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 .
Priorities and Examiner Remarks
This application claims foreign priority to application of JAPAN: 2022-077179 (filed 05/09/2022).
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 01/20/2026 has been entered.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied 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.
Claims 1, and 4-7, 9-14, 19-21, and 24-27 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hiroshi Shibata (US 20190303065 A1, hereinafter Shibata), in view of Ryoya Tsuji (US 20190303071 A1, hereinafter Tsuji),
Regarding claim 1,
Shibata teaches a communication apparatus operable to communicate with an information processing apparatus (Shibata, in general, see fig. 2 in view of each of fig. 3-7 and their respective paragraphs, note that (i) fig. 2 is an overall wireless connection establishment, (ii) a combination of fig. 3-6 discloses sub-steps of the establishment, and (iii) fig. 7 (Case B) is an alternative embodiment for fig. 3 (Case A)),
the communication apparatus comprising: one or more memories storing instructions; and one or more processors that execute the instructions to (Shibata, see at least fig. 1, e.g. communication system with devices and their respective components):
display, after the communication apparatus has automatically entered into the state in which the wireless setting is able to be started, the screen including a first area indicating that the wireless setting is able to be started and a second area for receiving an instruction for executing at least one of printing or scanning (Shibata, see at least para. 41-43 of fig. 3, “...In response to accepting a power-ON operation by the user in T100, the printer 100 causes the display unit 114 to display a menu screen MS in T105. The screen MS is a default screen of the printer 100 in other words, and includes a print button for causing the printer 100 to execute print and a setting button for designating various settings (such as print setting) of the printer 100...”);
in response to an instruction of the user to the first area via the screen, present the information necessary for the wireless setting to the user (Shibata, see at least para. 43-44 of fig. 3, e.g. step 122 in view of steps 105-120, “...In response to the QR code button in the screen SS being selected by the user in T120, the printer 100
causes the display unit 114 to display a QR code in T122...”);
in response to an instruction of the user to the second area, execute processing for at least one of printing or scanning (Shibata, see at least para. 42 of fig. 3, “...The screen MS is a default screen of the printer 100 in other words, and includes a print button for causing the printer 100 to execute print...”);
receive a request for the wireless setting from the information processing apparatus that has obtained connection information based on the presented information; and execute the wireless setting in response to the received request (Shibata, in general, see fig. 4 and its paragraphs, in particular, see at least para. 49-50, “...In T200, the terminal 10 sends an AReq via the Wi-Fi I/F 16 to the printer 100 by setting the MAC address “abc” obtained in T134 of FIG. 3 as its destination. The AReq is a signal for requesting the printer 100 to execute authentication. Here, the terminal 10 repeats sending the AReq to the printer 100 by sequentially using the plurality of communication channels in the channel list obtained in T134...”).
Shibata does not specifically teach present information necessary for wireless setting to a user without displaying a screen depicting that a wireless setting is able to be started, after the communication apparatus, by a manual operation of the user, has entered into a state in which the wireless setting for performing wireless communication with the information processing apparatus is able to be started.
Tsuji teaches present information necessary for wireless setting to a user without displaying a screen depicting that a wireless setting is able to be started, after the communication apparatus, by a manual operation of the user, has entered into a state in which the wireless setting for performing wireless communication with the information processing apparatus is able to be started (Tsuji, in general, see fig. 7 and its paragraphs 83-88 “Bootstrapping with Printer 100”; in particular, see at least para. 86-87, “...Based on a user's selection of the “home” button in the selection screen at T504, the terminal 10 causes the camera 15 to activate, and causes the display 14 to display, at T506, an instruction screen including a message encouraging the user to scan a QR code of the printer 100 (e.g., a message instructing a user how to operate the printer 100 to obtain the printer's QR code). At T510, a user may perform an operation on the printer 100 (e.g., selecting a button). In some embodiments, the user operation may cause the display 114 of the printer 100 to display the QR code at T512. The QR code is a coded image that is obtained by encoding the public key PPK1 and the channel list L2, which are stored in the memory 134, and the MAC address (e.g., “macpr”) of the Wi-Fi I/F 116...”, note that the step T512 of Tsuji does not necessarily require one or more of the steps T105-T120 disclosed in Shibata above).
Therefore, it would have been obvious, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to a person having ordinary skill in the art to incorporate Tsuji into Shibata for providing effective way to allow multiple devices to appropriately establish Wi-Fi connections.
