DETAILED ACTION
Remarks
This communication is in response to the Applicant’s response filed on December 30, 2025 to a prior Office Action. Claim 3 and 6-7 have been canceled. Therefore, claims 1-2, 4-5 and 8 are pending for examination.
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
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 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.
Examiner Notes
Examiner cites particular columns and line numbers in the references as applied to the claims below for the convenience of the applicant. Although the specified citations are representative of the teachings in the art and are applied to the specific limitations within the individual claim, other passages and figures may apply as well. It is respectfully requested that, in preparing responses, the applicant fully consider the references in entirety as potentially teaching all or part of the claimed invention, as well as the context of the passage as taught by the prior art or disclosed by the examiner.
The examiner requests, in response to this Office action, support sare shown for language added to any original claims on amendment and any new claims. That is, indicate support for newly added claim language by specifically pointing to page(s) and line no(s) in the specification and/or drawing figure(s). This will assist the examiner in prosecuting the application.
When responding to this office action, Applicant is advised to clearly point out the patentable novelty which he or she thinks the claims present, in view of the state of the art disclosed by the references cited or the objections made. He or she must also show how the amendments avoid such references or objections See 37 CFR 1.111(c).
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 December 30, 2025 has been entered.
Response to Amendment
Applicant’s arguments and amendment to claims filed on December 30, 2025, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 4 under 35 U.S.C. § 112 has been fully considered and is withdrawn because of the amendment to the claim.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1-2, 4-5 and 8 have been considered but are moot in view of Chopra et al. (US Patent Publication No. 2009/0135438 A1).
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 of this title, 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, 2 and 8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kimura et al. (US Patent Publication No. US 6,722,800 B2, ‘Kimura’, hereafter) in view of Chopra et al. (US Patent Publication No. 2009/0135438 A1, ‘Chopra’, hereafter) and further in view of Yoshino et al. (US Patent Publication No. 2002/0135806 A1, ‘Yoshino’, hereafter).
Regarding 1. Kimura teaches an image forming apparatus (At least one printer is connected to an image source such as a digital camera via a network, Kimura, Abstract. First, when the user handling the digital camera 20 sets the digital camera 20 in a replay mode and turns on the power, a first image is displayed … when the user operates an operation button 21 on the digital camera 20 to switch the image to another image to be displayed, Kimura [0034], [0039], [0042]) comprising:
a forming device forming an image on a sheet in accordance with print data (a digital camera and a color printer can create prints with the print quality that is comparable to the print quality of photographs created by a conventional silver-salt camera. Group photos, which are conventionally photographed and printed through the use of a silver-salt camera, can be provided with good quality by a digital camera and a printer, Kimura [0004]. Kimura FIG. 2 shows a connection structure including a digital camera (an image display device) and at least one printer (image printing apparatus) connected by a Bluetooth network. A plurality of printers may be connected by the network, as shown in FIG. 2. The printers may be any printers including portable printers and color portable printers, Kimura [0030-0031]);
a communication device communicating with a data management apparatus (When the power is turned on, and the printer 1 is placed in a state that can communicate with the digital camera 20 (The digital camera 20 functions as a master in the piconet, and the printers 1a, 1b and 1c, which are slaves, can independently communicate with the master, i.e., the digital camera 20, Kimura [0032]), the printer 1 checks in step 101 as to whether or not an image display switching notification from the digital camera 20 has been present in the network I/F 17. If the image display switching notification has arrived, the printer renews the display content displayed on the display device 23, and waits an instruction from the user while turning on the LED in the print button 24 in step 102. …, upon receiving an image display switching notification from the digital camera 20, the LED in the print button 24 turns on to let the user know that the image can be printed by operating the print button 24, Kimura [0044], [0072], [0074]);
Kimura does not teach
a display device provided on a housing accommodating the forming device;
However, Chopra teaches
a display device provided on a housing accommodating the forming device (Chopra discloses a display device provided on a housing accommodating the forming device “A control panel 206 extends from the front surface 202c of the standalone printer 200 and includes an input device 208 and a display 210 … the display 210 may part of the input device 208 such as, for example, by including touch screen functionality that allows a user to provide input by touching the surface of the display 210”, Chopra [0020], Fig. 2a. “The method 300 then proceeds to block 308 where low resolution image customization resources are viewed and selected. The customer may view a resources browser 312 on the display 210 of the control panel 206 on the standalone printer 200”, Chopra [0021], Figs. 2a, 3a. “The image customization engine 216 displays the image(s) on the display 210 such that the user may select an image to print. … the display 210 may be a touch screen and the user may select an image to print by touching the image as displayed by the display 210. In an embodiment, upon selection of the image to print, the image customization engine 216 may provide an Image Display screen 404a on the display 210 that includes the selected image 404b”, Chopra [0022-0023] and Figs. 4c-4f);
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made having the teachings of Kimura and Chopra before him/her, to modify Kimura with the teaching of Chopra’s printing device with image customization. One would have been motivated to do so for the benefit of providing an improved printing device with image customization for an information handling system (Chopra, Abstract and [0005]).
