DETAILED ACTION
This is in response to communication received on 8/27/25.
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
The text of those sections of AIA 35 U.S.C. code not present in this action can be found in previous office actions dated 11/14/24, 2/3/25, and 5/30/25.
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 8/27/25 has been entered.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The claim rejection(s) under AIA 35 U.S.C. 103 as being obvious over Mueller et al. US PGPub 2020/0246828 hereinafter MUELLER in view of Kuo et al. US PGPub 20210073601 hereinafter KUO on claims 12-13, 15, 17-21, 23 and 25 are withdrawn because the independent claim 12 has been amended.
The claim rejection(s) under AIA 35 U.S.C. 103 as being obvious over Mueller et al. US PGPub 2020/0246828 hereinafter MUELLER in view of Kuo et al. US PG Pub 20210073601 hereinafter KUO as applied to claim 12 above, and further in view of Schmid et al. US PGPub 2020/0346479 hereinafter SCHMID on claim 16 is withdrawn because the independent claim 12 has been amended.
The claim rejection(s) under AIA 35 U.S.C. 103 as being obvious over Mueller et al. US PGPub 2020/0246828 hereinafter MUELLER in view of Kuo et al. US PGPub 20210073601 hereinafter KUO as applied to claim 12 above, and further in view of Schmid et al. US PG Pub 2010/0040845 hereinafter SCHMID2 on claim 22 and 29 is withdrawn because the independent claim 12 has been amended.
The claim rejection(s) under AIA 35 U.S.C. 103 as being obvious over Mueller et al. US PGPub 2020/0246828 hereinafter MUELLER in view of Kuo et al. US PG Pub 20210073601 hereinafter KUO as applied to claim 12 above, and further in view of Schmid et al. US PGPub 2015/0352888 hereinafter SCHMID3 on claim 24 is withdrawn because the independent claim 12 has been amended.
Claim(s) 12-13, 15, 17-23, 25 and 29 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mueller et al. US PGPub 2020/0246828 hereinafter MUELLER in view of Innocenzo et al. US PGPub 2010/0162865 hereinafter INNOCENZO.
As for claim 1, MUELLER teaches "The present invention relates to the field of apparatuses and methods of producing optical effect layers (OEL) comprising magnetically oriented magnetic or magnetizable pigment particles" (abstract, lines 1-4), i.e. a method for producing a mark.
MUELLER teaches "the rotating magnetic orienting cylinder (RMC) is part of a rotary, sheet-fed or web-fed industrial printing press that operates at high printing speed in a continuous way" (paragraph 30, lines 13-16) and "i) providing a substrate carrying a wet coating or layer comprising magnetic or magnetizable pigment particles" (paragraph 33, lines 4-5), i.e. applying a coating material to a carrier material.
MUELLER teaches "iii) exposing the wet coating or layer comprising the magnetic or magnetizable pigment particles to a time-dependent, direction-varying magnetic field ... to orient at least part of the magnetic or magnetizable pigment particles" (paragraph 33, lines 10-17), i.e. aligning components in the coating material using the magnetic field, thereby producing… at least one mark in or on the coating material.
MUELLER is silent on analyzing the coating material and/or optically acquiring and assessing the coating material to determine a location of an error in the coating material and thereby producing, after determining the location of the error in the coating material, at least one mark in or on the coating material.
MUELLER does teach that its layers can be used to mark any ‘value commercial good’ (paragraph 139) and that "The methods and apparatuses described herein are particularly suitable for making optical effect layers in the field of security, cosmetic and/or decorative applications" (paragraph 128).
MUELLER also teaches “There still remains a need for a modular, easily replaceable but yet electrically efficient apparatus that fits into an existing rotating magnetic orienting cylinder of an industrial printing machine or coating equipment, or into a flatbed (FB) magnetic orienting printing unit, and which is capable of generating a variety of customized rotating magnetic fields of desired shape so as to provide optical effects through the magnetic orientation of pigment particles in a coating by time-dependent, direction-varying magnetic fields” (paragraph 12) and “exposing the wet coating or layer comprising the magnetic or magnetizable pigment particles to a time-dependent, direction-varying magnetic field produced by spinning the permanent magnet assembly (PMA) (5) described herein through the combined action of the rotor (3a+3b) described wherein and the stator (lb+ le) described herein, to orient at least part of the magnetic or magnetizable pigment particles” (paragraph 33, lines 10-16), i.e. wherein the magnetic field can be adjusted to achieve a desired effect/based on information… generating a magnetic field.