Regarding claim 4, Shibata in view of Tsuji teaches claim 1.
Shibata further teaches the communication apparatus has automatically entered into the state in which the wireless setting is able to be started by turning on of a power of the communication apparatus. (Shibata, see at least para. 42 of fig. 2, for example, step T100)
Regarding claim 5, Shibata in view of Tsuji teaches claim 1.
Shibata further teaches the communication apparatus has automatically entered into the state in which the wireless setting is able to be started by initialization of the communication apparatus. (Shibata, see at least para. 40-41 of fig. 3, for example, Bootstrapping (BS) of Case A; FIG. 3)
Regarding claim 6, Shibata in view of Tsuji teaches claim 1.
Shibata does not teach the request includes information of an access point to be used in the wireless communication with the information processing apparatus.
Tsuji teaches the request includes information of an access point to be used in the wireless communication with the information processing apparatus. (Tsuji, see at least para. 103-104, “…At T710, the terminal 10 sends to the printer 100, via the Wi-Fi I/F 16, a CRes including the printer configuration object generated at T704, as well as the MAC address (e.g., “macap”) of the AP 6 and the channel information…”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to a person having ordinary skill in the art to incorporate Tsuji into Shibata for providing effective way to allow multiple devices to appropriately establish Wi-Fi connections.
Regarding claim 7, Shibata in view of Tsuji teaches claim 1.
Shibata further teaches the information necessary for the wireless setting is presented in a two-dimensional bar code. (Shibata, see at least para. 44 of fig. 3, for example, see step T122)
Regarding claim 9, Shibata in view of Tsuji teaches claim 1.
Shibata further teaches the information necessary for the wireless setting includes identification information and public key information of the communication apparatus. (Shibata, see at least para. 44, “…This QR code is a code image obtained by coding the public key PPK1 stored in advance in the memory
134…”)
Regarding claim 10, Shibata in view of Tsuji teaches claim 1.
Shibata further teaches the first area includes an icon indicating whether the wireless setting is able to be started. (Shibata, see at least para. 43, “...In response to the setting button in the screen MS being selected by the user in T106, the printer 100 causes the display unit 114 to display a setting screen SS in T107. The screen SS includes a print setting button for changing print settings of the printer 100, a QR code button for causing the printer 100 to display a QR code, and a mode shift button for changing an operation mode of the Wi-Fi I/F 116...”)
Regarding claim 11, Shibata in view of Tsuji teaches claim 10.
Shibata further teaches the instruction of the user to the first area is a user operation with respect to the icon by the user. (Shibata, see at least para. 43, “...In response to the setting button in the screen MS being selected by the user in T106, the printer 100 causes the display unit 114 to display a setting screen SS in T107. The screen SS includes a print setting button for changing print settings of the printer 100, a QR code button for causing the printer 100 to display a QR code, and a mode shift button for changing an operation mode of the Wi-Fi I/F 116...”)
Regarding claim 12, Shibata in view of Tsuji teaches claim 1.
Shibata does not teach the connection information is connection information for connecting with an access point.
Tsuji teaches the connection information is connection information for connecting with an access point. (Tsuji, see at least para. 103-104, “…At T710, the terminal 10 sends to the printer 100, via the Wi-Fi I/F 16, a CRes including the printer configuration object generated at T704, as well as the MAC address (e.g., “macap”) of the AP 6 and the channel information…”)
Therefore, it would have been obvious, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to a person having ordinary skill in the art to incorporate Tsuji into Shibata for providing effective way to allow multiple devices to appropriately establish Wi-Fi connections.
Regarding claim 13, Shibata in view of Tsuji teaches claim 12.
Shibata does not teach in the wireless setting, an infrastructure mode in which the access point is passed through is set.
Tsuji teaches in the wireless setting, an infrastructure mode in which the access point is passed through is set. (Tsuji, see at least para. 103-104 in view of para. 43, for one non-limiting example, see step T710 of fig. 9 in view of step T65 of fig. 2, note that “...At T65, the terminal 10 executes DPP Configuration with the printer 100. The Configuration at T65 is a process for sending, from the terminal 10 to the printer 100, information for allowing the printer 100 to establish a Wi-Fi connection with the AP 6...”)
Therefore, it would have been obvious, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to a person having ordinary skill in the art to incorporate Tsuji into Shibata for providing effective way to allow multiple devices to appropriately establish Wi-Fi connections.
