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 .
Status of claims
The following claims have been rejected or allowed for the following reasons:
Claim(s) 1,2, 4, 5, and 7 – 17 is rejected under 35 USC § 103
Claim(s) 3 and 6 are Cancelled
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d). The certified copy has been filed in parent Application No. JP2023-02955, filed on 2/14/23.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement/statements (IDS) were filed on 2/13/24 and 7/29/24. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim(s) 1, 2, 4, 5 and 8 – 17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over as applied to Bauer (US 20200215834 A1), in further view of Beier (US 20150042716 A1).
Regarding claim 1 Bauer teaches A three-dimensional object printing apparatus comprising: a head having a plurality of nozzles; (Bauer [0019] reads “The inkjet method is preferably used as the printing method, in which predetermined liquid quantities are sprayed, in a manner digitally controlled by a computer system, from discharge openings or nozzles disposed in a discharge surface of a printhead.”);
and a control portion that sequentially executes a first printing operation and a second printing operation as a printing operation of ejecting a liquid from the head toward a printing region of the workpiece while operating the robot, wherein (Bauer [0069] reads “FIG. 7 shows how, alternatively to the illustration of FIG. 6, two paths B1 and B2 can be applied adjacent to each other onto the surface 10 of a component 26 with mutual overlap. For this purpose, first, for the first printing step A1, the relative rotational position between the printhead 12 and the to-be-printed surface 10 during a first printing step A1, in which a first path B1 is applied, is set in an electronic data-processing system. … As can be seen from FIG. 7, there is an overlap region 30 between the two previously-set paths B1 and B2, within which the right edge of the path B1 overlaps the left edge of the path B2.”);
in the first overlapping region, a ratio of recording pixels by the first printing operation is more than a ratio of recording pixels by the second printing operation. (Bauer [0069] reads “The droplet density of the second printing path B2 accordingly increases from left to right in the overlap region 30 so that the same droplet density is present overall in the overlap region 30 as in the regions of the paths B1, B2 adjacent to the overlap region 30. It is understood that instead of the surface density, the volume of the droplets also changes.”);
and in the second overlapping region, the ratio of recording pixels by the second printing operation is more than the ratio of recording pixels by the first printing operation. (Bauer [0069] reads “The droplet density of the second printing path B2 accordingly increases from left to right in the overlap region 30 so that the same droplet density is present overall in the overlap region 30 as in the regions of the paths B1, B2 adjacent to the overlap region 30. It is understood that instead of the surface density, the volume of the droplets also changes.” It would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that for any combination of ratio of pixels that are to be printed in a given overlapping region, a similarly inverse of that combination may also be printed using the same steps and processes.);
Bauer does not teach a robot that moves the head with respect to a three-dimensional workpiece; and a control portion that sequentially executes a first printing operation and a second printing operation as a printing operation of ejecting a liquid from the head toward a printing region of the workpiece while operating the robot, wherein when a region on the workpiece onto which the liquid is applied in the first printing operation is set as a first printing region, a region on the workpiece onto which the liquid is applied in the second printing operation is set as a second printing region, a region in which the first printing region and the second printing region overlap with each other is set as an overlapping region, and, in the overlapping region, a.; a region in which an ejection distance of the liquid from the plurality of nozzles to the overlapping region in the first printing operation is less than an ejection distance of the liquid from the plurality of nozzles to the overlapping region in the second printing operation is set as a first overlapping region, region: and a region in which the ejection distance of the liquid from the plurality of nozzles to the overlapping region in the second printing operation is less than the ejection distance of the liquid from the plurality of nozzles to the overlapping region in the first printing operation is set as a second overlapping region
Beier in analogous art, teaches a robot that moves the head with respect to a three-dimensional workpiece; (Beier [0021] reads “The system according to the invention has a robot and a printer head held on the latter. The head is guided by the robot along and at a distance from the surface of the object to be printed.”);
