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
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d).
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 06/17/2024 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Status of Claims
Claims 1-14 are pending in this application.
Oath/Declaration
The receipt of Oath/Declaration is acknowledged.
Drawings
6. The receipt of Drawings is acknowledged.
Allowable Subject Matter
7. Claims 9-10 and 13 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.
8. The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Regarding Claim 9:
The prior art(s) searched, cited and/or of record fails to explicitly teach, disclose or suggest the teaching(s) of the image forming apparatus according to claim 1,
wherein the test image includes a first test pattern and a second test pattern disposed at different positions in a direction of the rotation axis,
the image forming apparatus further includes a first optical sensor that detects a first timing at which the first test pattern passes due to a transfer material moving, and a second optical sensor that senses a second timing at which the second test pattern passes due to the transfer material moving, and
the at least one controller is configured to detect the shift amount based on the first timing and the second timing.
Regarding Claim 10:
The prior art(s) searched, cited and/or of record fails to explicitly teach, disclose or suggest the teaching(s) of the image forming apparatus according to claim 9,
wherein the first test pattern and the second test pattern are parallel to each other.
Regarding Claim13:
The prior art(s) searched, cited and/or of record fails to explicitly teach, disclose or suggest the teaching(s) of the image forming apparatus according to claim 1,
wherein the test image is a parallelogram having two long sides and two short sides,
the two long sides are slanted relative to a direction of the rotation axis, and
the two short sides are parallel to the direction of the rotation axis.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
9. 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.
10. 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.
11. The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
12. 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.
13. Claims 1-8, 11-12 and 14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nagasaki (US PG. Pub. 2016/0246208 A1) in view of Tokuma (US PG. Pub. 2022/0234850 A1).
Referring to Claim 1, Nagasaki teaches an image forming apparatus (See Nagasaki, Fig. 1, Image Forming Apparatus 9) comprising:
a photosensitive member (See Nagasaki, Fig. 1, Sct. [0038] lines 14-15, The photosensitive drum 4 as a photosensitive member) that is rotationally driven (See Nagasaki, Sect. [0042] lines 33-35, the rotation shaft rotationally drives the photosensitive drum 4.);
an exposure light source including a plurality of light-emitting units (See Nagasaki, Figs. 1-2A-2B, Laser drive unit 300 including light-emitting unit 11 as LEDs, light source 401, Luminance Unit 330 and Laser beam 208) that are arranged parallel to a rotation axis (See Nagasaki, Sect. [0042] lines 31-36, parallel arrangement with rotation to photosensitive drum 4 shaft) of the photosensitive member (See Nagasaki, Sect. [0150], The laser drive unit 300 may drive the light source 401 by supplying the light source 401 with the third current IL that is obtained by subtracting, from the first current Ia, the second current Id that is output by the luminance correction unit 330. The luminance correction unit 330 configured with the control unit 1, the laser drive unit 300, and so on may correct the luminance of the laser beam 208 by changing the second current Id according to the scanning position of the laser beam 208 on the surface of the photosensitive drum 4.) and that emit light that exposes the photosensitive member (See Nagasaki, Fig. 5, Sect. [0065] lines 10-12, The light source 401 emits light based on this VDO signal, and a latent image is formed on the photosensitive drum 4.); and
at least one controller image (See Nagasaki, Fig. 4, Luminanace Correction Unit included of Control Unit 1 and Laser Drive Unit 300) configured to generate image data that is a group of bit data controlling lighting and extinguishing of the plurality of light-emitting units and that corresponds to an image (See Nagasaki, Fig. 4, Sect. [0089]-[090], In FIG. 4, the luminance correction unit is configured with the control unit 1 and the laser drive unit 300 which supplies drive current to the light-emitting unit 11, which is a laser diode of the light source 401, by using the laser driver IC 16 corrects the luminance of the laser beam 208 for each of the latent images respectively corresponding to the pixels that have been subjected to width correction such that the exposure amount for each of the latent images is adjusted according to the exposure time of the corresponding latent image. In particular, the luminance of the laser beam 208 is corrected such that a larger exposure amount per unit time is set for a position at which the scanning speed is higher among exposure positions (main scanning positions, or image heights) on the photosensitive member.), and
