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 .
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 10/9/2025 has been entered.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 10/10/2025 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Election/Restrictions
Claims 10-13 and 17-18 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected species, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 12/4/2024.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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.
Claim(s) 1, 9, 16, and 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1/2) as being anticipated by Englemann (US 2011/0168041 A1).
Regarding claim 1:
Engelmann discloses a base-material drying device for drying ink adhering to a first surface of a continuous base material (2) having a long band-like shape (Fig. 1), the base-material drying device comprising:
a first transport mechanism (rollers 24, 26, 29, 31, etc.: Fig. 1) that transports the continuous base material from upstream to downstream along a predetermined transport path (Fig. 1); and
a first heating mechanism (drying station 18) that heats the continuous base material transported by the first transport mechanism (paragraph 24),
wherein the first transport mechanism includes:
a first transport supporter (roller A: see Drawing A below) that supports, in a first position (Fig. 1) in a first direction (vertically), the continuous base material that is transported to one side (back side) in a second direction (front-to-back) intersecting with the first direction (Fig. 1);
a second transport supporter (at least roller B: Drawing A) that is arranged downstream of the first transport supporter (Fig. 1) and that supports, in a second position away from the first position in the first direction (Fig. 1), the continuous base material being transported from the first transport supporter to one side (upper side) in the first direction (Fig. 1) and to be transported to the other side (front side) in the second direction (Fig. 1); and
a third transport supporter (28) that is arranged downstream of the second transport supporter (Fig. 1) and that supports the continuous base material in a third position in the first direction (Fig. 1) while bending the continuous base material being transported from the second transport supporter to the other side (lower side) in the first direction (Fig. 1) so that the continuous base material is transported in a third direction (left-right) intersecting with the first direction and the second direction (Fig. 1),
wherein the first heating mechanism is capable of heating part of the continuous base material in a position on the transport path between the first transport supporter and the third transport supporter (Fig. 1),
wherein the first transport supporter, the second transport supporter, and the third transport supporter are located on a second surface side of the continuous base material opposite to the first surface (Fig. 1), and
throughout an entirety passage in which the continuous base material is transported from the first transport supporter to the third transport supporter, the first surface of the continuous base material is maintained in a non-contact state with the first transport supporter, the second transport supporter, and the third transport supporter (Fig. 1).
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Drawing A: taken from Fig. 1 of Englemann, and edited to clarify the correspondence of disclosed elements to the claimed transport supporters and directions
Regarding claim 9:
Englemann discloses all the limitations of claim 1, and also that the first heating mechanism is capable of heating part of the continuous base material transported in the first direction, in a position on the transport path between the first transport supporter and the second transport supporter (Fig. 1).
Regarding claim 16:
Englemann discloses all the limitations of claim 1, and also that the third transport supporter has an outer surface provided with an air outlet for ejecting air (paragraphs 23, 26), the outer surface facing the second surface of the continuous base material (Fig. 1).
Regarding claim 20:
Englemann discloses all the limitations of claim 1, and also that the second transport supporter includes at least two transport rollers (rollers B, C: Drawing A) spaced apart in the second direction (Fig. 1), and
the continuous base material is transported between the at least two transport rollers without supporting the first surface (Fig. 1).
Claim(s) 1-3 and 5-6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Tsutsui et al. (US 2022/0063301 A1).
Please note that the absence of a claim rejection under this heading does not necessarily constitute an indication of allowability over the cited prior art, unless otherwise indicated.
