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) 1-9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Li et al. (# US 2021/0079245) in view of Katsuragi (# US 2013/0321524).
Li et al. discloses:
Claim 1. A treatment liquid for inkjet printing ([0034]-[0037]), comprising
a cationic polymer ([0034]) and
succinic acid ([0042]),
Li et al. explicitly did not discloses:
1. A halogen ion concentration is equal to or less than 5 g/L, and a pH is from 7 to 9.5.
Katsuragi teaches that to have bleed free printed image, treatment liquid has a pH is from 7 to 9.5 (9 to 11; [0023]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the invention to modify the treatment liquid of Li et al. by the aforementioned teaching of Katsuragi et al. in order to have the bleed free printed image.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention was made to incorporate a halogen ion concentration is equal to or less than 5 g/L, since it has been held that it is not inventive to discovering and optimum value or workable ranges by routine experimentation. In re Aller, 105 USPQ 233 (CCPA1955).
Claim 2. The treatment liquid for inkjet printing according to claim 1, wherein the cationic polymer comprises a cationic polymer containing a quaternary ammonium ([0034]).
Claim 3. The treatment liquid for inkjet printing according to claim 1, wherein the cationic polymer is contained in an amount of 0.3 wt% or more and 35 wt% or less based on an entirety of the treatment liquid (1 to 30%; [0049]).
Claim 4. The treatment liquid for inkjet printing according to claim 1, wherein the succinic acid is contained in an amount of 0.5 wt% or more and 20 wt% or less based on an entirety of the treatment liquid (sulfosuccinate 0.5 to 5%; ; [0050]).
Claim 5. The treatment liquid for inkjet printing according to claim 1, wherein a weight ratio of the cationic polymer to the succinic acid (cationic polymer/succinic acid) is 0.20 or more and 3.50 or less (i.e.30/5=6%; 1/0.5= 2; [0049]; [0050]).
Claim 6. The treatment liquid for inkjet printing according to claim 1, wherein the treatment liquid is used for textile printing ([0078]).
Claim 7. The treatment liquid for inkjet printing according to claim 6, wherein the treatment liquid is used for textile printing using an inkjet ink containing an anionic pigment ([0034]).
Claim 8. An ink set, comprising: the treatment liquid for inkjet printing according to claim 1; and
an inkjet ink containing an anionic pigment ([0034]).
Claim 9. A textile printing method ([0079]-[0103]) comprising:
applying the treatment liquid for inkjet printing according to claim 1 to a textile to be printed; and
subsequently applying an inkjet ink containing an anionic pigment to an area onto which the treatment liquid for inkjet printing has been applied ([0078]-[0103]; see Examples).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
(1) Ellis (# US 2007/0067928) discloses a method of inkjet printing on fabric, comprising the steps of pretreatment, printing with a white underprint of substantially the same shape as the colored image and printing an image on the fabric. The preferred digitally printed inks are pigmented inks (see Abstract).
(2) Shibata et al. (# US 2011/0249058) discloses Ink set comprises: an aqueous ink composition comprising self-dispersing pigment having a carboxyl group at the surface, a water-soluble organic solvent, a phosphoric acid ester, and water; and a treatment liquid comprising a cationic polymer, the treatment liquid agglomerates the self-dispersing pigment when brought into contact with the aqueous ink composition (see Abstract).
(3) Nishida et al. (# US 2006/0203029) discloses an ejection controller controls an ejection amount of treating liquid ejected on the front surface of the recording medium per sheet of the recording medium in double-sided printing mode, to a smaller amount than the amount in single-sided printing mode for printing only on one side (see Abstract).
(4) Yanagi et al. (# US 2009/0202722) discloses an Ink set (I) comprises at least one ink composition that contains self-dispersing polymer particles, a color material and water, and a reaction liquid capable of forming an aggregate upon contact with the ink composition (see Abstract).
(5) Arai et al. (# US 2010/0003417) discloses [0279] The treatment liquid employed in the invention can contain a water-based solvent (e.g., water) in addition to the cationic polymer.[0280] The content of the cationic polymer in the treatment liquid is preferably 5 mass % to 95 mass %, and more preferably 10 mass % to 80 mass %, based on the total mass of the treatment liquid from the viewpoint of coagulation effects. [0281] Examples of the treatment liquid containing an acidic compound include a liquid that can generate a coagulate by changing the pH of the ink composition. Herein, the pH of the treatment liquid at 25.degree. C. is preferably 1 to 6, more preferably 2 to 5, and still more preferably 3 to 5 from the viewpoint of the coagulation rate of the ink composition. Herein, the pH of the ink composition used in the discharging process at 25.degree. C. is preferably 7.5 or more, and more preferably 8 or more.
(6) Morimoto (# US 2007/0229577) discloses an ink set for inkjet recording comprising: a first liquid which contains at least a water-soluble solvent, water, and pigment particles dispersed and retained in a medium including the water-soluble solvent and the water; and a second liquid which does not contain coloring material but contains at least a water-soluble solvent, water, and a liquid composition which enhances printing characteristics, wherein: an image is formed by making the first liquid and the second liquid come into contact with each other on a recording medium; and a ratio of pigment particles having a particle diameter of not less than 150 nm is not greater than 2 volume percent with respect to a whole of the pigment particles contained in the first liquid (see Claim 1).
(7) Katsuragi (# US 2015/0258833) discloses a treatment liquid, which contains a water-soluble organic solvent, at least two cationic resins, and water, wherein the cationic resins have a cationization degree of 4 meq/g or greater at pH of 4.0 (see Abstract).
(8) Saito et al. (# US 2017/0292035) discloses a treatment liquid composition contains water, 1,2-alkanediol, and an aggregating agent aggregating or thickening components of an ink composition containing a pigment and is used for a printing method performed by causing the ink composition to adhere to cloth by an ink jet method (see Abstract).
(9) Ohashi et al. (# US 2018/0058002) discloses a textile printing method includes heating a cloth, and applying an ink composition onto the heated cloth by ejecting the ink composition from an ink jet head. The ink composition contains resin fine particles and has a viscosity of 4.5 mPa.Math.s or less at 40° C. and a surface tension of 28 mN/m or less at 40° C (see Abstract).
(10) Matsuzaki (# US 2018/0086112) discloses a reaction solution containing any one or more kinds of organic solvents from esters, alkylene glycol ethers, cyclic esters, and alkoxyalkyl amides; and an aggregating agent which aggregates components of an ink composition, in which the reaction solution is used for a recording method performed by using the ink composition (see Abstract).
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.
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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.
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MANISH S. SHAH
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2853
/Manish S Shah/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2853
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