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 .
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim 1-3, 9-10, and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) / 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Okabe (US 20210385356 A1).
Referring to claim 1:
Okabe discloses an image forming device comprising a user interface (UI unit 334), a communication interface (communication unit 331), a controller (CPU 251), and an image forming unit (printing unit 354), wherein the controller is configured to:
function as a Web server configured to transmit, to a browser provided in a terminal via the communication interface, Web page data for displaying a predetermined Web page, according to an instruction from the browser via the communication interface (par. 60: remote UI unit 334 operates as a web server);
perform a login process of permitting a login operation performed by an administrator with respect to the image forming device, based on administrator information (par. 52: login unit 301 authenticates a shared office administrator with use of, for example, a user ID and a password); and
in a case where the administrator logs in, perform, according to the administrator operation, a data providing process of providing, via the communication interface, the browser with Web page data for displaying a Web page corresponding to an administrator operation with respect to the Web page displayed by the browser (par. 56: shared office administrator accesses the multifunction peripheral 111 via a web browser of the terminal 101 to use each function),
in a case where the administrator logs in, the controller is configured to perform a designation process of receiving designation of a permitted user who is permitted to perform a part of the administrator operation, via an operation with respect to the Web page displayed on the browser, in the data providing process (par. 61: The authority setting unit 336 sets a function which is individually allowed to be used to a general user belonging to a tenant. Functions which are settable here are limited to functions which the shared office administrator allowed via the authority transfer setting unit 304.; par. 53: authority transfer setting unit 304 transfers, to the tenant administrator, an authority to set whether to allow usage of a function of the multifunction peripheral 111; and par. 74-78: flow of processing which the shared office administrator in the terminal 101 performs to create or change a tenant),
in a case where the permitted user logs in, Web page data that displays a Web page for receiving the part of the administrator operation is provided to the browser, according to a request from the browser (par. 60: remote UI unit 334 operates as a web server, and creates and transmits a web page in response to access from each of the terminals 102 and 103 [and] remote login unit 335 authenticates a tenant administrator with use of, for example, a user ID and a password . . . After being authenticated, the tenant administrator becomes able to perform the respective functions.), and
in a case where the controller receives an instruction from the browser, the instruction corresponding to the administrator operation received by the Web page for receiving the part of the administrator operation, the controller is configured to perform a process corresponding to the received instruction corresponding to the administrator operation (par. 56: the shared office administrator accesses the multifunction peripheral 111 via a web browser of the terminal 101 to use each function).
Referring to claim 2:
Okabe discloses the image forming device according to claim 1, wherein in the designation process, the controller is configured to store, in a memory, information indicating the permitted user who is designated, and in the data providing process, in a case where the permitted user logs in a state where the information indicating the permitted user is stored in the memory, the controller is configured to provide the browser with the Web page data that displays the Web page for receiving the part of the administrator operation (par. 59: The DB management unit 332 performs writing of information such as user information, tenant information, and authority information into the DB 341 in response to requests received from the administrator setting communication unit 331 and the remote UI unit 334, or performs reading of such information from the DB 341 in response to such requests.).
