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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 3/25/2024 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Election/Restrictions
Claims 4-14, 17, and 19 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to one of nonelected Species A-F, H, or I, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 2/17/2026.
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, 3, 15-16, 18, and 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Amit et al. (US 2012/0120143 A1) in view of Vilar et al. (US 2007/0291291 A1)
Regarding claims 1, 18, and 20:
Amit et al. disclose a printing device for recording a color image on a printing medium, comprising:
a conveyance mechanism (16) configured to convey the printing medium in a first direction (along axis 76: Fig. 8);
a printhead (36) configured to record the color image on the printing medium (Fig. 8);
a reader (40) configured to perform color measurements on a color chart by reading the color chart at a reading spot (“reading position”) of a predetermined size (paragraph 20 & Fig. 7), the color chart being recorded on the printing medium by the printhead (paragraph 20) and including a plurality of color patches (“color calibration patches”: paragraph 20);
a control portion (controller 26) configured to control the conveyance mechanism, the printhead, and the reader (paragraphs 20-21 & Fig. 8),
wherein the control portion executes:
an image printing process for controlling the conveyance mechanism and the printhead to record the color chart on the printing medium along with the color image serving as a printing target (paragraphs 11-12, 20);
a position detection chart printing process for controlling the conveyance mechanism and the printhead to record a position detection chart (pattern 108) on the printing medium to detect a position of the reading spot where the color chart is read (paragraph 20), the position detection chart being recorded at a position (Fig. 8);
a position detection chart reading process for controlling the conveyance mechanism and the reader such that the reader reads the position detection chart recorded on the printing medium (paragraphs 27, 31); and
a position detection process for detecting, as a current measurement position, a position of the reading spot in the second direction (along axis 80) relative to the position detection chart recorded on the printing medium, based on read data obtained by the reader in the position detection chart reading process (paragraphs 27, 32), and
the position detection chart includes:
a detection pattern (the other lines: paragraph 47 & Fig. 2A) including either a plurality of patches (targets 88) arranged in a first direction while sequentially deviating from one another in the second direction (Figs. 7-8) or a linear pattern with a predetermined width extending obliquely relative to the first direction (the targets 88 may be considered to form such a linear pattern: Figs. 7-8).
Amit et al. do not expressly disclose that the color patches are arranged in the first direction, such that the position detection chart is recorded at a position corresponding to a position of the color chart, or that the position detection chart includes a reference pattern and linear detection pattern.
However, Vilar et al. disclose a printing device that is able to improve position accuracy of a reader (15), leading to reduced patch size and savings in used ink (paragraph 50), the reader being configured to perform color measurements on a color chart by reading the color chart (patches 17), the printing device recording a position detection chart (patterns 174) at a position corresponding to a position of the color chart of the printing medium (Fig. 1), wherein the position detection chart comprises:
a reference pattern (one of the “parallel” lines of pattern 174) with a larger dimension in a second direction than a dimension of the reading spot in the second direction (Figs. 1-2); and
a detection pattern (one of the “oblique” lines of pattern 174) including within a range defined by the reference pattern in the second direction, a linear pattern within a predetermined width extending obliquely relative to a first direction (Fig. 2).
Therefore, before the effective filing date of invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to record Amit et al.’s charts in the manner taught by Vilar et al.
Regarding claim 3:
Amit et al.’s modified device comprises all the limitations of claim 1, and Vilar et al. also disclose that the control portion determines the current measurement position based on a position in the second direction within the detection pattern after identifying:
data for the detection pattern equal to data for the reference pattern within a predetermined error range among the read data obtained by the sensor in the position detection chart reading process (the sensor outputs shown in Figs. 2B-C);
a position in the first direction within the detection pattern where the reader outputted the identified data (paragraph 48 & Fig. 2); and
the position in the second direction within the detection pattern corresponding to the identified position in the first direction (paragraph 48 & Fig. 2).
Regarding claim 15:
Amit et al.’s modified device comprises all the limitations of claim 1, and Vilar et al. also disclose that the detection pattern consists of the linear pattern with the predetermined width (Fig. 2A),
wherein the reference pattern and the linear pattern have the same color (Fig. 2A),
wherein the reader is a colorimeter (paragraph 67);
wherein, in the position detection chart reading process, the control portion controls the conveyance mechanism and the colorimeter such that the colorimeter obtains colorimetric values including a reference measurement value for the reference pattern and detection pattern measurement values for a plurality of positions situated at predetermined intervals in the first direction within a range defined by the linear pattern in the first direction (calorimetric values are naturally obtained in using the calorimeter: paragraphs 48, 67 & Fig. 2), and
wherein, in the position detection process, the control portion detects, as the current measurement position, the position of the reading spot in the second direction relative to the position detection chart recorded on the printing medium, based on the reference measurement value and the detection pattern measurement values (paragraph 48 & Fig. 2).
Regarding claim 16:
Amit et al.’s modified device comprises all the limitations of claim 1, and Amit et al. also disclose a moving mechanism (110) configured to move the reader in the second direction (Fig. 8),
wherein the control portion determines a deviation amount from an appropriate position of the reading spot in the second direction where the color chart is read, based on the current measurement position (103) detected in the position detection process, and controls the moving mechanism based on the deviation amount to place the reading spot at the appropriate position (105) in the second direction (paragraph 43 & Fig. 7).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 2 is objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Claim 2 appears to contain allowable subject matter because the prior art of record does not disclose or make obvious a printing device in which, “in the second direction, the width of the linear pattern is greater than or equal to the dimension of the reading spot but less than the dimension of the reference pattern.” It is this limitation, in combination with other features and limitations of claim 2, that indicates allowable subject matter over the prior art of record.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
Each of Yoneyama (US 2013/0147872 A1) and Barkai et al. (US 2012/0314232 A1) disclose relative printing devices having a reader for reading color calibration patches, and which aim to center the reader for such reading.
Each of US 6911993 B2, US 2014/0168678 A1, and US 2002/0181986 A1 disclose relative alignment patterns.
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.
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SHELBY L. FIDLER
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2853
/SHELBY L FIDLER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2853
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