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 Objections
Claim 28 is objected to because of the following informalities: A reference number “!2” appears in line 6 of the claim which appears superfluous. Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claims 1-5, 7 and 8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Chow et al. (US PG Pub 2022/0143994).
For claim 1: Chow et al. teaches an apparatus for facilitating direct to garment (DTG) printing (see Fig. 5A) , comprising: a garment rack 101, 505 (see Fig. 1C, 5B) comprising a plurality of tiers 114, 104A, 114, 104B of parallel arms, each said tier adapted to receive, support, and shuttle a garment 114 between one or more stations 510A, 510B, 510C within a DTG printing workflow (see Fig. 5B, the elevator having multiple tiers of parallel arms may be utilized in combination with a robot 515 to transport the garment between different processing stages).
For claim 2: Chow et al. teaches the apparatus of claim 1, wherein said rack 505 is further adapted to transport (see paragraph 79, Fig. 5B, via its arms receiving the articles from the station, working in collaboration with the robot 515) said plurality of garments 570 to a robot 515 which manages processing of the garments in at least one of said stations within said DTG printing workflow (see paragraph 79, the rack 505 transports garments to the robot 515 which moves the garments to various stations 510A, 510B, 510C for processing, see Fig. 5B).
For claim 3: Chow et al. teaches the apparatus of claim 1, wherein said garments comprise t-shirts (see paragraph 46, garment such as a shirt).
For claim 4: Chow et al. teaches the apparatus of claim 2, wherein at least one of said stations within said DTG printing workflow comprises a printer 510B, and wherein said rack presents said plurality of garments 570 to said robot 515 for transfer of one of said garments at a time from the rack into said printer 510B for printing thereon (see paragraph 78, the elevator 505 moves the robot to various floors including a floor of a printer 510B, and the robot can move the garment into the printer and receive garments from the printer, see paragraph 78, transport device may grasp the robot having the article, see paragraph 73).
For claim 5: Chow et al. teaches the apparatus of claim 4, wherein the rack receives a printed garment from the robot after said robot removes the printed garment from the printer (see paragraph 78, in an embodiment where the robot is carried by the elevator, the elevator receives the robot and garment from the printer to move the garment to the next station).
For claim 7: Chow et al. teaches the apparatus of claim 1, wherein at least one of said stations within said DTG printing workflow comprises a dryer 510C and wherein said rack (see paragraph 82, Fig. 5B, the robot and elevator transports the articles from module to module, one of the modules is a dryer 510C) carries printed garments to, into, or through said dryer to effect drying of the printed garments 570 (see paragraph 82, which have been printed at stage 510B).
For claim 8: Chow et al. teaches the apparatus of claim 1, wherein said rack is self-propelled (see paragraph 27, each elevator is independently propelled).
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 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chow et al. (US PG Pub 2022/0143994) in view of Baker (US PG Pub 2022/0241983).
For claim 6: Chow et al. teaches all of the limitations of claim 6 except that wherein said robot comprises a robotic system that comprises a pair of parallel arms, each arm having a curved member similar in shape to an ibex horn. However, Baker teaches a robotic system that comprises a pair of parallel arms 302, 302, each arm having a curved member similar in shape to an ibex horn (see Fig. 3, paragraph 36, arms 302 which can be curved in any appropriate configuration). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the effective filing date of the invention to provide the robotic system with a pair of parallel arms as taught by Baker for the purpose of supporting the garment through an opening thereof.
Claims 9-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Baker (US PG Pub 2022/0241983) in view of Chow et al. (US PG Pub 2022/0143994).
