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 Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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 & 7-10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Gotou et al. (US 2020/0023648).
Gotou et al. disclose the following claimed limitations:
* Re clms 1 & 10, a printing apparatus & a printing method (Abst/, figs 1-3);
* a conveyor/conveyor belt 6/ conveying a printing medium/substrate 1/ in a conveying direction (para 0256, figs 1-2);
* a first discharge unit/14/ including a plurality of first nozzles arrayed/136-1/ at a predetermined array pitch in an array direction intersecting the conveying direction (para 0257, figs 2- 3) the first discharge unit/14/ forming an ink dot on the printing medium/substrate 1/ by an ink discharged from the first nozzle/136-1/ (paras 0256-0257, figs 2-3);
* a second discharge unit/W2/ (W2 in fig 2) including a plurality of second nozzles arrayed at the array pitch in the array direction (para 0257, fig .3), the second discharge unit/W2/ forming an ink dot on the printing medium/substrate 1/ by an ink discharged from the second nozzle (paras 0257-0258, fig 2);
* a third discharge unit/W3/ (W3 in fig 2) including a plurality of third nozzles arrayed at the array pitch in the array direction (para 0257, fig 3), the third discharge unit forming an ink dot on the printing medium/substrate 1/ by an ink discharged from the third nozzle (figs 2-3); and
* a control unit controlling (paras 0025 0033 0039, 0046, 0233-0234) the first discharge unit/14/, the second discharge unit/W2 in fig 2/ and the third discharge unit/W3 in fig 2/ (para 0033);
* the first discharge unit/14/, the second discharge unit/W2/ and the third discharge unit/W3/ being arrayed in the conveying direction (figs 2-3);
* a color of the ink/white/ discharged from the second nozzles by the second discharge unit/W2/ and a color of the ink/white/ discharged from the third nozzles by the third discharge unit/W3/ being the same specific color (para 257);
* a color of the ink/Y, M, C, K/ discharged from the first nozzles by the first discharge unit/14/ being a color/Y, M, C, K/ different from the specific color/white/ (para 257), and;
* the control unit controlling (paras 0025 0033 0039, 0046, 0233-0234) a timing at which each of the second discharge unit/W2/ and the third discharge unit/W3/ discharges an ink droplet so that one ink dot formed on the printing medium/substrate/ by the ink discharged from the third nozzle is interposed between two ink dots formed on the printing medium/substrate/ by the ink continuously discharged from the second nozzle (fig 4A & 4B) and one ink dot formed on the printing medium by the ink discharged from the second nozzle is interposed between two ink dots formed on the printing medium by the ink discharged from the third nozzle in the conveying direction (paras 0025 0033 0039, 0046, 0233-0234, 0248-0249, figs 4A & 4B).
* Re clm 2, wherein: the control unit (paras 0025 0033 0039, 0046, 0233-0234) controls a timing at which the first discharge unit/14/ discharges the ink so that the ink of the color/Y, M, C, K/ different from the specific color is discharged at a predetermined resolution to the printing medium in the conveying direction, and the control unit controls a timing at which each of the second discharge unit/W2/ and the third discharge unit/W3/ so that the ink of the specific color is discharged at the resolution to the printing medium/substrate/ in the conveying direction (para 0257, figs 2-4).
* Re clm 7, wherein: the control unit (paras 0025 0033 0039, 0046, 0233-0234) controls a timing at which each of the second discharge unit/W2/ and the third discharge unit/W3/ discharges the ink so that ink dot formed on the printing medium by the ink discharged from the second nozzle and ink dot formed on the printing medium/substrate/ by the ink discharged from the third nozzle are alternately arranged in the conveying direction on the printing medium (paras 0257-0259, figs 2-4).
* Re clm 8, wherein: the control unit (paras 0025 0033 0039, 0046, 0233-0234) controls the timing at which each of the second discharge unit and the third discharge unit discharges the ink so that the ink dot formed on the printing medium by the ink discharged from the second nozzles and the ink dot formed on the printing medium by the ink discharged from the third nozzle are alternately arranged in the array direction on the printing medium (paras 0257-0259, figs 2-4).
* Re clm 9, wherein: the control unit (paras 0025 0033 0039, 0046, 0233-0234) controls the timing at which each of the second discharge unit/W2/ and the third discharge unit/W3/ discharge the ink so that the ink dots formed on the printing medium by the ink discharged from the mutually different second nozzles are arranged in a row in the array direction and the ink dots formed on the printing medium by the ink discharged from the mutually different third nozzles are arranged in a row in the array direction (see fig 4).
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) 3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Gotou et al. (US 2020/0023648) in view of Ishida (US 2020/0276827).
