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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 10/31/24 & 1/29/26 are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statements are being considered by the examiner.
Specification
The title of the invention is not descriptive. A new title is required that is clearly indicative of the invention to which the claims are directed.
Claim Interpretation
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(f):
(f) Element in Claim for a Combination. – An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The claims in this application are given their broadest reasonable interpretation using the plain meaning of the claim language in light of the specification as it would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. The broadest reasonable interpretation of a claim element (also commonly referred to as a claim limitation) is limited by the description in the specification when 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is invoked.
As explained in MPEP § 2181, subsection I, claim limitations that meet the following three-prong test will be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
(A) the claim limitation uses the term “means” or “step” or a term used as a substitute for “means” that is a generic placeholder (also called a nonce term or a non-structural term having no specific structural meaning) for performing the claimed function;
(B) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is modified by functional language, typically, but not always linked by the transition word “for” (e.g., “means for”) or another linking word or phrase, such as “configured to” or “so that”; and
(C) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is not modified by sufficient structure, material, or acts for performing the claimed function.
Use of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim with functional language creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites sufficient structure, material, or acts to entirely perform the recited function.
Absence of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is not to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is not interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites function without reciting sufficient structure, material or acts to entirely perform the recited function.
Claim limitations in this application that use the word “means” (or “step”) are being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action. Conversely, claim limitations in this application that do not use the word “means” (or “step”) are not being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action.
This application includes one or more claim limitations that do not use the word “means,” but are nonetheless being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, because the claim limitation(s) uses a generic placeholder that is coupled with functional language without reciting sufficient structure to perform the recited function and the generic placeholder is not preceded by a structural modifier. Such claim limitation(s) is/are: “application unit configured to apply”, “foaming unit configured to foam”, “acquisition unit configured to acquire”, “detection unit configured to detect”, “generation unit configured to generate”, in claims 1-9.
Because this/these claim limitation(s) is/are being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, it/they is/are being interpreted to cover the corresponding structure described in the specification as performing the claimed function, and equivalents thereof.
If applicant does not intend to have this/these limitation(s) interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, applicant may: (1) amend the claim limitation(s) to avoid it/them being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph (e.g., by reciting sufficient structure to perform the claimed function); or (2) present a sufficient showing that the claim limitation(s) recite(s) sufficient structure to perform the claimed function so as to avoid it/them being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph.
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) 1-6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by US PG Pub 2018/0178543 to Fujimoto.
Regarding claim 1. Fujimoto discloses an image processing apparatus (Abstract) comprising:
an application unit (Fig. 1, printing machine 91) configured to apply a foaming promotion component to a recording medium including a foaming layer containing foamable particles to foam, the foaming promotion component being configured to promote foamability of the foamable particles (printing machine 91, “The printer 91 is, for example, an ink jet printer, and has functions of printing a gray scale image on a thermally expandable sheet with carbon black ink, and of printing a color image on a thermally expandable sheet with color ink”, paragraph 22);
a foaming unit (Fig. 1, light irradiation device 92) configured to foam the foamable particles by applying energy to the recording medium to which the foaming promotion component is applied by the application unit (light irradiation device 92, “The light projecting apparatus 92 projects light to a thermally expandable sheet, and a known apparatus for forming a three-dimensional image with a thermally expandable sheet is applicable. Specifically, the light projecting apparatus 92 mainly includes a transport mechanism that transports a thermally expandable sheet in one direction like the printer 91, a light source that emits light including near-infrared rays, a reflector, and a cooler that cools the light projecting apparatus. The light source is, for example, a halogen lamp, and is provided over the full width of the thermally expandable sheet”, paragraph 23);
an acquisition unit (Fig. 1, back surface foaming bitmap data generation unit 5) configured to acquire foaming data where a gradation value for applying the foaming promotion component is set for each pixel (back surface foaming bitmap data generation unit 5, “The back-side foaming bitmap data generating unit 5 includes a density adjusting unit 51 and an inversion processing unit 55. The density adjusting unit 51 includes a boundary extracting unit 52, a density correcting unit 53, and a boundary position correcting unit 54. The back-side foaming bitmap data generating unit 5 receives, from the print database 4 or the outside of the three-dimensional image forming system 90, three-dimensional bitmap data 4o which is height information on the irregularities to be formed on the surface of the three-dimensional image, and generates and outputs back-side foaming bitmap data 4b for printing”, paragraph 25);
a detection unit (Fig. 1, boundary extraction unit 52) configured to detect an inner edge pixel based on the foaming data, the inner edge pixel being located inside a border of a foaming region where the foamable particles are foamed with a non-foaming region where the foamable particles are not foamed (boundary extraction unit 52, “In the boundary extracting step S10, the boundary extracting unit 52 extracts boundaries between regions having different black densities from the three-dimensional bitmap data 4o”, paragraph 39); and
a generation unit (Fig. 1, density correction unit 53) configured to generate the gradation value so that an amount of application of the foaming promotion component to the inner edge pixel detected by the detection unit increases compared to an amount of application of the foaming promotion component indicated by the foaming data acquired by the acquisition unit (density correction unit 53, “in the outline density correcting step S20, the density correcting unit 53 changes the density of the outline part (edge) having a predetermined width along the boundary so as to increase the black density difference between both sides and the vicinity of the boundary for each boundary of the data 4a.sub.1”, paragraph 40).