and a control portion that sequentially executes a first printing operation and a second printing operation as a printing operation of ejecting a liquid from the head toward a printing region of the workpiece while operating the robot, wherein when a region on the workpiece onto which the liquid is applied in the first printing operation is set as a first printing region, a region on the workpiece onto which the liquid is applied in the second printing operation is set as a second printing region, a region in which the first printing region and the second printing region overlap with each other is set as an overlapping region, (Bauer [0069] reads “FIG. 7 shows how, alternatively to the illustration of FIG. 6, two paths B1 and B2 can be applied adjacent to each other onto the surface 10 of a component 26 with mutual overlap. For this purpose, first, for the first printing step A1, the relative rotational position between the printhead 12 and the to-be-printed surface 10 during a first printing step A1, in which a first path B1 is applied, is set in an electronic data-processing system. … As can be seen from FIG. 7, there is an overlap region 30 between the two previously-set paths B1 and B2, within which the right edge of the path B1 overlaps the left edge of the path B2.”);
and, in the overlapping region, a.; a region in which an ejection distance of the liquid from the plurality of nozzles to the overlapping region in the first printing operation is less than an ejection distance of the liquid from the plurality of nozzles to the overlapping region in the second printing operation is set as a first overlapping region, region: (Beier [0088] reads ”The air knife can also be formed in such a way that the shape thereof can be matched to the local surface shape of the object, for example in terms of the local curvature/s of the latter. The use of the air knife can advantageously also lead to it being possible to choose the distance of the head from the surface to be greater or for the droplets produced by the head to fly precisely toward the surface over a further distance.”);
and a region in which the ejection distance of the liquid from the plurality of nozzles to the overlapping region in the second printing operation is less than the ejection distance of the liquid from the plurality of nozzles to the overlapping region in the first printing operation is set as a second overlapping region, (Beier [0088] reads ”The air knife can also be formed in such a way that the shape thereof can be matched to the local surface shape of the object, for example in terms of the local curvature/s of the latter. The use of the air knife can advantageously also lead to it being possible to choose the distance of the head from the surface to be greater or for the droplets produced by the head to fly precisely toward the surface over a further distance.” It would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that for any combination of ratio of pixels that are to be printed in a given overlapping region, a similarly inverse of that combination may also be printed using the same steps and processes.);
It would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the teaching of Bauer with that of Beier to include a robotic arm for the manipulation of the printer head and method for controlling the distances between the print head and the surface to be printed. This would allow for a method to better print images on surfaces. (Beier [0008] reads “Against this background, it is an object of the invention to devise a system with which object surfaces of any desired shape can be printed with any desired images.”);
Regarding claim 2 Bauer/Beier teaches The three-dimensional object printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of nozzles form a nozzle array, and (Bauer [0019] reads “The inkjet method is preferably used as the printing method, in which predetermined liquid quantities are sprayed, in a manner digitally controlled by a computer system, from discharge openings or nozzles disposed in a discharge surface of a printhead.”);
the robot operates such that an ejection distance of the liquid from the second nozzle to the printing region is less than an ejection distance of the liquid from the first nozzle to the printing region. (Beier [0088] reads ” The air knife can also be formed in such a way that the shape thereof can be matched to the local surface shape of the object, for example in terms of the local curvature/s of the latter. The use of the air knife can advantageously also lead to it being possible to choose the distance of the head from the surface to be greater or for the droplets produced by the head to fly precisely toward the surface over a further distance.”);
Regarding claim 4 The three-dimensional object printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an ejection distance of the liquid from at least one nozzle among the plurality of nozzles to the printing region is changed during the printing operation. (Bauer [0051] reads “When the printing is performed by repeating a relative movement between the printhead 12 and the surface 10 along a plurality of superposed paths, the thickness of the (each) already-applied print layer can be taken into account by increasing the clearance (spacing) between the discharge surface 14 and the surface 10 by a corresponding amount (i.e. by the thickness of the already-applied print layer).”);
