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 10/29/24 was filed. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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(s) 1-3, 5-9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Torii US 8392599 in view of Salgado US 2006/0230060.
Regarding claim 1, Torii teaches A communication device (image forming apparatus (column 5, lines 9-10), comprising:
a communication interface (communication unit 564 (column 5, lines 38-40);
a memory configured to store a setting value (a management target device 102 called an agent. The agent holds data (MIB information) about the state of its own in the form of a database called MIB (Management Information Base) (column 4, lines 16-22); and
a controller (CPU 551 (column 5, lines 17-18);
wherein the controller is configured to:
receive a command including an object identifier of a management information base through the communication interface (The manager transmits a device state request 103 to the agent and acquires a response 104 (MIB information) from the agent, thereby managing the device (column 4, lines 15-22). communication unit 564 can communicate with the client 101 via the network 570 by using a protocol such as SNMPv1 or SNMPv3. An integrated management application 951 can set the communication protocol to be used by the network device (column 5, lines 38-42). image forming apparatus receives a request packet SNMPv1 request 103 in FIG. 1) by the SNMPv1 protocol via the network I/F 554. (column 10, lines 47-52), the command being to request reading of the setting value corresponding to a value of the object identifier from the memory or writing of the setting value corresponding to the value of the object identifier in the memory (The manager transmits a device state request 103 to the agent and acquires a response 104 (MIB information) from the agent, thereby managing the device (column 4, lines 15-22). The request packet by the SNMPv1 protocol contains requests (OID1, OID2, . . . ) each of which is identified by object identification information (identifier) (Object Identifier: OID) (column 10, lines 47-52);
determine whether the object identifier included in the command is a specific identifier (the CPU 551 analyzes the object identification information (identifiers) (OID1, OID2, . . . ) contained in the request packet (SNMPv1 request 103) transmitted from the manager. The CPU 551 determines whether each request is a response target (object) necessary for Plug and Play (column 11, lines 4-14);
read or write the setting value corresponding to a value of the specific identifier of the management information base according to the command in response to determining that the command has been transmitted from the first device (The CPU 551 of the image forming apparatus can control communication complying with the network protocol (specific identifier) on the basis of settings in the setting fields (column 7, lines 45-52). CPU 551 can control access to the MIB on the basis of the setting in the setting field 602. As setting of access control to the MIB, "read/write (Read/Write right)", "read only (Read Only right)", and "community name" can be set (column 8, lines 61-65) Note: the first device is determined based on the device that uses the specific network protocol.
Torii fails to teach determine whether the command has been transmitted from a first device or from a second device that is different from the first device in response to determining that the object identifier in the command is the specific identifier;
Salgado teaches determine whether the command has been transmitted from a first device or from a second device that is different from the first device in response to determining that the object identifier in the command is the specific identifier (to obtain information for a target device 200, an operator will launch NM 122 by entering commands at NMS 110. NM 122 forwards a request for the desired object to NA 222 running on the selected printer using the appropriate OID 127. NA 222 then retrieves the associated object as shown in block 26 and sends it to NM 110 (paragraph 0041) Note: the device is determined based on command entered by the user, which is sent to a printer that is running the desired object, thereby determining which device the command was transmitted to. The command can only be transmitted to the device that is running the object in the command entered by the user;
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person with ordinary skill in the art to have modified Torii to include: determine whether the command has been transmitted from a first device or from a second device that is different from the first device in response to determining that the object identifier in the command is the specific identifier
The reason for doing so would be to identify a desired device to perform desired function
Regarding claim 2, Torii in view of Salgado teaches wherein the controller is configured to determine that the command has been transmitted from the first device in response to receiving the command in a first protocol that is a secured protocol, and determine that the command has been transmitted from the second device, in response to receiving the command in a second protocol that is different from the first protocol (Salgado: to obtain information for a target device 200, an operator will launch NM 122 by entering commands at NMS 110. NM 122 forwards a request for the desired object to NA 222 running on the selected printer using the appropriate OID 127. NA 222 then retrieves the associated object as shown in block 26 and sends it to NM 110 (paragraph 0041) Note: a target printer is determined based on commands sent and desired object;
Therefore it would have been obvious to a person with ordinary skill in the art to have modified Torii to include: wherein the controller is configured to determine that the command has been transmitted from the first device in response to receiving the command in a first protocol that is a secured protocol, and determine that the command has been transmitted from the second device, in response to receiving the command in a second protocol that is different from the first protocol
The reason for doing so would be to identify a desired device to perform desired function.
