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 .
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 1 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. Claims 2-4 depend on claim 1 and, therefore, are also rejected.
With regards to claim 1, the exclusion limitations include, for example, that the polyfunctional monomer having a glass transition temperature of 10°C or less is present from 1 to 15% (claimed B.) and that the monofunctional monomer is contained by a total of 40% mass or more (claimed C.). However, these limitations are included in the limitations that the ink must contain. Therefore, it is unclear as to whether the limitations are to be present in the ink or excluded in the ink. For purposes of compact prosecution, it will be read as if they are included in the ink and not considered as an exclusion and the amount of the monofunctional monomers to be excluded is 40 to 50%.
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 1-4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Nakajima et al (JP 2019183018).
With regards to claim 1, Nakajima teaches a light curing inkjet ink composition (0003) that includes an oligomer containing amine groups (0008), monofunctional monomers in an amount of 50 to 95% (0008), monomers with a glass transition temperature (Tg) of 20°C or higher and monomers with a Tg of less than 10°C (0030 table 2), a multifunctional monomer having a Tg of 10ׄ°C or less (0007), and monomer containing an amine group (0008). Nakajima teaches the amount of an amine dentured oligomer to be 4%, the amount of monofunctional monomers to be 58.15%, the amount of monomers having a Tg of greater than 20°C to be 36%, the amount of monofunctional monomer having a Tg of less than 10°C to be 22.15%, the amount of polyfunctional monomer having a Tg of less than 10°C to be 8%, and the amount of nitrogen containing monofunctional monomer to be 34% (0031 example 12) with respect to the entire composition wherein the total amount of polymerizable components is 81.15% reading on concentrations of 4.9%, 71.7%, 44.4%, 27.3%, 9.9%, and 41.9% respectively with respect to the polymerizable compounds.
Although Nakajima teaches the inclusion of 3,3,5-trimethylcyclohexyl acrylate in an amount of 11% (0031 example 12) and a viscosity of 10 mPas or lower at 25°C (0010), Nakajima does not meet all of the exclusion requirements as the amount of monomer is greater than 50% and the exclusion is being read as 40 to 50% as discussed above.
With regards to claim 2, Nakajima teaches the amine modified oligomer to be CN371 (0021) as applicants cite in the specification as being the preferred oligomer and, therefore, having the claimed viscosity.
With regards to claims 3 and 4, Nakajima teaches the amine monomer to include acryloyl morpholine and vinylcaprolactam (0021).
Conclusion
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/JESSICA WHITELEY/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1763