Regarding claim 2. Fujimoto discloses wherein the foaming unit is a heating unit configured to foam the foamable particles by heating (light irradiation device 92, “The light projecting apparatus 92 projects light to a thermally expandable sheet, and a known apparatus for forming a three-dimensional image with a thermally expandable sheet is applicable. Specifically, the light projecting apparatus 92 mainly includes a transport mechanism that transports a thermally expandable sheet in one direction like the printer 91, a light source that emits light including near-infrared rays, a reflector, and a cooler that cools the light projecting apparatus. The light source is, for example, a halogen lamp, and is provided over the full width of the thermally expandable sheet”, paragraph 23).
Regarding claim 3. Fujimoto discloses comprising a unit configured to accept a value indicating a foaming height, wherein the generation unit is configured to generate the gradation value based on the value indicating the foaming height (“The back-side foaming bitmap data generating unit 5 receives, from the print database 4 or the outside of the three-dimensional image forming system 90, three-dimensional bitmap data 4o which is height information on the irregularities to be formed on the surface of the three-dimensional image, and generates and outputs back-side foaming bitmap data 4b for printing”, paragraph 25).
Regarding claim 4. Fujimoto discloses wherein the detection unit is configured to detect one pixel inside the border as the inner edge pixel (“in the outline density correcting step S20, the density correcting unit 53 changes the density of the outline part (edge) having a predetermined width along the boundary so as to increase the black density difference between both sides and the vicinity of the boundary for each boundary of the data 4a.sub.1. First, the boundary L1 is selected (S21), and the density inside the square (region R1) on the high density side of the boundary L1 is changed, that is, the density of the outline part is increased. However, when the black density C.sub.KD of the region R1 is the maximum K80 (S22: C.sub.KD=K80), the density cannot be further increased, and the step S23 is not performed, that is, the outline part is not provided. Since the black density C.sub.KD of the region R1 is K60 (S22: C.sub.KD<K80), by setting the part from the boundary L1 to the distance d.sub.D as the outline part R1.sub.rim1 (hatched region in FIG. 7) of the region R1, the density of the outline part R1.sub.rim1 is changed to be higher than the original density C.sub.KD (S23). Here, as described with reference to FIG. 4, the step becomes steep as the density difference between both sides of the boundary is larger. Thus, here, the black density of the outline part R1.sub.rim1 is changed to the maximum value K80. The width d.sub.D of the outline part R1.sub.rim1 is set based on the distance until the height reaches the expansion height corresponding to the black density C.sub.KD (K60) of the region R1 due to the black density (K80) of the outline part R1.sub.rim1. Alternatively, the black density of the outline part may be the fixed maximum value (K80), or the upper limit of the increase width (point) with respect to the original density C.sub.KD may be set in advance. In the region R0 (background) on the low density side, since the black density C.sub.KL is the minimum value K0 (white) (S24: C.sub.KL=K0), the process S25 is not performed and an outline part is not provided in the region R0”, paragraph 40; note while Fujimoto does not disclose units of measurement in pixels, the Office takes official notice that measurement in pixels is a design choice, as using a pixel as a unit of measurement is well known to one of ordinary skill in the art and would be an obvious to try approach, see for example USPG Pub 20240013555 to Phan et al. at paragraph 61).
Regarding claim 5. Fujimoto discloses wherein the generation unit is configured to, in a case where the foaming data acquired by the acquisition unit reaches or exceeds a predetermined threshold, generate the gradation value so that the amount of application of the foaming promotion component to the inner edge pixel increases compared to the amount of application of the foaming promotion component indicated by the foaming data (“As shown in FIG. 3A, the three-dimensional bitmap data 4o is two-dimensional data expressed by white to black grayscale, in which a large square (rounded rectangle) is drawn in gray at the center, the letter of an at-sign “@” is drawn in relatively light gray inside the square, and the background is white. More specifically, the inner region R1 of the square is black (K60) at a density of 60%, the letter region R2 is black (K10) at a density of 10%, and the white of the background (region R0) is black (K0) at a density of 0%. In the three-dimensional bitmap data 4o, the expansion height information is expressed by the density of black ink (hereinafter, referred to as a black density) which is printed on the back side of the thermally expandable sheet 10 and is expanded to the height. Thus, as the surface is higher, the data is expressed in a higher density, that is, darker. Here, the black density for expanding the thermally expanding layer 11 of the thermally expandable sheet 10 to the maximum height by the three-dimensional image forming system 90 is K80. The density is set because, in the three-dimensional image forming system 90, that the thermally expanding layer 11 does not expand further if the black density on the back side of the thermally expandable sheet 10 is K80 or higher, that it is difficult to ensure safety if the generated heat temperature is excessively high, and the like. The white ink (K0) does not contain black ink at all, and the thermally expanding layer 11 does not expand. Thus, the expansion height is zero which is the minimum, that is, the height of the surface of the thermally expandable sheet 10 before expansion. Thus, in the three-dimensional image obtained by the three-dimensional bitmap data 4o in design, the surface is raised to a height of 75% of the maximum expansion height (surface height: 1 in FIG. 3B) in a square shape, and a groove having a bottom height of 12.5% is formed in the shape of the letter of the at-sign “@” inside the square”, paragraph 33).
