CTNF 18/982,315 CTNF 83421 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. Priority Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d). The certified copy has been received. Information Disclosure Statement The Information Disclosure Statement (IDS) submitted on 16 December 2024 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the Information Disclosure Statement has been considered by the Examiner. 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. 07-23-aia AIA 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. 07-20-02-aia AIA This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the Examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the Examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention. 07-21-aia AIA Claim s 1-5 & 9-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over GRACIA VERDUGO et al. (US 2022/0379644 A1) in view of YOSHIKAWA (US 2018/0361756 A1) . As related to independent claims 1, 9, & 10, GRACIA VERDUGO et al. teaches a control method [claim 9] stored on a non-transitory and computer readable medium [claim 10] for controlling a printing apparatus [claim 1] comprising: a head configured to eject an ink having a sublimating property; and a controller, wherein the controller is configured to control the head so as to execute ejecting the ink from the head to a medium based on image data and in accordance with one mode selected from a print mode including a first print mode [i.e. high ink density] and a second print mode [i.e. low ink density] (GRACIA VERDUGO et al. – Page 2, Paragraphs 27-28 and Page 3, Paragraphs 32-38; and Figures 1, 2, 5, & 8, shown below), an usage amount of the ink being smaller than in the first print mode, and the controller is configured to control the head so as to execute outputting, as a transfer condition for transferring a print image printed on the medium to a transfer medium, a second transfer condition rather than a first transfer condition, in a case where the one mode selected from the print mode is the second print mode, a transfer energy for transferring the print image from the medium to the transfer medium being greater in the second transfer condition than in the first transfer condition (GRACIA VERDUGO et al. – Page 2, Paragraphs 27-28 and Page 3, Paragraphs 32-38; and Figures 1, 2, 5, & 8, shown below). While GRACIA VERDUGO et al. teaches different ink densities, GRACIA VERDUGO et al. does not specifically teach the amount of ink dictates the control of the thermal transfer energy or the specific head of the printing apparatus. However, YOSHIKAWA teaches a printing apparatus comprising a head configured to eject an ink having a sublimating property and specifically teaches using the amount of ink to be used for printing to set the thermal transfer energy and control information (YOSHIKAWA – Page 3, Paragraphs 46-48; Page 2, Paragraph 26; Page 5, Paragraphs 63-67; and Figures 2 & 5A, shown below). PNG media_image1.png 310 356 media_image1.png Greyscale PNG media_image2.png 282 322 media_image2.png Greyscale PNG media_image3.png 202 390 media_image3.png Greyscale PNG media_image4.png 162 144 media_image4.png Greyscale PNG media_image5.png 660 434 media_image5.png Greyscale PNG media_image6.png 380 450 media_image6.png Greyscale It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to specify the printing apparatus of GRACIA VERDUGO et al. to include a print head and relate the ink density to ink amount as taught by YOSHIKAWA in an effort to provide control information for thermal transfer control based on the image data including ink color and amount of ink to be used (YOSHIKAWA – Page 1, Paragraphs 4-5). As related to dependent claim 2, the combination of GRACIA VERDUGO et al. and YOSHIKAWA remains as applied above and continues to teach the controller is configured to execute determining whether the transfer medium has a heat-resisting property, and in a case where the controller determines that the transfer medium does not have the heat-resisting property, the controller is configured to execute outputting the first transfer condition as the transfer condition (GRACIA VERDUGO et al. – Page 3, Paragraph 38 and YOSHIKAWA – Page 8, Paragraph 103). As related to dependent claim 3, the combination of GRACIA VERDUGO et al. and YOSHIKAWA remains as applied above and continues to teach the print mode of the printing process includes a third print mode different from the first print mode and the second print mode, the third print mode being for forming the print image of a fine line, the transfer condition includes a third transfer condition, the transfer energy being smaller than in the first transfer condition, and the controller is configured: to execute determining whether the one mode selected from the print mode is the third print mode; and in a case where the controller determines that the one mode selected from the print mode is the third print mode, to execute outputting the third transfer condition as the transfer condition (GRACIA VERDUGO et al. – Page 2, Paragraphs 27-28 & Page 3, Paragraph 32 and YOSHIKAWA – Page 5, Paragraphs 63-67). As related to dependent claim 4, the combination of GRACIA VERDUGO et al. and YOSHIKAWA remains as applied above and continues to teach a moving device configured to move the head along a moving direction, wherein the controller is configured: to execute determining whether the one mode selected from the print mode is the second print mode; in a case where the controller determines that the one mode selected from the print mode is the second print mode, to control the head and the moving device so as to execute a bidirectional printing of ejecting the ink from the head in a forward route and a return route of the moving direction [i.e. typical draft mode of a serial or scanning printer, draft mode is usually bidirectional because of lower quality due to banding, faster, and uses substantially less ink]; and in a case where the controller determines that the one mode selected from the print mode is not the second print mode, to control the head and the moving device so as to execute a unidirectional printing of ejecting the ink from the head in the forward route or the return route [i.e. typical high quality mode of a serial or scanning printer, high quality mode is usually unidirectional to prevent banding, slower to emphasize precision, and uses substantially more ink] of the moving direction and not ejecting the ink from the head in other routes (YOSHIKAWA – Page 3, Paragraphs 46-48). As related to dependent claim 5, the combination of GRACIA VERDUGO et al. and YOSHIKAWA remains as applied above