to insert and/or remove the bit data in the image data (See Nagasaki, Figs. 10A and 10B, Sect. [0079] lines 6-15, In FIG. 10A and 10B, “IMAGE DATA (BEFORE CORRECTION)” corresponds to the serial signal 130 output by the PS conversion unit 123. “IMAGE DATA (INSERTION POSITION)” indicates the position in the image data (before correction) in which the pixel piece is inserted. “IMAGE DATA (AFTER CORRECTION)” corresponds to the VDO signal output by the FIFO 124. In FIG. 10B, IMAGE DATA (REMOVAL POSITION)” indicates the position in the image data (before correction) from which the pixel piece is removed.), wherein the image includes a test image for obtaining a shift amount in an image formation position relative to a reference position (See Nagasaki, Sect. [0081] lines 29-35, The position into which a pixel piece is inserted and the position from which a pixel piece is removed may be the same or different in each scanning line (line) in the main scanning direction. Density unevenness in the sub scanning direction due to insertion or removal of pixel pieces can be reduced by shifting the position.),
the at least one controller does not insert and/or remove the bit data in a region of the image data that corresponds to the test image data (See Nagasaki Sect. [0077] lines 6-10, the insertion/removal control unit 128 sets the read enable signal RE to be inactive (“LOW”) for a certain part. Consequently, the FIFO 124 does not update the readout data, and continues outputting data corresponding to the previous clock of the clock signal VCLK×16.).
Nagasaki fails to explicitly teach
the image data includes test image data corresponding to the test image (See Tokuma, Sect. [0110]-[0110], based on the image data after the shape correction, it is possible to output an image in which the misalignment and distortion of the image have been corrected; in a case in which image position adjustment is performed based on explicit instructions from a user, the image position adjustment using the test patterns 802 and 803 for measurement may be performed autonomously, for example, at a timing when the printer controller 103 determines that calibration is necessary.).
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Nagasaki to incorporate the teachings of Tokuma to provide the image data includes test image data corresponding to the test image. Doing so would provide a new form of reading apparatus and image forming system that can realize highly accurate image reading, as recognized by Tokuma.
Referring to Claim 2, the combination of Nagasaki in view of Tokuma teaches the image forming apparatus according to claim 1 (See Nagasaki, Fig. 1, Image Forming Apparatus 9),
wherein the test image includes a line-shaped image that is slanted with respect to a direction of the rotation axis (See Nagasaki, Fig. 2B, Sect. [0041] lines 14-23, The anamorphic lens 404 converges a luminous flux to the vicinity of a deflective surface 411 of deflector 405 driven to rotate by motor Ml within the cross section along the sub scanning direction, and forms a line-shaped image that is elongated in the main scanning direction.).
Referring to Claim 3, the combination of Nagasaki in view of Tokuma teaches the image forming apparatus according to claim 1 (See Nagasaki, Fig. 1, Image Forming Apparatus 9),
wherein the image data includes a plurality of regions each having a plurality of instances of the bit data in a direction of the rotation axis (See Nagasaki, Figs, 9A-9C, Sect. [0078], FIG. 9A to FIG. 9C, and FIG. 10A and FIG. 10B are diagrams illustrating the 16-bit parallel signal 129, which corresponds to the image data input by the half-tone unit 122, and the VDO signal which is output by the FIFO 124, using an example of an image. FIG. 9A shows an example of eight bits of image signal that are input to the half-tone unit 122 in parallel. Each pixel has 8-bit density information. The density of a pixel 150 is F0h. The density of a pixel 151 is 80h. The density of a pixel 152 is 60h. The density of the white area is 00h. FIG. 9B shows an example of a screen. As described for FIG. 7A, this screen is a 200-line screen in which growth starts from the center. FIG. 9C shows an example of the 16-bit parallel signal 129 as an image signal that has undergone half-tone processing. As described above, the pixels 157 are each composed of sixteen pixel pieces.), and
the at least one controller inserts and/or removes the bit data in each of the plurality of regions (See Nagasakio, Fig. 9C and 10B, Sect. [0079] lines 2-6, an area 158 shown in FIG. 9C having eight pixels arranged in the main scanning direction, a pixel piece is inserted in the serial signal 130 so that the image is expanded. FIG. 10B shows an example in which a pixel piece is removed so that the image is shortened.).
