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 . This action is made non-final.
Claims 1-10 are pending in the case. Claim 1 is the independent claim. Claim 14 has been canceled.
Priority
Acknowledgement is made of Applicant’s claim of foreign priority of Japanese application JP2022-121283 filed 07/29/2022. The instant application is a 371 of PCT/JP2023/026673 filed 07/20/2023.
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.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 2 and 3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 2 is generally narrative and indefinite, failing to conform with current U.S. practice. The claim appears to be a literal translation into English from a foreign document and are replete with grammatical and idiomatic errors. For example, it is unclear when “in a case where the voice instruction is input to the voice input device” and “when the display device is caused to display the selection screen” occur in relation to other limitations of the claim, propagating indefiniteness throughout the entire claim. Grammatically, the claim as a whole is incoherent. Given the extent of the errors, the claim cannot be logically interpreted. Appropriate correction is required.
Dependent claim 3 is also rejected due to inheriting the deficiencies of claim 2.
Claim 3 is also generally narrative and indefinite, failing to conform with current U.S. practice. The claim appears to be a literal translation into English from a foreign document and are replete with grammatical and idiomatic errors. For example, it is unclear which limitation occurs “in advance” and which limitation is connected to “from among the functions for which the setting values indicated by the voice instruction are used”, propagating indefiniteness throughout the entire claim. Grammatically, the claim as a whole is incoherent. Given the extent of the errors, the claim cannot be logically interpreted. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
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(s) 1, 4, 6, and 8-10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Mikoshiba (US 2021/0092242 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Mikoshiba teaches an image forming apparatus that includes an image forming device that forms an image on a recording medium (image processing system 100 of FIG. 2 and [0052-0079]), the image forming apparatus comprising:
a display device (image forming device 1, including operation display unit 13 of FIG. 2 and [0060-0061], [0068]);
a voice input device that receives an input of voice from the user (voice input/output device of FIG. 8, [0117-0120], and [0130], the device of which corresponds to voice input/output device 2 of FIGS. 1 and 2 and [0047-0050); and
a control device that includes a processor and, through the processor executing a control program (image forming device 1, including control unit 12, including CPU 120, of FIG. 2 and [0055-0058]), acts as:
a display controller (operation display unit 13 of FIG. 2 and [0060-0061], [0068]) that causes the display device to display a selection screen for allowing a user to select a function to be executed from among a plurality of functions that are able to be executed in the image forming apparatus (FIGS. 8-9 and [0115-0117]: for example, a selection screen corresponds to voice operation reception screen Sc0 of FIG. 9, allowing the user to select a function from a plurality of functions, including COPY and SCAN) and causes the display device to display a setting screen for receiving an input related to setting of each function selected on the selection screen (FIGS. 8-11 and [0118-0132]: for example, a setting screen corresponds to scan setting screen Sc2 of FIG. 10 which is configured to receive an input related to setting the SCAN function selected on the selection screen Sc0 of FIG. 9);
a receiver that receives a voice instruction based on the voice input to the voice input device (communication I/F unit 11 of FIG. 2, [0053-0054], and [0067-0068]; See also FIG. 8 and [0117-0120], and [0130-0132]); and
a controller that executes a job in accordance with content of the voice instruction received by the receiver ([0067-0068]; See also FIG. 8 and [0117-0120], and [0130-0132]),
wherein in a case where the voice instruction is input to the voice input device when the display device is caused to display the selection screen, the display controller causes a display screen of the display device to transition from the selection screen to the setting screen for receiving an input of setting values indicated by the voice instruction and causes the setting screen to display the setting values indicated by the voice instruction (FIGS. 8-11 and [0116-0132]: see the transition from the selection screen Sc0 OF fig. 9 to the setting screen Sc2 for receiving an input of setting values and causes the setting screen to display the setting values indicated by the voice instruction seen in scan setting screen Sc2 of FIG. 11).
Regarding claim 4, Mikoshiba further teaches the image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:
a voice output device (voice input/output device of FIG. 8, [0117-0120], and [0130], the device of which corresponds to voice input/output device 2 of FIGS. 1 and 2 and [0047-0050),
wherein the controller further causes the voice output device to output content of the setting values indicated by the voice instruction (FIGS. 8 and 11 and [0129-0131]).