Regarding claim 5 Bauer teaches A three-dimensional object printing apparatus comprising: a head having a plurality of nozzles; (Bauer [0019] reads “The inkjet method is preferably used as the printing method, in which predetermined liquid quantities are sprayed, in a manner digitally controlled by a computer system, from discharge openings or nozzles disposed in a discharge surface of a printhead.”);
and a control portion that sequentially executes a first printing operation and a second printing operation as a printing operation of ejecting a liquid from the head toward a printing region of the workpiece while operating the robot, wherein(Bauer [0069] reads “FIG. 7 shows how, alternatively to the illustration of FIG. 6, two paths B1 and B2 can be applied adjacent to each other onto the surface 10 of a component 26 with mutual overlap. For this purpose, first, for the first printing step A1, the relative rotational position between the printhead 12 and the to-be-printed surface 10 during a first printing step A1, in which a first path B1 is applied, is set in an electronic data-processing system. … As can be seen from FIG. 7, there is an overlap region 30 between the two previously-set paths B1 and B2, within which the right edge of the path B1 overlaps the left edge of the path B2.”);
. a region in which a landing angle of the liquid from the plurality of nozzles to the overlapping region in the first printing operation is closer to 90’ than a landing angle of the liquid from the plurality of nozzles to the overlapping region in the second printing operation is set as a first overlappingregion; (Bauer [0123] reads “The method according to any one of the above Aspects 2 to 5, wherein only those discharge openings (16) are activated whose liquid droplets impinge on the surface (10) at an angle of incidence greater than 78 degrees for a coating and greater than 84 degrees for a decor printing.” And [0025] reads “Widely varying layers can be applied, in successive printing steps, onto a surface to be printed individually, one-atop-the other, or adjacent to one another, for example a decorative layer, a functional layer having conductive regions, uni-color layers or uni-coating layers, transparent or covering (non-transparent, e.g., opaque), adhesion-promotion layers, etc.);
and a region in which the landing angle of the liquid from the plurality of nozzles to the overlapping region in the second printing operation is closer to 90’ than the landing angle of the liquid from the plurality of nozzles to the overlapping region in the first printing operation is set as a second overlapping region, (Bauer [0123] reads “The method according to any one of the above Aspects 2 to 5, wherein only those discharge openings (16) are activated whose liquid droplets impinge on the surface (10) at an angle of incidence greater than 78 degrees for a coating and greater than 84 degrees for a decor printing.” And [0025] reads “Widely varying layers can be applied, in successive printing steps, onto a surface to be printed individually, one-atop-the other, or adjacent to one another, for example a decorative layer, a functional layer having conductive regions, uni-color layers or uni-coating layers, transparent or covering (non-transparent, e.g., opaque), adhesion-promotion layers, etc.”);
in the first overlapping region, a ratio of recording pixels by the first printing operation is more than a ratio of recording pixels by the second printing operation, (Bauer [0069] reads “The droplet density of the second printing path B2 accordingly increases from left to right in the overlap region 30 so that the same droplet density is present overall in the overlap region 30 as in the regions of the paths B1, B2 adjacent to the overlap region 30. It is understood that instead of the surface density, the volume of the droplets also changes.”);
in the second overlapping region, the ratio of recording pixels by the second printing operation is more than the ratio of recording pixels by the first printing operation, (Bauer [0069] reads “The droplet density of the second printing path B2 accordingly increases from left to right in the overlap region 30 so that the same droplet density is present overall in the overlap region 30 as in the regions of the paths B1, B2 adjacent to the overlap region 30. It is understood that instead of the surface density, the volume of the droplets also changes.” It would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that for any combination of ratio of pixels that are to be printed in a given overlapping region, a similarly inverse of that combination may also be printed using the same steps and processes);