Regarding claim 6. Claim 6 is rejected for the same reasons and rational as provided above for claim 1.
Regarding claim 7. Claim 7 is rejected for the same reasons and rational as provided above for claims 1 & 6.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim(s) 8-9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Fujimoto and further in view of JP 2018-034512 to Yoshimune.
Regarding claim 8. Fujimoto discloses an image processing apparatus (Abstract) comprising:
an application unit configured to apply a foaming component to a recording medium including a foaming layer containing foamable particles to foam, the foaming component being configured to foamability of the foamable particles (printing machine 91, “The printer 91 is, for example, an ink jet printer, and has functions of printing a gray scale image on a thermally expandable sheet with carbon black ink, and of printing a color image on a thermally expandable sheet with color ink”, paragraph 22);
a foaming unit (Fig. 1, light irradiation device 92) configured to foam the foamable particles by applying energy to the recording medium to which the foaming component is applied by the application unit (light irradiation device 92, “The light projecting apparatus 92 projects light to a thermally expandable sheet, and a known apparatus for forming a three-dimensional image with a thermally expandable sheet is applicable. Specifically, the light projecting apparatus 92 mainly includes a transport mechanism that transports a thermally expandable sheet in one direction like the printer 91, a light source that emits light including near-infrared rays, a reflector, and a cooler that cools the light projecting apparatus. The light source is, for example, a halogen lamp, and is provided over the full width of the thermally expandable sheet”, paragraph 23;
an acquisition unit (Fig. 1, back surface foaming bitmap data generation unit 5) configured to acquire foaming data where a gradation value for applying the foaming component is set for each pixel (back surface foaming bitmap data generation unit 5, “The back-side foaming bitmap data generating unit 5 includes a density adjusting unit 51 and an inversion processing unit 55. The density adjusting unit 51 includes a boundary extracting unit 52, a density correcting unit 53, and a boundary position correcting unit 54. The back-side foaming bitmap data generating unit 5 receives, from the print database 4 or the outside of the three-dimensional image forming system 90, three-dimensional bitmap data 4o which is height information on the irregularities to be formed on the surface of the three-dimensional image, and generates and outputs back-side foaming bitmap data 4b for printing”, paragraph 25);
a detection unit (Fig. 1, boundary extraction unit 52) configured to detect an outer edge pixel based on the foaming data, the outer edge pixel being located outside a border of a foaming region where the foamable particles are foamed with a non-foaming region where the foamable particles are not foamed (boundary extraction unit 52, “In the boundary extracting step S10, the boundary extracting unit 52 extracts boundaries between regions having different black densities from the three-dimensional bitmap data 4o”, paragraph 39); and
a generation unit (Fig. 1, density correction unit 53) configured to generate the gradation value so that an amount of application of the foaming component to the outer edge pixel detected by the detection unit increases (density correction unit 53, “in the outline density correcting step S20, the density correcting unit 53 changes the density of the outline part (edge) having a predetermined width along the boundary so as to increase the black density difference between both sides and the vicinity of the boundary for each boundary of the data 4a.sub.1”, paragraph 40).
Fujimoto does not disclose where foaming component is a foaming inhibition component. However, Yoshimune in the same art of foaming apparatus discloses a foaming inhibition component (“A computer generates, from first pattern data containing information for identifying a region of a thermal expansion sheet to be three- dimensionalized, second pattern data containing information for identifying a region of the thermal expansion sheet suppressed to be three-dimensionalized. A printer prints a material that accelerates inflow of heat to the region of the thermal expansion sheet to be three-dimensionalized based on the first pattern data, and prints a material that suppress inflow of the heat to the region of the thermal expansion sheet suppressed to be three-dimensionalized based on the second pattern data” Abstract).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person with ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Fujimoto' s foaming apparatus means to include: where foaming component is a foaming inhibition component.
It would have been obvious to a person with ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Fujimoto' s foaming apparatus means by the teaching of Yoshimune because of the following reasons: (a) it would suppress inflow of the heat to the region of the thermal expansion sheet suppressed, (Abstract, Yoshimune); and (b) outline density correcting as taught by Fujimoto.
Regarding claim 9. Claim 9 is rejected for the same reasons and rational as provided above for claims 8.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CHRISTOPHER D. WAIT, Esq. whose telephone number is (571)270-5976. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday, 9:30- 6:00.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Abderrahim Merouan can be reached at 571 270-5254. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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CHRISTOPHER D. WAIT, Esq.
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2683
/CHRISTOPHER WAIT/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2683
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