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 .
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1-12 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
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) 1-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sato (WO 2021131496) in view of Lester (US 5,966,150) and further in view of Kawai (US 2022/0002570).
With regard to claim 1, Sato discloses an ink jet recording method comprising:
preparing a white ink containing water and a white pigment [Para. 0009, See Also Para. 0068, 0071];
preparing a colored ink containing water and a color pigment [Para. 0009, 0023];
applying the colored ink onto an impermeable base material [resin substrate; Para. 0009, 0077] using an ink jet method to obtain a colored image [Para. 0009]; and
applying the white ink onto the colored image using an ink jet method [Para. 0009] to obtain a white image [Para. 0009].
Sato does not explicitly disclose applying the white ink onto the colored image to obtain a white image having a surface roughness Ra of 0.10 um to 0.40 um and wherein a content of the white pigment in the white ink is from 14% by mass to 25% by mass with respect to a total amount of the white ink.
However, Lester teaches a polyethylene layer comprising white pigment (preferably TiO.sub.2) with an upper surface roughness of between 0.2 and 2.0 micrometers [Col. 9; lines 61-Col. 10; line 1].
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to obtain a white image having a surface roughness Ra of 0.10 um to 0.40 um to help minimize glare.
In addition, Kawai teaches a content of a white pigment in a white ink is from 5% by mass to 20% by mass with respect to a total amount of the white ink [Claim 7].
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to apply a white ink with a content of white pigment from 14%-25% to improve the covering property of the image and the adhesiveness of the image.
With regard to claim 2, Sato’s modified ink jet recording method discloses all the limitations of claim 1 and Lester also discloses wherein the white image has a surface roughness Ra of 0.15 um to 0.30 um. [Col. 9; lines 61-Col. 10; line 1]
With regard to claim 3, Sato’s modified method discloses all the limitations of claim 1 and Sato also discloses wherein an amount of the white pigment in the white image is 0.7 g/m² or greater [Para. 0009].
With regard to claim 4, Sato’s modified method discloses all the limitations of claim 1 and Sato also discloses wherein the white ink further contains resin particles [white ink is same as first except it contains a white colorant; Para. 0070, See also Para. 0036].
With regard to claim 5, Sato’s modified method discloses all the limitations of claim 1 and Sato also disclose wherein the applying the white ink to obtain the white image includes: applying the white ink onto the colored image using an ink jet method [Para. 0009]; and heating and drying the white ink applied onto the colored image under a condition that a time from completion of the application to start of the heating and drying is 10 seconds or shorter, to obtain the white image [Para. 0106].
With regard to claim 6, Sato's ink jet recording method discloses all the limitations of claim 5 and Sato also discloses wherein the heating and drying are performed within 70 seconds from the start of the heating and drying [Para. 0104] but does not disclose heating and drying are performed under a condition that a residual solvent amount in the white ink applied onto the colored image is 0.10 g/m² or less.
However, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to perform heating and drying within 70 seconds from the start of the heating and drying under a condition that a residual solvent amount of the white ink applied onto the colored image is 0.10 g/m² or less since heating accelerates the evaporation rate of solvents in the ink and thus, the less solvent available, the less time needed to heat and dry.
With regard to claim 7, Sato's ink jet recording method discloses all the limitations of claim 1 and Sato also discloses wherein the applying the colored ink to obtain the colored image includes:
applying the colored ink onto the impermeable base material using an ink jet method [Para. 0009] but does not disclose heating and drying the colored ink applied onto the impermeable base material under a condition that a residual solvent amount is 0.10 g/m² or less, to obtain the colored image.
However, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to heat and dry the colored ink applied onto the impermeable base
material under a condition that a residual solvent amount is 0.10 g/m² or less, to obtain the colored image since heating and drying accelerates the evaporation rate of solvents in the ink.
With regard to claim 8, Sato’s modified ink jet recording method discloses all the limitations of claim 1, and Sato also discloses further comprising: preparing a pretreatment liquid containing water and an aggregating agent [pretreatment liquid contain a resin and aqueous medium; Para. 0021; See also Para. 0216]; and
applying the pretreatment liquid onto the impermeable base material, before the obtaining the colored image [Para. 0021], wherein the obtaining the colored image includes obtaining the colored image by applying the colored ink onto a region of the impermeable base material, to which the pretreatment liquid has been applied [Para. 0021].
With regard to claim 9, Sato's ink jet recording method discloses all the limitations of claim 8 and Sato also discloses wherein the applying the pretreatment liquid includes: applying the pretreatment liquid onto the impermeable base material [Para. 0021] but does not disclose heating and drying the pretreatment liquid applied onto the impermeable base material under a condition that a residual moisture content is 0.03 g/m² or less.
However, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to heat and dry the pretreatment liquid applied onto the impermeable base material under a condition that a residual moisture content is 0.03 g/m² or less since heating accelerates the evaporation rate of solvents in the ink and thus the less solvent available, the less time needed to heat and dry.
With regard to claim 10, Sato discloses a method of producing a laminate, comprising:
obtaining an image recorded material in which the colored image and the white image are disposed in this order on the impermeable base material using the ink jet recording method according to claim 1 [Para. 0009]; and
laminating a base material for lamination on the white image of the image recorded material, to obtain a laminate [Para. 0190].
With regard to claim 11, Sato discloses an ink jet recording device [Para. 0003] configured to be used in the ink jet recording method according to claim 8 [Para. 0009],
the device comprising a transport mechanism configured to transport the impermeable base material [Para. 0164], and
the device further comprising: a wire bar coater configured to apply the pretreatment liquid; a first ink jet head configured to apply the colored ink; and a second ink jet head configured to apply the white ink, in this order from an upstream side in a transport direction of the impermeable base material [Para. 0164-0165].
With regard to claim 12, Sato’s modified ink jet recording method discloses all the limitations of claim 1 and Sato also discloses wherein an average particle diameter of the white pigment in the white ink is from 250 nm to 550 nm [preferably 250 nm to 300 nm; Para. 0072].
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
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/RICARDO I MAGALLANES/Supervisor Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2853
/TRACEY M MCMILLION/Examiner, Art Unit 2853