a direction in which a relative position of the head and the workpiece is changed during the first printing operation or the second printing operation is set as a main scanning direction, two different positions in the main scanning direction are set as a first main scanning position and a second main scanning position, and a width of the overlapping region at the second main scanning position is different from a width of the overlapping region at the first main scanning position. (Bauer [0070] reads “A layered build-up of the paths B1, B2 is depicted in FIG. 8, which can be achieved by applying the layers (4 layers in the depicted example) successively with a one-time linear relative movement between the printhead and the surface by rows of discharge openings that are disposed one-behind-the-other, or by applying each layer according to a single linear relative movement between the printhead and the surface. As can be seen, each of the layers disposed one-atop-the-other is built up differently in the overlap region 30. The regions of the left path B1 forming the overlap region 30 decrease from below to above, while the regions of the right path B2 forming the overlap region 30 increase from below to above.” The figure below shows how the prior art teaches that the width of the overlap region can be changed between layers. One with ordinary skill in the art would understand that this varying of the width of the overlap areas could change along the surface of the object as well.);
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Bauer figures 7 and 8
Bauer does not teach a robot that moves the head with respect to a three-dimensional workpiece;
Beier in analogous art, teaches a robot that moves the head with respect to a three-dimensional workpiece; (Beier [0021] reads “The system according to the invention has a robot and a printer head held on the latter. The head is guided by the robot along and at a distance from the surface of the object to be printed.”);
It would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the teaching of Bauer with that of Beier to include a robotic arm for the manipulation of the printer head and method for controlling the distances between the print head and the surface to be printed. This would allow for a method to better print images on surfaces. (Beier [0008] reads “Against this background, it is an object of the invention to devise a system with which object surfaces of any desired shape can be printed with any desired images.”);
Regarding claim 8 Bauer/Beier teaches The three-dimensional object printing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein (Beier [0049 – 0050] reads “It is possible to use commercially available 3-D measuring systems which, for example, operate on the basis of white light, laser strip projection, propagation time measurements, photogrammetry or optical tracking. he measurement can be carried out statically: multiple 3-D measuring systems are positioned in fixed locations around the object (e.g. on the hall ceiling or the hall walls), or a mobile 3-D measuring system is repeatedly re-positioned.” And [0052] reads “The measurement can be carried out in a cascaded manner: In this case, the surface is initially measured accurately to about 1 to about 10 millimeters in a first step and at high speed, e.g. statically (see above). After that, critical sections of the surface having extreme curves, edges, bends or the like can be re-measured in a second step with higher resolution and at a lower speed, e.g. statically or dynamically (see above). Points at which (finer) re-measurement is required can be identified, for example, from a superimposition of the image to be printed with the (coarser) position data from the first step, since it is then possible to detect where image areas and extreme points coincide”);
And a width of the overlapping region at the second main scanning position is less than a width of the overlapping region at the first main scanning position. (Bauer [0070] reads “A layered build-up of the paths B1, B2 is depicted in FIG. 8, which can be achieved by applying the layers (4 layers in the depicted example) successively with a one-time linear relative movement between the printhead and the surface by rows of discharge openings that are disposed one-behind-the-other, or by applying each layer according to a single linear relative movement between the printhead and the surface. As can be seen, each of the layers disposed one-atop-the-other is built up differently in the overlap region 30. The regions of the left path B1 forming the overlap region 30 decrease from below to above, while the regions of the right path B2 forming the overlap region 30 increase from below to above.” The figure below shows how the prior art teaches that the width of the overlap region can be changed between layers. One with ordinary skill in the art would understand that this varying of the width of the overlap areas could change along the surface of the object as well.);
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Bauer figures 7 and 8
Regarding claim 9 Bauer/Beier teaches The three-dimensional object printing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein a curvature of a portion corresponding to the first main scanning position on a surface of the workpiece is more than a curvature of a portion corresponding to the second main scanning position on the surface of the workpiece. (Bauer [0059] reads “Surfaces to be printed only rarely have a spherical-shaped or partial-spherical-shaped form. More common are surfaces that are cylindrically curved at least sectionally, or that are curved with different radii in mutually perpendicular directions.” And [0063] reads “When a surface having two axes of curvature that are perpendicular to each other and different radii of curvature is to be printed (FIG. 5), and this cannot be effected in a single path, to optimally use the width of the printhead 12 it is advantageous if the longitudinal direction of the paths B1, B2 is directed in the circumferential direction of the curvature having the smaller radius of curvature, and the paths B1, B2 are adjacent in the circumferential direction of the curvature having the larger radius of curvature.”);
