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
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on 6/3/2025 and 3/9/2026 are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statements are being considered 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.
Claim(s) 1-3 and 5-6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nakamura et al. (US 2019/0283459 A1) in view of Fujii et al. (US 2020/0131394 A1).
Regarding claims 1-2:
Nakamura et al. disclose an ink jet recording method comprising:
applying, onto a non-permeable substrate (impermeable base material 102), a pretreatment liquid (“pre-coating liquid”) that contains water (paragraph 255), a coagulating agent (paragraph 163) and a resin (paragraph 170);
drying the pretreatment liquid (via pre-coating liquid dyer 105: paragraph 297 & Fig. 11);
applying, onto the non-permeable substrate onto which the pretreatment liquid has been applied, a first ink (e.g. “a color ink”) that contains water and a colorant by an ink jet recording system (by an inkjet head 106: paragraphs 134, 185-246 & Fig. 11);
drying the first ink under drying conditions of a wind speed of V m/s, a drying temperature of T°C, and a drying time of t seconds (paragraphs 112-114, 258-263, 334-337);
applying, onto the non-permeable substrate onto which the pretreatment liquid and the first ink have been applied, a second ink (e.g. white ink) containing water and a colorant by an ink jet recording system (by inkjet head 107: paragraph 134),
wherein the wind speed V is between 2-60 m/s, especially 20-40 m/s (paragraphs 258-263, 317, 334-337),
wherein the drying temperature T is between 70-350°C, especially 80°C (paragraphs 258-263, 334-337), and
wherein the drying time t is between 6-8 seconds (paragraphs 110, 112-114).
Nakamura et al. do not expressly disclose the particular composition of the pretreatment liquid.
However, Fujii et al. disclose a pretreatment liquid comprising water (paragraph 47), a coagulating agent (“organic acid”: paragraph 47) having a molecular weight of 1000 or less (paragraphs 128-132), and a resin (paragraph 47), wherein a content of the coagulating agent with respect to a total amount of the pretreatment liquid is M% by mass (paragraph 152), and wherein a content of the resin with respect to the total amount of the pretreatment liquid is P% by mass (paragraph 125), wherein the content M of the coagulating agent is between 3-40wt%, especially 5-30wt% (paragraph 152), and wherein the content P of the resin is between 1-25wt%, especially 3-15wt% (paragraph 125). Fujii et al. teach that such a pretreatment liquid provides excellent image quality on impermeable media (paragraph 48).
Therefore, before the effective filing date of invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to utilize a pretreatment liquid, such as that taught by Fujii et al., into Nakamura et al.’s method. In doing so, the expressions 3000 ≥ 50V + TtM/P ≥ 1000 (1A) and 120 ≥ T ≥ 25 (2) are naturally satisfied. For example, the expressions are satisfied in the case that an artisan selects V = 20 m/s, T = 80°C, t = 6s, M = 3wt%, and P = 5wt%.
Regarding claim 3:
Nakamura et al.’s modified method comprises all the limitations of claim 1, and Nakamura et al. also disclose that, in the drying the pretreatment liquid, the pretreatment liquid is dried under drying conditions of a wind speed of Vp m/s, a drying temperature Tp°C, and drying time of tp seconds (paragraphs 258, 334, 112-114).
Therefore, in Nakamura et al.’s modified method, the expression 3500 ≥ 20Vp + 50V + (Tt + Tptp)M/P ≥ 1500 is naturally satisfied.
Regarding claim 5:
Nakamura et al.’s modified method comprises all the limitations of claim 1, and Fujii et al. also disclose that an amount of the coagulating agent applied onto the non-permeable substrate is 0.03 g/m2 to 0.15 g/m2 (paragraphs 214-216).
Regarding claim 6:
Nakamura et al.’s modified method comprises all the limitations of claim 1, and Fujii et al. also disclose that a glass transition temperature of the resin contained in the pretreatment liquid is indicated by Tg (e.g. 40°C: paragraph 18-19), the expression 1500 ≥ (T-Tg)t ≥ 200, is naturally satisfied.
Claim(s) 4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nakamura et al. as modified by Fujii et al., as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Mitsuyasu et al. (US 2022/0379648 A1).
Regarding claim 4:
Nakamura et al.’s modified method comprises all the limitations of claim 1, and Nakamura et al. also disclose that the non-permeable substrate is conveyed with constant tension S during drying (paragraph 301).
Nakamura et al.’s modified method does not expressly disclose the particular tension S.
However, Mitsuyasu et al. disclose an ink jet recording method in which a tension S of a non-permeable substrate is set between 200-580 N/m, so as to reduce adhesion between rollers and the substrate while preventing slippage (paragraph 16, 51).
Therefore, before the effective filing date of invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to convey Nakamura et al.’s substrate in the manner taught by Mitsuyasu et al. In doing so, the expression 50 ≥ (50V + TtM/P)/S ≥ 15 is naturally satisfied. For example, the expression is satisfied when V = 40m/s, T = 80°C, t = 6s, M = 3 wt%, P = 1wt%, and S = 200 N/m.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
Kobashi (US 2020/0198368 A1) disclose an ink jet recording method of applying a pretreatment liquid to a non-permeable substrate, drying the pretreatment liquid, applying a first ink, and drying the first in (Fig. 2), wherein the drying conditions include a wind speed V and drying temperature T (paragraph 46). Kobashi does not expressly disclose a drying time.
Communication with the USPTO
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Shelby L Fidler whose telephone number is (571)272-8455. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday, 8:30am - 5pm EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Douglas Rodriguez can be reached at (571) 431-0716. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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SHELBY L. FIDLER
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2853
/SHELBY L FIDLER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2853
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