Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
1. 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
2. NO restrictions warranted at initial time of filing for patent.
Priority
3. Applicant claims foreign priority under 35 USC 119a-d to Japanese application filed on 06/23/2023.
Information Disclosure Statement
4. The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 12/01/2023, the submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Oath/Declaration
5. Applicant’s Oath was filed on 12/01/2023.
Drawings
6. Applicant’s drawings filed on 12/01/2023 has been inspected and is in compliance with MPEP 608.01.
Specification
7. Applicant’s specification filed on 12/01/2023 has been inspected and is in compliance with MPEP 608.02.
Claim Objections
8. NO objections warranted at initial time of filing for patent.
Remarks
9. Examiner request Applicant review relevant prior art under the conclusion of this office action.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
10. Claim 11 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(d) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, 4th paragraph, as being of improper dependent form for failing to further limit the subject matter of the claim upon which it depends, or for failing to include all the limitations of the claim upon which it depends. Claim 11 restates the language of claim 10. Applicant may cancel the claim(s), amend the claim(s) to place the claim(s) in proper dependent form, rewrite the claim(s) in independent form, or present a sufficient showing that the dependent claim(s) complies with the statutory requirements.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
10. Claims 1-4 and 6-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by U.S. Publication No. 20220038586 hereinafter Sako.
As per claim 1, Sako discloses:
An information processing system (para 0028 “FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of a cloud printing system.”) comprising:
one or more processors (para 0009 “According to one aspect of the present invention, an image processing apparatus that communicates with an external apparatus on an external network via a proxy server, comprising: at least one memory that stores a set of instructions; and at least one processor that executes the instructions, the instructions, when executed, causing the image processing apparatus to perform operations.”) configured to:
receive authentication information for an authentication service for a user who uses a real apparatus (para 0052 “If the user is not logged in, the cloud printing registration service 102 transmits screen information for login to the client terminal 100. The user enters the user ID and password for the cloud account 131 of the user on the screen displayed on the client terminal 100 on the basis of the received screen information and login 140 is performed.”); and
cause a function corresponding to an authentication system defined by the received authentication information to be able to be used on the real apparatus (para 0053 “When the cloud printing registration service 102 receives the cloud printing registration approval request 115 from an authenticated user or the transmission source user is authenticated, the cloud printing registration service 102 transmits a cloud printing registration approval reply 116 to the client terminal ” Para 0054 “When the cloud printing registration service 102 receives the cloud printing registration confirmation request 117, in a case where the transmission source printing apparatus 101 is already registered, the cloud printing registration service 102 transmits a cloud printing registration confirmation reply 118. The cloud printing registration confirmation reply 118 includes a cloud device ID 132 of the printing apparatus 101 and a cloud printing service URL 137. In this example, the cloud printing service URL 137 does not need to be a URL prepared in advance and may be a URL generated by the cloud printing registration service 102 in response to a registration request.”).
As per claim 2, Sako discloses:
The information processing system according to claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are configured to: display a menu of jobs using set functions that are able to be used on the real apparatus on at least one of a terminal device of the user and the real apparatus; and cause the real apparatus to execute a job selected on the menu of jobs (para 0039 “An operation control unit 300 controls the operation panel 211. The operation control unit 300 displays an operation menu and receives the input of instructions from a user, notifies other functional units of the contents of the received instruction, and displays the instruction result on the operation panel 211.” para 0045 “A directional key 406 is used when selecting a menu or the like displayed on the display panel 405. Buttons 409, 410 are used to perform black and white copying and color copying. A stop button 411 is used to stop processing. A menu button 412 is used to display a menu screen for setting the settings of the printing apparatus 101. A status confirmation button 413 is used to display a list of print jobs received by the printing apparatus 101 and to confirm the status of the printing apparatus 101.”).
As per claim 3, Sako discloses:
The information processing system according to claim 2, wherein the one or more processors are configured to: receive a result of execution of the job from the real apparatus; and display the result of execution on at least one of the terminal device and the real apparatus (para 0039, 0043 and 0045).
As per claim 4, Sako discloses:
The information processing system according to claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are configured to set, based on the authentication information, a cloud service that is able to be used (para 0051-0054).
As per claim 6, Sako discloses:
The information processing system according to claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are configured to receive the authentication information that a terminal device of the user has acquired from the authentication service (para 0051-0054).
As per claim 7, Sako discloses:
The information processing system according to claim 6, wherein the one or more processors are configured to receive, via the real apparatus, the authentication information acquired by the terminal device (Fig. 5, para 0051-0054).
As per claim 8, Sako discloses:
The information processing system according to claim 6, wherein the one or more processors are configured to: display an authentication service that is able to be used on the terminal device in such a manner that the authentication service is able to be selected; and acquire the authentication information for the authentication service selected by the user (Figs. 5 and 8, para 0050-0054).
