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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Invention IV in the reply filed on 12/2/25 is acknowledged.
Claims 2, 5-6, 9-11, and 15 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected Invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 12/2/25.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(d):
(d) REFERENCE IN DEPENDENT FORMS.—Subject to subsection (e), a claim in dependent form shall contain a reference to a claim previously set forth and then specify a further limitation of the subject matter claimed. A claim in dependent form shall be construed to incorporate by reference all the limitations of the claim to which it refers.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, fourth paragraph:
Subject to the following paragraph [i.e., the fifth paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112], a claim in dependent form shall contain a reference to a claim previously set forth and then specify a further limitation of the subject matter claimed. A claim in dependent form shall be construed to incorporate by reference all the limitations of the claim to which it refers.
Claim 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(d) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, 4th paragraph, as being of improper dependent form for failing to further limit the subject matter of the claim upon which it depends, or for failing to include all the limitations of the claim upon which it depends. Claim 3 fails to further limit the subject matter of parent claim 1 because parent claim 1 already establishes that “the printhead unit support frame is movably mounted to the base” in the clause “a frame actuator configured to move the printhead unit support frame relative to the base…” Applicant may cancel the claim(s), amend the claim(s) to place the claim(s) in proper dependent form, rewrite the claim(s) in independent form, or present a sufficient showing that the dependent claim(s) complies with the statutory requirements.
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.
Claim(s) 1, 3-4, 7, and 12-14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Liu et al. (CN 113664385 A).
Regarding claim 1, Liu discloses A vertical printer apparatus comprising:
a base (bottom large longitudinal beam, fig. 5);
a printhead unit support frame (231, fig. 5, pg. 11, lines 26-33 of translation) extending substantially vertically above the base (see fig. 5);
a frame actuator (223,224,225, fig. 5, pg. 17, lines 15-19) configured to move the printhead unit support frame relative to the base along a longitudinal axis (axis parallel to bottom large longitudinal beam, fig. 5) (see fig. 5, pg. 17, lines 15-19);
a printhead unit (221 and 242, fig. 5, pg. 17, lines 1-4, pg. 13, line 32 through pg. 14, line 5) mounted to the printhead unit support frame (see fig. 5);
a printhead unit actuator (232, fig. 5, pg. 16, lines 38-41) configured to move the printhead unit relative to the printhead unit support frame along a vertical axis that is substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis (see fig. 5, pg. 16, lines 38-41); and
a workpiece support frame (211, fig. 4, pg. 11, lines 15-25) fixedly mounted to the base (see fig. 4) and configured to support a removable workpiece so that the normal of the workpiece is substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal and vertical axes (inherent in fig. 4,5, pg. 15, lines 13-16), wherein the workpiece support frame comprises at least one mounting unit (251 [“250” in spec], fig. 5, pg. 14, lines 1-5 and pg. 15, lines 13-16) for temporarily fixing the removable workpiece to the workpiece support frame (see pg. 15, lines 13-16).
Regarding claim 3, Liu further discloses The vertical printer apparatus of claim 1, wherein the printhead unit support frame is movably mounted to the base (see fig. 5, pg. 17, lines 15-19).
Regarding claim 4, Liu further discloses The vertical printer apparatus of claim 1, wherein the printhead unit comprises one or more printheads (221, fig. 5, pg. 17, lines 1-4).
Regarding claim 7, Liu further discloses The vertical printer apparatus of claim 1, wherein the workpiece support frame comprises a bottom support for supporting a bottom edge of the removable workpiece (212, fig. 4, pg. 17, lines 6-7).
Regarding claim 12, please note the rejection as set forth above with respect to claim 1. Claim 12 is rejected for similar reasons as claim 1; detailed discussion is omitted for brevity.
Regarding claim 13, Liu further discloses The method of claim 12, further comprising removing the printed workpiece from the workpiece support frame (inherent in Abstract).
Regarding claim 14, Liu further discloses The method of claim 12, further comprising moving the printhead unit support frame relative to the base along the longitudinal axis when the workpiece is being printed (see fig. 5, pg. 17, lines 15-19).
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.
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) 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Liu et al. (CN 113664385 A) in view of Reed (US 2015/0225104 A1).
Regarding claim 8, Liu discloses all the limitations of parent claims 1 and 7.
Liu does not appear to disclose The vertical printer apparatus of claim 7, wherein the bottom support includes a plurality of rollers.
However, Liu, as modified by Reed, discloses The vertical printer apparatus of claim 7, wherein the bottom support includes a plurality of rollers (Reed teaches rollers for facilitating movement of the workpiece. See Reed’s fig. 4, para 61: "The conveyor may have one or more motors 121 driving the conveyor system, which is shown to be a roller conveyor in FIG. 4, but may include another kind of conveyor in other implementations (e.g., a belt conveyor).").
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Liu with the teachings of Reed, for the purpose of facilitating movement of the workpiece.
The following reference(s) is/are considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure and is/are cited for disclosing related limitations to the applicant’s claimed and disclosed invention.
US 4547786 A
An ink jet printing system suited to the making of large scale graphics, such as outdoor billboards, includes an endless carrier for moving a plurality of rigid flat panels, onto which a graphic is to be printed in sections, repetitively past an ink jet printing station. At the printing station each panel moves in purely rectilinear fashion in a direction parallel to its ink drop receiving face so that such face remains essentially at a uniform spacing from the ink jet printing heads of the printing station as the printing occurs. A means for timing the operation of the ink jet heads takes into account irregularities or changes in the motion of the panels past the printing station so that the ink drops are correctly placed despite such irregularities or changes. The ink jet heads can eject relatively large drops of pigmented ink. In the case of polychromatic half-tone printing, for each pixel of a panel different colors are printed at substantially different times so that the printed ink drops of one color can dry before those of another color are printed, and a heating means may be used to enhance the drying.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JUSTIN SEO whose telephone number is (571)270-1327. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9am-5pm.
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/JUSTIN SEO/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2853
February 2, 2026