INNOCENZO teaches “The present invention provides a method for recognizing the presence of at least one defect in a strip of film and identifying its position during film manufacturing; a method for removal of the portion of the film strip containing the defect; and a film strip having at least one defect recognized and its position identified” (abstract), i.e. a method for producing a mark.
INNOCENZO teaches “In one embodiment the support layer of a film strip is coated with a coating. Useful coating methods include roller coating, dip coating, air knife coating, gravure coating, gravure offset coating, hopper coating, blade coating, wire doctor coating, spray coating, extrusion coating, etc.” (paragraph 36) and “The coating may comprise one or more layers” (paragraph 37, line 1), i.e. applying a coating material to a carrier material.
INNOCENZO teaches “Another embodiment of the present invention contemplates a method of marking a film strip containing at least one defect… comprising: (1) detecting the at least one defect; and (2) recording at least one mark on the film strip corresponding to each defect, wherein each mark is positioned at a distance of at least D from the corresponding defect” (paragraph 46-48), and “The mark may be strategically positioned upstream, downstream or at the position (where D equals zero) of the corresponding defect in the winding direction depending upon the configuration and proximity of the detection and cutting mechanisms” (paragraph 53, lines 1-5), i.e. analyzing the coating material and/or optically acquiring and assessing the coating material to determine a location of an error in the coating material… depending on information obtained from the analysis and/or assessment… producing, after determining the location of the error in the coating material, at least one mark in or on the coating material, wherein the at least one mark marks the location of the error.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to include analyzing the coating material and/or optically acquiring and assessing the coating material to determine a location of an error in the coating material… producing, after determining the location of the error in the coating material, at least one mark in or on the coating material, wherein the at least one mark marks the location of the error in the process of MUELLER such that it includes generating the magnet field based on information obtained from the analysis and/or assessment because INNOCENZE teaches that detecting and marking defects in a product allows for their removal or reworking to ensure quality products (paragraph 6).
As for claim 13, MUELLER teaches "Upon the exposure of the magnetic or magnetizable pigment particles to the rotating magnetic field, rotationally symmetric optical effects depending on the configuration of the spinning permanent magnet assembly (PMA) (5) are obtained" (paragraph 95, lines 10-14), i.e. aligning the components in the coating material using the magnetic field effects an optical change in a surface of the coating material.
As for claim 15, MUELLER teaches "the rotating magnetic orienting cylinder (RMC) is part of a rotary, sheet-fed or web-fed industrial printing press that operates at high printing speed in a continuous way" (paragraph 30, lines 13-16), "The substrate described herein is preferably selected from the group consisting of papers or other fibrous materials (including woven and non-woven fibrous materials), such as ... metals" (paragraph 132, lines 1-5), and "Alternatively, the OEL may be produced on an auxiliary substrate such as for example ... a foil" (paragraph 140, lines 1-3), i.e. wherein the carrier material comprises a metallic, web-structured foil.
As for claim 17, MUELLER teaches "The magnetic-field-guiding stator core (1c) serves to guide and intensify the magnetic flux B generated by the magnetic field H of then magnet-wire coils (1 b)" (paragraph 66, lines 1-3) and "As shown in FIG. 3A-B, then (n=6 in FIG. 3A-B) magnet-wire coils (1 b) are inserted into the annular winding slots and electrically interconnected to form the stator winding" (paragraph 67, lines 5- 8), i.e. wherein generating the magnetic field comprises using ... an electrical coil.
As for claim 18, MUELLER teaches "the rotating magnetic orienting cylinder (RMC) is part of a rotary, sheet-fed or web-fed industrial printing press that operates at high printing speed in a continuous way" (paragraph 30, lines 13-16), "i) providing a substrate carrying a wet coating or layer comprising magnetic or magnetizable pigment particles" (paragraph 33, lines 4-5), and "iii) exposing the wet coating or layer comprising the magnetic or magnetizable pigment particles to a time-dependent, direction-varying magnetic field ... to orient at least part of the magnetic or magnetizable pigment particles" (paragraph 33, lines 10-17), i.e. the at least one mark is produced immediately after the application of the coating material.
