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
Claims 3 and 6-20 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b), as being drawn to a nonelected species, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Applicant timely traversed the restriction (election) requirement in the reply filed on 2/20/2026. Please see page 4 of the Supplemental Restriction Requirement dated 1/9/2026 concerning the reasoning for independence/distinctness and/or search burden between Species A and B.
Examiner recognizes that Applicant’s election of Species A encompasses claims 1-5. However, please note that claim 3 is also directed towards non-elected Species B at least because Applicant’s disclosed inks only possess the feature of claim 3 (5.0 wt% or less of solvent B) in combination with the non-elected high viscosity binder polymer dispersion liquid. See Applicant’s Exemplary Inks.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on 12/27/2024, 8/12/2024, and 3/1/2024 are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statements are being considered by the examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1-2 and 4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1/2) as being anticipated by Wilson et al. (US 2020/0048488 A1).
Regarding claim 1:
Wilson et al. disclose an aqueous ink comprising:
water (paragraph 22);
a solvent group A having a vapor pressure of 1.0 Pa or more at 25°C (paragraph 16)
a thickener (at least glycerol: paragraph 18); and
a binder polymer (paragraph 19),
wherein the solvent group A is present in the aqueous ink in a weight percent of 25 wt% to 30 wt% with respect to a total amount of the aqueous ink (paragraph 16),
wherein the thickener is present in the aqueous ink in a weight percent of 13.1 wt% to 27.3 wt% with respect to a total amount of the aqueous ink (paragraph 18), and
wherein the aqueous ink has a viscosity of 10 mPas to 14 mPas at 25°C (paragraph 155).
Regarding claim 2:
Wilson et al. disclose all the limitations of claim 1, and also that the thickener includes a solvent group B having a vapor pressure of less than 1.0 Pa at 25°C (paragraph 18), and the solvent group B is present in the aqueous ink in a weight percent of 25.0 wt% or less with respect to the total amount of the aqueous ink (paragraph 18).
Regarding claim 4:
Wilson et al. disclose all the limitations of claim 1, and also that the binder polymer is present in the aqueous ink in a weight percent of 5.0 wt% or less with respect to the total amount of the aqueous ink (paragraph 19).
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) 1-2 and 4-5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shimoni et al. (US 2020/0140708 A1) in view of Akatani et al. (US 2008/0070009 A1).
Regarding claim 1:
Shimoni et al. disclose an aqueous ink comprising:
water (paragraph 223);
a solvent group A having a vapor pressure of 1.0 Pa or more at 25°C (propylene glycol: paragraph 223)
a thickener (glycerol: paragraph 223); and
a binder polymer (PVP: paragraph 223),
wherein the solvent group A is present in the aqueous ink in a weight percent of 25 wt% to 30 wt% with respect to a total amount of the aqueous ink (paragraph 223),
wherein the thickener is present in the aqueous ink in a weight percent of 13.1 wt% to 27.3 wt% with respect to a total amount of the aqueous ink (paragraph 223), and
wherein the aqueous ink has a viscosity that is set to a particular range (paragraph 124-125).
Shimoni et al. do not expressly disclose an ink viscosity of 10 mPas to 14 mPas at 25°C.
However, Akatani et al. teach that the viscosity of an aqueous ink should generally be 2 mPas to 10 mPas at 25°C, from the viewpoint of jetting responsibility at high speed (paragraph 39).
Therefore, before the effective filing date of invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to modify Shimoni et al.’s ink such that the ink viscosity is e.g. 10 mPas, as suggested by Akatani et al.
Regarding claim 2:
Shimoni et al.’s modified ink comprises all the limitations of claim 1, and Shimoni et al. also disclose that the thickener includes a solvent group B having a vapor pressure of less than 1.0 Pa at 25°C (inherent to glycerol: paragraph 223), and the solvent group B is present in the aqueous ink in a weight percent of 25.0 wt% or less with respect to the total amount of the aqueous ink (paragraph 223).
Regarding claims 4-5:
Shimoni et al.’s modified ink comprises all the limitations of claim 1, and Shimoni et al. also disclose that the binder polymer is present in the aqueous ink in a weight percent of 3 wt% or less with respect to the total amount of the aqueous ink (paragraph 223).
Communication with the USPTO
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Shelby L Fidler whose telephone number is (571)272-8455. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday, 8:30am - 5pm EST.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Douglas 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.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
SHELBY L. FIDLER
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2853
/SHELBY L FIDLER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2853
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