DETAILED ACTION
Claim Objections
Claims 1-10 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 1, “the” in “the first ink” and “the second ink” should be replaced with “a”.
Claim 2, “a” in “a first time”, “a second inkjet printhead member”, “a second drop”, and “a mixing region” should be replaced with “said” or “the”.
Claim 3, “a nucleus” should be “the nucleus” or “said nucleus”.
Claim 4, “a” and “an” in “a first inkjet printhead member”, “an inkjet device”, “a carrier”, and “a first drop” should be replaced with “said” or “the”.
Claim 5, “a” and “an” in “a first inkjet printhead member”, “an inkjet device”, “a carrier”, “a first drop”, and “a first inkjet printhead” should be replaced with “said” or “the”.
Claim 6, “a” and “an” in “a first inkjet printhead member”, “an inkjet device”, “a carrier”, and “a first drop” should be replaced with “said” or “the”.
Claim 7, “a” in “a first time”, “a second inkjet printhead member”, “a second drop”, and “a mixing region” should be replaced with “said” or “the”.
Claim 8, “a” in “a first time”, “a second inkjet printhead member”, “a second drop”, “a mixing region” and “a second printhead” should be replaced with “said” or “the”
Claim 9, “a” in “a first time”, “a second inkjet printhead member”, “a second drop”, and “a mixing region” should be replaced with “said” or “the”.
Claim 10, “the size of said crystal” should be “a size of said crystal”.
Appropriate correction 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)1-3, 5-10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Huang (US 11731343 B2) in view of Hunyadi (US 20210380405 A1)
Regarding claim 1, Huang (Fig. 3) discloses a method of inkjet printing (col. 3, lines 16-17), comprising steps of:
using a first inkjet printhead member (303-Left) of an inkjet device (Fig. 3) to print a first ink on a carrier (printing substrate 315) and forming a first drop (drop ejected from 303-Left);
after a first time (col. 4, lines 19-25 disclosing sequential droplets ejection), a second inkjet printhead member (303-Right) of said inkjet device printing a second ink on said carrier and forming a second drop (droplet from 303-Right),
said first drop and said second drop overlapping and forming a mixing region (printing dynamics of two resultant droplets, Fig. 3),
said first drop having a first drop diameter (darker drop diameter), said second drop having a second drop diameter (lighter drop diameter);
Though Huang discloses the variation of the relative deposited volumes of droplets in creation of gradients (col. 4, lines 37-40), Huang is silent to said first drop diameter being greater than said second drop diameter; Artisans in the art would have appreciated the variation of the droplet volumes at the collision point to form ink gradients. As such where the general conditions (varied volumes of droplets) of the claims are disclosed in the prior art, it is not inventive to discover the optimum or workable ranges (diameter of droplets) by routine experimentation. MPEP 2144.05
Thus, one of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the invention would have selected the diameter of the first droplet to be larger than the diameter of the second droplet thru routine optimization.
Huang discloses the first and second drop are reactive materials (col. 2, lines 50-51) and is silent regarding said second drop in said mixing region supersaturating said first drop and precipitating a nucleus in said mixing region; and said second drop continuing to mix with said first drop and extending said mixing region, and said nucleus continuing to precipitate in said mixing region and forming a crystal.
Hunyadi discloses (Figs. 1-3, ¶¶ [0060-0061]) a method of forming nano particles (crystals: oxides, sulfides, selenides, phosphides of cadmium, indium, and zinc) by a solution in mixing region 12a (particles in a solvent), and antisolvent (C) in the mixing region 12b.
It would been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to substitute the organic solvent (A and B) and the antisolvent (C) of Hunyadi for the respective first and second droplets of Huang for high product yields from nanoparticles printing (Hunyadi: ¶ [0033]).
Regarding claim 2, Huang (Fig. 3) in view of Hunyadi discloses the method of claim 1, wherein said step of after said first time,said second inkjet printhead member of said inkjet device printing the second ink on said carrier and forming said second drop and said first drop and said second drop overlapping and forming said mixing region, said mixing region is located between a first center of said first drop and a second center of said second drop (printing dynamics of two resultant droplets).