As for claim 19, MUELLER teaches "iii) exposing the wet coating or layer comprising the magnetic or magnetizable pigment particles to a time-dependent, direction-varying magnetic field ... to orient at least part of the magnetic or magnetizable pigment particles" (paragraph 33, lines 10-17), and "iv) at least partially hardening the coating or layer comprising the magnetic or magnetizable pigment particles such as to fix at least part of the magnetic or magnetizable pigment particles in a substantially oriented state or oriented state" (paragraph 33, lines 18-21 ), i.e. the components in the coating material are aligned prior to curing of, or prior to complete curing of, the coating material.
As for claim 21, MUELLER teaches an example of producing a mark (paragraph 159) and then teaches taking a photograph of the resulting OEL (paragraph 160), i.e. acquiring and evaluating the at least one mark in a further production process for analysis.
As for claim 22, MUELLER is silent on error identification, component tracking or production monitoring.
MUELLER does teach that "The methods and apparatuses described herein are particularly suitable for making optical effect layers in the field of security, cosmetic and/or decorative applications" (paragraph 128).
INNOCENZO teaches “Another embodiment of the present invention contemplates a method of marking a film strip containing at least one defect… comprising: (1) detecting the at least one defect; and (2) recording at least one mark on the film strip corresponding to each defect, wherein each mark is positioned at a distance of at least D from the corresponding defect” (paragraph 46-48), and “The mark may be manipulated in its form wherein its length, width, and center point location within the film strip may convey information as to the type (opaque or transparent) of defect as well as the severity of each defect (whether acceptable or unacceptable). Information of this type may then be interpreted and analyzed to provide a detailed description of the various features of the particular defect allowing greater efficiency in determining the appropriate end-use application for the film strip” (paragraph 56, lines 12-20), i.e. forming a plurality of marks in or on the coating material for error identification.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to include forming a plurality of marks in or on the coating material for error identification in the process of MUELLER because INNOCENZE teaches that detecting and marking defects in a product allows for their removal or reworking to ensure quality products (paragraph 6).
As for claim 23, MUELLER teaches "A rotating magnetic field of a desired pattern is generated by the spinning permanent magnet assembly (PMA) (5). The rotating magnetic field acts on the magnetic or magnetizable pigment particles dispersed in the wet and not yet hardened coating or layer to aggregately orient the particles so as to produce the desired OEL" (paragraph 95, lines 4-10) and further shows in paragraph 160 and Fig. 7 that the particles are oriented at the edge of the coating material such that at least one mark is produced at an edge area of the coating.
As for claim 25, MUELLER teaches "With the aim of increasing the durability through soiling or chemical resistance and cleanliness and thus the circulation lifetime of an article, a security document, security article or a decorative element or object comprising the optical effect layer (OEL) obtained by the process described herein, or with the aim of modifying their aesthetical appearance (e.g. optical gloss), one or more protective layers may be applied on top of the optical effect layer (OEL)" (paragraph 135, lines 1-8), i.e. applying a protective layer on the coating material to fix the at least one mark.
As for claim 29, MUELLER teaches an example of producing a mark (paragraph 159) and then teaches taking a photograph of the resulting OEL (paragraph 160), i.e. acquiring and evaluating the at least one mark in a further production process for analysis.
MUELLER is silent on error identification, component tracking or production monitoring.
MUELLER does teach that "The methods and apparatuses described herein are particularly suitable for making optical effect layers in the field of security, cosmetic and/or decorative applications" (paragraph 128).
INNOCENZO teaches “Another embodiment of the present invention contemplates a method of marking a film strip containing at least one defect… comprising: (1) detecting the at least one defect; and (2) recording at least one mark on the film strip corresponding to each defect, wherein each mark is positioned at a distance of at least D from the corresponding defect” (paragraph 46-48), and “The mark may be manipulated in its form wherein its length, width, and center point location within the film strip may convey information as to the type (opaque or transparent) of defect as well as the severity of each defect (whether acceptable or unacceptable). Information of this type may then be interpreted and analyzed to provide a detailed description of the various features of the particular defect allowing greater efficiency in determining the appropriate end-use application for the film strip” (paragraph 56, lines 12-20), i.e. forming a plurality of marks in or on the coating material for error identification.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to include in a further production process, acquiring and evaluating the at least one mark for analysis, wherein the evaluating includes error identification, component tracking, or production monitoring in the process of MUELLER because INNOCENZE teaches that detecting and marking defects in a product allows for their removal or reworking to ensure quality products (paragraph 6).