Regarding claim 10 Bauer/Beier teaches The three-dimensional object printing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein a curvature of a portion corresponding to the first main scanning position on a surface of the workpiece is less than a curvature of a portion corresponding to the second main scanning position on the surface of the workpiece. (Bauer [0059] reads “Surfaces to be printed only rarely have a spherical-shaped or partial-spherical-shaped form. More common are surfaces that are cylindrically curved at least sectionally, or that are curved with different radii in mutually perpendicular directions.” And [0063] reads “When a surface having two axes of curvature that are perpendicular to each other and different radii of curvature is to be printed (FIG. 5), and this cannot be effected in a single path, to optimally use the width of the printhead 12 it is advantageous if the longitudinal direction of the paths B1, B2 is directed in the circumferential direction of the curvature having the smaller radius of curvature, and the paths B1, B2 are adjacent in the circumferential direction of the curvature having the larger radius of curvature.”);
Regarding claim 11 Bauer/Beier teaches The three-dimensional object printing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein in the first printing operation and the second printing operation, an amount of change per unit width in a ratio of recording pixels in a portion corresponding to the second main scanning position on a surface of the workpiece is more than an amount of change per unit width in a ratio of recording pixels in a portion corresponding to the first main scanning position on the surface of the workpiece. (Bauer [0069] reads “As can be seen from FIG. 7, there is an overlap region 30 between the two previously-set paths B1 and B2, within which the right edge of the path B1 overlaps the left edge of the path B2. Simply for the sake of clarity, the droplets applied in the second printing step A2 are not depicted in a blackened manner. In order that no difference is visible between the printing- or color-intensity of the adjacent paths B1, B2, the areal droplet density decreases from left to right in the overlap region 30 when applying the first path B1. The droplet density of the second printing path B2 accordingly increases from left to right in the overlap region 30 so that the same droplet density is present overall in the overlap region 30 as in the regions of the paths B1, B2 adjacent to the overlap region 30. It is understood that instead of the surface density, the volume of the droplets also changes.”);
Regarding claim 12 Bauer/Beier teaches The three-dimensional object printing apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the ratio of the recording pixels in each of the first printing operation and the second printing operation is gradually changed as a printing position is moved from one position to another position between the first main scanning position and the second main scanning position. (Bauer [0069] reads “As can be seen from FIG. 7, there is an overlap region 30 between the two previously-set paths B1 and B2, within which the right edge of the path B1 overlaps the left edge of the path B2. Simply for the sake of clarity, the droplets applied in the second printing step A2 are not depicted in a blackened manner. In order that no difference is visible between the printing- or color-intensity of the adjacent paths B1, B2, the areal droplet density decreases from left to right in the overlap region 30 when applying the first path B1. The droplet density of the second printing path B2 accordingly increases from left to right in the overlap region 30 so that the same droplet density is present overall in the overlap region 30 as in the regions of the paths B1, B2 adjacent to the overlap region 30. It is understood that instead of the surface density, the volume of the droplets also changes.”);
Regarding claim 13 Bauer/Beier teaches The three-dimensional object printing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein and based on an ejection distance of the liquid to the printing region at the first main scanning position in one or both of the first printing operation and the second printing operation, (Beier [0088] reads ”The air knife can also be formed in such a way that the shape thereof can be matched to the local surface shape of the object, for example in terms of the local curvature/s of the latter. The use of the air knife can advantageously also lead to it being possible to choose the distance of the head from the surface to be greater or for the droplets produced by the head to fly precisely toward the surface over a further distance.”);
