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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on August 20, 2026 has been entered.
Claims 2,3,5 and 7-9 are pending. Claims 1,4 and 6 have been cancelled. Claims 8 and 9 have been amended. Claims 2,3,5 and 7 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to nonelected inventions, there being no allowable generic or linking claim.
All prior rejections are withdrawn in view of applicant’s amendments to the claim.
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 8 and 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Pinto (US 2011/0169901) in view of Takahashi (WO 2006129604) and Fujii (US 2021/0388225).
Pinto teaches ink-jet printing for sublimation printing of textile fiber substrates, wherein fibers are pretreated with aqueous polyester coating compositions and a sublimation transfer print is applied to a transfer sheet which has ink inkjet printed on it and the ink is transferred from the transfer sheet to the pretreated fabric (paragraph 0013, 0015,0021,0024,0026,0027, 0049). Pinto teaches printing cotton or polyester fabrics (hydroxyl containing fibers, paragraphs 0048) wherein the ink applied during sublimation transfer is a disperse dye containing ink (paragraph 0024).
Pinto does not teach the glass transition temperature of the polyester resin and a polyester resin with a crosslinking agent.
Takahashi teaches that polyester resins (paragraph 0014) are preferably combined with water (paragraph 0014) and crosslinking agents such as isocyanates (paragraph 0016) to form dyeable pretreatment coating layers on textiles such as cotton (paragraph 0002, 0003) before they receive sublimation transfer inks containing disperse dyes (paragraph 0017,0022) by ink jet application (paragraph 0022). Takahashi teaches that the isocyanate is preferably 60-75% by weight of the total amount of the polyester resin and isocyanate mixture (40:60 ratio, 1:1.5 ratio).
Fujii teaches that pretreatment liquids containing water, (paragraph 0342), polyester resins with sulfonic acid groups such as Plascoat Z687 (applicant’s preferred polyester resin with sulfonic acid groups, see applicant’s pgpub paragraph 0152; Fujii paragraph 0365) and glass transition temperatures of 30-120°C (paragraph 0345-0349) and known additives (paragraph 0380). Fujii teaches pretreatment liquids containing polyester resins such as PLASCOAT Z687 and with Tg values of 110°C-120°C are effective in enhancing image quality and improving rub resistance (paragraph 0019). Fujii teaches applying to polyethylene terephthalate bases (polyester; paragraph 0404).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to modify the methods of Pinto by incorporating a isocyanate crosslinking agent and a polyester resin of glass transition temperature 110°C or more with sulfonic acid groups in a pretreatment layer on the cotton (hydroxyl containing) fabric followed by transfer printing onto the pretreated fabric by applying a transfer sheet containing an ink-jetted disperse dye, polyester resin, isocyanate crosslinker and water and transferring the ink image using thermocompression to arrive at a ink printed polyester pretreated fabric as Takahashi teaches pretreatments with polyester resins, isocyanate crosslinking agents and water provide an image receiving area with an coating texture that is hardly impaired and that the amounts of the isocyanate impact the suppression of the bleeding and blurring of the transferred image, image stabilization, suppression of sticking to the transfer sheet and improve the heat resistance. While Takahashi teaches 1:1.5 weight ratio of polyester resin to isocyanate crosslinker is preferred, this is a preferred embodiment and lower ratios such as 1:1.2 can also be used. The reference is not limited to only preferred embodiments. All disclosures of the prior art, including non-preferred embodiment, must be considered. See In re Lamberti and Konort, 192 USPQ 278 (CCPA 1967); In re Snow 176 USPQ, 328, 329 (CCPA 1973). Non-preferred embodiments can be indicative of obviousness, see Merck & Co. v. Biocraft Laboratories Inc. 10 USPQ 2d 1843 (Fed. Cir. 1989); In re Lamberti, 192 USPQ 278(CCPA 1976); In re Kohler, 177 USPQ 399.
It would have been further obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to modify the methods of Pinto by using the polyester resins of the claimed glass transition temperatures and containing sulfonic acid groups in the pretreatment liquid as Fujii teaches pretreatment liquids containing polyester resins such as PLASCOAT Z687 and with Tg values of 110°C-120°C are effective in enhancing image quality and improving rub resistance. Applying the pretreatment liquid containing the claimed polyester resin particles onto the fabric would have the same effect as applying it to a transfer sheet and then transfer printing the ink to the fabric as Fujii teaches applying to the same polyester polymer materials.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to the new rejection have been considered but are not persuasive. Takahashi teaches combining polyester resins with isocyanate crosslinkers to provide an image receiving area with a coating texture that is hardly impaired and that the amounts of the isocyanate impact the suppression of the bleeding and blurring of the transferred image, image stabilization, suppression of sticking to the transfer sheet and improve the heat resistance. While Takahashi teaches 1:1.5 weight ratio of polyester resin to isocyanate crosslinker is preferred, this is a preferred embodiment and lower ratios such as 1:1.2 can also be used. The reference is not limited to only preferred embodiments. All disclosures of the prior art, including non-preferred embodiment, must be considered. See In re Lamberti and Konort, 192 USPQ 278 (CCPA 1967); In re Snow 176 USPQ, 328, 329 (CCPA 1973). Non-preferred embodiments can be indicative of obviousness, see Merck & Co. v. Biocraft Laboratories Inc. 10 USPQ 2d 1843 (Fed. Cir. 1989); In re Lamberti, 192 USPQ 278(CCPA 1976); In re Kohler, 177 USPQ 399.
Applicant’s allegation of unexpected results is not supported by data commensurate in scope with the claims demonstrating superiority for a particular ratio, rather applicant only refers to a conclusory statement in paragraph 0045 of the specification which is not sufficient.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to AMINA S KHAN whose telephone number is (571)272-5573. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday, 9am-5:30pm EST.
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/AMINA S KHAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1761
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