Regarding claim 1:
Tsutsui et al. disclose a base-material drying device for drying ink adhering to a first surface (FF) of a continuous base material (WP) having a long band-like shape (Fig. 2), the base-material drying device comprising:
a first transport mechanism (rollers 13, R1-R8, 33) that transports the continuous base material from upstream to downstream along a predetermined transport path (Fig. 2); and
a first heating mechanism (H1-H4) that heats the continuous base material transported by the first transport mechanism (paragraph 52),
wherein the first transport mechanism includes:
a first transport supporter (roller 13A) that supports, in a first position (Fig. 2) in a first direction (up-down), the continuous base material that is transported to one side (front) in a second direction (front-back) intersecting with the first direction (Fig. 1);
a second transport supporter (at least roller R4) that is arranged downstream of the first transport supporter (Fig. 2) and that supports, in a second position away from the first position in the first direction (Fig. 2), the continuous base material being transported from the first transport supporter to one side (down) in the first direction (Fig. 2) and to be transported to the other side (back) in the second direction (Fig. 2); and
a third transport supporter (roller R7) that is arranged downstream of the second transport supporter (Fig. 2) and that supports the continuous base material in a third position in the first direction while bending the continuous base material (Fig. 2) being transported from the second transport supporter to the other side (up) in the first direction (Fig. 2) so that the continuous base material is transported in a third direction (the angle exiting roller R7 that extends between front/down directions) intersecting with the first direction and the second direction (Fig. 2),
wherein the first heating mechanism is capable of heating part of the continuous base material in a position on the transport path between the first transport supporter and the third transport supporter (Fig. 2),
wherein the first transport supporter, the second transport supporter, and the third transport supporter are located on a second surface side (BF) of the continuous base material opposite to the first surface (Fig. 2), and
throughout an entirety passage in which the continuous base material is transported from the first transport supporter to the third transport supporter, the first surface of the continuous base material is maintained in a non-contact state with the first transport supporter, the second transport supporter, and the third transport supporter (Fig. 2).
Regarding claim 2:
Tsutsui et al. disclose all the limitations of claim 1, and also that the third position is between the first position and the second position in the first direction (Fig. 2).
Regarding claim 3:
Tsutsui et al. disclose all the limitations of claim 1, and also that the first transport mechanism further includes:
a fourth transport supporter (roller R8) that is arranged downstream of the third transport supporter (Fig. 2) and that supports the continuous base material in a fourth position in the first direction while bending the continuous base material so that the continuous base material is transported to the one side in the second direction (Fig. 2), and
the fourth transport supporter is arranged on the second surface side of the continuous base material (Fig. 2).
Regarding claim 5:
Tsutsui et al. disclose all the limitations of claim 3, and also that the first transport mechanism further includes:
a fifth transport supporter (roller 33B) that is arranged downstream of the fourth transport supporter (Fig. 2) and that supports, in a fifth position away from the fourth position, the continuous base material that is transported to the other side in the second direction (Fig. 2).
Regarding claim 6:
Tsutsui et al. disclose all the limitations of claim 3, and also that the first transport mechanism further includes:
a sixth transport supporter (bottom right roller 33) that is arranged downstream of the fifth transport supporter (Fig. 2) and that supports, in a sixth position in the first direction, the continuous base material that is transported to the one side in the second direction (Fig. 2), and
the fourth position is between the fifth position and the sixth position in the first direction (Fig. 2).
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) 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Englemann (US 2011/0168041 A1).
Regarding claim 19:
Englemann discloses all the limitations of claim 1, and also that the base-material drying device is comprised in a printing device (Fig. 1), the printing device further comprising:
an image former (10-16) that forms an image by forming ink on the first surface of the continuous base material transported to the base-material drying device (paragraph 22).
Englemann does not expressly disclose that the image former forms an image by ejecting ink to the first surface.
However, Examiner takes Official Notice that image formers commonly form images by ejecting ink onto media surfaces.
Therefore, at the time of filing, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to substitute e.g. an inkjet print station in place of Englemann’s roll offset image formers, so as to produce the desired result of image formation on the first surface of the base material.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 7-8 and 14-15 are allowed.
Claim 4 is 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.
Claim 4 appears to contain allowable subject matter because the prior art of record does not expressly disclose or make obvious a base-material drying device comprising a second path that “extends in parallel with the first path.” It is this limitation, in combination with other features and limitations of claim 4, that indicates allowable subject matter over the prior art of record.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
Koller et al. (US 2013/0215202 A1) does not disclose a third transport supporter that supports the continuous base material “being transported from the second transport supporter to the other side in the first direction.”
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.
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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