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 with traverse of claims 1-8 & 11-13 in the reply filed on 5/13/26 is acknowledged. The traversal is on the ground(s) that US PG Pub 2022/0032651 does not anticipate claim 1 and therefore there is unity of invention. The argument is moot because claim 1 is anticipated/rendered obvious as evidenced by the rejection below and therefore there is not unity of invention.
Claims 9-10 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b), as being drawn to a nonelected apparatus, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Applicant timely traversed the restriction (election) requirement in the reply filed on 5/13/26.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claim 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 6: Claim 6 recites the limitation "the line of pixels" in lines 1-2. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
For the purpose of examination, claim 6 is being considered as if it depends from claim 4 which would fix the antecedent basis issue of the instant claim.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-8 & 11-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Miller et al. (US PG Pub 2014/0300676; hereafter ‘676).
Claim 1: ‘676 is directed towards a method of creating a modified design on a surface (title and abstract), the method comprising:
providing a tool and an industrial robot configured to perform relative movements between the tool and the surface (a tool attached to a gantry system configured to perform relative movements between the tool and the surface; see Fig. 3);
providing a digital model of the surface, the digital model including a candidate profile of the surface (see step 410, Fig. 4);
providing a candidate path for the relative movements based on the candidate profile (an undistorted 2D image is provided which provides a candidate path for the print module, 415, Fig. 4);
providing a candidate design to be created on the surface based on the candidate path ((415, Fig. 4)
determining an actual profile of the surface (¶ 50-52);
providing a modified path for the relative movements based on the actual profile (¶s 50-52);
modifying the candidate design to provide the modified design to be created on the surface based on a deviation between the candidate path and the modified path (¶s 50-52); and
controlling the industrial robot and the tool to create the modified design on the surface using the modified path for the relative movements (step 435, Fig. 4).
Claim 2: The candidate design is a candidate image and the modified design is a modified image (415 & 420, Fig. 4).
Claim 3: The candidate image comprises a plurality of pixels (candidate image is displayed on a computer thus has a plurality of pixels).
The coating device is a printhead (¶ 8) and the image is modified by a computer to provide a distorted image (420, Fig. 4).
‘676 does not explicitly state that the modifications of the candidate image to provide the modified image includes adding one or more pixels to the candidate image.
However, it is reasonable to presume that modification of the image by the computer of a pixelated design includes adding and removing pixels to the undistorted image to provide an image which is larger in some regions and smaller in other regions as desired.
Claim 3: The candidate image comprises a plurality of pixels (candidate image is displayed on a computer thus has a plurality of pixels, see Figs. 7-8).
The coating device is a printhead (¶ 8) and the image is modified by a computer to provide a distorted image (420, Fig. 4).
Thus, it is apparent that the modifications of the candidate image to provide the modified image includes adding one or more pixels to the candidate image.
Claim 4: The one or more pixels comprises a plurality of pixels arranged in a line of pixels (the distortion is displayed on said computer and thus is a plurality of pixels in a line of pixels; Figs. 7-8)
Claim 5: The candidate path and the modified path are a print line along the cylinder (i.e. in a common plane).
Claim 6: The line of pixels is transverse of the plane (See Figs. 7-8).
Claim 7: The creation of the modified design on the surface includes applying a coating medium to the surface (an image is printed by applying an ink to the surface; ¶ 33).
Claim 8: The method of ‘676 teaches performing the steps for individual body shapes that will distort the candidate image different based on each individual body part the article is worn on and thus teaches the claimed steps on a second surface.
Claim 11: The candidate path and the modified path lie in a common plane (no reference point has been defined and therefore a plane can be chosen that is common to both paths).
Claim 12: The creation of the modified design on the surface includes applying a coating medium to the surface (435, Fig. 4; ¶ 33).
Claim 13: The method of ‘676 teaches performing the steps for individual body shapes that will distort the candidate image different based on each individual body part the article is worn on and thus teaches the claimed steps on a second surface.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JAMES M MELLOTT whose telephone number is (571)270-3593. The examiner can normally be reached 8:30AM-4:30PM CST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Curtis Mayes can be reached at 571-272-1234. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/James M Mellott/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1759
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