DETAILED ACTION
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 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.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claim 2 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention. The claim recites determining that “the wet-on-wet printing” is unable to be completed, but both of the first and second printing methods include wet-on-wet printing, and thus it is unclear as to which of the first and second wet-on-wet printings is being recited. Clarification is required.
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.
Claim(s) 1-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Emamjomeh et al. (2011/0304661) in view of Hong (2021/0107291).
Regarding claims 1 and 7-9, Emamjomeh teaches a printer, method and non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising:
a print head (fig. 1, item 34) configured to discharge ink onto a print medium (fig. 1, item 23);
a processor ([0040]) configured to control the print head (see fig. 8); and
a memory ([0040]) storing computer-readable instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform processes comprising:
performing determination processing (fig. 2, [0027], [0028], [0035]) of determining whether execution of wet-on-wet printing using a first printing method, the wet-on-wet printing being printing wet-on-wet with the ink onto the print medium to which a pretreatment agent has been applied by a pretreatment portion applying the pretreatment agent to the print medium and is in a wet state with the pretreatment agent, is able to be completed, based on whether the print head is able to discharge the ink within a predetermined time period, wherein the print medium to which the pretreatment agent has been applied by the pretreatment portion is in a wet state and the predetermined time period is a time period, wherein the print medium to which the pretreatment agent has been applied by the pretreatment portion becomes from the wet state to a non-wet state (fig. 2, [0027], [0028], [0035]);
performing first processing including applying the pretreatment agent to the print medium by the pretreatment portion printing using the first printing method with the ink by discharging the ink from the print head onto the pretreatment agent that has been applied to the print medium, when it has been determined by the determination processing that the print head is able to discharge the ink within the predetermined time period and execution of the wet-on-wet printing using the first printing method is able to be completed; and
performing second processing differing from the first processing, when it has been determined by the determination processing that the print head is unable to discharge the ink within the predetermined time period and execution of the wet-on-wet printing using the first printing method is unable to be completed, the second processing being processing of prohibiting execution of printing or being processing including applying the pretreatment agent to the print medium by the pretreatment portion and printing using a second printing method with the ink by discharging the ink from the print head onto the pretreatment agent that has been applied to the print medium, the second printing method being a method that completes the wet-on-wet printing in a shorter time than the first print method (fig. 2, [0027], [0028], [0035]),
an amount of the pretreatment agent applied to the print medium by the pretreatment portion when the printing using the second printing method in the second processing is equal to an amount of the pretreatment agent applied to the print medium by the pretreatment portion in the first processing (fig. 2, [0027], [0028], [0035], Note that the first and second printing methods are being defined as wet-on-wet printing methods wherein the same amount of treatment agent is deposited, and the only difference is that the second method is faster than the first. Note that, depending on the characteristics of a particular medium obtained in step 82, the controller determines the drying time of a particular amount of pretreatment agent according to the material of the printing medium and the controller can then speed up the printing if the drying time is relatively fast so as to ensure that deposition of ink onto the pretreatment agent is done while the pretreatment agent is still wet. Note that such a determination and change in printing/transport speed from a slower transport speed to a faster one is effectively the determination that the first printing method cannot be used and a second, faster one must be employed).
Emamjomeh does not teach a first print head to print with white ink on top of the pretreatment agent and a second printhead to print with color ink onto the white ink. Hong teaches this (Hong, [0052], see fig. 1, Note that there are necessarily first and second printheads). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to apply the technique disclosed by Emamjomeh to the textile printer disclosed by Hong because doing so would amount to applying a known technique to a known device in need of improvement.
Upon combination of the references, the resulting device would: perform color printing processing, after the first processing, of printing a color image by discharging the color inks from the second print head onto the base ink discharged on the print medium, and the second processing, when wet-on-wet printing when conveyance speed is high, total speed of image formation is low and more pretreatment liquid is applied, would also entail ejecting white, base ink onto the pretreatment agent and then ejecting color ink onto the white ink in a shorter time than the first printing method.
Regarding claim 2, Emamjomeh in view of Hong teaches the printer according to claim 1, wherein in the determination processing, the computer-readable instructions stored in the memory further cause the processor to perform a process comprising:
determining that execution of the wet-on-wet printing is unable to be completed when printing with the ink is prohibited (Emamjomeh, Note that this could simply mean that the ink tank is empty. That is, to say “printing with the ink is prohibited” can mean any number of things).
Regarding claim 3, Emamjomeh in view of Hong teaches the printer according to claim 2, wherein in the second processing, the computer-readable instructions stored in the memory further cause the processor to perform a process comprising:
prohibiting execution of the first processing until printing with the ink becomes possible (Emamjomeh, Note that “printing with the ink becomes possible” can mean any number of things. For purposes of this rejection, Examiner is taking the ink tank being empty to be a case where printing with the ink is impossible, and when the tank is refilled, printing with the ink becomes possible).
Regarding claim 4, Emamjomeh in view of Hong teaches the printer according to claim 1, wherein in the determination processing, the computer-readable instructions stored in the memory further cause the processor to perform a process comprising:
determining that execution of the wet-on-wet printing using the first printing method is unable to be completed when an area of a region to be printed by the first processing is larger than a predetermined area (Emamjomeh, [0028]).
Regarding claim 5, Emamjomeh in view of Hong teaches the printer according to claim 4, wherein in the first processing, the computer-readable instructions stored in the memory further cause the processor to perform a process comprising:
performing printing onto the print medium at a first resolution; and
the computer-readable instructions stored in the memory further cause the processor to perform a differing process comprising:
performing the second processing, when the area of the region to be printed by the first processing is larger than a predetermined area and it has been determined by the determination processing that the print head is unable to discharge the ink within the predetermined time period and execution of the wet-on-wet printing using the first printing method is unable to be completed, the second processing being processing using the second printing method,
in the second processing, performing, when printing using the second printing method with the ink by discharging ink from the print head onto the pretreatment agent that has been applied to the print medium, lower resolution printing onto the print medium at a second resolution which is lower than the first resolution as the second printing method (Emamjomeh, Note that faster printing/transport speeds correspond to lower resolution printing).
Regarding claim 6, Emamjomeh in view of Hong teaches the printer according to claim 4, wherein
the computer-readable instructions stored in the memory further cause the processor to perform a differing process comprising:
performing the second processing, when the area of the region to be printed by the first processing is larger than a predetermined area and it has been determined by the determination processing that the print head is unable to discharge the ink within the predetermined time period and execution of the wet-on-wet printing using the first printing method is unable to be completed, the second processing being processing using the second printing method,
in the second processing, discharging, when printing using the second printing method with the ink by discharging ink from the print head onto the pretreatment agent that has been applied to the print medium, the ink from the print head onto the pretreatment agent applied to the print medium while thinning out discharging of the ink from the print head as the second printing method (Emamjomeh, Note that this has not been defined in any way. “Thinning out discharging of ink” is being taken to mean ejecting more ink and ejecting less ink in adjacent positions on the print medium).
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1 have been considered but are moot in light of the new ground(s) of rejection.
Conclusion
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/ALEJANDRO VALENCIA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2853
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