the control portion sets a ratio of recording pixels by the first printing operation to recording pixels by the second printing operation at the first main scanning position. (Bauer [0069] reads “The droplet density of the second printing path B2 accordingly increases from left to right in the overlap region 30 so that the same droplet density is present overall in the overlap region 30 as in the regions of the paths B1, B2 adjacent to the overlap region 30. It is understood that instead of the surface density, the volume of the droplets also changes.”);
Regarding claim 14 Bauer/Beier teaches The three-dimensional object printing apparatus according to claim 13, wherein and based on an ejection distance of the liquid to the printing region at the second main scanning position in one or both of the first printing operation and the second printing operation, (Beier [0088] reads ”The air knife can also be formed in such a way that the shape thereof can be matched to the local surface shape of the object, for example in terms of the local curvature/s of the latter. The use of the air knife can advantageously also lead to it being possible to choose the distance of the head from the surface to be greater or for the droplets produced by the head to fly precisely toward the surface over a further distance.”);
the control portion sets a ratio of recording pixels by the first printing operation to recording pixels by the second printing operation at the second main scanning position. (Bauer [0069] reads “The droplet density of the second printing path B2 accordingly increases from left to right in the overlap region 30 so that the same droplet density is present overall in the overlap region 30 as in the regions of the paths B1, B2 adjacent to the overlap region 30. It is understood that instead of the surface density, the volume of the droplets also changes.”);
Regarding claim 15 Bauer/Beier teaches The three-dimensional object printing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein (Bauer [0123] reads “The method according to any one of the above Aspects 2 to 5, wherein only those discharge openings (16) are activated whose liquid droplets impinge on the surface (10) at an angle of incidence greater than 78 degrees for a coating and greater than 84 degrees for a decor printing.” And [0025] reads “Widely varying layers can be applied, in successive printing steps, onto a surface to be printed individually, one-atop-the other, or adjacent to one another, for example a decorative layer, a functional layer having conductive regions, uni-color layers or uni-coating layers, transparent or covering (non-transparent, e.g., opaque), adhesion-promotion layers, etc.);
the control portion sets a ratio of recording pixels by the first printing operation to recording pixels by the second printing operation at the first main scanning position. (Bauer [0069] reads “The droplet density of the second printing path B2 accordingly increases from left to right in the overlap region 30 so that the same droplet density is present overall in the overlap region 30 as in the regions of the paths B1, B2 adjacent to the overlap region 30. It is understood that instead of the surface density, the volume of the droplets also changes.”);
Regarding claim 16 Bauer/Beier teaches The three-dimensional object printing apparatus according to claim 15, wherein operation to recording pixels by the second printing operation at the second main scanning position. (Bauer [0069] reads “The droplet density of the second printing path B2 accordingly increases from left to right in the overlap region 30 so that the same droplet density is present overall in the overlap region 30 as in the regions of the paths B1, B2 adjacent to the overlap region 30. It is understood that instead of the surface density, the volume of the droplets also changes.”);
Regarding claim 17 Bauer teaches A printing method using a three-dimensional object printing apparatus including a head having a plurality of nozzles (Bauer [0019] reads “The inkjet method is preferably used as the printing method, in which predetermined liquid quantities are sprayed, in a manner digitally controlled by a computer system, from discharge openings or nozzles disposed in a discharge surface of a printhead.”);
the printing method comprising: a first printing operation of ejecting a liquid from the head toward a first printing region of the workpiece while operating the robot; and a second printing operation of ejecting the liquid from the head toward a second printing region of the workpiece while operating the robot, wherein the first printing region and the second printing region include an overlapping region that is a region in which the first printing region and the second printing region overlap with each other(Bauer [0069] reads “FIG. 7 shows how, alternatively to the illustration of FIG. 6, two paths B1 and B2 can be applied adjacent to each other onto the surface 10 of a component 26 with mutual overlap. For this purpose, first, for the first printing step A1, the relative rotational position between the printhead 12 and the to-be-printed surface 10 during a first printing step A1, in which a first path B1 is applied, is set in an electronic data-processing system. … As can be seen from FIG. 7, there is an overlap region 30 between the two previously-set paths B1 and B2, within which the right edge of the path B1 overlaps the left edge of the path B2.”);
