DETAILED ACTION
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
Claim(s) 1-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kondo (2021/0291515).
Regarding claims 1 and 5, Kondo teaches a printing device and method for printing on a medium, the printing device comprising:
a print head (fig. 2, item 22) configured to form a plurality of dots on the medium by ejecting a first liquid (fig. 2, yellow ink) and a second liquid (fig. 2, black ink), the print head including a first nozzle array (fig. 2, 26Y) in which a plurality of nozzles for ejecting the first liquid to the medium are arranged along a first direction (fig. 2, D3) and a second nozzle array (fig. 2, 26K) in which a plurality of nozzles for ejecting the second liquid, which is different in color from the first liquid, to the medium are arranged along the first direction (see fig. 2)and
a control section (fig. 1, item 10) configured to execute printing by repeating main scanning in which the first liquid and the second liquid are ejected from the print head while a relative position of the print head with respect to the medium is changed in a second direction (fig. 4, direction D1) that intersects the first direction and sub-scanning in which the relative position of the print head with respect to the medium is changed by f dots along the first direction (see fig. 4), f being a natural number,
wherein the plurality of nozzles included in the first nozzle array are dividable into a first nozzle group including m nozzles located on one end side in the first direction, m being a natural number satisfying f > m > 1, a second nozzle group including m nozzles located on another end side in the first direction, and a third nozzle group including a plurality of nozzles located in between the first nozzle group and the second nozzle group (see fig. 4, note that the sub-scanning movement is 72 nozzles, and thus f = 72, and note that m is being taken to be 5, meaning the first and second nozzle groups contain 5 nozzles at the extremes of the first nozzle array, and the third nozzle group contains the 70 nozzles in between the first and second nozzle groups),
the plurality of nozzles included in the second nozzle array are dividable into a fourth nozzle group including n nozzles located on the one end side in the first direction, wherein n is a natural number satisfying m > n > 1, a fifth nozzle group including n nozzles located on the other end side in the first direction, and a sixth nozzle group including a plurality of nozzles located in between the fourth nozzle group and the fifth nozzle group (see fig. 4, note that the sub-scanning movement is 72 nozzles, and thus f = 72, and note that n is being taken to be 4, meaning the fourth and fifth nozzle groups contain 4 nozzles at the extremes of the second nozzle array, and the sixth nozzle group contains the 72 nozzles in between the fourth and fifth nozzle groups), and
the control section is configured to switch, according to whether f consecutive raster lines are to be formed by the first liquid or the second liquid, a printing mode between
a first mode in which the control section is configured to form
by forming m raster lines by the nozzles included in the first nozzle group, by the nozzles included in the second nozzle group, and by the nozzles included in the third nozzle group, and form other f-m raster lines by two or more nozzles included in the third nozzle group and when f consecutive raster lines are to be formed by the second liquid (see fig. 4, note that m = 5 raster lines as well as f - m = 65 raster lines are formed by other nozzles in the third nozzle group, and note that all nozzles in all groups are being presumed to form raster lines),
a second mode in which the control section is configured to form the f consecutive raster lines by the second liquid
by forming n raster lines by the nozzles included in the fourth nozzle group, by the nozzles included in the fifth nozzle group, and by the nozzles included in the sixth nozzle group, and form other f-n raster lines by two or more nozzles included in the sixth nozzle group (see fig. 4, note that n = 4 raster lines as well as f - n = 68 raster lines are formed by other nozzles in the sixth nozzle group, and note that all nozzles in all groups are being presumed to form raster lines).
(see fig. 2, Note that the yellow printhead and black printhead are positioned at different positions in the second direction and are switched on and off when they start and finish scanning movements. Thus, there is a certain period of time one both ends of the scan path when only the yellow head is printing and only the black head is printing. Further, note that “mode” has not been defined within the claim with very much specificity, and thus Examiner wonders how simply printing with either yellow or black at any given time cannot be considered a mode. Note that another interpretation could be that black and white printing, where only the black head is used could constitute the second mode, and a color printing mode, in which the yellow head is used with or without the black printhead could be the first mode).
Regarding claim 2, Kondo teaches the printing device according to claim 1, wherein the first liquid is a chromatic liquid and the second liquid is an achromatic liquid (Note that yellow and black inks meet the limitation).
Regarding claim 3, Kondo teaches the printing device according to claim 2, wherein the second liquid has a viscosity higher than that of the first liquid (Note that black ink is more viscous than colored ink).
Regarding claim 4, Kondo teaches the printing device according to claim 1, wherein the second liquid is a color having a lower brightness in the Lab color space than does the first liquid (Note that black ink has a lower brightness in the LAB color space than yellow).
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 12/11/2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. The claims have been amended to further specify the operation of the device, but the amendment fails to distinguish the claimed invention from the prior art. The rejections above have been updated to reflect the changes to the claims. The standing prior art rejection is maintained.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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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/ALEJANDRO VALENCIA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2853