Regarding claim 6, Mikoshiba further teaches the image forming apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising:
an operation device that receives an instruction as a manual input from the user (FIG. 4 and [0084-0089]; FIGS. 8 and 11 and [0129-0131]),
wherein when an output instruction is input as a manual input to the operation device and is received by the receiver, the display controller causes the display device to display content of each of the setting values set on the basis of the voice instruction received by the receiver (FIG. 4 and [0084-0089]; FIGS. 8 and 11 and [0129-0131]), and
when an output instruction is input through a voice instruction based on voice input to the voice input device and is received by the receiver, the controller causes the voice output device to output, as voice, content of setting items set on the basis of the voice instruction (FIGS. 8 and 11 and [0129-0131]).
Regarding claim 8, Mikoshiba further teaches the image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display controller causes the display device to display, on the setting screen, a preview image on an assumption that the job has been executed with the setting values indicated by the voice instruction applied (FIGS. 8 and 11 and [0129-0131]).
Regarding claim 9, Mikoshiba further teaches the image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:
an operation device that receives an input of an instruction based on an operation of the user (voice input/output device of FIG. 8, [0117-0120], and [0130], the device of which corresponds to voice input/output device 2 of FIGS. 1 and 2 and [0047-0050]),
wherein when a confirmation instruction is input to the operation device, the display controller causes the display device to display the setting values indicated by the voice instruction received by the receiver (FIGS. 8, 10, and 11 and [0118-0131]: user provides confirmation instruction at S17-S18 to change settings, which causes display of setting values seen in FIG. 11).
Regarding claim 10, Mikoshiba further teaches the image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the receiver further receives the setting values indicated by the voice instruction as setting values for favorite registration setting in which setting values that are different from default values are registered in advance (FIG. 3 and [0081-0084], [0123], FIG. 13 and [0136-0144]: favorite registration setting corresponds to usual setting).
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.
Claim 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mikoshiba (US 2021/0092242 A1), in view of Yun (US 11488598 B2).
Regarding claim 5, Mikoshiba teaches the image forming apparatus according to claim 4. Mikoshiba does not explicitly teach wherein the receiver also receives setting for setting items that are not displayed on the setting screen through a voice instruction based on voice input to the voice input device, and the controller also causes the voice output device to output, as voice, content of the setting items that have been set on the basis of the voice instruction and are not displayed on the setting screen.
Yun teaches wherein the receiver also receives setting for setting items that are not displayed on the setting screen through a voice instruction based on voice input to the voice input device, and the controller also causes the voice output device to output, as voice, content of the setting items that have been set on the basis of the voice instruction and are not displayed on the setting screen (FIGS. 18-19 and Col. 14, line 59 to Col. 15, line 34: setting item for matching is not displayed on the setting screen. Based on a voice instruction, voice content is output of the setting item for changing the matching)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Mikoshiba by incorporating the teachings of Yun so as to include wherein the receiver also receives setting for setting items that are not displayed on the setting screen through a voice instruction based on voice input to the voice input device, and the controller also causes the voice output device to output, as voice, content of the setting items that have been set on the basis of the voice instruction and are not displayed on the setting screen. Doing so would conserve display real estate as the user may modify settings that do not necessarily have to be displayed on the setting screen. This would allow for a more simplified setting screen reserved for critical content.
Claim 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mikoshiba (US 2021/0092242 A1), in view of Dutta et al. (US 2023/0138329 A1).
Regarding claim 7, Mikoshiba teaches the image forming apparatus according to claim 4. Mikoshiba does not explicitly teach wherein in a case where a number of setting values indicated by the voice instruction is equal to or greater than a predefined number, the controller does not cause the voice output device to output the content of the setting values indicated by the voice instruction and causes the voice output device to output a predefined alert message.
Dutta teaches wherein in a case where a number of setting values indicated by the voice instruction is equal to or greater than a predefined number,
the controller does not cause the voice output device to output the content of the setting values indicated by the voice instruction and causes the voice output device to output a predefined alert message (FIGS. 6 and 7 and [0105-0111]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Mikoshiba by incorporating the teachings of Dutta so as to include wherein in a case where a number of setting values indicated by the voice instruction is equal to or greater than a predefined number, the controller does not cause the voice output device to output the content of the setting values indicated by the voice instruction and causes the voice output device to output a predefined alert message. Doing so would help prevent overload of the system due to the user exceeding a predetermined number of modifications to the system.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure, including:
US 2021/0012771 A1: voice-operated control of device with voice response
US 2021/0021723 A1: setting change instruction via speech or touch-based input
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KENNY NGUYEN whose telephone number is (571)272-4980. The examiner can normally be reached M-Th 7AM to 5PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, KIEU D VU can be reached at (571)272-4057. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/KENNY NGUYEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2171