DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
1. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Priority
2. Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
3. The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 20 September 2024 was filed in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. Claims 1, 3-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1)/(a)(2) as being anticipated by Shino U.S. Patent Application No. 2022/0046135 (hereinafter Shino).
Regarding claim 1, Shino discloses an image forming apparatus comprising:
one or more controllers (Controller unit 100/ CPU 101), Figure 1;
a display (Operation/display unit 112, Figure 1); and
an operation acceptor (Application 2305, Figure 2), wherein
the one or more controllers display an operation screen set including a plurality of screens on the display (Setting information about all settings, or may be setting information indicating settings that are different from the default settings; paragraphs 46, Figure 7A. See the rest of reference),
the operation screen set includes a setting screen for setting values of one or more setting items and a setting confirmation screen for displaying any of the setting items that has been changed from a predefined default value thereof (Confirmation screen 703 displays the contents (e.g., color, and file format setting) that are changed from the default settings by the user; paragraph 47, Figure 7B),
at least a portion of the setting screen has a first screen element corresponding to the setting confirmation screen (Screen transitions to an advanced settings screen corresponding to each setting item; paragraph 39), and
in response to operation of the first screen element through the operation acceptor, the one or more controllers transition the screen being displayed on the display from the setting screen to the setting confirmation screen (Settings confirmation screen 709 in which the setting change is reflected is displayed; paragraph 59, Figure 7E. See the rest of reference).
Regarding claim 3, Shino discloses the image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein
the setting confirmation screen includes a second screen element corresponding to an execution instruction screen (settings confirmation screen 709 in which the setting change is reflected is displayed; paragraph 59, Figure 7E. See the rest of reference), and
the execution instruction screen includes a third screen element corresponding to execution of a function of the image forming apparatus in accordance with the current settings (it is determined whether an instruction to change the setting information is issued by pressing any one of the change buttons 710 to 712 on the settings confirmation screen 709; paragraph 61. See the rest of reference).
Regarding claim 4, Shino discloses the image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the setting confirmation screen includes a fourth screen element corresponding to the setting screen for setting the value of the setting item that has been changed (In step S1011, the send application 2305 determines whether an instruction to change the setting information is issued by pressing any one of the change buttons 710 to 712 on the settings confirmation screen 709; paragraph 61, Figures 7E, 10. See the rest of reference).
Regarding claim 5, claim 5 is the method claim of device claim 1. Therefore, method claim 5 is rejected for the reason given in device claim 1.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
7. 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.
8. 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.
9. Claim 2 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shino in view of OKASATO et al. Japan Application No. JP 2010/212889 (hereinafter OKASATO).
Regarding claim 2, Shino discloses the image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of screens has a screen element corresponding to another screen (When the user changes the color setting on the color setting screen 717 and presses the OK button, the settings confirmation screen 709 in which the setting change is reflected is displayed. In this case, the changed setting is temporarily associated as setting information corresponding to the action ID; paragraph 59. See the rest of reference).
Shino does not explicitly disclose the plurality of screens in the operation screen set and links associating the screens with each other by the screen elements have a hierarchical structure, and a screen transition between the setting screen and the setting confirmation screen along the hierarchical structure involves at least one other screen therebetween.
However, OKASATO et al. (JP 2010/212889) teaches the plurality of screens in the operation screen set and links associating the screens with each other by the screen elements have a hierarchical structure, and a screen transition between the setting screen and the setting confirmation screen along the hierarchical structure involves at least one other screen therebetween (Image processing apparatus 100 uses the function of the screen information generation unit 103 to request the screen construction unit 107 for hierarchical screen data indicating the screens of the respective layers for allowing the currently displayed screen to be displayed hierarchically; See Abstract and the rest of reference). Such an arrangement provides user desired setting screen to be displayed by making a direct transition to the desired setting screen.
Thus, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of Applicant’s invention to have combined the system of Shino as taught by OKASATO, since doing so would have predictably and advantageously provided user desired setting screen to be displayed by making a direct transition to the desired setting screen.
Cited Art
10. The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
NODA (US 2022/0182499) discloses an image forming apparatus which stores settings for use in performing job processing, the image forming apparatus comprising: a display; a storage which stores a setting history related to settings of past job processing, and a collective setting in which settings related to job processing are registered collectively; a setting controller which displays a setting history screen including the setting history on the display, displays on the display, in response to selection of the setting history, a setting screen reflecting setting contents based on the selected setting history, and displays a registration button to perform processing to register the collective setting on the setting screen; and a registration controller which performs the processing to register the collective setting in response to an operation on the registration button, wherein the setting controller displays, when the setting screen is not displayed by a transition from the setting history screen, the registration button if the setting contents are changed on the setting screen, and wherein the setting controller compares setting contents of the setting history read from the storage with setting contents of the collective setting, and when the two compared setting contents match, a registration name of the collective setting is indicated in the setting history displayed on the setting history screen.
Nagano (US 8,630,001) discloses an image forming apparatus that performs a data communication function, an address book function, and a program function, wherein for the address book function, communication destinations and corresponding destination identifying information are registered in an address book, and wherein for the program function, registration management information, including communication destinations and corresponding destination identifying information selected from said communication destinations and corresponding destination identifying information registered by the address book function, is stored in a program storing section as part of registration data for a registered program among a plurality of registration entries for a plurality of registered programs, wherein the address book and program storing section are separate storage constructs; the image forming apparatus comprising: a main control section for providing overall control of operating functions of the image forming apparatus, and having internal memory for storing therein the address book and the program storing section as separate storage constructs; a determining section triggered in direct response to a change in a communication destination stored for an entry in the address book to perform a search of the registration management information in the program storing section to identify an entry in the program storing section for which the destination identifying information of the registration management information corresponds to the changed address book entry; an obtaining section triggered in direct response to the identification of said entry in the program storage section to obtain the user's intention on whether to reflect the updated destination identifying information in the registration data of the identified entry in the program storage section; and a deciding section that decides whether to reflect the changes to the changed address book entry in the registration data of the identified entry in the program storage section, further comprising: an operation key used when carrying out various operations including registration or a change of the communication destination; and a display section for displaying various information, wherein the obtaining section displays on the display section a confirmation screen for allowing a user to select whether to reflect in the identified program storing section entry the change related to the communication destination and encourages the user to conduct the selection operation thereby to obtain the user's intention.
11. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ALLEN H NGUYEN whose telephone number is (571)270-1229. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 7 am-4 pm.
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 at (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.
/ALLEN H NGUYEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2683
Prosecution Insights