DETAILED ACTION
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 § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claims 1 and 11 recite the limitation "the respective bar-code " in the last two lines of the claim. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 11 recites the limitation "the control unit" in line 6. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 18 recites the limitation "a control unit" in lines 2 and 3. It is unclear whether the “control unit” recited in claim 18 is the same or different from the “control unit” recited in claim 11.
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, 3-5, 7, 8, 10-14, 16 and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Gutierrez et al. US Publication 2019/0212955 (hereafter “Gutierrez”).
Referring to claim 1, Gutierrez discloses bar-code printing device comprising a printer comprising a printer head with an array of printing members (paragraph 156, As seen in view 600A, thermal printhead 604a may include multiple thermal elements 604, each thermal element 604 configured to print a pixel on a print media 601a) that defines a printable area for printing bar-codes on a substrate and a scanner for scanning the bar-codes printed on the substrate, wherein the bar-code printing device is provided with a control unit that is operationally connected to the printer and the scanner and configured for performing the following steps:
a) instructing the printer to print the bar-codes on the substrate in different bar-code positions within the printable area for a specific bar-code print count (paragraph 177, In step 715 of method 700, printhead 528 prints output new documents elements, such as new text/new graphics, on the print media 501a, based on the rasterized image, resulting in printed document 501b), wherein the control unit is configured for shifting the bar-code positions (paragraph 241, In various embodiments of the present invention, modifying the print data used to generate the image results in modified print data and comprises shifting the print data used to generate the image by the value of the offset to reposition the succeeding printed image on the print media) such that within the specific bar-code print count all printing members of the array of printing members have been used at least once for printing of the bar codes (paragraph 209, newly printed output may partly or totally overlap with a pre-printed pattern or texture which fills some or all of print media [newly printed output that totally overlaps a pre-printed pattern which fills all of the print media requires using each thermal element]);
b) obtaining scans of the bar-codes (paragraph 178, In step 720 of method 700, post-print image scanner 510 of printer 500 scans the printed document 501b. The scan generates post-printing image, which includes both pre-print text/logo/banner (if any) and the newly printed documents elements); and
c) comparing the bar-code in each scan with information about the respective bar-code at least until a discrepancy is identified (paragraph 182, In step 740, and based on the further application of comparison rules/metrics, method 700 assesses if the effective printed output on printed document 501b is considered to result in a valid print operation or a print error).
Referring to claims 3 and 12, Gutierrez discloses wherein the control unit is configured for interrupting the printing of bar-codes when the discrepancy is identified (paragraph 184, if the print operation assessment is “invalid,” (or equivalently, “Print Error”), then printer 500 may have one or more suitable responses as per step 745. In an embodiment, printer 500 may issue a suitable notification to a user interface that the print operation was invalid. In an alternative or complementary embodiment, printer 500 may attempt to reprint the same image to a new sheet or label of print media. In an alternative or complementary embodiment, printer 500 may attempt to adjust printer operations to avoid similar errors in future print operations).
Referring to claims 4 and 13, Gutierrez discloses wherein the control unit is configured for generating a notification that the discrepancy is identified (paragraph 184, if the print operation assessment is “invalid,” (or equivalently, “Print Error”), then printer 500 may have one or more suitable responses as per step 745. In an embodiment, printer 500 may issue a suitable notification to a user interface that the print operation was invalid).
Referring to claims 5 and 14, Gutierrez discloses wherein the array of printing members is juxtaposed in a lateral direction to define a width of the printable area (paragraph 156, As seen in view 600A, thermal printhead 604a may include multiple thermal elements 604, each thermal element 604 configured to print a pixel on a print media 601a), wherein the bar-code positions are shifted in said lateral direction (paragraph 99, Various embodiments enable correct horizontal positioning of a printed image on a print medium).
Referring to claims 7 and 16, Gutierrez discloses wherein the control unit is configured for identifying a malfunctioning printing member within the array of printing members responsible for the discrepancy based on the position of said discrepancy in the respective scan (paragraph 82, embodiments of the present invention may scan a printed document after the printing process is complete, and identify errors in the final output. Improvements on print registration may also be provided. For example, to globally address a print registration error that is affecting a plurality of printed medium, a printhead in the printer may be mechanically adjusted to be centered over the print medium, the timing may be adjusted, etc)
Referring to claim 8, Gutierrez discloses wherein each printing member of the array of printing members comprises one of a thermal printing member, an ink printing member, a toner printing member, a resistor or a nozzle (paragraph 156, As seen in view 600A, thermal printhead 604a may include multiple thermal elements 604, each thermal element 604 configured to print a pixel on a print media 601a).