Kimura and Chopra do not teach
an operation device receiving an operation of a user; and
a controller including a processor and causing the display device, when the processor executes a computer program:
to display printing conditions related to the print data, and
to display, when receiving an instruction of switching display via the operation device, a deadline or precautions related to the print data in place of the printing conditions.
However, Yoshino teaches
an operation device receiving an operation of a user (The user uses the mouse 50d to press the PRINT button 21 on the print command acquiring dialog box 20. As the user press the button, the Web page printing program 10 acquires the image data of the image displayed in the browser window, Yoshino [0045]); and
a controller including a processor and causing the display device, when the processor executes a computer program (the Web page printing program 10 according to one embodiment of the invention is a program installed in a general computer 50 (that can access Internet 70 and is connected to an available printer 60) in which an operating system (OS), a Web browser, a printer driver, and the like are installed. That is, the Web page printing program 10 is installed in the computer 50 which comprise a main unit 50a having a CPU…, Yoshino [0028], Figs. 1-2):
to display printing conditions related to the print data, and to display, when receiving an instruction of switching display via the operation device, a deadline related to the print data in place of the printing conditions (the Web page printing program 10 performs processing of displaying another paper size in the paper size setting drop-down list. box 31, processing of changing the display node of the radio button 32, 33 concerning the paper orientation, processing of changing the contents of the illustration display area 34 … if value Ri resulting from dividing the longitudinal length of the acquired image data (the number of dots) by the lateral length (the number of dots) is equal to or greater than value Rp resulting from dividing the longitudinal length of the printable area by the lateral length (Rp.apprxeq.1.4 if the print orientation is PORTRAIT; Rp.apprxeq.0.7 if the print orientation is LANDSCAPE), the Web page printing program 10 changes the resolution of the image data (the number of dots par Unit length) so that the lateral length matches the lateral length of the printable area … Since the print condition setting dialog box 30 is displayed on the display 50b, the user changes the paper size or the paper orientation as required and then presses the OK button 35, Yoshino [0038-0045]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made having the teachings of Kimura, Chopra and Yoshino before him/her, to further modify Kimura with the teaching of Yoshino’s web page printing program, computer-readable medium, web page display, and web page printing method. One would have been motivated to do so for the benefit of providing Kimura’s image printing apparatus a Web page printing program that can give a computer a function of printing a Web page only in any desired range, a computer-readable medium recording such a Web page printing program, and a Web page display and a Web page printing method for making it possible to print a Web page only in any desired range (Yoshino, Abstract and [0007]).
Regarding 2. Kimura as modified teaches, wherein the controller causes the display device to display a button for receiving the instruction of switching display to display the deadline or the precautions in place of the printing conditions when an operation of the button is received by the operation device (Yoshino [0037-0040]).