Referring to claim 9:
Okabe discloses an image forming device comprising a user interface (UI unit 334), a communication interface (communication unit 331), a controller (CPU 251), and an image forming unit (printing unit 354), wherein the controller is configured to:
perform a login process of permitting a login operation performed by an administrator with respect to the image forming device, based on administrator information (par. 52: login unit 301 authenticates a shared office administrator with use of, for example, a user ID and a password); and
in a case where the administrator logs in, perform, according to the administrator operation, a data providing process of providing, via the communication interface, a browser of a terminal with Web page data for displaying a Web page corresponding to an administrator operation with respect to a Web page displayed by the browser (par. 56: shared office administrator accesses the multifunction peripheral 111 via a web browser of the terminal 101 to use each function),
in a case where the administrator logs in, the controller is configured to perform a designation process of receiving designation of a permitted user who is permitted to perform a part of the administrator operation, via an operation with respect to the Web page displayed on the browser, and of storing information indicating the permitted user who is designated in a memory (par. 61: The authority setting unit 336 sets a function which is individually allowed to be used to a general user belonging to a tenant. Functions which are settable here are limited to functions which the shared office administrator allowed via the authority transfer setting unit 304.; par. 53: authority transfer setting unit 304 transfers, to the tenant administrator, an authority to set whether to allow usage of a function of the multifunction peripheral 111; par. 74-78: flow of processing which the shared office administrator in the terminal 101 performs to create or change a tenant; and par. 59: The DB management unit 332 performs writing of information such as user information, tenant information, and authority information into the DB 341 in response to requests received from the administrator setting communication unit 331 and the remote UI unit 334, or performs reading of such information from the DB 341 in response to such requests.),
in the data providing process, in a case where the permitted user logs in a state where the information indicating the permitted user is stored in the memory, Web page data that displays a Web page for only receiving the part of the administrator operation is provided to the browser, according to a request from the browser (par. 60: remote UI unit 334 operates as a web server, and creates and transmits a web page in response to access from each of the terminals 102 and 103 [and] remote login unit 335 authenticates a tenant administrator with use of, for example, a user ID and a password . . . After being authenticated, the tenant administrator becomes able to perform the respective functions.), and
in a case where the controller receives an instruction from the browser, the instruction corresponding to the administrator operation received by the Web page for receiving the part of the administrator operation, the controller is configured to perform a process corresponding to the received instruction corresponding to the administrator operation (par. 56: the shared office administrator accesses the multifunction peripheral 111 via a web browser of the terminal 101 to use each function).
Referring to claims 3 and 10:
Okabe discloses the image forming device according to claims 1 and 9, wherein in the designation process, the controller is configured to receive designation of an administrator operation to be permitted among a plurality of administrator operations, in association with the permitted user who is designated, and in the data providing process, in a case where any user among a plurality of the permitted users logs in, the controller is configured to provide the browser with Web page data that displays a Web page for receiving only the administrator operation permitted to the permitted user in a login state (par. 54: The tenant administrator is able to set, only within the range given by the authority transfer setting unit 304, a function which a general user belonging to the same tenant as the tenant to which the tenant administrator belongs is allowed to use.).
Referring to claim 16:
Okabe discloses an image forming device comprising a user interface (UI unit 334), a communication interface (communication unit 331), a controller (CPU 251), and an image forming unit (printing unit 354), wherein the controller is configured to:
perform a login process of permitting a login operation performed by an administrator with respect to the image forming device, based on administrator information (par. 52: login unit 301 authenticates a shared office administrator with use of, for example, a user ID and a password); and
in a case where the administrator logs in, perform, according to the administrator operation, a data providing process of providing, via the communication interface, a browser of a terminal with Web page data for displaying a Web page corresponding to an administrator operation with respect to a Web page displayed by the browser (par. 56: shared office administrator accesses the multifunction peripheral 111 via a web browser of the terminal 101 to use each function),
the controller is configured to perform a designation process of receiving designation of a permitted user who is permitted to perform a part of the administrator operation, via an operation with respect to the Web page displayed on the browser, and of receiving an operation of designating whether any administrator operation among a plurality of the administrator operations is permitted, in association with the permitted user who is designated (par. 61: The authority setting unit 336 sets a function which is individually allowed to be used to a general user belonging to a tenant. Functions which are settable here are limited to functions which the shared office administrator allowed via the authority transfer setting unit 304.; par. 53: authority transfer setting unit 304 transfers, to the tenant administrator, an authority to set whether to allow usage of a function of the multifunction peripheral 111; and par. 74-78: flow of processing which the shared office administrator in the terminal 101 performs to create or change a tenant),
in the data providing process, in a case where the permitted user logs in, Web page data that displays a Web page for receiving the part of the administrator operation is provided to the browser, according to a request from the browser (par. 60: remote UI unit 334 operates as a web server, and creates and transmits a web page in response to access from each of the terminals 102 and 103 [and] remote login unit 335 authenticates a tenant administrator with use of, for example, a user ID and a password . . . After being authenticated, the tenant administrator becomes able to perform the respective functions.),
in a case where the controller receives an instruction from the browser, the instruction corresponding to the administrator operation received by the Web page for receiving the part of the administrator operation, the controller is configured to perform a process corresponding to the received instruction corresponding to the administrator operation (par. 56: the shared office administrator accesses the multifunction peripheral 111 via a web browser of the terminal 101 to use each function), and
in the data providing process, in a case where the Web page data for receiving only the part of the administrator operation is provided, the controller is configured to determine to use a first method or a second method, based on the permitted user who logs in among a plurality of the permitted users, a method for providing Web page data for receiving only the part of the administrator operation including the first method and the second method (par 59: different authority information for different tenants / users is based on administrator settings reads implies a different method for providing Web page data for receiving only the part of the administrator operation set by the administrator for each designated tenant /user).
