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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group I, claims 1-4, in the reply filed on 2/5/26 is acknowledged. Claims 5 and 6 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim.
Claim Objections
Claims 1-4 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 1 recites the limitation "the periphery" in line 9. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 2 recites the limitation "the color" and “the same color” in line 2. There is insufficient antecedent basis for these limitations in the claim.
Claims 3 and 4 recites the limitation "the area" in line 4. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Appropriate correction/clarification is required.
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.
Claims 1 and 2 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Fukuda et al. (US Publication 2023/0294448).
With respect to claim 1, Fukuda et al. teaches a transfer medium producing apparatus comprising;
a printing unit (20) that accepts image data that represents a printed image and prints the printed image on a release sheet based on the image data (Abstract, Paragraphs 0042, 0043);
an adhesive applying unit (30) that applies an adhesive to the release sheet (S) on which the printed image is printed (Paragraphs 0019, 0042); and
a control unit (2) that controls the printing unit and the adhesive applying unit (Paragraph 0036);
the control unit (2) controlling the printing unit (20) to add a printed image expansion area that expands outside the periphery of the printed image (Paragraph 0041).
However, Fukuda et al. does not explicitly disclose controlling the adhesive application unit such that an area onto which the adhesive is applied is larger than the printed image and smaller than the printed image expansion area. Fukuda et al. at least teaches controlling the unit to coat adhesive onto a printed image within a transfer region, from between the transfer region to be transferred onto a target medium for transfer and a non-transfer region not to be transferred onto the target medium for transfer, which are included in the printed image. (Abstract, Paragraph 0009).
It would therefore be well within ordinary skill in the art for the controller to control the adhesive application unit to apply adhesive to multiple areas including to the larger than the printed image area and smaller than the printed image expansion area to thereby improving stable adhesiveness of the medium.
With respect to claim 2, the limitation, “the color of the printed image expansion area is the same color as that of a transfer target medium”, appears to be intended use and does not further limit or set forth sufficient structure to patentably distinguish the claimed invention over the prior art. Therefore, Fukuda et al. has the structure to perform the intended use).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-4 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.
With respect to claims 3 and 4, the prior art does not teach or render obvious the printing unit prints a base image between the printed image and a layer of the adhesive; and the area of the base image is larger than the printed image and smaller than the printed image expansion area.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Chamandy (US Patent 7,102,657) teaches a transfer printing device.
Saida (JP2010146656) teaches providing an expansion area on a medium.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MARISSA LIANA FERGUSON SAMRETH whose telephone number is (571)272-2163. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8 a.m.-5 p.m.
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/Marissa Ferguson-Samreth/Examiner, Art Unit 2853
/CHRISTOPHER E MAHONEY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2852
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