Referring to Claim 4, the combination of Nagasaki in view of Tokuma teaches the image forming apparatus according to claim 3 (See Nagasaki, Fig. 1, Image Forming Apparatus 9),
wherein among the plurality of regions in the image data, the at least one controller does not insert and/or remove the bit data in a region that includes the test image data, and inserts and/or removes the bit data in a region that does not include the test image data (See Nagasaki, Sect. [0077] lines 6-16, the insertion/removal control unit 128 sets the read enable signal RE to be inactive (“LOW”) for a certain part. Consequently, the FIFO 124 does not update the readout data, and continues outputting data corresponding to the previous clock of the clock signal VCLK×16. In other words, the same data as the data of the pixel piece that has just been processed is inserted. FIG. 8 shows an example in which the insertion/removal control unit 128 inserts two pixel pieces into sixteen pixel pieces that constitute a 2.sup.nd pixel, and thus corrects the 2.sup.nd pixel to be a pixel composed of eighteen pixel pieces.).
Referring to Claim 5, the combination of Nagasaki in view of Tokuma teaches the image forming apparatus according to claim 4 (See Nagasaki, Fig. 1, Image Forming Apparatus 9),
wherein, of the plurality of regions in the image data, a total number of instances of the bit data to be inserted and/or removed in a region adjacent to the region that includes the test image data is greater than a total number of instances of the bit data to be inserted and/or removed in a region not adjacent to the region that includes the test image data (See Nagasaki, Fig. 10B, Sect. [0081] lines 22-29, In the case of inserting or removing pixels at equal or substantially equal intervals, the difference between the number of pixel pieces constituting one pixel and the number of pixel pieces constituting the pixel that is adjacent thereto is 0 or 1. Therefore, variation in the image density in the main scanning direction is smaller than that in the original image data, which leads to preferable image quality.).
Referring to Claim 6, the combination of Nagasaki in view of Tokuma teaches the image forming apparatus according to claim 1 (See Nagasaki, Fig. 1, Image Forming Apparatus 9).
the at least one controller inserts or removes a pixel in accordance with a distance between the first test pattern and the second test pattern (See Nagasaki, Sect. [0082], pixel pieces are inserted into or removed from the image data image data according to the image height Y such that the image is further shortened (the length per pixel further decreases) as the absolute value of the image height Y increases.).
Nagasaki fails to explicitly teach
wherein the test image includes a first test pattern, and a second test pattern disposed at a position different from the first test pattern in a direction of the rotation axis.
However, Tokuma teaches
wherein the test image includes a first test pattern, and a second test pattern disposed at a position different from the first test pattern in a direction of the rotation axis (See Tokuma, Fig. 8, Test Pateerns 802 and 803, Sect. [0105] lines 13-19, the printer controller 103 causes the engine control portion 312 to start outputting the measurement test patterns 802 and 803 for image position adjustment shown in part (a) and part (b) of FIG. 9 on both sides of the selected sheet. The test patterns 802 and 803 are rectangular patch images 820 placed at the four corners of the sheet as identification marks.).
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Nagasaki to incorporate the teachings of Tokuma to provide wherein the test image includes a first test pattern, and a second test pattern disposed at a position different from the first test pattern in a direction of the rotation axis. Doing so would provide a new form of reading apparatus and image forming system that can realize highly accurate image reading, as recognized by Tokuma.
Referring to Claim 7, the combination of Nagasaki in view of Tokuma teaches the image forming apparatus according to claim 6 (See Nagasaki, Fig. 1, Image Forming Apparatus 9),
wherein the at least one controller inserts a pixel (See Nagasaki, Sect. [0080], FIG. 10A shows an example in which the partial magnification is increased by 8%. The insertion/removal control unit 128 inserts eight pixel pieces in total at equal or substantially equal intervals into one hundred successive pixel pieces. Consequently, the pixel width is changed so as to increase the partial magnification by 8%, and thus the latent image is expanded in the main scanning direction.).
Nagasaki fails to explicitly teach
in a case where the distance between the first test pattern and the second test pattern in the direction of the rotation axis is shorter than a predetermined distance.
However, Tokuma teaches
in a case where the distance between the first test pattern and the second test pattern in the direction of the rotation axis is shorter than a predetermined distance ().