a ratio of recording pixels by the first printing operation is more than a ratio of recording pixels by the second printing operation. (Bauer [0069] reads “The droplet density of the second printing path B2 accordingly increases from left to right in the overlap region 30 so that the same droplet density is present overall in the overlap region 30 as in the regions of the paths B1, B2 adjacent to the overlap region 30. It is understood that instead of the surface density, the volume of the droplets also changes.”);
and in the second overlapping region, the ratio of recording pixels by the second printing operation is more than the ratio of recording pixels by the first printing operation. (Bauer [0069] reads “The droplet density of the second printing path B2 accordingly increases from left to right in the overlap region 30 so that the same droplet density is present overall in the overlap region 30 as in the regions of the paths B1, B2 adjacent to the overlap region 30. It is understood that instead of the surface density, the volume of the droplets also changes.” It would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that for any combination of ratio of pixels that are to be printed in a given overlapping region, a similarly inverse of that combination may also be printed using the same steps and processes.);
Bauer does not teach and a robot that moves the head with respect to a three-dimensional workpiece, in the overlapping region, a. a region in which an ejection distance of the liquid from the plurality of nozzles to the overlapping region in the first printing operation is less than an ejection distance of the liquid from the plurality of nozzles to the overlapping region in the second printing operation is set as a first overlapping region, region; and a region in which the ejection distance of the liquid from the plurality of nozzles to the overlapping region in the second printing operation is less than the ejection distance of the liquid from the plurality of nozzles to the overlapping region in the first printing operation is set as a second overlapping region, in the first overlapping region,
Beier in analogous art, teaches and a robot that moves the head with respect to a three-dimensional workpiece, (Beier [0021] reads “The system according to the invention has a robot and a printer head held on the latter. The head is guided by the robot along and at a distance from the surface of the object to be printed.”);
in the overlapping region, a. a region in which an ejection distance of the liquid from the plurality of nozzles to the overlapping region in the first printing operation is less than an ejection distance of the liquid from the plurality of nozzles to the overlapping region in the second printing operation is set as a first overlapping region, region; (Beier [0088] reads ”The air knife can also be formed in such a way that the shape thereof can be matched to the local surface shape of the object, for example in terms of the local curvature/s of the latter. The use of the air knife can advantageously also lead to it being possible to choose the distance of the head from the surface to be greater or for the droplets produced by the head to fly precisely toward the surface over a further distance.”);
and a region in which the ejection distance of the liquid from the plurality of nozzles to the overlapping region in the second printing operation is less than the ejection distance of the liquid from the plurality of nozzles to the overlapping region in the first printing operation is set as a second overlapping region, in the first overlapping region, (Beier [0088] reads ”The air knife can also be formed in such a way that the shape thereof can be matched to the local surface shape of the object, for example in terms of the local curvature/s of the latter. The use of the air knife can advantageously also lead to it being possible to choose the distance of the head from the surface to be greater or for the droplets produced by the head to fly precisely toward the surface over a further distance.”);
It would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the teaching of Bauer with that of Beier to include a robotic arm for the manipulation of the printer head and method for controlling the distances between the print head and the surface to be printed. This would allow for a method to better print images on surfaces. (Beier [0008] reads “Against this background, it is an object of the invention to devise a system with which object surfaces of any desired shape can be printed with any desired images.”);
Claim(s) 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over as applied to Bauer/Beier, in further view of Mochizuki (US 20220126513 A1).
Regarding claim 7 Bauer/Beier teaches The three-dimensional object printing apparatus according to claim 5.
Bauer/Beier does not teach wherein a landing angle of the liquid from at least one nozzle among the plurality of nozzles to the printing region is changed during the printing operation.
