CTNF 18/938,297 CTNF 81623 DETAILED ACTION Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status 07-03-aia AIA 15-10-aia 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 07-06 AIA 15-10-15 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. 07-07-aia AIA 07-07 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 – 07-08-aia AIA (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. 07-15-aia AIA Claim(s) 1-4, 9-10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a)(1) as being anticipated by Yahiro (U.S. Pub. 2008/0238984) Regarding claim 1, a liquid discharge apparatus comprising: a first discharge unit (30Y, 30M, 30C, 30K) having a first nozzle face having a first nozzle to discharge ink from the first nozzle onto an area of a recording medium to form an image on the recording medium; A second discharge unit having a second nozzle face having a second nozzle to discharge a pretreatment liquid (30S) from the second nozzle to the area of the recording medium (Figure 2; Paragraphs 0046-0047) A third discharge unit having a third nozzle face having a third nozzle to discharge a diluent (52) from the third nozzle (Figure 4A-4D; Paragraphs 0052; 0061-066) Regarding claim 2, wherein the third discharge unit discharges the diluent to dilute at least one of the pretreatment liquid or the ink (Figure 4A-4D; Paragraphs 0052; 0061-066) Regarding claim 3, comprising a wiper to wipe the first nozzle face, the second nozzle face, or the third nozzle face with the diluent applied on the wiper by the third discharge unit (Figure 4A-4D; Paragraphs 0052; 0061-066) Regarding claim 4, wherein the third discharge unit advances and keeps the diluent in an area around the third nozzle on the third nozzle face, and the wiper: Wipes the third nozzle face; receives the diluent kept in the area around the third nozzle from the third nozzle face by wiping the third nozzle face; holds the diluent rece3ived from the third nozzle face on the wiper; and wipes at least one of the first nozzle face or the second nozzle face with the diluent (Figure 4A-4D; Paragraphs 0052; 0061-066) Regarding claim 9, wherein the diluent includes water (Paragraph 0079) Regarding claim 10, wherein the diluent includes a cleaning liquid including an organic solvent, a surfactant, and water (Paragraph 0079) Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 07-06 AIA 15-10-15 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. 07-20-aia AIA 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. 07-21-aia AIA Claim (s) 1-2, 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Miyasa et al (U.S. Pub. 2021/0129568) in view of Kuwahara (U.S. Pub. 2002/0054196) Regarding claim 1, a liquid discharge apparatus comprising: a first discharge unit having a first nozzle face having a first nozzle to discharge ink from the first nozzle onto an area of a recording medium to form an image on the recording medium (non-white ink; Abstract; Paragraphs 0017-0018, 0026, 0035, 0052) A second discharge unit having a second nozzle face having a second nozzle to discharge a pretreatment liquid from the second nozzle to the area of the recording medium (white ink; Abstract; Paragraphs 0017-0018, 0026, 0035, 0052) Kuwahara discloses it is known in the art to use discharge unit (third unit; 14A) having a nozzle to discharge a diluent (diffusion liquid) from the nozzle (Abstract; Paragraphs 0012, 0035) It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the teaching of Kuwahara into the device of Miyasa, for the purpose of reducing graininess of the recorded image Regarding claim 2, Kuwahara discloses wherein the third discharge unit discharged the diluent to dilute at least one of the pretreatment liquid or the ink (Paragraphs 0035-0040) It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the teaching of Kuwahara into the device of Miyasa, for the purpose of reducing graininess of the recorded image Regarding claim 11, wherein the first discharge unit discharges the ink including color ink and white ink onto the recording medium including cloth having a color other than white; and the first discharge unit discharges the white ink onto an area of the recording medium and discharged the color ink to the area of the recording medium to which the white ink has been discharged (Paragraph 0035) 07-21-aia AIA Claim (s) 5-6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yahiro (U.S. Pub. 2008/0238984) in view of Sumikawa et al (U.S. Pub. 2015/0070422) Regarding claim 5, Sumikawa discloses wherein a discharge unit includes a driver to drive the discharge unit with a drive frequency of 7 kHz or less to advance the liquid around the nozzle (Paragraph 0044) It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the teaching of Sumikawa into the device of Yahiro, for the purpose of producing a high-quality image at a high speed Regarding claim 6, Sumikawa discloses it is known in the art to use an ink with an organic solvent (Paragraph 0103) It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the teaching of Sumikawa into the device of Yahiro, for the purpose of producing a high-quality image at a high speed and preventing sticking of ink due to drying 07-21-aia AIA Claim (s) 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yahiro (U.S. Pub. 2008/0238984) in view of Doo (U.S. Pub. 2011/0025736) Regarding claim 7, Doo discloses it is known in the art to use an irradiation unit to emit ultraviolet light to the ink discharged on the recording medium to cure the ink (Paragraphs 0067-0068; 0076, 0139) It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the teaching of Doo into the device of Yahiro, for the purpose of improving the quality of print finish 07-21-aia AIA Claim (s) 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yahiro (U.S. Pub. 2008/0238984) in view of Okeguchi (U.S. 2022/0063278) Regarding claim 8, Okeguchi discloses a cap which holds a cleaning liquid; wherein the cap covers at least one of the discharge units with the cleaning liquid held in the cap (Paragraph 0069) It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the teaching of Okeguchi into the device of Yahiro, for the purpose of preventing thickening and sticking of liquid in the nozzles of the discharge head 07-21-aia AIA Claim (s) 12-15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Miyasa et al (U.S. Pub. 2021/0129568) as modified by Kuwahara (U.S. Pub. 2002/0054196) and further in view of Evans et al (U.S. Pub. 2024/0100855) Regarding claims 12-13, Evans discloses it is known to use a transfer system to discharge ink onto a transfer substrate including a non-permeable substrate from which the image is transferable to the transfer target including cloth (Abstract; Paragraphs 0026, 0028, 0062) It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the teaching of Evans into the device of Miyasa as modified by Kuwahara, for the purpose of providing a less expensive and faster printing system process (Paragraph 0028) Regarding claims 14-15, Kuwahara discloses discharging the diluent onto the image and the discharge unit discharges the diluent to a portion of the image (Abstract; Paragraphs 0012, 0035) Evans discloses it is known to use a transfer system to discharge ink onto a transfer substrate including a non-permeable substrate from which the image is transferable to the transfer target including cloth (Abstract; Paragraphs 0026, 0028, 0062) It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the teaching of Evans into the device of Miyasa, as modified by Kuwahara, for the purpose of reducing graininess of the recorded image and providing a less expensive and faster printing system process (Evans; Paragraph 0028) Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JASON S UHLENHAKE whose telephone number is (571)272-5916. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday, 8:00 am - 5:00 pm. 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, Douglas X. Rodriguez can be reached at (571) 431-0716. 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. /JASON S UHLENHAKE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2853 May 4, 2026 Application/Control Number: 18/938,297 Page 2 Art Unit: 2853 Application/Control Number: 18/938,297 Page 3 Art Unit: 2853 Application/Control Number: 18/938,297 Page 4 Art Unit: 2853 Application/Control Number: 18/938,297 Page 5 Art Unit: 2853 Application/Control Number: 18/938,297 Page 6 Art Unit: 2853 Application/Control Number: 18/938,297 Page 7 Art Unit: 2853 Application/Control Number: 18/938,297 Page 8 Art Unit: 2853 Application/Control Number: 18/938,297 Page 9 Art Unit: 2853
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