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 .
Priority
1. Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. Claims 1,8,11,13,14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Wakai USP 9,298,148.
Wakai discloses, regarding claim 1, An image forming apparatus comprising:
one or more memories (fig.3, C4/L38-42); and
one or more processors (305) functioning by executing instructions stored in the one or more memories (see at least fig.3) as the following units:
a chart output unit configured to output a test chart obtained by executing post-processing on a sheet (see at least fig.6A);
a display control unit configured to display a screen containing information indicating a measurement position related to a position of the post-processing on the test chart (fig.4);
a setting unit configured to accept setting up of adjustment related to the position of the post-processing on the screen (fig.10C); and
an adjustment control unit configured to adjust the position of the post-processing based on the setting through the setting unit (fig.11A).
Regarding claim 8, wherein the setting unit further accepts a choice about whether to output the test chart; and the chart output unit outputs the test chart in a case where a choice to output the test chart is made (“YES” at step S506 in fig.5A), and does not output the test chart in a case where a choice to not output the test chart is made (“NO” at step S506 in fig.5A).
Regarding claim 11, wherein the post-processing is a saddle stitching process combining a folding process and a binding process (see at least fig.6A).
Regarding claim 13, A method of adjusting a post-processing position in an image forming apparatus, comprising:
outputting a test chart obtained by executing post-processing on a sheet (see at least fig.6A);
displaying a screen containing information indicating a measurement position related to a position of the post-processing on the test chart (fig.4);
accepting setting up of adjustment related to the position of the post-processing on the screen (fig.10C); and
adjusting the position of the post-processing based on the setting in the accepting (fig.11A).
Regarding claim 14, A non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing a program which causes a computer to execute a method of adjusting a post-processing position (see at least C20/L29-34), the method comprising:
outputting a test chart obtained by executing post-processing on a sheet (see at least fig.6A);
displaying a screen containing information indicating a measurement position related to a position of the post-processing on the test chart (fig.4);
accepting setting up of adjustment related to the position of the post-processing on the screen (fig.10C); and
adjusting the position of the post-processing based on the setting in the accepting (fig.11A).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
5. 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.
6. Claim 12 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wakai USP 9,298,148.
Wakai discloses substantially all the limitations of the claims (see ¶4 above) and further discloses wherein the setting unit sequentially accepts setting up of adjustment of a folding position and setting up of adjustment of a binding position on the same screen (fig.11A), but does not expressly disclose the setting unit sequentially accepts setting up of adjustment of a folding position and setting up of adjustment of a binding position on different screens. However, before the effective filing date, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art to have the setting unit sequentially accept setting up of adjustment of a folding position and setting up of adjustment of a binding position on different screens since the use of different screens as opposed to a single screen since it would be obvious to make separable (see MPEP 2144.04 V C).
Allowable Subject Matter
7. Claims 2-7,9,10 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
8. The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Ooba et al. (USP 10,832,103) discloses a setting unit (715; fig.9) that adjusts the saddle stitch position and the saddle folding position for a bundle of sheets.
9. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to LESLIE A. NICHOLSON III whose telephone number is (571)272-5487. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8-4.
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, Michael C McCullough can be reached at 571-272-7805. 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.
/LESLIE A NICHOLSON III/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3653 5/15/2026
Prosecution Insights