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.
Claims 1-5 & 7-9 are 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.
In the present instance, claim 1 recites the recitation a content of all solid component is 0.01% by mass or less, and the claim 5, which is depends on claim 1, recites content of the colorant is 0.1 percent by mass or less, which is the broader statement of the range/limitation. The claim(s) are considered indefinite.
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.
Claim(s) 1-5 & 7-9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kagawa et al. (# US 2021/0268819) in view of Zimmer et al. (# US 2004/0123772).
Kagawa et al. discloses:
1. An ink jet printing penetrant (pretreatment liquid; see Abstract) comprising:
a lactam compound having a hydroxy group (one hydroxy group such as methanol, ethanol, propanol, isopropanol, butanol, isobutanol, secondary butanol, and tertiary butanol; amides such as N,N-dimethylformamide and N,N-dimethyl acetamide; lactams such as 2-pyrrolidone, N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone, and N-methylpyrrolidin-2-one; cyclic ureas such as 1,3-dimethylimidazolidin-2-one and 1,3-dimethylhexahydropylimid-2-one; ketones or ketoalcohols, such as acetone, 2-methyl-2-hydroxypentan-4-one, and ethylene carbonate ([0080]);
a glycol ([0044]-[0048]) having a vapor pressure of 1.0 to 20.0 Pa at 20° C. and,
water ([0027]; [0042]),
wherein a content of all solid component is 0.01% by mass or less (guar gum; 0.01 to 5%; [0025]),
a content of the lactam compound with respect to a total mass of the ink jet printing penetrant is 15 to 25 percent by mass (1 to 30%; [0049]), and a
content of the glycol with respect to a total mass of the lactam compound is 0.8 to 3.0 on a mass ratio basis (1 to 10%; [0044]-[0047]).
Given that the Kagawa et al. reference discloses a range of lactam, solid component; and glycol that overlap with the presently claimed range, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to utilize any of the taught ranges, including those presently claimed, to obtain a suitable composition. It is also noted that according to MPEP 2131.03 and MPEP 2144.05, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to select the portion of the prior art's range which is within the range of applicant's claims because it has been held to be obvious to select a value in a known range by optimization for the best results. As to optimization results, a patent will not be granted based upon the optimization of result effective variables when the optimization is obtained through routine experimentation unless there is a showing of unexpected results which properly rebuts the prima facie case of obviousness. See In re Boesch, 617 F.2d 272, 276,205 USPQ 215, 219 (CCPA 1980). See also In re Woodruff, 919 F.2d 1575, 1578, 16 USPQ2d 1934, 1936-37 (Fed. Cir. 1990). In addition, a prima facie case of obviousness exists because the claimed ranges "overlap or lie inside ranges disclose by the prior art", see In re Wertheim, 541 F.2d 257, 191 USPQ 90 (CCPA 1976; In re Woodruff, 919 F.2d 1575, 16USPQ2d 1934 (Fed. Cir. 1990).
2. The ink jet printing penetrant according to claim 1, wherein a content of the glycol with respect to the total mass of the ink jet printing penetrant is 20 to 50 percent by mass ([0041]-[0047]).
4. The ink jet printing penetrant according to claim 1, wherein the glycol includes propylene glycol ([0045]-[0046]).
5. The ink jet printing penetrant according to claim 1, further comprising a colorant, wherein a content of the colorant is 0.1 percent by mass or less (No colorant; 0.0%; see Table: 1).
7. An ink jet recording method ([0102]) comprising:
an ink adhesion step of adhering an aqueous dye ink containing a reactive dye, an acidic dye, or a disperse dye ([0066]) to a cloth by an ink jet method ([0110]); and
a penetrant adhesion step of adhering the ink jet printing penetrant according to claim 1 to the cloth by an ink jet method (cloth; [0110]).
8. The ink jet recording method according to claim 7, wherein the ink adhesion step comprises: a reactive/acidic ink adhesion step of adhering a first aqueous dye ink containing a reactive dye or an acidic dye to the cloth by an ink jet method; and a disperse ink adhesion step of adhering a second aqueous dye ink containing a disperse dye to the cloth by an ink jet method ([0102]-[0128]).
9. The ink jet recording method according to claim 7, wherein the cloth includes a blended cloth ([0110]).
Kagawa et al. explicitly did not discloses:
1. A glycol having a vapor pressure of 1.0 to 20.0 Pa at 20° C.,
3. The ink jet printing penetrant according to claim 1, wherein the lactam compound includes at least one selected from the group consisting of 1-(2-hydroxyethyl)-2-pyrrolidone ([0074]), 1-(2-hydroxyethyl)-3-methyl-2-pyrrolidone, 4-hydroxy-2-pyrrolidone, and 6-hydroxymethyl-2-piperidone.
However, Kagawa et al. discloses exactly same glycol (propylene glycol) as applicant discloses in their own specification and claim . The vapor pressure is property of the material, which constant to the material. Therefore, the propylene glycol discloses by the Zimmer et al. obviously have vapor pressure of 1.0 to 20.0 Pa at 20° C.
Zimmer et al. teaches to have the bleed free printed image,
3. The ink jet printing penetrant according to claim 1, wherein the lactam compound includes at least one selected from the group consisting of 1-(2-hydroxyethyl)-2-pyrrolidone ([0074]), 1-(2-hydroxyethyl)-3-methyl-2-pyrrolidone, 4-hydroxy-2-pyrrolidone, and 6-hydroxymethyl-2-piperidone.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the invention to modify the lactam compound of Kagawa et al. by the aforementioned teaching of Zimmer et al. in order to have the bleed free printed image.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MANISH S SHAH whose telephone number is (571)272-2152. The examiner can normally be reached 8:00am-4:00pm.
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MANISH S. SHAH
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2853
/Manish S Shah/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2853
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