Regarding claim 14, Shibata in view of Tsuji teaches claim 1.
Shibata further teaches the information processing apparatus supports a Wi-Fi Easy Connect (WEC) function, and the wireless setting is executed using Device Provisioning Protocol (DPP). (Shibata, see at least para. 24, “…the Wi-Fi I/F 116
supports the DPP scheme…”)
Regarding claim 19, this claim is rejected for the same reasoning as claim 1 except this claim is in method claim format.
Regarding claim 20, this claim is rejected for the same reasoning as claim 1 except this claim is in computer-readable storage medium claim format.
To be more specific, Shibata view of Tsuji also teaches a same or similar system with various apparatus comprising computer-readable storage medium (Shibata, see at least fig.1- 2), which are well known in the art and commonly used for providing and enabling robust and reliable data communication hardware and software.
Regarding claim 21, Shibata in view of Tsuji teaches claim 1.
Shibata further teaches determine whether the communication apparatus has entered into the state in which the wireless setting is able to be started by manual operation of the user or automatically. (Shibata, see at least para. 41-43 of fig. 3, for one non-limiting example, “...In response to accepting a power-ON operation by the user in T100, the printer 100 causes the display unit 114 to display a menu screen MS in T105. The screen MS is a default screen of the printer 100 in other words, and includes a print button for causing the printer 100 to execute print and a setting button for designating various settings (such as print setting) of the printer 100...”)
Regarding claim 24, Shibata in view of Tsuji teaches claim 1.
Shibata further teaches the one or more processors display the first area, on the screen, in a part of a display area of the communication apparatus together with the second area, wherein the user is allowed to perform the instruction for executing at least one of printing or scanning via the second area while the first area is displayed. (Shibata, see at least para. 42-43 of fig. 3, for one non-limiting example, “...The screen MS is a default screen of the printer 100 in other words, and includes a print button for causing the printer 100 to execute print and a setting button for designating various settings (such as print setting) of the printer 100...”, note that T107 may also apply)
Regarding claim 25, Shibata in view of Tsuji teaches claim 1.
Shibata further teaches wherein the icon has a first display state indicating that the wireless setting is not able to be started and a second display state indicating that the wireless setting is able to be started. (Shibata, see at least para. 43 along with para. 85 and fig. 7, “...The screen SS includes ...a mode shift button for changing an operation mode of the Wi-Fi I/F 116...”, note that para. 85 discloses “...the user can select the setting button in the screen MS in T606 and select the mode shift button in the screen SS (T607) displayed in accordance with the user's selection in T608. In this case, the printer 100 shifts the operation mode of the Wi-Fi I/F 116 from the normal mode to the setting mode in T609. Due to this, when receiving the PReq from the terminal 10, the printer 100 executes the processes from T514 of
FIG. 7..., and note that T514 discloses YES and NO)
Regarding claim 26, Shibata in view of Tsuji teaches claim 1.
Shibata further teaches determine whether the communication apparatus has entered into the state in which the wireless setting is able to be started by the manual operation of the user or automatically. (Shibata, see at least para. 41-43 of fig. 3, for one non-limiting example, “...In response to accepting a power-ON operation by the user in T100, the printer 100 causes the display unit 114 to display a menu screen MS in T105. The screen MS is a default screen of the printer 100 in other words, and includes a print button for causing the printer 100 to execute print and a setting button for designating various settings (such as print setting) of the printer 100...”)
Regarding claim 27, Shibata in view of Tsuji teaches claim 1.
Shibata does not teach determine wherein, in a case that the wireless setting using Device Provisioning Protocol fails, the one or more processors execute the instructions to restart the state in which the wireless setting is able to be started so that the communication apparatus is able to receive another request for the wireless setting from the information processing apparatus.
Tsuji teaches determine wherein, in a case that the wireless setting using Device Provisioning Protocol fails, the one or more processors execute the instructions to restart the state in which the wireless setting is able to be started so that the communication apparatus is able to receive another request for the wireless setting from the information processing apparatus. (Tsuji, see at least para. 127-128 of fig. 11, for one non-limiting example, “...Because the Wi-Fi connection is disconnected between the terminal 10 and the AP 6, the terminal 10 fails to send the confirmation request to the AP 6 and to receive a confirmation response (e.g., a first response signal) from the printer 100. Accordingly, because the terminal 10 does not receive the confirmation response, the terminal 10 can understand that a Wi-Fi connection between the terminal 10 and the AP 6 is disconnected. Once the terminal 10 understands that the Wi-Fi connection with the AP 6 is disconnected, the terminal 10 executes a four-way handshake with the AP 6 at T970, using the connector key CK1 (generated at T424 in FIG. 6) in the memory 34, thereby re-establishing a Wi-Fi connection with the AP 6...”)
