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 .
Claims
Applicant’s Claims filed on 01/18/2024 regarding claims 1-16 is fully considered. Of the above claims, claims 1-9 have been canceled; claims 10-16 have been newly added.
Claim Objections
Claims 10 and 16 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Regarding claim 10, the recitation of “a horizontal” in line 4 would be clearer if recited as --a horizontal plane--.
Further regarding claim 10, the recitations of “the applied receiving element” in line 18 and “the sensor means” in line 24 lack antecedent basis.
Regarding claim 16, the recitations of “a digital textile printing machine” in line 2, “a frame” in line 3, “at least one receiving carriage” in line 4, “at least one printing carriage” in line 7, “a base” in line 11, “a receiving table” in line 11, “vertical adjustment” in line 14 and “a drive” in line 15 refer to previously recited limitations.
Further regarding claim 16, the recitation of “a horizontal” in line 5 would be clearer if recited as --a horizontal plane--.
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) 10 and 15-16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mizutani (US 2005/0068358 A1) in view of Matsumoto (JP 2019-177606 A).
Regarding claim 10, Mizutani teaches a digital textile printing machine for printing textiles (inkjet printing device 1; Figs 1-5; various types of the platens are prepared and the platen 20 to be attached to the supporting rod 21 is determined in accordance with, for example, the fabric to be subjected to the printing operation; [0077]), with
a frame (frame 2; Figs 1-2),
at least one receiving carriage for receiving and holding a printing product, in the form of a textile, wherein the receiving carriage is displaceable in a horizontal in a longitudinal direction along the frame (slide base 23; Figs 1-2; the fixing unit 24 is moved along the platen rails 26 by the driving force of the platen motor 25; [0049]; the slide base 23 attached to the fixing unit 24 is moved in a horizontal plane in the front and rear direction), and
at least one printing carriage with a print head having one or several ink jet nozzles, wherein the printing carriage is displaceable on the frame in a transverse direction (the guide rail 4 is used to guide a carriage 5 accommodating inkjet heads 6 in a lateral direction; [0039]; Figs 1-2),
wherein the receiving carriage has a base carriage (slide base 23; Figs 1-4) and a receiving table (platen 20; Figs 1-5),
wherein the receiving table has an adapter element, on which a plate-shaped receiving element is attached in a releasable and easily changeable manner (by fitting the protrusion 20a into a fitting hole 21d of the supporting rod 21, the platen 20 is fixed to the supporting rod 21; [0054]; FIG. 3),
wherein a detection means is arranged, by which the plate-shaped receiving element attached on the adapter element can be detected (when protrusion 20a of the platen 20 is fitted into the fitting hole 21d of the supporting rod 21, the identification unit 31 is also fitted into the hole 30a and the projections 32 of the identification unit 31 are detected by the photo sensor 30b of the sensor unit 30; [0059]; FIG. 3), and
wherein by a control means a displacement range of the printing carriage and/or the ink jet nozzles can be set depending on detected values on the type of the applied receiving element (the inkjet printing device 1 has a control unit 80 including a CPU 81 for controlling various kinds of operation of the inkjet printing device 1; [0067]; the platen type table 825 is used to determine the type of the platen 20 attached to the supporting rod 21; [0080]; Figs 6-9).
Further regarding claim 10, Mizutani does not teach wherein the receiving table which is adjustable relative to the base carriage in a vertical direction which is perpendicular to the horizontal,
wherein a drive is provided for vertical adjustment of the receiving table with respect to the base carriage, and
wherein
the control means is designed for automatic adjustment of the receiving table in the vertical direction,
at least one sensor means is provided, by which a thickness of the printing product, in particular a textile, can be determined which is held on the receiving table, and
the sensor means is connected to the control means, wherein a vertical adjustment of the receiving table takes place depending on the thickness of the printing product received.
Further regarding claim 10, Matsumoto teaches a receiving table which is adjustable relative to a base carriage in a vertical direction which is perpendicular to the horizontal and a drive is provided for vertical adjustment of the receiving table with respect to the base carriage (the platen level changing unit 193 adjusts the vertical position of the stage 400 to adjust the level of the platen member 300; page 31 of 32), and
a control means is designed for automatic adjustment of the receiving table in the vertical direction, at least one sensor means is provided, by which a thickness of a printing product, in particular a textile, can be determined which is held on the receiving table, and the sensor means is connected to the control means (the thickness can be calculated from the position of the fabric detected by the position sensor while moving the platen member 300 up and down; page 32 of 32), wherein a vertical adjustment of the receiving table takes place depending on the thickness of the printing product received (before starting the operation of discharging the liquid, it is necessary to control the distance between the cloth serving as the recording medium and the nozzle opening to be an optimum distance; page 22 of 32) for the purpose of controlling a distance between a medium and a nozzle opening based on a thickness of the medium.