Referring to claim 10, Gutierrez discloses wherein the control unit comprises a processor and a non-transitory computer-readable medium holding instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the control unit to perform the steps a), b) and c) (paragraph 133, The central processing unit (CPU) (i.e., the processor 220) is the electronic circuitry within a computer that carries out the instructions of a computer program).
Referring to claim 11, Gutierrez discloses method for printing bar-codes on a substrate, wherein the method comprises the following steps:
a) instructing a printer to print the bar-codes on the substrate in different bar-code positions within the printable area for a specific bar-code print count (paragraph 177, In step 715 of method 700, printhead 528 prints output new documents elements, such as new text/new graphics, on the print media 501a, based on the rasterized image, resulting in printed document 501b), wherein the printer comprises a printer head with an array of printing members (paragraph 156, As seen in view 600A, thermal printhead 604a may include multiple thermal elements 604, each thermal element 604 configured to print a pixel on a print media 601a), and wherein the control unit is configured for shifting the bar-code positions (paragraph 241, In various embodiments of the present invention, modifying the print data used to generate the image results in modified print data and comprises shifting the print data used to generate the image by the value of the offset to reposition the succeeding printed image on the print media) such that within the specific bar-code print count all printing members of the array of printing members have been used at least once for printing of the bar codes (paragraph 209, newly printed output may partly or totally overlap with a pre-printed pattern or texture which fills some or all of print media [newly printed output that totally overlaps a pre-printed pattern which fills all of the print media requires using each thermal element]);
b) comparing each bar-code with information about the respective bar-code at least until a discrepancy is identified (paragraph 182, In step 740, and based on the further application of comparison rules/metrics, method 700 assesses if the effective printed output on printed document 501b is considered to result in a valid print operation or a print error).
Referring to claim 18, Gutierrez discloses computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer- readable medium holding instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause a control unit of a bar-code printing device to perform the steps of the method according to claim 11 (paragraph 133, The central processing unit (CPU) (i.e., the processor 220) is the electronic circuitry within a computer that carries out the instructions of a computer program).
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 2 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Gutierrez et al. US Publication 2019/0212955 as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Flanagan et al. US Patent 9,756,324 (hereafter “Flanagan”).
Referring to claim 2, Gutierrez discloses wherein the bar-code printing device further comprises storing information about the bar-codes printed on the substrate, wherein the control unit compares the bar-code in each scan with the stored information, but does not disclose expressly a database unit for storing information about the bar-codes printed on the substrate.
Flanagan discloses wherein the bar-code printing device further comprises a database unit for storing information about the bar-codes printed on the substrate, wherein the control unit is operationally connected to the database unit for comparing the bar-code in each scan with the information stored in the database (col. 9, lines 41-44, The server processor can be configured to reference the pre-image 490 with a unique identifier 460 on the pre-image 490 and to store the information in a memory and/or a database).
Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to store information about the bar-codes in a database. The motivation for doing so would have been to improve the efficiency of storing and retrieving the stored information. Therefore, it would have been obvious to combine Flanagan with Gutierrez to obtain the invention as specified in claim 2.
Claims 6, 9, 15 and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Gutierrez et al. US Publication 2019/0212955 as applied to claims 1 and 11 above, and further in view of well known prior art.
Referring to claims 6 and 15, Gutierrez discloses printing the bar-codes on the substrate for a specific bar-code print count, but does not disclose expressly wherein the specific bar-code print count is chosen to be equal to or less than one-hundred.
Official Notice is taken that it is well known and obvious in the art to print a specific bar-code print count chosen to be equal to or less than one-hundred (See MPEP 2144.03). The motivation for doing so would have been to allow the user to select a desirable number of copies that is easily manageable. Therefore, it would have been obvious to combine well known prior art with Gutierrez to obtain the invention as specified in claims 6 and 15.
Referring to claims 9 and 17, Gutierrez discloses wherein the printer is arranged for outputting a string of bar-codes, wherein the substrate is formed by the string, but does not disclose expressly outputting a string of pouches.
Official Notice is taken that it is well known and obvious in the art to print a bar-code on a string of pouches (See MPEP 2144.03). The motivation for doing so would have been to attach drug information as a bar-code to pill containers to allow the drug information to be easily accessed. Therefore, it would have been obvious to combine well known prior art with Gutierrez to obtain the invention as specified in claims 9 and 17.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to PETER K HUNTSINGER whose telephone number is (571)272-7435. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 8:30 - 5:00.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Benny Q Tieu can be reached at 571-272-7490. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/PETER K HUNTSINGER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2682
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