For claim 9: Baker teaches an apparatus 122 for facilitating direct to garment (DTG) printing (see Fig. 4A, printing on garment 402), comprising: a robot having a pair of parallel folded arms 302, 302, each arm having a loop shape that terminates in an opening at a lower portion of the loop (see paragraph 36, the arms can be curved and contoured to support the substrate) mounted thereto and adapted to move the garment to a printer (see Fig. 5, step 508 loading product onto pallet for printing processing) wherein the arms 302, 302 are adapted for parallel outward horizontal movement from the robot above a print surface of the garment with the opening of the arms extending beyond an open portion of the garment 402 (see Fig. 4A, the opening of the arms extends beyond the end of the t-shirt garment), the arms hook the garment (see Fig. 4A), wherein the arms are then drawn inwardly (see paragraph 76, adjusting the rods 302 to align with the opening, giving the rods clearance to insert into the opening, which retracts the rods 302 to the robot to remove the garment from the rack 120, and support the garment without deforming a garment print surface during transfer between the printer and the garment rack (see Fig. 4A). Baker does not teach that that the arms are lowered to allow insertion of the arms within the garment from the open portion thereof to. Baker does teach repositioning of the arms to align with the opening of the material. Realignment can occur in any of the four cardinal directions orthogonal to the axis of the of the rods. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the effective filing date of the invention to try to move the rods lower to align with the opening of the garment. Baker does not teach that the garment is moved from a garment rack to the printer by the robot. However, Chow et al. teaches moving the garment from a garment rack 530 to the printer 534 by the robot 515 (see Fig. 5A). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the effective filing date of the invention to modify the invention of Baker by having the robot move the garment from the source station to the printer and from the printer as taught by Chow et al. for the purpose of automating processing of the printing process on the garment.
For claim 10: The combination of Baker and Chow et al. teaches the apparatus of claim 9, and Baker teaches that said pair of arms is adjustable horizontally to and from said robot in tandem to transfer said garment between the garment rack and the printer, respectively (see paragraph 37, the rods can be reposited by the positioning assembly to align with the pallet base).
For claim 11: The combination of Baker and Chow et al. teaches the apparatus of claim 9 and Chow et al. further teaches a garment rack 114, 114 comprising a plurality of vertically spaced tier pairs (see Fig. 1A), wherein each tier pair comprises two spaced, horizontal, parallel arms 104A, 105A (see Fig. 1A, pair 104A, 105B for one pair, and element 104B with an unlabeled element on the opposing side) that are adapted to engage with and support a garment.
For claim 12: The combination of Baker and Chow et al. teaches the apparatus of claim 11 and Chow et al. teaches that wherein said pair of arms 104A, 105A is adjustable elevationally up and down to remove and replace garments on each of said plurality of vertically spaced garment rack tiers (see Fig. 1A, vertical arrow indicating motion of element 104A, 105B).
For claim 13: The combination of Baker and Chow et al. teaches the apparatus of claim 11, and Chow et al. teaches that rack is self-propelled to facilitate movement of the rack from station to station within a DTG printing workflow (see Fig. 5B, wheeled robot, see Fig. 5A independently movable from station to station).
Claims 18 and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chow et al. (US PG Pub 2022/0143994) in view of Styles et al. (US PG Pub 2012/0037024) and Baker (US PG Pub 2022/0241983).
For claim 18: Chow et al. teaches a direct to garment (DTG) printing method, comprising: a self-propelled garment rack 505 moving a plurality of garments 570 to be printed to a robot 515. Chow et al. does not teach that said robot extending a pair of parallel spaced folded arms for engagement with a garment on said garment rack, each arm having a loop shape that terminates in an opening that enters an open portion of said garment to engage with and carry said garment. However, Styles et al. teaches providing a support for a garment printer with a shape being a loop shape that terminates in an opening that enters an open portion of a garment 110 to support the garment (see Fig. 1A, the support shape being a U shape having a top portion entering the substrate and a carried base portion. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the effective filing date of the invention to modify the invention of Chow et al. to provide the robot support of the substrate with arms having a loop shape that terminates in an opening the enters an open portion of the garment as taught by Styles et al. for the purpose of securely supporting t-shirt substrate. The combination of Chow et al. and Styles et al. does not teach that the supports are a pair of spaced arms. However, Baker teaches providing the support for a garment as a pair of spaced arms 302 (see Fig. 4A). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the effective filing date of the invention to provide the supporting structure for the garment as a pair of spaced arms as taught by Baker for the purpose of reducing the material and weight of the supporting structure.