Regarding 8. Kimura teaches an image forming apparatus (At least one printer is connected to an image source such as a digital camera via a network, Kimura, Abstract. First, when the user handling the digital camera 20 sets the digital camera 20 in a replay mode and turns on the power, a first image is displayed … when the user operates an operation button 21 on the digital camera 20 to switch the image to another image to be displayed, Kimura [0034], [0039], [0042]) comprising:
a forming device forming an image on a sheet in accordance with print data (a digital camera and a color printer can create prints with the print quality that is comparable to the print quality of photographs created by a conventional silver-salt camera. Group photos, which are conventionally photographed and printed through the use of a silver-salt camera, can be provided with good quality by a digital camera and a printer, Kimura [0004]. Kimura FIG. 2 shows a connection structure including a digital camera (an image display device) and at least one printer (image printing apparatus) connected by a Bluetooth network. A plurality of printers may be connected by the network, as shown in FIG. 2. The printers may be any printers including portable printers and color portable printers, Kimura [0030-0031]);
a communication device communicating with a data management apparatus (When the power is turned on, and the printer 1 is placed in a state that can communicate with the digital camera 20 (The digital camera 20 functions as a master in the piconet, and the printers 1a, 1b and 1c, which are slaves, can independently communicate with the master, i.e., the digital camera 20, Kimura [0032]), the printer 1 checks in step 101 as to whether or not an image display switching notification from the digital camera 20 has been present in the network I/F 17. If the image display switching notification has arrived, the printer renews the display content displayed on the display device 23, and waits an instruction from the user while turning on the LED in the print button 24 in step 102. …, upon receiving an image display switching notification from the digital camera 20, the LED in the print button 24 turns on to let the user know that the image can be printed by operating the print button 24, Kimura [0044], [0072], [0074]);
Kimura does not teach
a display device provided on a housing accommodating the forming device;
However, Chopra teaches
a display device provided on a housing accommodating the forming device (Chopra discloses a display device provided on a housing accommodating the forming device “A control panel 206 extends from the front surface 202c of the standalone printer 200 and includes an input device 208 and a display 210 … the display 210 may part of the input device 208 such as, for example, by including touch screen functionality that allows a user to provide input by touching the surface of the display 210”, Chopra [0020], Fig. 2a. “The method 300 then proceeds to block 308 where low resolution image customization resources are viewed and selected. The customer may view a resources browser 312 on the display 210 of the control panel 206 on the standalone printer 200”, Chopra [0021], Figs. 2a, 3a. “The image customization engine 216 displays the image(s) on the display 210 such that the user may select an image to print. … the display 210 may be a touch screen and the user may select an image to print by touching the image as displayed by the display 210. In an embodiment, upon selection of the image to print, the image customization engine 216 may provide an Image Display screen 404a on the display 210 that includes the selected image 404b”, Chopra [0022-0023] and Figs. 4c-4f);
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made having the teachings of Kimura and Chopra before him/her, to modify Kimura with the teaching of Chopra’s printing device with image customization. One would have been motivated to do so for the benefit of providing an improved printing device with image customization for an information handling system (Chopra, Abstract and [0005]).
Kimura and Chopra do not teach
an operation device receiving an operation of a user; and
a controller including a processor and causing the display device, when the processor executes a computer program:
to display printing conditions related to the print data, and
to display, when receiving an instruction of switching display via the operation device, a deadline related to the print data in place of the printing conditions.
