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 .
Priority
The instant Application claims benefit as a continuation of the prior applications 16/411,982, 17/169,055 and 18/342,633 under 35 U.S.C. 119e, 120, 121, 365(c) or 386(c). The requirements of 35 U.S.C. 120 and 37 CFR 1.78 are met to the extent defined in MPEP 201.08.
Information Disclosure Statement
The references cited on a Form PTO 1449 have been considered.
Specification
The specification has been checked to the extent necessary to determine the presence of all possible minor errors. However, the applicant's cooperation is requested in correcting any errors of which applicant may become aware in the specification.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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) 1-7, 10-11 and 15-18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Yamagishi et al. (U.S. 2011/0242220 A1).
Yamagishi et al. disclose the following claimed limitations:
Regarding independent Claim 1, a system (§§0032-0033 and Figs. 1-6) for conveying a substrate through a printing region that spatially corresponds to a plurality of printheads (2, §0033 and Figs. 2-3, 5), the system comprising:
a transfer belt (3, §0032 and Figs. 1-4) that has apertures (31, §0046 and Figs. 2-4, 6) defined therethrough and that is configured to advance through the printing region; and
a source (5, §0033 and Figs. 1-3) that is configured to apply a vacuum through the apertures to constrain the substrate on the transfer belt;
wherein location, spacing, or size of the apertures varies longitudinally, latitudinally, or longitudinally and latitudinally across the printing region, such that as the substrate moves through the printing region, the substrate is subjected to different amounts of the vacuum (§§0042-0055 and Figs. 2-6).
Regarding Claim 2, a platen (4, §§0032-0033 and Figs. 1-6) that has apertures defined therethrough (42, §0038 and Figs. 2-6) and that is situated beneath the transfer belt,
wherein the transfer belt is situated on the platen such that the apertures in the transfer belt are aligned with the apertures in the platen, through which the vacuum is applied by the source, in at least part of the printing region (§§0042-0055 and Figs. 2-6).
Regarding Claim 3, wherein the apertures located beneath the plurality of printheads are representative of a first subset of the apertures (Fig. 4),
wherein the apertures that are not located beneath the plurality of printheads are representative of a second subset of the apertures (Fig. 4), and
wherein the plurality of printheads are positioned in a staggered arrangement (Fig. 4), such that the apertures in the first subset are positioned in a staggered arrangement so that as the substrate moves through the printing region, the substrate alternately moves across apertures in the first subset and apertures in the second subset (§§0042-0055 and Figs. 2-6).
Regarding Claim 4, wherein the apertures located beneath the plurality of printheads are representative of a first subset of the apertures (Fig. 4),
wherein the apertures that are not located beneath the plurality of printheads are representative of a second subset of the apertures (Fig. 4), and
wherein location, spacing, or size of the apertures in the first subset is different than location, spacing, or size of the apertures in the second subset (Fig. 4; please note that the location of apertures located beneath the plurality of printheads is inherently different than the location of apertures not located beneath the plurality of printheads).
Regarding Claim 5, wherein location, spacing, or size of apertures located beneath the plurality of printheads is different than location, spacing, or size of apertures that are not located beneath the plurality of printheads (Fig. 4; please note that the location of apertures located beneath the plurality of printheads is inherently different than the location of apertures not located beneath the plurality of printheads), and
wherein the plurality of printheads are positioned in a staggered arrangement (Fig. 4), so that as the substrate moves through the printing region, the substrate is exposed to alternating levels of vacuum (§§0042-0055 and Figs. 2-6).
Regarding independent Claim 6, a method performed by a system (§§0032-0033 and Figs. 1-6) that includes (i) a transfer belt (3, §0032 and Figs. 1-4) that has a first set of apertures (31, §0046 and Figs. 2-4, 6) defined therethrough and (ii) a platen (4, §§0032-0033 and Figs. 1-6) that has a second set of apertures (42, §0038 and Figs. 2-6) defined therethrough, the method comprising:
receiving a substrate on the transfer belt that is supported by the platen (§§0029-0055 and Figs. 1-6); and
conveying the substrate beneath a printhead while applying a vacuum through the first and second sets of apertures (§§0029-0055 and Figs. 1-6);
wherein location, spacing, or size of the apertures in the first and second sets varies longitudinally and latitudinally across surfaces of the transfer belt and platen, such that the substrate is alternatively exposed to different amounts of the vacuum while being conveyed beneath the printhead (§§0042-0055 and Figs. 2-6).
Regarding Claim 7, wherein the transfer belt is arranged on the platen such that each aperture in the first set is aligned with a corresponding one of the apertures in the second set (Fig. 2; please note that with the definition of a first set of apertures and a second set of apertures in Claim 6, only the apertures meeting the limitation of Claim 7 may be included in the respective sets).
Regarding Claim 10, receiving input that is indicative of one or more operating parameters for a print job (e.g. §0004); and
executing the print job by
(i) causing a feed system to feed the substrate onto the transfer belt (§§0032, 0035-0037 and Fig. 1), and
(ii) causing a conveyor system to move the transfer belt, and thereby convey the substrate beneath the printhead as ink is jetted onto the substrate (§§0030-0032, 0035-0037 and Fig. 1).
Regarding Claim 11, wherein the one or more operating parameters are indicative of a parameter of a printer of which the printhead is a part, an alignment of the substrate, a type of the substrate, or a planarity of the substrate (§§0030, 0035 and Fig. 1; please note that one of the sources 101-105 of recording medium 100 of different types and sizes inherently has to be selected to correspond to the desired output, which reads on this limitation).
