
Regarding claim 20, an ink ejection apparatus (100) including an ink ejection head (122) and an ink tank (130) connected to the ink ejection head (122), the ink tank (130) configured to store an ink to be supplied to the ink ejection head (122) and being replenishable with the ink from an outside; and the ink bottle (200) configured to store the ink with which the ink tank (130) is to be replenished, wherein the ink bottle (200) including a main body portion (310) provided with a storage chamber and having a tubular body portion that surrounds at least part of the storage chamber, the storage chamber configured to store the ink; and a head portion (400) having an opening (415) that allows the storage chamber to communicate with an outside, wherein a side wall of the body portion (310) is provided with a rib (300) extending between portions near an upper end and a lower end of the side wall, in a direction including a height direction of the side wall (310) as a component, wherein the ink tank (130) includes a joint configured to be inserted into the head portion of the ink bottle (200) through the opening (415), and wherein the joint is provided with an ink inlet passage (132) through which the ink flows from the storage chamber into the ink tank (130).
Kawate et al. disclose the basic features of claimed invention as stated above but do not disclose an air discharge passage through which air inside the ink tank is discharged to the storage chamber.
Tajima et al. disclose in Figures 1 and 4A-5C an liquid ejection apparatus comprising an air discharge passage (34) through which air inside the ink tank (11) is discharged to the storage chamber (31) (paragraph 0034).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the teaching of Tajima et al. in the Kawate et al.’s ink an inkjet printer for the purpose of replacing between air in the liquid tank with the ink in the ink bottle to stably supply ink.
Regarding claims 3-5, Kawate et al. discloses the claimed invention except for “wherein an average thickness of the side wall of the body portion is 0.2 mm or more and 1.0 mm or less” as recited in claim 3; “wherein the main body portion further has a shoulder portion that is joined to the main body portion and a neck portion that is joined to the shoulder portion and that is connected to the head portion, and an average thickness of the side wall of the body portion is smaller than an average thickness of a side wall of the shoulder portion and an average thickness of a side wall of the neck portion” as recited in claim 4; and “wherein the main body portion further has a shoulder portion that is joined to the main body portion and a neck portion that is joined to the shoulder portion and that is connected to the head portion, and an average thickness of the side wall of the body portion is the same as an average thickness of a side wall of the shoulder portion and an average thickness of a side wall of the neck portion” as recited in claim 5. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to change size of “wherein an average thickness of the side wall of the body portion is 0.2 mm or more and 1.0 mm or less” as recited in claim 3; “wherein the main body portion further has a shoulder portion that is joined to the main body portion and a neck portion that is joined to the shoulder portion and that is connected to the head portion, and an average thickness of the side wall of the body portion is smaller than an average thickness of a side wall of the shoulder portion and an average thickness of a side wall of the neck portion” as recited in claim 4; and “wherein the main body portion further has a shoulder portion that is joined to the main body portion and a neck portion that is joined to the shoulder portion and that is connected to the head portion, and an average thickness of the side wall of the body portion is the same as an average thickness of a side wall of the shoulder portion and an average thickness of a side wall of the neck portion” as recited in claim 5 in Kawate et al., since such a modification would involve only a mere change in size of a component. Scaling up or down of an element which merely requires a change in size is generally considered as being within the ordinary skill in the art. In re Rinehart, 531 F.2d 1048, 189 USPQ 143 (CCPA 1976). Further, one would have been motivated to scale the size of Kawate et al. for the purpose of preventing broken by the user.
Regarding claim 9, Kawate et al. discloses the claimed invention except for “wherein three or more of the ribs are provided”. 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 duplicate ribs, since it has been held that a mere duplication of working parts of a device involves only routine skill in the art. In re Harza, 274 F.2d 669, 124 USPQ 378 (CCPA 1960). One would have been motivated to duplicate the ribs for the purpose preventing broken by the user.
Regarding claim 11, Kawate et al. discloses the claimed invention except for “wherein the rib has a helical shape extending in a direction including the height direction and a circumferential direction of the side wall of the body portion as components“. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to change shape of the rib has a helical shape extending in a direction including the height direction and a circumferential direction of the side wall of the body portion as components in Kawate et al., since it has been held that a mere change in shape of an element is generally recognized as being within the level of ordinary skill in the art when the change in shape is not significant to the function of the combination. In re Dailey, 357 F.2d 669, 149 USPQ 47 (CCPA 1966). Further, one would have been motivated to select the shape of the rib has a helical shape extending in a direction including the height direction and a circumferential direction of the side wall of the body portion as components for the purpose of preventing broken by the user.
Citation of Pertinent Prior Art
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. These prior art references (US Pat. 5,984,463; US Pub. 2019/0163091; US Pub. 2022/0063277) cited in the PTO 892 form show an ink supply system which is deemed to be relevant to the present invention. These references should be reviewed.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 8 would be allowable if rewritten to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims. This claim would be allowable because the prior art references of record fail to teach or suggest an ink bottle for replenishing an ink tank of a liquid ejection apparatus with an ink, the ink bottle comprising a plurality of the ribs that is provided on an inner surface of a side wall of a main body portion of the ink bottle, and intervals of the plurality of ribs along a circumferential direction of the side wall of the body portion are 5 mm or less in the combination as claimed.
Claims 12-16 would be allowable if rewritten to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims. These claims would be allowable because the prior art references of record fail to teach or suggest an ink bottle for replenishing an ink tank of a liquid ejection apparatus with an ink, the ink bottle comprising a side wall of a truncated cone shaped shoulder portion surrounding at least another part of the storage chamber is provided with a shoulder portion rib on an inner surface or an outer surface of the side wall of the shoulder portion, the shoulder portion rib extending in a direction including a component in the height direction of the side wall of the body portion in the combination as claimed.
Claim 19 would be allowable if rewritten to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims. This claim would be allowable because the prior art references of record fail to teach or suggest an ink bottle for replenishing an ink tank of a liquid ejection apparatus with an ink, the ink bottle comprising an opposite surface to a surface having a protruding portion forming at least one of the ribs has a recess portion corresponding to the protruding portion forming the rib in the combination as claimed.
CONCLUSION
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Examiner Anh Vo whose telephone number is (571) 272-2262. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday to Friday from 9:30 A.M.to 6:00 P.M..
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner'ssupervisor, Douglas Rodriguez can be reached on (571) 431-0716. The fax phonenumber for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from thePatent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information forpublished applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR.Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only.
For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Shouldyou have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the ElectronicBusiness Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from aUSPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated informationsystem, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/ANH T VO/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2853
Prosecution Insights