For claim 19: The combination of Chow et al., Styles et al. and Baker teaches the direct to garment (DTG) printing method of claim 18, and Baker further teaches spreading said pair of parallel spaced folded arms apart horizontally to tension the garment to hold the garment securely to the parallel spaced folded arms during transfer of the garment from the garment rack (see paragraph 37).
Claim 26 and 27 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chow et al. (US PG Pub 2022/0143994).
For claims 26 and 27: Chow et al. teaches a method for facilitating direct to garment printing comprising providing a plurality of self-propelled garment racks 515 (see Fig. 5A, robots) each of the garment racks shuttling and transporting the garments thereon along a guide track and through a dryer 536. Chow et al. does not teach that the traveling garment racks each comprise a plurality of tiers of parallel arms each adapted to receive and support a garment. However, Chow et al. teaches a garment elevator having a plurality of tiers of parallel arms 104A, 104B each adapted to receive and support a garment (see Fig. 1C). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the effective filing date of the invention to provide the garment elevator structure with parallel arms with the robot for the purpose of allowing the substrate to reach multiple levels of processing devices. The method above dries the garments for a time sufficient for dryer in routine operation and removes the garments (see paragraph 74).
Claim 28 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chow et al. (US PG Pub 2022/0143994) in view of Manini (US Patent 6,648,190).
For claim 28: Chow et al. teaches a method for facilitating direct to garment printing comprising providing a plurality of self-propelled garment racks 515 (see Fig. 5A, robots) each of the garment racks shuttling and transporting the garments thereon along a guide track and through a dryer 536. Chow et al. does not teach that the traveling garment racks each comprise a plurality of tiers of parallel arms each adapted to receive and support a garment nor does it teach that the dryer comprises an internal carousel wherein the dryer comprises a plurality of inlet ports through which the garment racks carry a load of garments into the dryer and once inside the dryer, the garment racks are moved through the dryer by the carousel and exit the dryer at one or more exit ports. However, Chow et al. teaches a garment elevator having a plurality of tiers of parallel arms 104A, 104B each adapted to receive and support a garment (see Fig. 1C). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the effective filing date of the invention to provide the garment elevator structure with parallel arms with the robot for the purpose of allowing the substrate to reach multiple levels of processing devices. The method above dries the garments for a time sufficient for dryer in routine operation and removes the garments (see paragraph 74).
Chow et al. does not teach that the dryer comprises an internal carousel wherein the dryer comprises a plurality of inlet ports through which the garment racks carry a load of garments into the dryer and once inside the dryer, the garment racks are moved through the dryer by the carousel and exit the dryer 7 at one or more exit ports. However, Manini teaches a dryer which comprises an internal carousel which dries the garments and exits the dried garments at an exit portion 11 (see Fig. 1). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the effective filing date of the invention to provide a dryer as a carousel for the purpose of applying heat from each of the devices in the common dryer to a plurality of elements supplied to the dryer. The combination of Chow et al. and Manini does not teach that the dryer comprises a plurality of inlet ports. However, this distinction from the prior art can be overcome by a duplication of the known parts. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the effective filing date of the invention to duplicate the inlet section of the dryer for the purpose of permitting multiple garments to be loaded into the dryer by respective robots at the same time.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 14-17 are allowed.
Claims 20-25 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: None of the prior art of record or any obvious combination thereof teaches a garment printing method which further comprises pivoting said robot toward a processing location in the DTG printing workflow position to position the garment at said processing location as required by claim 20.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance: None of the prior art of record or any obvious combination thereof teaches a method comprising providing a robot having a pair of parallel folded arms, each arm having a loop shape that terminates in an opening at a lower bout of the loop, the robot performing the steps of: extending the parallel arms over the garment rack past an opening to an interior of the garment, lowering the arms to position the opening thereof between a garment opening defined by an upper and a lower portion of the garment, and engaging the opening of the arm with an open end of garment by passing the parallel arms over the garment and entering an interior of the garment at the open end thereof; and withdrawing the parallel arms from the garment rack while supporting the garment to transfer the garment to one or more other processing locations in a DTG printing workflow as required in claim 14.
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DAVID H BANH whose telephone number is (571)270-3851. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 12-8PM.
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/DAVID H BANH/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2853
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