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 1-9 in the reply filed on 30 July 2026 is acknowledged. Claims 10-12 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 30 July 2026.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The references cited in the information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 20 May 2026, have been considered.
Drawings
The drawings received on 15 January 2025 are accepted.
Specification
The specification has not been checked to the extent necessary to determine the presence of all possible minor errors. Applicant’s cooperation is requested in correcting any errors of which applicant may become aware in the specification.
Examiner’s Note
The examiner has pointed out particular references contained in the prior art of record in the body of this action for the convenience of the applicant. Although the specified citations are representative of the teachings in the art and are applied to the specific limitations within the individual claim, other passages and figures may apply as well. Applicant should consider the entire prior art as applicable as to the limitations of the claims. It is respectfully requested from the applicant, in preparing the response, to consider fully the entire references 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.
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.
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.
1. Claims 1-4 and 7-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Beech (US 10,160,247).
With respect to claim 1, Beech discloses a printing apparatus comprising:
a housing (Fig. 1, element 10);
an application unit (Fig. 1, element 16) configured to apply a binder (Fig. 3, element 54) onto a print area of a print medium (Fig. 5, element 12) by using a thermal transfer method (Fig. 5, element 36; Column 4, lines 31-45), wherein the print medium is configured to move in a direction (Fig. 5, arrows; Column 4, lines 45-48) with respect to the housing; and
a processor (Fig. 1, element 24) electrically connected to the application unit and configured to control an operation of the application unit (Column 4, lines 6-14),
wherein the application unit comprises:
a binder ribbon (Fig. 3, element 32) comprising the binder (Fig. 3, element 54);
a first roll (Fig. 5, element 30) around which an end of the binder ribbon (Fig. 5, element 32) is wound;
a second roll (Fig. 3, element 34) around which another end of the binder ribbon (Fig. 5, element 32) is wound; and
a thermal transfer unit (Fig. 5, element 36) configured to thermally transfer the binder from the binder ribbon onto the print area (Column 4, lines 31-60).
The examiner notes to applicant that the limitations concerning the thermal transfer of the binder to the print area are broad in scope and would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art in view of Beech as applied above. In addition, although Beech does not illustrate the housing of the printing system, printer system housings are well known in the printing art. See for example Ozawa (US 2019/0283455) at Figure 1, element 4.
With respect to claim 2, Beech discloses the binder (Fig. 3, element 54) is configured to be thermally transferred (Fig. 5, element 36) onto the print area (Fig. 5, element 12) from the binder ribbon (Fig. 5, element 32) unwound from the first roll (Fig. 5, element 30), and the binder ribbon, from which the binder has been peeled off, is rewound around (Column 4, lines 31-60) the second roll (Fig. 5, element 34).
With respect to claim 3, Beech discloses the binder ribbon (Fig. 3, element 32) comprises: a first surface (Fig. 3, element 56) comprising the binder (Fig. 3, element 54) and being in contact with the print area by the thermal transfer unit (Fig. 5, element 36) during thermal transfer (Column 4, lines 31-60); and a second surface (Fig. 3, element 52) not comprising the binder and being in contact with the thermal transfer unit during thermal transfer (Column 4, line 61 – Column 5, line 3).
With respect to claim 4, Beech discloses the binder (Fig. 3, element 54) comprises thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) (Column 5, lines 4-25).
With respect to claim 7, Beech discloses a printing unit (Column 8, lines 78, i.e. thermal transfer print station) arranged on a movement path of the print medium (Fig. 5, element 12) and configured to print an image through a digital method on the print area of the print medium (Column 8, lines 1-24), wherein the processor (Fig. 1, element 24) is electrically connected to the print unit and further configured to control an operation of the printing unit (Column 8, lines 1-24).
With respect to claim 8, Beech discloses the application unit (Fig. 5, element 16) is apart from the printing unit (Column 8, lines 1-24) in a direction (Fig. 5, arrows) in which the print medium moves (Fig. 5, element 12).
With respect to claim 9, Beech discloses after the image is printed onto the print area by the printing unit (Column 8, lines 1-24), the binder (Fig. 3, element 54) is configured to be applied onto the print area by the application unit (Fig. 5, element 16; Column 8, lines 1-24).
2. Claims 5 and 6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Beech (US 10,160,247) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Ozawa (US 2019/0283455).
With respect to claim 5, Beech discloses a movement path (Fig. 5, arrows) of the print medium (Fig. 5, element 12) and a marker (Column 8, lines 1-24, i.e. thermal dye printing) printed on the print media, wherein the processor (Fig. 1, element 24) is further configured to initiate the operation of the application unit (Fig. 5, element 16).
With respect to claim 6, Beech discloses the marker (Column 8, lines 1-24, i.e. thermal dye printing).
However, Beech fails to disclose a sensor located on a movement path of the print medium and configured to generate a trigger signal in response to sensing a marker printed on the print media, wherein the processor is further configured to initiate the operation of the application unit in response to the generated trigger signal and the marker comprises at least one of a Quick Response (QR) code, a register mark, or an encoder marking.
Ozawa discloses a sensor (Fig. 6, element 36) located on a movement path of the print medium (paragraph 0063) and configured to generate a trigger signal in response to sensing a marker (paragraphs 0036, 0100) on the print media (paragraph 0100), wherein the processor is further configured to initiate a response to the generated trigger signal (paragraphs 0036, 0100) and the marker comprises at least one of a Quick Response (QR) code (paragraph 0100), a register mark (paragraphs 0036, 0100), or an encoder marking (paragraphs 0036, 0100).
At the time of the invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to use the print medium sensor system disclosed by Ozawa in the printing system of Beech. The motivation for doing so would have been to prevent the print head position from being slightly deviated from the normal printing position (paragraph 0006).
Conclusion
In view of the foregoing, the above claims have failed to patentably distinguish over the applied art.
The remaining references listed on forms 892 and 1449 have been reviewed by the examiner and are considered to be cumulative to or less material than the prior art references relied upon in the rejection above.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Geoffrey Mruk whose telephone number is (571)272-2810. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8-4:30 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, 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.
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/GEOFFREY S MRUK/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2853 09/09/2026
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