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 .
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.
Claim(s) 1-10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kagata et al. (# US 2014/0292902) in view of Iijima et al. (# US 6561638) and Ishimoto et al. (# US 2004/0032473) .
Kagata et al. discloses:
1. A recording method (see Abstract; [0093]-[0096]) comprising:
an ink adhesion step of ejecting a water-based color ink composition (white ink, [0028]-[0048]) containing a colorant (white colorant; [0028]-[0048]) from an ink jet head so as to be adhered to a recording medium ([0084; [0093]-[0096]); and
a clear ink adhesion step ([0082]) of ejecting a water-based clear ink ([0093]-[0095]) composition from the ink jet head so as to be adhered to the recording medium ([0093]-[0095]),
wherein the recording medium is a non-absorbing or a low-absorbing recording medium (plastic or metallic material; [0086]),
the clear ink composition contains a resin ([0085]) and a wax ([0085]; [0087]; [0090]) and contains no polyol having a standard boiling point of 280° C. or more functioning as an organic solvent at a content of 0.5 percent by mass or more with respect to a total mass of the clear ink composition ([0050]-[0056]), and
the clear ink composition is adhered to a non-image portion which is a region other than an image portion which is a region of the recording medium to which the color ink composition is adhered ([0093]-[0096]).
2. The recording method according to claim 1, wherein a total content of the resin and the wax contained in the clear ink composition is 4 to 10 percent by mass with respect to the total mass of the clear ink composition (The amount (on a solid basis) of such a polyolefin wax and/or an ethylene-vinyl acetate resin in the clear ink composition in the first ink set is preferably in the range of 3% to 10% by mass, both inclusive, more preferably 3% to 8% by mass, both inclusive; [0090]).
3. The recording method according to claim 1, wherein a mass ratio (wax/resin) of the resin and the wax contained in the clear ink composition is 0.25 or more (see Examples).
5. The recording method according to claim 1, wherein the wax has a volume average particle diameter D50 of 50 nm or more ([0007]; [0132]).
7. The recording method according to claim 1, wherein a total adhesion amount of the resin and the wax contained in the clear ink composition in the non-image portion is 0.4 mg/inch2 or less (see Examples).
8. The recording method according to claim 1, wherein a region of the non-image portion to which the clear ink composition is adhered includes an area having a width of 2 cm or more from the edge of the periphery of the image portion ([0093]-[0096]; see Examples).
9. The recording method according to claim 1, wherein an adhesion amount of the clear ink composition to the image portion adjacent to the non-image portion to which the clear ink composition is adhered is equal to or less than an adhesion amount of the clear ink composition to the non-image portion (see Example; [0093]-[0096]).
10. A recording apparatus which performs the recording method according to claim 1, the apparatus comprising: the color ink composition; the clear ink composition; and an ink jet head to eject the color ink composition and the clear ink composition ([0093]-[0096]).
Kagata et al. explicitly did not discloses:
1. The recording medium having a surface with an in-plane surface roughness Sa of 0.2 μm or more.
4. The recording method according to claim 1, wherein the wax is a polyolefin wax having a melting point of 120° C. or more.
6. The recording method according to claim 1, wherein a difference in surface tension between the color ink composition and the clear ink composition is 2 mN/m or less.
With respect to claim 4, however, Kagata et al. discloses exactly same polyolefin wax as applicant discloses in their own specification. The melting point is property of the material, which constant to the material. Therefore, the polyolefin wax discloses by the Kagata et al. obviously have the melting point of 120° C. or more.
Iijima et al. teaches that to have the recording medium with good adhesion property, The recording medium having a surface with an in-plane surface roughness Sa of 0.2 μm or more (not more than 0.8 μm; see claim 10).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the invention to modify the recording medium of Kagata et al. by the aforementioned teaching of Iijima et al. in order to have the recording medium with good adhesion property, which gives high quality printed image.
Ishimoto et al. teaches to have the color ink and clear ink with stable discharge from head,
6. The recording method according to claim 1, wherein a difference in surface tension between the color ink composition (20 to 40 mN./m; [0082]) and the clear ink composition is 2 mN/m or less (25 to 50 mN/m; [0055]) (i.e. color ink and clear ink surface tension is 25 mN/m, so difference is 0 mN/m).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the invention to modify the clear ink and color ink composition of Kagata et al. by the aforementioned teaching of Ishimoto et al. in order to have the color ink and clear ink with stable discharge from head, which gives high quality printed image.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
(1) Fujita (# US 2022/0332963) discloses a recording method of the present disclosure includes: an adhesion step of ejecting an ink composition from an ink jet head so as to be adhered to a recording medium; and a primary heating step of heating the ink composition adhered to the recording medium in the adhesion step, and the ink composition is a water-based ink containing an organic compound which is a solid at 25° C. having a standard boiling point of 280° C. or less and which has a solubility of 50 [g/100 g of water] or more in water at 25° C (see Abstract).
(2) Kagata et al. (# US 2018/0265725) discloses An ink jet recording method includes applying a reaction solution containing a coagulant for coagulating components of an ink composition onto a recording medium and applying an ink composition onto the recording medium by discharging the ink composition from an ink jet head. The ink composition is an aqueous ink jet composition which contains a first wax having a melting point of 100° C. or higher, a second wax having a melting point of 70° C. or lower, and water (see Abstract).
(3) Kariya et al. (# US 2010/0196604) discloses an ink set for ink-jet recording comprising: a water-based ink composition which includes water, a coloring material, and resin particles having a minimum film-forming temperature MFT.sup.0 of 60.degree. C. or higher when prepared as an aqueous dispersion; and an aqueous treatment liquid which includes water, an aggregation agent that forms an aggregate when contacted with the water-based ink composition, and a water-soluble organic solvent prepared such that a minimum film-forming temperature MFT.sup.25 of the resin particles is at least 50.degree. C. lower than MFT.sup.0 in the aqueous dispersion when a mixed liquid is prepared wherein the mixed liquid includes a mixture of the resin particles, water, and the water-soluble organic solvent in an amount of 25% by mass relative to the solid content of the resin particles; and an ink-jet recording method using the ink set (see Abstract).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MANISH S SHAH whose telephone number is (571)272-2152. The examiner can normally be reached 8:00am-4:00pm.
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MANISH S. SHAH
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2853
/Manish S Shah/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2853
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