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Nagasaki to incorporate the teachings of Tokuma to provide in a case where the distance between the first test pattern and the second test pattern in the direction of the rotation axis is shorter than a predetermined distance. Doing so would provide a new form of reading apparatus and image forming system that can realize highly accurate image reading, as recognized by Tokuma.
Referring to Claim 8, the combination of Nagasaki in view of Tokuma teaches the image forming apparatus according to claim 6 (See Nagasaki, Fig. 1, Image Forming Apparatus 9),
wherein a pixel is removed in a case where the distance between the first
test pattern and the second test pattern is longer than a predetermined distance, (See Nagasaki, Sect. [0076], the insertion/removal control unit 128 sets the write enable signal WE to be inactive (“LOW”) for a certain part, and thereby performs control to prevent the FIFO 124 from retrieving the serial signal 130. Consequently, only pixel pieces at desired positions are removed. FIG. 8 shows an example in which the insertion/removal control unit 128 removes one pixel piece from sixteen pixel pieces that constitute a 1.sup.st pixel, and thus corrects the 1.sup.st pixel to be a pixel composed of fifteen pixel pieces. In other words, the pixel width of the 1.sup.st pixel is reduced by one pixel piece.).
Referring to Claim 11, the combination of Nagasaki in view of Tokuma teaches the image forming apparatus according to claim 1 (See Nagasaki, Fig. 1, Image Forming Apparatus 9),
wherein the plurality of light-emitting elements are light-emitting diodes (See Nagasaki, Fig. 4, Laser Drive Unit 300, Sect. [0090] lines 1-3, The laser drive unit 300 supplies drive current to the light-emitting unit 11, which is a laser diode of the light source 401, by using the laser driver IC 16.).
Referring to Claim 12, the combination of Nagasaki in view of Tokuma teaches the image forming apparatus according to claim 1 (See Nagasaki, Fig. 1, Image Forming Apparatus 9),
wherein the light-emitting diodes are organic electro luminescence type light-emitting diodes (See Nagasaki, Sect. [0095] lines 20-24, the laser driver IC 16 adjusts the current Ia to be supplied to the light-emitting unit 11 to have the predetermined luminance Papc1 by monitoring the luminance of the light-emitting unit 11 by using the photodetector 12.).
Referring to Claim 14, the combination of Nagasaki in view of Tokuma teaches the image forming apparatus according to claim 1 (See Nagasaki, Fig. 1, Image Forming Apparatus 9).
Nagasaki fails to explicitly teach
wherein an angle formed by the test image and the direction of the rotation axis is 45 degrees.
However, Tokuma teaches
wherein an angle formed by the test image and the direction of the rotation axis is 45 degrees (See Tokuma, Sect. [0086] lines 7-12, considering that the assumed size of the curl is that the angle of the tip portion of the sheet to the nip line N1 is 15°, and that the contact angle between the tip of the sheet and the upper surface 512a of the glass 512 should be kept to 45° or less, the inclination angle θ should be 30° or less.).
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Nagasaki to incorporate the teachings of Tokuma to provide wherein an angle formed by the test image and the direction of the rotation axis is 45 degrees. Doing so would provide a new form of reading apparatus and image forming system that can realize highly accurate image reading, as recognized by Tokuma.
Cited Art
14. The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure Kawada et al. (US PG. PUB. No. 2009/0060544 A1) discloses an image forming apparatus, includes: an exposure head that includes a first imaging optical system, a second imaging optical system, a first light emitting element which emits light to be focused by the first imaging optical system, and a second light emitting element which emits light to be focused by the second imaging optical system, the first imaging optical system and the second imaging optical system being arranged in a first direction; a latent image carrier that moves in a second direction orthogonal to or substantially orthogonal to the first direction and carries a latent image which is formed by the exposure head; a developing unit that develops the latent image formed by the exposure head; and a detector that detects an image developed by the developing unit, wherein a first latent image that is focused by the first imaging optical system and a second latent image that is focused by the second imaging optical system are connected.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DARRYL V DOTTIN whose telephone number is (571)270-5471. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9am-5pm.
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, 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.
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.
/DARRYL V DOTTIN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2683
/DARRYL V DOTTIN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2683
Prosecution Insights