Regarding claim 3, Huang (Fig. 3) in view of Hunyadi discloses the method of claim 1, wherein said step of said second drop in said mixing region supersaturating said first drop and precipitating said nucleus in said mixing region, a drop ratio of said first drop to said second drop ranges from 1:1 to 3:1 (printing dynamics of two resultant droplets).
Regarding claim 5, Huang (Fig. 3) in view of Hunyadi discloses the method of claim 1, wherein said step of using said first inkjet printhead member of said inkjet device to print the first ink on said carrier and forming said first drop, said first inkjet printhead member includes a first ink container (reservoir 306-Left) and a first inkjet printhead communicating with said first ink container.
Regarding claim 6, Huang (Fig. 3) in view of Hunyadi discloses the method of claim 1, wherein said step of using said first inkjet printhead member of said inkjet device to print the first ink on said carrier and forming said first drop, said first ink include a perovskite precursor and a solvent (the modification of Huang’s method would result for the first drop being the solution of mixing region 12a, including a nucleation of particles in a solvent, ¶ [0060]), and said solvent is dimethylformamide (Hunyadi: ¶¶ [0054, 0057] disclosing reducing agent as dimethylformamide and for flows A and B in mixing region 12a, one of them can be reducing agent).
Regarding claim 7, Huang (Fig. 3) in view of Hunyadi discloses the method of claim 1. Though Huang is silent regarding said step of after said first time, said second inkjet printhead member of said inkjet device printing the second ink on said carrier and forming a 9-second second drop and said first drop and said second drop overlapping and forming a mixing region, said first time is between 0.5 second and 1.5 seconds, he discloses the short time interval between droplets accompanied by collision resulting in improved mixing (col. 4, lines 22-25). As such, absent unpredictable results, the 9 seconds interval of the second drop and 0.5-1.5 seconds of the first drop can be selected through routine optimization. Thus, one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention would have come up with such a time interval of 9 second after the second drop is ejected onto the carrier and 0.5-1.5 seconds for the first drop ejection for optimal results.
Regarding claim 8, Huang (Fig. 3) in view of Hunyadi discloses the method of claim 1, and said step of after said first time, said second inkjet printhead member of said inkjet device printing the second ink on said carrier and forming said second drop and said first drop and said second drop overlapping and forming said mixing region, said second inkjet printhead member includes a second ink container (reservoir 306-Right) and
Regarding claim 9, Huang in view of Hunyadi discloses the method of claim 1, wherein said step of after a first time, said second inkjet printhead member of said inkjet device printing the second ink on said carrier and forming said second drop and said first drop and said second drop overlapping and forming said mixing region, said second ink is an anti-solvent (Hunyadi: C in the mixing region 12b, ¶ [0060]) and said anti-solvent is ethylene glycol (Hunyadi: ¶ [0055]), isopropanol, toluene, or n-hexane.
Regarding claim 10, Huang in view of Hunyadi discloses the method of claim 1. Hunyadi discloses a size of said crystal is controlled within said mixing region and said crystal is located on said carrier (Hunyadi: ¶ [0063] disclosing capping agent can be used to inhibit further growth of the nanoparticles).
Claim(s) 4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Huang (US 11731343 B2) in view of Hunyadi (US 20210380405 A1) and Li (US 20090181177 A1).
Regarding claim 4, Huang in view of Hunyadi discloses the method of claim 1, wherein said step of using said first inkjet printhead member of said inkjet device to print said first ink on said carrier and forming
Li discloses (Fig. 1, ¶ [0043]) and inkjet printer (¶ [0009]) having substrate (80) comprising silicon or glass.
One of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention would have substituted the substrate of Li for the substrate of Huang for a diversity of optimal applications.
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
William (US 20170080459 A1) discloses droplets overlapping each other; Katsuragi (US 20020041316 A1) discloses droplets from two printhead overlapping each other.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DZUNG T HOANG whose telephone number is (571)272-5622. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:00 - 5:00.
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/DTH/Examiner, Art Unit 2898
/Leonard Chang/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2898
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