Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 04, 2026
Application No. 18/615,746

IMAGE PROCESSING APPARATUS, IMAGE PROCESSING METHOD, AND STORAGE MEDIUM

Final Rejection §103
Filed
Mar 25, 2024
Priority
Mar 29, 2023 — JP 2023-053303
Examiner
ZONG, HELEN
Art Unit
2683
Tech Center
2600 — Communications
Assignee
RISO KAGAKU Corporation
OA Round
2 (Final)
79%
Grant Probability
Favorable
3-4
OA Rounds
0m
Est. Remaining
88%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 79% — above average
79%
Career Allowance Rate
581 granted / 734 resolved
+17.2% vs TC avg
Moderate +9% lift
Without
With
+8.6%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Fast prosecutor
2y 2m
Avg Prosecution
28 currently pending
Career history
755
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
5.2%
-34.8% vs TC avg
§103
69.6%
+29.6% vs TC avg
§102
11.6%
-28.4% vs TC avg
§112
9.5%
-30.5% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 734 resolved cases

Office Action

§103
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 . DETAILED ACTION 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. Claims 1 and 5-6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Op De Beeck et al. (US 20250084272) in view of Moribe (US 20240119244) Regarding claim 1, Op teaches an image processing apparatus comprising a processor being configured to extract a correlation from a correlation table that indicates the correlation between a type of printing medium used for printing that uses pretreatment liquid, base ink, and color ink, an amount of the pretreatment liquid, and an amount of the base ink (table 2: substrate, prier component and test ink and fig.8), and image quality and characteristic information of a printed material (fig. 8: intercolor bleeding and p0111), and to generate a first print image based on the type of printing medium and input values of the amount of the pretreatment liquid and the amount of the base ink that have been input (p0043: testing the ink receptibility by printing a test image). Op does not explicitly disclose a second print image based on correction values that improve at least one of the image quality and the characteristic information more than the input values and that are the amount of the pretreatment liquid and the amount of the base ink obtained from the correlation (p0116:improved print results are achieved with a primer formula having both component A and B over the print results..) Moribe teaches a second print image based on correction values that improve at least one of the image quality and the characteristic information more than the input values and that are the amount of the pretreatment liquid and the amount of the base ink obtained from the correlation (p0046:primer amount can be determined in advance from the relationship with the image quality, and it is preferable to use different amounts for each sheet type and p0055:correction image is printed). Op and Moribe are combinable because they both deal with management servers with a printing apparatus. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the application to combine the teachings of Op with the teaching of Moribe for purpose of acquiring a characteristic of an image processing apparatus while suppressing sheet deformation (p0001). Regarding claim 5, The structural elements of apparatus claim 1 perform all of the steps of method claim 5. Thus, claim 5 is rejected for the same reasons discussed in the rejection of claim 1. Claim 6 has been analyzed and rejected with regard to claim 1 and in accordance with Moribe’s further teaching on: A computer-readable memory that contains instructions, which when executed by a processor perform steps in a method (p0026). Claim 2 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Op and Moribe as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Kamisuwa et al (US 20100259774). Regarding claim 2, Op in view of Moribe does not teach the image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processor receives selection of one of the first print image and the second print image, and controls printing of the selected one of the first print image and the second print image. Kamisuwa teaches wherein the processor receives selection of one of the first print image and the second print image, and controls printing of the selected one of the first print image and the second print image (fig. 9: original image corrected). Op in view of Moribe and Kamisuwa are combinable because they both deal with management servers with a printing apparatus. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the application to combine the teachings of Op in view of Moribe with the teaching of Kamisuwa for for setting an image forming condition (p0006). Claim 3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Op and Moribe as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Kamisuwa et al. Sasaki et al. (US 20140211064 ). Regarding claim 3, Op and Moribe does not teach the image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processor highlights a portion at which the image quality deteriorates in the printed material of at least one of the first print image and the second print image. Sasaki teaches wherein the processor highlights a portion at which the image quality deteriorates in the printed material of at least one of the first print image and the second print image (p0179 and fig. 16). Op in view of Moribe and Sasaki are combinable because they both deal with management servers with a printing apparatus. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the application to combine the teachings of Op in view of Moribe with the teaching of Sasaki for provide a lens system and a camera system in which at the time of image taking, on the basis of the conditions of the optical system such as a movable lens group, the image quality of an image of a part of areas in an entire screen can be adjusted (p0010). Claim 4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Op and Moribe as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Kamisuwa et al. Hasegawa (US 20140185104). Regarding claim 4, Op and Moribe does not teach the image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processor generates the second print image when the input values are out of a recommended setting range. Hasegawa teaches wherein the processor generates the second print image when the input values are out of a recommended setting range (p0007:To generate the background image data…. setting a value of a second-type pixel having a tone value out of the specific range before the correction process is performed..). Op in view of Moribe and Hasegawa are combinable because they both deal with management servers with a printing apparatus. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the application to combine the teachings of Op in view of Moribe with the teaching of Hasegawa for purpose of generating a background image in which text included in an original image disappears. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to HELEN Q ZONG whose telephone number is (571)270-1600. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 9-6. 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, Merouan, Abderrahim can be reached on (571) 270-5254. 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. HELEN ZONG Primary Examiner Art Unit 2683 /HELEN ZONG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2683
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Prosecution Timeline

Mar 25, 2024
Application Filed
Mar 23, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §103
Jun 16, 2026
Applicant Interview (Telephonic)
Jun 17, 2026
Examiner Interview Summary
Jul 23, 2026
Response Filed
Oct 01, 2026
Final Rejection mailed — §103 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

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Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

3-4
Expected OA Rounds
79%
Grant Probability
88%
With Interview (+8.6%)
2y 2m (~0m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Moderate
PTA Risk
Based on 734 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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