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to incorporate wherein the receiving table which is adjustable relative to the base carriage in a vertical direction which is perpendicular to the horizontal, wherein a drive is provided for vertical adjustment of the receiving table with respect to the base carriage, and wherein the control means is designed for automatic adjustment of the receiving table in the vertical direction, at least one sensor means is provided, by which a thickness of the printing product, in particular a textile, can be determined which is held on the receiving table, and the sensor means is connected to the control means, wherein a vertical adjustment of the receiving table takes place depending on the thickness of the printing product received, as taught by Matsumoto, into Mizutani for the purpose of controlling a distance between a medium and a nozzle opening based on a thickness of the medium.
Regarding claim 15, Mizutani teaches wherein the print head with the ink jet nozzles is supported on the printing carriage by being adjustable in the vertical direction (the inkjet head 6 moves downwardly; [0063]-[0064]; Figs 1-2).
Regarding claim 16, Mizutani teaches a printing method for printing a printing product, in the form of textiles, with a digital textile printing machine (Figs 12-13).
Claim(s) 11-14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mizutani (US 2005/0068358 A1) as modified by Matsumoto (JP 2019-177606 A) as applied to claim 10 above, and further in view of Zanelli (US 2012/0188302 A1).
Regarding claim 11, Mizutani as modified by Matsumoto does not teach wherein between the base carriage and the receiving table an adjustment mechanism is provided, with which a vertical adjustment takes place.
Further regarding claim 11, Zanelli teaches between a base carriage and a receiving table an adjustment mechanism is provided, with which a vertical adjustment takes place (the printer 10 comprises a carriage device for supporting a printable substrate, in the form of a box-shaped tray 17 which is moved in a controlled way along the printing path; [0050]; FIG. 1; a lifting device 33 for the support table 32 is provided inside the tray 17 to move the support table 32 between a raised position above the reference edges 31’ for the printing plane, and a lowered position beneath said edges 31’; [0053]; Figs 6-8) for the purpose of moving a lifting device along the printing path with a support table while lifting the support table vertically.
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to incorporate wherein between the base carriage and the receiving table an adjustment mechanism is provided, with which a vertical adjustment takes place, as taught by Zanelli, into Mizutani as modified by Matsumoto for the purpose of moving a lifting device along the printing path with a support table while lifting the support table vertically.
Regarding claim 12, Mizutani as modified by Matsumoto does not teach wherein the adjustment mechanism has a scissor mechanism.
Further regarding claim 12, Zanelli teaches the adjustment mechanism has a scissor mechanism (the lifting device 33 includes two articulated cross journals; [0059]; Figs 6-8) for the purpose of lifting the support table in a vertical direction stably and smoothly.
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to incorporate wherein the adjustment mechanism has a scissor mechanism, as taught by Zanelli, into Mizutani as modified by Matsumoto for the purpose of lifting the support table in a vertical direction stably and smoothly.
Regarding claim 13, Mizutani as modified by Matsumoto does not teach wherein the drive is designed as a linear drive which is arranged on the receiving carriage in the longitudinal direction or the transverse direction.
Further regarding claim 13, Zanelli teaches a drive is designed as a linear drive which is arranged on the receiving carriage in the longitudinal direction or the transverse direction (biasing means such as a gas spring 46 or other elastic biasing means connected between bar 42 and a bar 47 which connects together the two lower angle irons 40, acts on the lifting device comprising the two articulated cross journals, to move the support table 32 for the printable substrate, vertically upwards in the totally raised position; [0063]; Figs 6-8) for the purpose of lifting the support table in a vertical direction stably and smoothly.
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to incorporate wherein the drive is designed as a linear drive which is arranged on the receiving carriage in the longitudinal direction or the transverse direction, as taught by Zanelli, into Mizutani as modified by Matsumoto for the purpose of lifting the support table in a vertical direction stably and smoothly.
Regarding claim 14, Mizutani as modified by Matsumoto does not teach wherein the drive is designed as a positioning cylinder or a spindle drive.
Further regarding claim 14, Zanelli teaches the drive is designed as a positioning cylinder or a spindle drive (the gas spring 46 has a cylinder containing gas; Figs 6-8) for the purpose of lifting the support table in a vertical direction stably and smoothly.
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to incorporate wherein the drive is designed as a positioning cylinder or a spindle drive, as taught by Zanelli, into Mizutani as modified by Matsumoto for the purpose of lifting the support table in a vertical direction stably and smoothly.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KENDRICK X LIU whose telephone number is (571)270-3798. The examiner can normally be reached MWFSa 10am-8pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Douglas X Rodriguez can be reached at (571) 431-0716. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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17 October 2025
/KENDRICK X LIU/Examiner, Art Unit 2853
/DOUGLAS X RODRIGUEZ/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2853