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
Applicant's election with traverse of Invention I, IA, and I1, in the reply filed on 2/25/26 is acknowledged. The traversal is on the ground(s) that Gauss, as modified by Ingram, does not teach that head 10 is movable about “a tilting axis extending orthogonal to the second printer head direction.” While Gauss does not appear to disclose tiltability of head 10, Ingram teaches this capability. Ingram’s para 24 and 67 discloses changing the orientation of head 58 about the tool center point (TCP) 67. When adopting the tiltability, taught in Ingram, to the head 10 in Gauss, the combined structure would read on claim 1’s “a printer head drive arrangement configured to drive the printer head…about a tilting axis extending orthogonal to the second printer head direction.” Adopting Ingram’s head tiltability would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill for the purpose of improving the consistency of the angle at which the printhead applies ink to the surface of the workpiece, in order to improve image quality.
The requirement is still deemed proper and is therefore made FINAL.
Claims 3-10, 12, 14-25, 27-32, and 35-36 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b), as being drawn to a nonelected Invention and sub-invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Applicant timely traversed the restriction (election) requirement in the reply filed on 2/25/26.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
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) 1-2, 11, 13, 26, and 33 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Bauer (US 2004/0028830 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Bauer discloses A system for printing a pattern on a three-dimensional surface of a work piece, the system comprising:
a printer head (28, fig. 2b, para 33) configured to apply the pattern on the three-dimensional surface of the work piece (see Abstract);
a printer head drive arrangement (see fig. 2a,b, para 32-33) configured to drive the printer head back and forth along a first printer head direction (left/right, fig. 2a, para 32-33), back and forth along a second printer head direction that is orthogonal to the first printer head direction (up/down, fig. 2b, para 33), and about a tilting axis extending orthogonal to the second printer head direction (fig. 4, para 46-48);
a work piece unit (12, fig. 2a,b, para 31-32) adapted to hold one or more work pieces (see fig. 2a,b, para 31-32);
a work piece drive arrangement (10,12,14, fig. 2b, para 31) configured to drive the work piece unit back and forth along a work piece unit direction that is orthogonal to the first printer head direction and the second printer head direction (forward/backward, fig. 2a,b, para 31);
a control system operatively connected to the printer head, the printer head drive arrangement, and the work piece drive arrangement (inherent in para 31-33 and 46-48);
wherein the control system includes a control input interface configured to receive data associated with a topography of the three-dimensional surface of the work piece (See Bauer’s fig. 2a,b, para 33-35. An interface must exist between sensors 30, 32, and 34 and global control system for the device to operate as intended.);
wherein the data is provided as programmed code and/or numerical topography data defining a geometry of the work piece and the topography of the three-dimensional surface of the work piece (Inherent in Bauer’s fig. 2a,b, para 33-35. Otherwise, the device would not operate as intended.);
wherein the control system is configured to control the printer head, the printer head drive arrangement, and the work piece drive arrangement based on the data to cause relative movement between the printer head and the work piece along the three-dimensional surface and print the pattern on the three-dimensional surface (Inherent in Bauer. Otherwise the device would not function as intended.).
Regarding claim 2, Bauer further discloses The system according to claim 1, wherein the work piece is a wood substrate made of natural wood or formed by non-solid wood or formed by a combination of non-solid wood and natural wood (see para 28).
Regarding claim 11, Bauer further discloses The system according to claim 1, wherein the first printer head direction, the second printer head direction, and the work piece unit direction respectively correspond to a transversal direction, a depth direction, and a length direction of the three- dimensional surface of the work piece (see fig. 2a,b, para 32-33).
Regarding claim 13, Bauer further discloses The system according to claim 1, wherein the control system is during printing configured to allow the printing head to follow the topography of the three-dimensional surface, and simultaneously control the position of the printer head along the second printer head direction as well as about the tilting axis by means of control of the printer head drive arrangement and control the position of the work piece along the work piece unit direction by means of control of the work piece drive arrangement (see fig. 2a,b, para 31-33 and fig. 4, para 46-48).
Regarding claim 26, Bauer further discloses A method for printing a pattern on a three-dimensional surface of a work piece utilizing the system according to claim 1, the method comprising:
providing the work piece on the work piece unit (inherent in fig. 2a,2b);
obtaining data associated with the topography of the three-dimensional surface of the work piece via the control input interface (fig. 2a,b, para 33-35), wherein the data is provided as programmed code and/or numerical topography data defining the geometry of the work piece and the topography of the three-dimensional surface of the work piece (inherent);
aligning the printer head and the three-dimensional surface of the work piece (fig. 4, para 46-48);
printing the surface by controlling the printer head, the printer head drive arrangement, and the work piece drive arrangement to cause relative movement between the printer head and the work piece along the three-dimensional surface and printing the pattern on the three- dimensional surface (fig. 4, para 46-48).
Regarding claim 33, please note the rejection as set forth above with respect to claim 2. Claim 33 is rejected for similar reasons as claim 2; detailed discussion is omitted for brevity.
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim(s) 34 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bauer (US 2004/0028830 A1) in view of Garcia Merono et al. (EP 2857214 A1).
Regarding claim 34, Bauer discloses all the limitations introduced in parent claims 1, 26, and 33.
Bauer does not appear to disclose The method according to claim 33, further comprising, after printing the pattern, applying a sealer to the three-dimensional surface, sanding the three- dimensional surface, and applying a coating to the three-dimensional surface.
However, Bauer, as modified by Garcia Merono, discloses The method according to claim 33, further comprising, after printing the pattern, applying a sealer to the three-dimensional surface, sanding the three- dimensional surface, and applying a coating to the three-dimensional surface (see Garcia Merono’s claim 1 and Abstract).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Bauer with the teachings of Garcia Merono, for the purpose of ensuring durability of the printed image.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JUSTIN SEO whose telephone number is (571)270-1327. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9am-5pm.
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/JUSTIN SEO/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2853
April 11, 2026
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