Gotou et al. disclose the following:
* Re clm 3, ink dot discharged from the second nozzle by the second discharge unit/W2/ (paras 0257-0259, figs 2-3);
* ink dot discharged from the third nozzle by the third discharge unit/W3/ (paras 0257-0259, figs 2-3);
* ink dot discharged from the first nozzle by the first discharge unit/14/ (paras 0257-0259, figs 2-3);
Gotou et al. does not disclose the following:
* Re clm 3, wherein a maximum value/white ink/ of a quantity of the ink per one ink dot discharged and a maximum value/white ink/ of a quantity of the ink per one ink dot discharged are larger than a maximum value/color ink/ of a quantity of the ink per one ink dot discharged
Ishida disclose the following:
* Re clm 3, wherein a maximum value/white ink/ of a quantity of the ink per one ink dot discharged and a maximum value/white ink/ of a quantity of the ink per one ink dot discharged are larger than a maximum value/color ink/ of a quantity of the ink per one ink dot discharged/maximum amount of white ink deposited ranges from 10-20mg/inch^2 is a larger amount (10mg/inch^2/ of white ink greater than 3mg/inch^2 of coloring ink that ranges from 3-20mg/inch^2 max amount of coloring ink) (3mg/inch^/2 of coloring ink is smaller than 10mg/inch of white ink) (para 0065, fig 1);
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to utilize wherein a maximum value of a quantity of the ink per one ink dot discharged and a maximum value of a quantity of the ink per one ink dot discharged are larger than a maximum value of a quantity of the ink per one ink dot discharged, taught by Ishida into Gotou et al. for the purpose having less bleeding or color mixing of ink thereby of improving the print quality of images.
Claim(s) 4 & 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Gotou et al. (US 2020/0023648) as modified by Ishida (US 2020/0276827) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Naoi (US 2002/0051024).
Gotou et al. as modified by Ishida disclose the following:
* Re clm 4, wherein: the control unit (para 0047) generates a first control signal for controlling ink discharge from the first nozzles of the first discharge unit, a second control signal for controlling ink discharge from the second nozzles of the second discharge unit and a third control signal for controlling ink discharge from the third nozzles of the third discharge unit from image data representing an image to be printed on the printing medium, the first discharge unit discharges the ink from the first nozzles at a timing indicated by the first control signal, the second discharge unit discharges the ink from the second nozzles at a timing indicated by the second control signal, the third discharge unit discharges the ink from the third nozzles at a timing indicated by the third control signal (paras 0257-0259, figs 2-4).
Gotou et al. as modified by Ishida does not disclose the following:
* Re clm 4, the control unit generates the second control signal and the third control signal by performing an ink quantity adjustment processing to reduce the quantity of the ink per one ink dot discharged for a target image including at least one of a line image and a character to be formed by the ink of the specific color, out of the image represented by image data.
* Re clm 5, wherein: the control unit performs, as the ink quantity adjustment processing, an image processing of thinning a width of the target image represented by the image data.
Naoi disclose the following claimed limitations:
* Re clm 4, the control unit generates the second control signal and the third control signal by performing an ink quantity adjustment processing to reduce the quantity of the ink per one ink dot discharged for a target image including at least one of a line image and a character to be formed by the ink of the specific color, out of the image represented by image data (paras 0038-0040, 0052-0054, 0067, 0082, figs 3-5).
* Re clm 5, wherein: the control unit performs, as the ink quantity adjustment processing, an image processing of thinning a width of the target image represented by the image data (paras 0038-0040, 0052-0054, 0067, 0082, figs 3-5).
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to utilize the control unit generates the second control signal and the third control signal by performing an ink quantity adjustment processing to reduce the quantity of the ink per one ink dot discharged for a target image including at least one of a line image and a character to be formed by the ink of the specific color, out of the image represented by image data; and wherein: the control unit performs, as the ink quantity adjustment processing, an image processing of thinning a width of the target image represented by the image data for the purpose of reducing power consumption without decreasing printing speed of images printed.
Claim(s) 6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Gotou et al. (US 2020/0023648) as modified by Ishida (US 2020/0276827) and Naoi (2002/0051024) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Shinohara et al. (JP 2022081707)
Gotou et al. as modified by Ishida and Naoi do not disclose the following claimed limitation:
* Re clm 6, wherein: the control unit performs, as the ink quantity adjustment processing, an image processing of limiting a range to which the ink is discharged in the target image by applying a halftone processing to the target image represented by the image data (para 0096, fig 2) for the purpose of suppressing graininess during high speed printing of images thereby improving print quality of images.
Shinohara et al. disclose the following:
* Re clm 6, wherein the control unit performs, as the ink quantity adjustment processing, an image processing of limiting a range to which the ink is discharged in the target image by applying a halftone processing the target image represented by the image data (para 0096, fig 2).
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to utilize wherein: the control unit performs, as the ink quantity adjustment processing, an image processing of limiting a range to which the ink is discharged in the target image by applying a halftone processing to the target image represented by the image data for the purpose of suppressing graininess during high speed printing of images thereby improving print quality of images.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KRISTAL FEGGINS whose telephone number is (571)272-2254. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 930-530pm.
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/KRISTAL FEGGINS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2853
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