Regarding independent Claim 15, a system (§§0032-0033 and Figs. 1-6) for supporting a substrate as the substrate is conveyed through a printing region that spatially corresponds to a plurality of printheads (2, §0033 and Figs. 2-3, 5), the system comprising:
a platen (4, §0032 and Figs. 1-6) that has apertures (42, §0038 and Figs. 2-3, 5-6) defined therethrough and that is configured to support a transfer belt (3, §0032 and Figs. 1-4) on which the substrate is situated; and
a source (5, §0033 and Figs. 1-3) that is configured to apply a vacuum through the apertures;
wherein location, spacing, or size of the apertures varies longitudinally, latitudinally, or longitudinally and latitudinally across the printing region, such that as the substrate moves through the printing region, the substrate is subjected to different amounts of the vacuum (§§0041-0045 and Figs. 4-6).
Regarding Claim 16, wherein the transfer belt also has apertures defined therethrough (31, §0046 and Figs. 2-4, 6), and
wherein the transfer belt is situated on the platen such that the apertures in the transfer belt are aligned with the apertures in the platen, through which the vacuum is applied by the source, in at least part of the printing region (§§0042-0055 and Figs. 2-6).
Regarding Claim 17, wherein the apertures located beneath the plurality of printheads are representative of a first subset of the apertures (Fig. 4),
wherein the apertures that are not located beneath the plurality of printheads are representative of a second subset of the apertures (Fig. 4), and
wherein the plurality of printheads are positioned in a staggered arrangement, such that the apertures in the first subset are positioned in a staggered arrangement so that as the substrate moves through the printing region, the substrate alternately moves across apertures in the first subset and apertures in the second subset (§§0042-0055 and Figs. 2-6).
Regarding Claim 18, wherein the source is a vacuum table that includes a plurality of vacuum zones in which the vacuum can be controllably disabled (§0043 and Fig. 4).
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(s) 14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yamagishi et al. (U.S. 2011/0242220 A1) as applied to claim 10 above, and further in view of Panides et al. (U.S. 2010/0238249 A1).
Yamagishi et al. disclose the following claimed limitations:
Regarding Claim 14, all limitations of Claim 10 (from which this Claim depends).
Yamagishi et al. do not disclose the following claimed limitations:
Regarding Claim 14, wherein the feed system maintains, between adjacent substrates being fed onto the transfer belt, a gap that is defined by a predetermined size or a predetermined number of apertures in the first set.
Panides et al. disclose the following claimed limitations:
Regarding Claim 14, wherein the feed system maintains, between adjacent substrates being fed onto the transfer belt, a gap (234, §§0031-0034 and Figs. 1-5) that is defined by a predetermined size or a predetermined number of apertures in the first set. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to apply the gap of Panides et al. to the method of Yamagishi et al. to enable reliable handling of media with creased or curled edges.
Claim(s) 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yamagishi et al. (U.S. 2011/0242220 A1) as applied to claim 15 above, and further in view of Panides et al. (U.S. 2010/0238249 A1).
Yamagishi et al. disclose the following claimed limitations:
Regarding Claim 20, all limitations of Claim 15 (from which this Claim depends);
wherein the platen plate is connected to the source via a conduit (suction duct, §0033).
Yamagishi et al. do not disclose the following claimed limitations:
Regarding Claim 20, wherein a manifold through which the vacuum is applied is located beneath a lower surface of the platen.
Panides et al. disclose the following claimed limitations:
Regarding Claim 20, wherein a manifold (224, §0023 and Fig. 2) through which the vacuum is applied is located beneath a lower surface of the platen. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to apply the plenum of Panides et al. to the system of Yamagishi et al. to enable proper distribution of vacuum over the lower surface of the platen.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 8-9, 12-13 and 19 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims. The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: the primary reason for indicating allowable subject matter of claims 8-9 is the inclusion of the limitations of a method including wherein variations in the location, spacing, or size of the apertures in the second set causes the vacuum to be applied at a lower level in a first region that is beneath the printhead than in a second region that is not beneath the printhead. It is these limitations found in the claims, as it is claimed in the combination of that has not been found, taught or suggested by prior art of record, which makes these claims allowable over the prior art.
Similarly, the primary reason for indicating allowable subject matter of claim 12 is the inclusion of the limitations of a method including wherein less vacuum is applied through the first subset of apertures than the second subset of apertures, and wherein the substrate is fed onto the transfer belt such that when the ink is jetted onto the substrate, each aperture in the first subset is covered by the substrate. It is these limitations found in the claims, as it is claimed in the combination of that has not been found, taught or suggested by prior art of record, which makes these claims allowable over the prior art.
The primary reason for indicating allowable subject matter of claim 13 is the inclusion of the limitations of a method including wherein the feed system is synchronized with the conveyor system to ensure that none of the first set of apertures defined through the transfer belt are partially covered by a leading edge or a trailing edge of the substrate. It is these limitations found in the claims, as it is claimed in the combination of that has not been found, taught or suggested by prior art of record, which makes these claims allowable over the prior art.
The primary reason for indicating allowable subject matter of claim 19 is the inclusion of the limitations of a system including wherein a manifold is located beneath the vacuum table, and wherein the vacuum is induced through the manifold such that more air flow is induced in non-printhead regions while less air flow is induced in printhead regions. It is these limitations found in the claims, as it is claimed in the combination of that has not been found, taught or suggested by prior art of record, which makes these claims allowable over the prior art.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ALEXANDER D SHENDEROV whose telephone number is (571)270-7049. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9-5.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Matthew Luu can be reached on (571) 272-7663. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ALEXANDER D SHENDEROV/Examiner, Art Unit 2853
/JASON S UHLENHAKE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2853
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