Mochizuki in analogous art, teaches wherein a landing angle of the liquid from at least one nozzle among the plurality of nozzles to the printing region is changed during the printing operation. (Mochizuki [0085] reads “In the printing operation, the liquid ejecting head 310 in a fixed orientation state faces the surface WF. In the example illustrated in FIG. 6, the nozzle surface F faces the surface WF in such a manner that the nozzle surface F is parallel to the surface WF. During the execution of the printing operation, the nozzle surface F may be inclined about the Y axis with respect to the surface WF, and the inclination angle of the nozzle surface F may be changed.”);
It would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the teachings of Bauer/Beier with that of Mochizuki to include a method for changing the angle that the print head is printing at. This would allow for the printer to have better control over the outcome of the printed surface. (Mochizuki [0004] reads “A device described in JP-T-2015-520011 operates all the plurality of movable joint members included in the robot during printing. Therefore, the device described in JP-T-2015-520011 has a problem that operational errors of the movable joint members overlap to cause a significant deviation of an actual movement route of the print head from an ideal movement route of the print head, thereby reducing the printing quality.” And [0005] reads “To solve the foregoing problem, according to an aspect of the present disclosure, a three-dimensional object printing apparatus includes a liquid ejecting head that ejects a liquid to three-dimensional work, and a moving mechanism that changes a relative position of the liquid ejecting head with respect to the work. “);
Response to arguments
Applicant argues < However, it appears that even though Beier simply describes that an air knife is used to adjust or improve the positioning accuracy of the nozzle head for printing on a curved surface (see paragraphs [0088] and [0089] of Beier), Beier does not disclose or suggest at least the features relating to different ejection distances in an overlapping region of claim 1.> [page 12 spanning paragraph]. The examiner respectfully disagrees. Beier teaches that by being able to better control for the ejection distance of the print head the printer may achieve greater accuracy. This is combined with the source Bauer to include the limitation of the over lapping regions. Therefore, the combination teaches the claimed invention.
Applicant argues <Specifically, it appears that Bauer does not describe any feature relating to a ratio of recording pixels and a method of adjusting the ratio of recording pixels according to the ejection distance or the landing angle. Rather, in Bauer, the concept of droplet density refers to adjusting the amount of ink per unit area in an overlapping region by applying a continuous gradient of droplet intensity. Both printing passes Serial No. 18/439,883 Page 13 of 15 deposit ink in the same area, but the density of droplets from each pass is varied gradually to create a seamless transition. The above technology of Bauer is an aerial (surface-level) adjustment, not a recording pixel-level adjustment.> [page 13 spanning paragraph]. The examiner respectfully disagrees. The current interpterion of the claimed invention does not include information about differentiating between “a areal (surface-level) adjustment” and “a recording pixel-level adjustment.” The current interpterion of the claimed invention is that the robotic system may achieve the currently required degree of accuracy by altering the ratio (density or amount from each printer pass) or ejection distance/ angle. The current interpatient of the claimed invention does not include the limitation of changing the pixel ratio because of the ejection distance or angle as set out in this argument. Therefore, the combination teaches the claimed invention.
Applicant argues < In addition, one having ordinary skill in the art would not have any motivation to combine the teachings of Beier with the teachings of Bauer since they describe fundamentally conflicting approaches regarding the treatment of adjacent printing paths.> [page 14 third paragraph]. The examiner respectfully disagrees. Both Bauer and Beier are considered analogous art. It has been held that a prior art reference must either be in the field of the inventor’s endeavor or, if not, then be reasonably pertinent to the particular problem with which the inventor was concerned, in order to be relied upon as a basis for rejection of the claimed invention. See In re Oetiker, 977 F.2d 1443, 24 USPQ2d 1443 (Fed. Cir. 1992). Therefore it would be obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art to have combine the art in this manner. Therefore, the combination teaches the claimed invention.
Other references not Cited
Throughout examination other references were found that could read onto the prior art. Though these references were not used in this examination they could be used in future examination and could read on the contents of the current disclosure. These references are, Mathis (US 20160355026 A1); Tawata (US 20200406617 A1); Gullentops (US 20110249298 A1);
Conclusion
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/JOHN MARTIN O'MALLEY/Examiner, Art Unit 3658
/Ramon A. Mercado/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3658