and continues to teach a moving device configured to move the head along a moving direction, wherein the controller is configured: to execute determining whether the one mode selected from the print mode is the second print mode; in a case where the controller determines that the one mode selected from the print mode is the second print mode [i.e. typical draft mode of a serial or scanning printer, draft mode is usually bidirectional because of lower quality due to banding, faster, and uses substantially less ink], to control the head and the moving device so as to execute a bidirectional printing of ejecting the ink from the head in a forward route and a return route of the moving direction; and in a case where the controller determines that the one mode selected from the print mode is not the second print mode [i.e. typical high quality mode of a serial or scanning printer, high quality mode is usually unidirectional to prevent banding, slower to emphasize precision, and uses substantially more ink], to control the head and the moving device so as to execute determining whether to cause the head to eject the ink in the forward route or the return route of the moving direction, based on a color difference between an image formed by ejecting the ink from the head in the forward route of the moving direction and an image formed by ejecting the ink from the head in the return route of the moving direction (YOSHIKAWA – Page 3, Paragraphs 46-48) . 07-21-aia AIA Claim 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over the combination of GRACIA VERDUGO et al. (US 2022/0379644 A1) and YOSHIKAWA (US 2018/0361756 A1) and further in view of Doumaux et al. (US 2020/0283952 A1) . The combination of GRACIA VERDUGO et al. and YOSHIKAWA remains as applied above but does not specifically teach the head has first nozzles and second nozzles. However, Doumaux et al. teaches a printing apparatus with a head configured to eject an ink having a sublimating property (Doumaux et al. – Page 1, Paragraphs 1 & 21) and specifically teaches the head has first nozzles and second nozzles (Doumaux et al. – Page 1, Paragraph 1 & Page 6, Paragraph 67 – Page 7, Paragraph 77 and Figures 1, 5, & 6, shown below). Doumaux et al. continues to teach each of the first nozzles being configured to eject one of a plurality of kinds of color inks including two or more kinds of color inks capable of being mixed so as to express black [i.e. Black disperse dye colorant made up of a blend of non-black disperse dyes], and the second nozzle being configured to eject a black ink, and the controller is configured: to execute determining whether the one mode selected from the print mode is the second print mode; to execute obtaining, based on the image data, a dark pixel having a color value closer to the black than a first color value from among a plurality of pixels of the print image; and in a case where the controller determines that the one mode selected from the print mode is the second print mode, to execute using the black ink rather than mixing the plurality of kinds of color inks, so as to form the dark pixel (Doumaux et al. – Page 1, Paragraph 21; Page 2, Paragraphs 23-27). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to specify the printing apparatus of the combination of GRACIA VERDUGO et al. and YOSHIKAWA to include a print head with first and second nozzles as taught by Doumaux et al. in an effort to provide control information for thermal transfer control based on the image data including ink color and amount of ink to be used and provide better quality prints while extending the printhead life (YOSHIKAWA – Page 1, Paragraphs 4-5 and Doumaux et al. – Page 2, Paragraph 21) . PNG media_image7.png 618 440 media_image7.png Greyscale PNG media_image8.png 288 274 media_image8.png Greyscale PNG media_image9.png 274 460 media_image9.png Greyscale Allowable Subject Matter 07-43 Claims 7 & 8 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim [claim 1] , but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim [claim 1] and any intervening claims [claim 6] . 13-03-01 AIA The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: As related to further dependent claim 7 and dependent claim 8, the prior art of record does not teach obtaining the number of a dark pixel having a color value closer to the black than a first color… and the other obtaining and determining steps as claimed . Conclusion 07-96 AIA The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Mheidle (US 2012/0021192 A1) teaches a printing process to print transfer material and then the transfer step, using a sublimation dye ink set which optionally includes black, but could use other colors to print in black. SHIMURA (US 2021/0402795 A1) teaches an ink jet printing process and apparatus for serial/scanning sublimation printing to transfer medium and then transferring it to the target textile . Examiner's Note: Examiner has cited particular Figures & Reference Numbers, Columns, Paragraphs and Line Numbers in the references as applied to the claims above for the convenience of the applicant. Although the specified citations are representative of the teachings of the art and are applied to the specific limitations within the individual claim, other passages and figures may apply as well. It is respectfully requested from the applicant in preparing responses, to fully consider the references in their entirety as potentially teaching all or part of the claimed invention, as well as the context of the passage as taught by the prior art or disclosed by the Examiner. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the Examiner should be directed to JOHN P ZIMMERMANN whose telephone number is (571)270-3049. The Examiner can normally be reached Monday-Thursday 0700-1730 EST. 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, 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. 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. /John P Zimmermann/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2853 Application/Control Number: 18/982,315 Page 2 Art Unit: 2853 Application/Control Number: 18/982,315 Page 3 Art Unit: 2853 Application/Control Number: 18/982,315 Page 4 Art Unit: 2853 Application/Control Number: 18/982,315 Page 5 Art Unit: 2853 Application/Control Number: 18/982,315 Page 6 Art Unit: 2853 Application/Control Number: 18/982,315 Page 7 Art Unit: 2853 Application/Control Number: 18/982,315 Page 8 Art Unit: 2853 Application/Control Number: 18/982,315 Page 9 Art Unit: 2853 Application/Control Number: 18/982,315 Page 10 Art Unit: 2853
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