However, Yoshino teaches
an operation device receiving an operation of a user (The user uses the mouse 50d to press the PRINT button 21 on the print command acquiring dialog box 20. As the user press the button, the Web page printing program 10 acquires the image data of the image displayed in the browser window, Yoshino [0045]); and
a controller including a processor and causing the display device, when the processor executes a computer program (the Web page printing program 10 according to one embodiment of the invention is a program installed in a general computer 50 (that can access Internet 70 and is connected to an available printer 60) in which an operating system (OS), a Web browser, a printer driver, and the like are installed. That is, the Web page printing program 10 is installed in the computer 50 which comprise a main unit 50a having a CPU…, Yoshino [0028], Figs. 1-2):
to display, when the communication device receives first display data indicating printing conditions related to the print data and second display data indicating a deadline related to the print data from the data management apparatus, a number of printing sheets, a paper size, a single-sided or double-sided printing, a necessity of layout change, and a magnification as the printing conditions indicated by the first display data, and to display, when receiving an instruction of switching display via the operation device, the deadline indicated by the second display data in place of the printing conditions (the Web page printing program 10 performs processing of displaying another paper size in the paper size setting drop-down list. box 31, processing of changing the display node of the radio button 32, 33 concerning the paper orientation, processing of changing the contents of the illustration display area 34 … if value Ri resulting from dividing the longitudinal length of the acquired image data (the number of dots) by the lateral length (the number of dots) is equal to or greater than value Rp resulting from dividing the longitudinal length of the printable area by the lateral length (Rp.apprxeq.1.4 if the print orientation is PORTRAIT; Rp.apprxeq.0.7 if the print orientation is LANDSCAPE), the Web page printing program 10 changes the resolution of the image data (the number of dots par Unit length) so that the lateral length matches the lateral length of the printable area … Since the print condition setting dialog box 30 is displayed on the display 50b, the user changes the paper size or the paper orientation as required and then presses the OK button 35, Yoshino [0038-0045]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made having the teachings of Kimura, Chopra and Yoshino before him/her, to further modify Kimura with the teaching of Yoshino’s web page printing program, computer-readable medium, web page display, and web page printing method. One would have been motivated to do so for the benefit of providing Kimura’s image printing apparatus a Web page printing program that can give a computer a function of printing a Web page only in any desired range, a computer-readable medium recording such a Web page printing program, and a Web page display and a Web page printing method for making it possible to print a Web page only in any desired range (Yoshino, Abstract and [0007]).
Claims 4-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kimura et al. (US Patent Publication No. US 6,722,800 B2, ‘Kimura’, hereafter) in view of Chopra et al. (US Patent Publication No. 2009/0135438 A1, ‘Chopra’, hereafter) and further in view of Yoshino et al. (US Patent Publication No. 2002/0135806 A1, ‘Yoshino’, hereafter) and further in view of Ohara (US Patent Publication No. 2011/0242599 A1, ‘Ohara’, hereafter).
Regarding 4. Kimura as modified teaches
wherein the controller: causes, when the printing condition limitation information indicates that the paper size other than a particular size is limited, the forming device to form the image only on a sheet having the particular size (Yoshino [0037-0040]), and
prohibits, when the printing condition limitation information indicates that an intensive printing, in which a plurality of pages are intensively printed onto a single sheet, is limited, the forming device from forming the image by using the intensive printing (Yoshino [0037-0042]).
Kimura, Chopra and Yoshino do not teach
wherein, when the communication device receives printing condition limitation information related to the print data, the controller causes the forming device to form an image indicated by the print data on the sheet in accordance with the printing condition limitation information,
However, Ohara teaches
wherein, when the communication device receives printing condition limitation information related to the print data, the controller causes the forming device to form an image indicated by the print data on the sheet in accordance with the printing condition limitation information (The accessible highest folder name group (the group of folders "Report," "Budget" and "XXX"), the accessible lower folder name group (the group of folders "2009" and "2010"), and the accessible file name group (the group of files "Jan.doc" and "Feb.doc") are displayed within the file select field 252 (see FIG. 12) on the third file select screen 250. Specifically, when the permission level of the GIP of the terminal device 60 is "3" as shown in FIG. 11, the user of the terminal device 60 can access only the folders and files having a secret level of "3" or lower, Ohara [0073-0074], [0076], [0049-0050]),
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made having the teachings of Kimura, Chopra, Yoshino and Ohara before him/her, to further modify Kimura with the teaching of Ohara’s printer searching device. One would have been motivated to do so for the benefit of providing Kimura’s image printing apparatus a printer searching server that provides a search result of the printer to the information terminal. In this manner, the printer searching server can provide information concerning the printer existing in the vicinity of the information terminal to the information terminal (Ohara, Abstract and [0003]).
Regarding 5. Kimura as modified teaches
The image forming apparatus according to wherein the printing condition limitation information is set to a folder storing the print data in the data management apparatus (Ohara [0054-0055]).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to HASANUL MOBIN whose telephone number is (571)270-1289. The examiner can normally be reached on 8AM to 5:00PM EST M-F.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Charles Rones can be reached at 571-272-4085. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/HASANUL MOBIN/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2168