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 4-5 and 11-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Okabe as applied to claims 3 and 10 above, and further in view of well-known prior art (MPEP 2144.03).
Referring to claims 4 and 11:
Okabe discloses the image forming device according to claims 3 and 10, wherein in the designation process, the controller is configured to designate, as the administrator operation to be permitted among the plurality of administrator operations, an administrator operation other than an operation related to authentication information on the administrator and an operation related to the designation of the permitted user (as indicated above). Okabe does not specifically describe in the data providing process, in a case where any user among the plurality of permitted users logs in, the controller is configured to provide the browser with the Web page data that displays the Web page for receiving only the administrator operation permitted to the permitted user who logs in.
However, the use of a browser providing Web page data that displays a user Web page for receiving operational input information from any user is notoriously old and well-known in the prior art. It would have been prima facie obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the controller in Okabe, in view of the well-known prior art, to provide the browser with the Web page data that displays the Web page for receiving only the administrator operation permitted to the permitted user who logs, in a case where any user among the plurality of permitted users logs in, in order to provide improved user experience and efficiency and to enable remote management and administrative control for all permitted users.
Referring to claims 5 and 12:
Okabe discloses image forming device according to claim 4 and 11, wherein in the designation process, the controller is configured to designate, as the administrator operation to be permitted among the plurality of administrator operations, an operation related to a plurality of users, but not an address book, among the plurality of administrator operations, and in the data providing process, in a case where a user who is permitted to perform the operation among the plurality of permitted users logs in (as indicated above), but not related to the address book, the controller is configured to provide the browser with Web page data that displays a Web page for receiving the operation (obvious as indicated above), but not related to the address book.
Okabe does use a list of list of tenants and a list of users (par. 79, 82). However, the use of an address book to register/configure, log/record, or enable/restrict users to operate an MFP is very well-known in the prior art. It would have been prima facie obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the controller in Okabe, in view of the well-known prior art, to designate, as the administrator operation to be permitted among the plurality of administrator operations, an operation related to an address book, among the plurality of administrator operations, and in the data providing process, in a case where a user who is permitted to perform the operation related to the address book among the plurality of permitted users logs in, the controller is configured to provide the browser with Web page data that displays a Web page for receiving the operation related to the address book in order to provide a central record thereby improving user authentication and access control by the administrator and to maintain a detailed audit trail of all device operations.
Claims 6-8 and 13-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Okabe as applied to claims 1 and 9 above, and further in view of well-known prior art (MPEP 2144.03).
Referring to claims 6 and 13:
Okabe discloses the image forming device according to claims 1 and 9, wherein in the data providing process: in a case where the administrator logs in, the controller is configured to provide the browser with respective Web page data that displays the first number of Web pages for inputting a setting value, as a Web page for receiving only the administrator operation (Figs. 5A-5G / 7A-7D); but does not specifically describe, in a case where the permitted user logs in, the controller is configured to provide the browser with respective Web page data that displays the second number of Web pages, as the plurality of Web pages for inputting the setting value, the second number being smaller than the first number.
However, the use of a browser providing Web page data that displays a plurality of user Web pages (fewer than an administrator) for receiving operational input information is notoriously old and well-known in the prior art. It would have been prima facie obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the controller in Okabe, in view of the well-known prior art, in the data providing process, to provide the browser with the Web page data that displays the Web page for receiving only the administrator operation permitted to the permitted user who logs, in a case where any user among the plurality of permitted users logs in, in order to provide improved user experience and efficiency and to enable remote management and administrative control.