As per claim 9, Sako discloses:
The information processing system according to claim 7, wherein the one or more processors are configured to: display an authentication service that is able to be used on the terminal device in such a manner that the authentication service is able to be selected; and acquire the authentication information for the authentication service selected by the user (Figs. 5 and 8, para 0054 “he cloud printing registration confirmation reply 118 includes a cloud device ID 132 of the printing apparatus 101 and a cloud printing service URL 137. In this example, the cloud printing service URL 137 does not need to be a URL prepared in advance and may be a URL generated by the cloud printing registration service 102 in response to a registration request.).
As per claim 10, Sako discloses:
The information processing system according to claim 8, wherein the one or more processors are configured to: receive connection from the terminal device, based on connection information that the terminal device has acquired from the real apparatus; and display an authentication service that is able to be used on the terminal device in such a manner that the authentication service is able to be selected (para 0056 “A user who wishes to perform cloud printing uses the client terminal 100 to perform the login 140 into the cloud printing service 103 with the cloud account 131. Also, a print request 119 including the cloud device ID 132 and the print data 134 is transmitted to the cloud printing service 103. In this manner, print data for cloud printing by the printing apparatus 101 is stored by the cloud printing service 103.” The user clicking on the URL of the cloud printing service is display an cloud printing service that is able to be used on the terminal device in such a manner that the cloud printing service is able to be selected).
As per claim 11, Sako discloses:
The information processing system according to claim 9, wherein the one or more processors are configured to: receive connection from the terminal device, based on connection information that the terminal device has acquired from the real apparatus; and display an authentication service that is able to be used on the terminal device in such a manner that the authentication service is able to be selected (para 0056 “A user who wishes to perform cloud printing uses the client terminal 100 to perform the login 140 into the cloud printing service 103 with the cloud account 131. Also, a print request 119 including the cloud device ID 132 and the print data 134 is transmitted to the cloud printing service 103. In this manner, print data for cloud printing by the printing apparatus 101 is stored by the cloud printing service 103.” The user clicking on the URL of the cloud printing service is display an cloud printing service that is able to be used on the terminal device in such a manner that the cloud printing service is able to be selected).
As per claim 12, the implementation of the system of claim 1 will execute the method of claim 12, the claim is analyzed with respect to claim 1.
.
As per claim 13, the implementation of the system of claim 1 will execute the non-transitory computer readable medium (Sako paragraph 0124) of claim 13, the claim is analyzed with respect to claim 1.
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 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.
11. Claim 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sako in view of U.S. Publication No. 20150124278 hereinafter Juchem
As per claim 5, Sako discloses:
The information processing system according to claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are configured to cause a function (Figs. 5 and 8, para 0050-0056)
Sako does not discloses:
function defined by charge information included in the received authentication information to be able to be used on the real apparatus
Juchem discloses:
function defined by charge information included in the received authentication information to be able to be used on the real apparatus (Figs. 4a-4d, para 0042 “The payment validation service 232 next provides a graphic user interface, via the web site 230, to implement a payment dialogue with a user 250 at the requestor mobile computing device 204. In an example, the payment validation web site 230 (FIG. 2) hosted by the payment validation service 232 is a web site to process charges relating to the print request to a user account for a guest at a hotel. FIG. 4A illustrates the interface at a "pre-payment" stage, and includes for display to the user 250 a release code 222 set forth as "Code 301291" and a "Pay" message 402 indicating that payment is due. FIG. 4B illustrates the interface at a "payment" stage, and includes for display to the user 250 a payment text entry box 404 in which the user 250 is to enter his/her hotel room number to accomplish payment for the print job. FIG. 4C illustrates the interface at a "post-payment" stage, and includes for display to the user 250 the "Code 301291" release code 222, and a "Paid" message 406 indicating that payment for the printing of the content 220 at the printer 208 was successful or was accomplished. FIG. 4D illustrates another example of a graphic user interface at a "payment" stage, and includes for display to the user 250 a payment text entry box 404 in which the user 250 is to enter credit card information 408 to accomplish payment for the print job. Upon completion of the payment dialogue, the payment validation service 232 sends a payment validation notice 234 to the print fulfillment system 202.”)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method of Sako to include function defined by charge information included in the received authentication information to be able to be used on the real apparatus, as taught by Juchem.
The motivation would have been to securely charge for printing via a mobile device.
Conclusion
12. The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
U.S. Publication No. 20220027100 discloses on paragraph 0035 “The web application 430 has a function of providing the web browser 120 or 620 of the client terminal 100 or 6000 or the web browser 510 or 730 of the printer 500 or 720 with a web page to issue and display a connection ID through a user operation. The web application 430 also has a function of receiving the connection ID input by the user by using the client application 110 or 610 via a network to verify whether the connection ID is valid. The connection ID will be described in detail below. The temporary storage database 450 is used to temporarily store the connection ID issued by the web application 430.”
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to GARY S GRACIA whose telephone number is (571)270-5192. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 9am-6pm.
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, Philip Chea can be reached at 5712723951. 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.
/GARY S GRACIA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2499
Prosecution Insights