Claim(s) 16 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mueller et al. US PGPub 2020/0246828 hereinafter MUELLER in view of Innocenzo et al. US PGPub 2010/0162865 hereinafter INNOCENZO as applied to claim 12 above, and further in view of Schmid et al. US PGPub 2020/0346479 hereinafter SCHMID.
As for claim 16, MUELLER is silent on graphite particles.
SCHMID teaches "The present invention relates to the field of and processes and printing apparatuses for producing optical effect layers (OEL) comprising magnetically oriented platelet-shaped magnetic or magnetizable pigment particles on a substrate" (abstract, lines 1-4).
SCHMID teaches "Suitable interference coated pigments comprising one or more magnetic materials include without limitation structures consisting of a substrate selected from the group consisting of a core coated with one or more layers, wherein at least one of the core or the one or more layers have magnetic properties. For example, suitable interference coated pigments comprise a core made of a magnetic material such as those described hereabove, said core being coated with one or more layers made of one or more metal oxides, or they have a structure consisting of a core made of ... graphites and mixtures of two or more thereof" (paragraph 69, lines 1-14), i.e. wherein the components include graphite particles.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to include wherein the components include graphite particles in the process of MUELLER because SCHMID teaches that such materials were known to be used in the magnetically orientable pigment particles useful in making OEL. Further it is a prima facie case of obviousness to combine prior art elements according to known methods to yield predictable results.
Claim(s) 24 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mueller et al. US PGPub 2020/0246828 hereinafter MUELLER in view of Innocenzo et al. US PGPub 2010/0162865 hereinafter INNOCENZO as applied to claim 12 above, and further in view of Schmid et al. US PGPub 2015/0352888 hereinafter SCHMID3.
As for claim 24, MUELLER only shows embodiments wherein an OEL, i.e. mark, is produced on one side of the substrate.
SCHMID3 teaches "the present invention pertains to a process for producing an optical effect layer (OEL) comprising the steps of: a) applying on a substrate surface or on a supporting surface of a magnetic-field-generating device a coating composition comprising a binder and a plurality of non-spherical magnetic or magnetizable particles, said coating composition being in a first (fluid) state, b) exposing the coating composition in a first state to the magnetic field of a magnetic-field-generating device ... c) hardening the coating composition to a second state so as to fix the magnetic or magnetizable non-spherical particles in their adopted positions and orientations" (paragraph 11, lines 5-26).
SCHMID3 teaches "In the event that the coating composition is applied onto only one surf ace of the substrate or is applied on both sides, and a side on which the coating composition is applied is oriented such as to face the side where the magnets are provided, it is preferred that no direct contact with the supporting surf ace is established in case the supporting surface is part of a magnet or is formed by a plate (the substrate is only brought sufficiently close to, but not in contact with, the magnet or plate forming a supporting surface of the device)" (paragraph 178, lines 8-15).
SCHMID3 teaches "The OEC may comprise a first OEL and a second OEL, wherein both of them are present on the same side of the substrate or wherein one is present on one side of the substrate and the other one is present on the other side of the substrate. If provided on the same side of the substrate, the first and the second OEL may be adjacent or not adjacent to each other. Additionally or alternatively, one of the OELs may partially or fully superimpose the other OEL" (paragraph 194).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to include comprising at least two marks, wherein the at least two marks are produced in or on the coating material on both sides of the carrier material in the process of MUELLER because SCHMID3 teaches that such a configuration allows for the formation of a OEC with two optical effects. In the alternative, it is a prima facie case of obviousness to combine prior art elements according to known methods to yield
predictable results.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 12-13, 15-19, 21-25, and 29 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KRISTEN A DAGENAIS whose telephone number is (571)270-1114. The examiner can normally be reached 8-12 and 1-5.
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/KRISTEN A DAGENAIS/Examiner, Art Unit 1717
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