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 § 103
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 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) 1-7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Iida et al. (# US 2015/0210878).
Iida et al. discloses:
1. A non-aqueous inkjet ink composition (see Abstract) for printing on a resin base material, containing:
2.5 to 10.0% by mass of carbon black ([0028]-[0029]; 1 to 10%; [0033]);
80.0% by mass or more of organic solvent(s) ([0034]-[0046]; see Table); and
a resin ([0061]-[0066]); and
having a property to reach a dry state under irradiation of infrared light when printed on a resin base material ([0089]-[0095]; see Examples).
2. The non-aqueous inkjet ink composition according to claim 1, intended for printing on a printed layer provided on a resin base material ([0097]-[0098]).
3. The non-aqueous inkjet ink composition according to claim 1, wherein the resin contained in the non-aqueous inkjet ink composition comprises at least one resin, selected from acrylic-based resins, cellulose-based resins, and vinyl chloride-vinyl acetate-based resins ([0061]-[0066]).
4. The non-aqueous inkjet ink composition according to claim 1, containing 80.0% by mass or more of organic solvents (see Table).
5. A method for printing with a non-aqueous inkjet ink composition, comprising:
(i) inkjet-printing on a target base printing material constituted by resin and/or printed area already formed on the target base printing material surface ([0097]-[0098]), using a non-aqueous inkjet ink composition containing:
2.5 to 10.0% by mass of carbon black ([0028]-[0029]; 1 to 10%; [0033]);
80.0% by mass or more of organic solvent(s) ([0034]-[0046]; see Table); and
a resin ([0061]-[0066]); and
having a property to reach a dry state under irradiation of infrared light when printed on a resin base material (see Examples); and
(ii) drying by irradiation of infrared light, a printed matter obtained in step (i) ([0089]-[0095]).
6. The non-aqueous inkjet ink composition according to claim 2, wherein the resin contained in the non-aqueous inkjet ink composition comprises at least one resin, or more types, selected from acrylic-based resins, cellulose-based resins, and vinyl chloride-vinyl acetate-based resins ([0061]-[0066]).
7. The non-aqueous inkjet ink composition according to claim 2, containing 80.0% by mass or more of organic solvents (([0034]-[0046]; see Table).
Iida et al. explicitly did not discloses:
1. The organic solvent whose evaporation rate is 20 to 80 based on an evaporation rate of butyl acetate being 100.
4. The organic solvents whose evaporation rate is 30 to 60 based on an evaporation rate of butyl acetate being 100.
7. The organic solvents whose evaporation rate is 30 to 60 based on an evaporation rate of butyl acetate being 100.
However, Iida et al. teaches exactly the same organic solvents as applicant discloses in the specification and the evaporation rate is property of the material, which constant to the material. Therefore, the solvents discloses by the Iida et al. obviously have evaporation rate is 20 to 80, preferably 30 to 60 based on an evaporation rate of butyl acetate being 100.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
(1) Iida et al. (# US 2021/0122166) discloses a non-aqueous ink jet ink composition is provided that can form an image having excellent weather resistance, abrasion resistance, and coloring property. The non-aqueous ink jet ink composition includes a cyclic ester compound, at least one first solvent represented by the following General Formula (1) and having a flash point of 140° C. or lower: R10-(R2O)m-R3, a second solvent represented by the General Formula (1), and C.I. Pigment Orange-43 (PO-43) as a pigment. In the at least one first solvent represented by General Formula (1), R1 and R3 each independently represent hydrogen or an alkyl group having 1 to 5 carbon atoms, R2 represents an alkylene group having 2 or 3 carbon atoms, and m represents an integer of 2 to 6. The second solvent represented by General Formula (1) includes a glycol monoether compound in which at least one of R1 and R3 is hydrogen. A volume average particle diameter of the PO-43 is 100 nm or more and 400 nm or less (see Abstract).
(2) Kubota et al. (# US 2018/0057701) discloses an ink jet ink composition is provided that can form an image having excellent weather resistance, abrasion resistance, and coloring property. The non-aqueous ink jet ink composition includes a solvent containing at least one cyclic ester compound; and C.I. Pigment Orange-43 (PO-43) as a pigment (see Abstract).
(3) Brown et al. (# US 2011/0012954) discloses a solvent-based inkjet ink formulations including an organic solvent, a resin, a surfactant, and a colorant are provided. The inks have many desirable attributes such as extended decap time (see Abstract).
(4) De Saint Romain (# US 2018/0208788) discloses a non-aqueous ink composition for continuous deflected ink jet printing comprising: a vehicle comprising one or several organic solvent compound(s) that is (are) liquid at ambient temperature; one or several soluble dye(s) and/or pigment(s); a binder, comprising at least one binding resin consisting of a cellulose derivative chosen from among cellulose esters, cellulose hydroxyethers, cellulose carboxyethers and mixtures thereof, with an average molecular mass by weight Mw greater than or equal to 120 kDa; in which the composition has a viscosity greater than 10 mPa.Math.s at 20° C., measured at a shear rate of less than 1000 s.sup.−1. Method of marking a substrate, by spraying the ink composition onto this substrate, using a liquid jet printing technique. Substrate with marking obtained by drying and/or absorption of the ink composition.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MANISH S SHAH whose telephone number is (571)272-2152. The examiner can normally be reached 8:00am-4:00pm.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Ricardo Magallanes can be reached at 571-272-5960. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
MANISH S. SHAH
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2853
/Manish S Shah/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2853
Prosecution Insights