Referring to claims 7 and 14:
Okabe does not disclose the image forming device according to claims 6 and 13, wherein in the data providing process: in a case where the administrator logs in, the controller is configured to provide the browser with Web page data that includes a link to the first number of Web pages to provide the browser with the Web page data that displays the first number of Web pages; and in a case where the permitted user logs in, the controller is configured to provide the browser with Web page data including a link to the second number of Web pages to provide the browser with the Web page data that displays a plurality of Web pages that is the second number of Web pages.
However, the use of a browser providing Web page data that includes a link (e.g., a hyperlink) to other Web pages is notoriously old and well-known in the prior art. It would have been prima facie obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Okabe in view of the well-known prior art, wherein in the data providing process: in a case where the administrator logs in, the controller is configured to provide the browser with Web page data that includes a link to the first number of Web pages to provide the browser with the Web page data that displays the first number of Web pages; and in a case where the permitted user logs in, the controller is configured to provide the browser with Web page data including a link to the second number of Web pages to provide the browser with the Web page data that displays a plurality of Web pages that is the second number of Web pages. Such a modification is essential for essential for both user experience and functional optimization, while reducing the poor user experience and inefficiency of having to interact and use overly complex web pages.
Referring to claims 8 and 15:
Okabe discloses the image forming device according to claim 1, wherein in the data providing process: in a case where the administrator logs in, the controller is configured to provide the browser with Web page data that displays a Web page for inputting a plurality of setting values corresponding to the first number of setting items, as a Web page for receiving only the administrator operation (as indicated above), and in a case where the permitted user logs in, the controller is configured to provide browser with Web page data that displays a Web page, for inputting a plurality of setting values, but not specifically corresponding to a second number of setting items, the second number being smaller than the first number.
However, the use of a browser providing Web page data that displays a user Web page for receiving operational inputs or a number of setting items (fewer than an administrator) is notoriously old and well-known in the prior art. It would have been prima facie obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the controller in Okabe, in view of the well-known prior art, in a case where the permitted user logs in, to provide the browser with Web page data that displays a Web page, for inputting a plurality of setting values corresponding to the second number of setting items, the second number being smaller than the first number, in order to provide improved user experience and efficiency and to enable remote management and administrative control.
Claims 17 and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Okabe as applied to claims 16 above, and further in view of well-known prior art (MPEP 2144.03).
Referring to claim 17:
Okabe discloses the image forming device according to claim 16, wherein in the data providing process: in a case where the administrator logs in, the controller is configured to provide the browser with respective Web page data that displays the first number of Web pages for inputting a setting value, as a Web page for receiving only the administrator operation (Figs. 5A-5G / 7A-7D); but does not specifically describe, as the first method, the controller is configured to provide the browser with respective Web page data that displays the second number of Web pages, as the plurality of Web pages for inputting the setting value, the second number being smaller than the first number.
However, the use of a browser providing Web page data that displays a plurality of user Web pages (fewer than an administrator) for receiving operational input information is notoriously old and well-known in the prior art. It would have been prima facie obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the controller in Okabe, in view of the well-known prior art, in the data providing process, as the first method, to provide the browser with respective Web page data that displays the second number of Web pages, as the plurality of Web pages for inputting the setting value, the second number being smaller than the first number, in order to provide improved user experience and efficiency and to enable remote management and administrative control.
Referring to claim 18:
Okabe discloses the image forming device according to claim 16, wherein in the data providing process: in a case where the administrator logs in, the controller is configured to provide the browser with Web page data that displays a Web page for inputting a plurality of setting values corresponding to the first number of setting items, as the Web page for receiving only the administrator operation (Figs. 5A-5G / 7A-7D); but does not specifically describe, as the second method, the controller is configured to provide the browser with Web page data that displays a Web page for inputting a plurality of setting values corresponding to the second number of setting items, the second number being smaller than the first number.