Therefore, it would have been obvious, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to a person having ordinary skill in the art to incorporate Tsuji into Shibata for providing effective way to allow multiple devices to appropriately establish Wi-Fi connections.
Claims 22-23 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shibata view of Tsuji, and further in view of Hiroshi SHIBATA (US 20210377024 A1, hereinafter SHIBATA_024).
Regarding claim 22, Shibata in view of Tsuji teaches claim 1.
Shibata in view of Tsuji further teaches wherein in the state in which the wireless setting is able to be started, the one or more processors further execute the instructions to: operate the communication apparatus as an access point for a network setup, and perform a network setup with the information processing apparatus (Tsuji, see fig. 7 in view of fig. 8 along with their respective paragraphs, for example, fig 7 shows network setup prior to fig. 8’s authentication).
Shibata in view of Tsuji does not teach a setup communication protocol different from Device Provisioning Protocol, and perform a network setup with the information processing apparatus using the setup communication protocol.
SHIBATA_024 teaches a setup communication protocol different from Device Provisioning Protocol, and perform a network setup with the information processing apparatus using the setup communication protocol (SHIBATA_024, in general, see fig. 4 in view of fig. 5 along with their respective paragraphs, for example, fig 4 shows network setup prior to fig. 5’s authentication; in particular, see para. 63 along with para. 95, e.g. using SNMP search signal for network setup).
Therefore, it would have been obvious, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to a person having ordinary skill in the art to incorporate SHIBATA_024 into Shibata in view of Tsuji to improve user convenience in device selection and network setup (see para. 69).
Regarding claim 23, Shibata in view of Tsuji and SHIBATA_024 teaches claim 22.
Shibata in view of Tsuji does not teach the setup communication protocol is Simple Network Management Protocol (SNIVIP).
SHIBATA_024 further teaches the setup communication protocol is Simple Network Management Protocol (SNIVIP). (SHIBATA_024, see para. 63, e.g. using SNMP search signal for network setup).
Therefore, it would have been obvious, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to a person having ordinary skill in the art to incorporate SHIBATA_024 into Shibata in view of Tsuji to improve user convenience in device selection and network setup (see para. 69).
Claim 28 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shibata view of Tsuji, and further in view of Watanabe et al. (US 20210037160 A1, hereinafter Watanabe).
Regarding claim 28, Shibata in view of Tsuji teaches claim 1.
Shibata in view of Tsuji further teaches wherein the second area includes a plurality of icons including at least one icon for executing printing (Shibata, see at least para. 42 of fig. 3, “...The screen MS is a default screen of the printer 100 in other words, and includes a print button for causing the printer 100 to execute print and a setting button for designating various settings (such as print setting) of the printer 100...”).
Shibata in view of Tsuji does not teach at least one icon for executing scanning, and the one or more processors execute the processing for printing or scanning in accordance with which icon in the second area is operated by the user.
Watanabe teaches at least one icon for executing scanning, and the one or more processors execute the processing for printing or scanning in accordance with which icon in the second area is operated by the user. (Watanabe, see at least para. 80 and fig. 5, “...The home screen can include, for example, an area 501 a for receiving an execution instruction to execute a copy process, an area 501 b for receiving an execution instruction to execute a scan process, and an area 501 c for receiving an execution instruction to execute a print process...”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to a person having ordinary skill in the art to incorporate Watanabe into Shibata in view of Tsuji to provide user convenience for selecting functions and changing connection settings (see para. 80-81).
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 01/20/2026 have been fully considered. Regarding independent claims 1, 19, and 20 since applicant's amendment necessitated new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action, previous Office action's rejections are moot. Accordingly, corresponding dependent claims have also been rejected in this Office action.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to YEE F LAM whose telephone number is (571)270-7577. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8am-5pm. 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, Ayman Abaza can be reached on 571-270-0422. 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.
/YEE F LAM/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2465
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