However, the use of a browser providing Web page data that displays a user Web page for receiving operational inputs or a number of setting items (fewer than an administrator) is notoriously old and well-known in the prior art. It would have been prima facie obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the controller in Okabe, in view of the well-known prior art, in the data providing process, as the first method, to provide the browser with Web page data that displays a Web page, for inputting a plurality of setting values corresponding to the second number of setting items, the second number being smaller than the first number, in order to provide improved user experience and efficiency and to enable remote management and administrative control.
Specification
The title of the invention is not descriptive. A new title is required that is clearly indicative of the invention to which the claims are directed (i.e., a descriptive title that distinguishes the invention and is not a generic or general description). The new title should take into account any amendments to the claims to best indicate the claimed invention.
The title must be as short and specific as possible (see 37 CFR 1.72(a)). Applicant should distill a description of the claimed invention into as few words as possible to capture the essence of the claimed invention. Rather than reciting statutory categories (apparatus, method, product) and some generic descriptor (e.g., information processing), a title that is specific, but characterizes the essence or key aspect(s) of the claimed invention, should be submitted.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 24 April 2024 was filed in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98. Accordingly, the IDS has been considered by the examiner.
Applicant has provided an explanation of relevance of cited document JP 2022-103244 A on page 1 of the specification.
Cited Art
The prior art and other references made of record and not relied upon are considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Fukuda (US 8867059 B2) discloses an image forming apparatus includes a print administration unit for printing authentication print data; a server unit for providing a service; an authentication unit for controlling the server unit; and a notification transmission unit for transmitting a notice. The authentication unit obtains individual identification information. The server unit controls the external operation unit to display the authentication print data and an input screen. The print administration unit rewrites the identification information. The notification transmission unit transmits a first notification to the authority transferred person. After the authentication print data is printed, the notification transmission unit transmits a second notification to the authority transferred person and the print data creating person.
Irons et al (US 10623601 B2) disclose a Document Management Systems wherein predefined functions can additionally include functions defined by a system administrator so that some predefined functions are defined at the system level and are available to all users, while still allowing each user to define their own predefined functions as needed.
Satoh (US 11461439 B2) discloses an information processing apparatus includes an authenticating unit, an acquiring unit, a first specifying unit, and a first display unit. The authenticating unit, when accepting first user information used for authentication of determining whether a user has an authority, compares the first user information and second user information identifying a user having the authority. The acquiring unit acquires an application list screen, in which each of applications is associated with display information, in accordance with an operation performed by the authenticated user. The first specifying unit, when the acquiring unit acquires the application list screen, specifies authority information corresponding to the second user information identifying the authenticated user, based on first information indicating a correspondence relation between the second user information and the authority information. The first display unit changes a display content of the application list screen and displays the changed content in accordance with the specified authority information.
Hatada (US 12034891 B2) discloses a mediation server mediating between a terminal device and a communication device may be configured to: receive a permission request from a user terminal, the permission request is for requesting permission for the user terminal to communicate with the communication device via the mediation server; specify the communication information in a memory by using specifying information included in the permission request; send a receipt notification to an administration terminal by using the communication information; in a case where the administration terminal that has received the receipt notification from the mediation server accepts a predetermined operation, store authentication information to the memory; and in a case where the authentication information is stored in the memory in association with the device identification information, send a first storage notification to the user terminal.
Hitomi (US 12314355 B2) discloses an information processing system, a device, and an authentication method. The information processing system includes an information processing apparatus and a device communicably connected to the information processing apparatus, and the device requests the information processing apparatus for account information in response to receiving a predetermined operation, and the information processing apparatus transmits the account information to the device, and the device requests authentication from an authentication server, designating the account information received from the information processing apparatus, and acquires an authentication result.
Uchikawa (US 20210334394 A1) discloses an image processing apparatus capable of reducing the frequency of a user's inputting work for authentication information to improve the convenience. When the number of the logged-in users is one, the logged-in user is set as an executor of the predetermined function, and when the number of the logged-in users is two or more, the user is caused to select one of the logged-in users to set the selected one as the executor of the predetermined function.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Scott Rogers whose telephone number is 571-272-7467. The examiner can normally be reached 8 am to 7 pm flex.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Abderrahim Merouan 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.
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/Scott A Rogers/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2683
20 March 2026