Regarding claim 3,Torii in view of Salgado teaches wherein the controller is configured to read or write the setting value corresponding to a value of the object identifier according to the command regardless of whether the command has been transmitted from the first device or the second device, in response to determining that the object identifier in the command is not the specific identifier (Torii: The CPU 551 of the image forming apparatus can control communication complying with the network protocol (specific identifier) on the basis of settings in the setting fields (column 7, lines 45-52). CPU 551 can control access to the MIB on the basis of the setting in the setting field 602. As setting of access control to the MIB, "read/write (Read/Write right)", "read only (Read Only right)", and "community name" can be set (column 8, lines 61-65).
Regarding claim 5, Torii teaches wherein the controller is further configured to:
receive a query for the object identifier through the communication interface (Torii: The manager transmits a device state request 103 to the agent and acquires a response 104 (MIB information) from the agent, thereby managing the device (column 4, lines 15-22). ;
determine whether the specific identifier is included in an object identifier returned in response to the query (Torii: communication unit 564 can communicate with the client 101 via the network 570 by using a protocol such as SNMPv1 or SNMPv3. An integrated management application 951 can set the communication protocol to be used by the network device (column 5, lines 38-42). image forming apparatus receives a request packet SNMPv1 request 103 in FIG. 1) by the SNMPv1 protocol via the network I/F 554. (column 10, lines 47-52);
Torii fails to teach determine whether the query has been transmitted from the first device or the second device when determining that the specific identifier is included in the object identifier returned in response to the query; return the specific identifier to the first device through the communication interface when determining that the query has been transmitted from the first device.
Salgado teaches determine whether the query has been transmitted from the first device or the second device when determining that the specific identifier is included in the object identifier returned in response to the query; return the specific identifier to the first device through the communication interface when determining that the query has been transmitted from the first device (Salgado: to obtain information for a target device 200, an operator will launch NM 122 by entering commands at NMS 110. NM 122 forwards a request for the desired object to NA 222 running on the selected printer using the appropriate OID 127. NA 222 then retrieves the associated object as shown in block 26 and sends it to NM 110 (paragraph 0041) Note: the device is determined based on command entered by the user, which is sent to a printer that is running the desired object, thereby determining which device the command was transmitted to. The command can only be transmitted to the device that is running the object in the command entered by the user;
Therefore it would have been obvious to a person with ordinary skill in the art to have modified Torii to include: determine whether the query has been transmitted from the first device or the second device when determining that the specific identifier is included in the object identifier returned in response to the query; return the specific identifier to the first device through the communication interface when determining that the query has been transmitted from the first device.
The reason for doing so would be to identify a desired device to perform desired function.
Regarding claim 6, Torii in view of Salgado teaches wherein the specific identifier includes a specific value, the specific identifier uniquely identifying the setting value, and wherein the object identifier, which is not the specific identifier, is an identifier, which does not include the specific value (Torii: An object "ppmPrinterPreferredPortsIndex" is an identifier indicating the information of a port to be preferentially used. The port information is represented by MIB objects with a prefix "ppmPort" in FIG. 7. An object "ppmPrinterHrDeviceIndex" is the value of "hrDeviceIndex", which is reflected on the SNMP device index (specific identifier) (column 9, lines 32-37). An object "ppmPrinterSnmpCommunityName" represents a community name used in SNMP communication (object identifier) (column 9, lines 37-40)
Regarding claim 7, Torii in view of Salgado teaches wherein the controller is further configured to:
determine whether the command is to request a specific process with respect to the setting value corresponding to the value of the specific identifier in response to determining that the object identifier included in the command is the specific identifier (Torii: The manager transmits a device state request 103 to the agent and acquires a response 104 (MIB information) from the agent, thereby managing the device (column 4, lines 15-22). communication unit 564 can communicate with the client 101 via the network 570 by using a protocol such as SNMPv1 or SNMPv3. An integrated management application 951 can set the communication protocol to be used by the network device (column 5, lines 38-42). image forming apparatus receives a request packet SNMPv1 request 103 in FIG. 1) by the SNMPv1 protocol via the network I/F 554. (column 10, lines 47-52); and
read or write the setting value corresponding to the value of the specific identifier as the specific process requested by the command regardless of whether the command has been transmitted from the first device or the second device, in response to determining that the command is to request the specific process (Torii: CPU 551 can control access to the MIB on the basis of the setting in the setting field 602. As setting of access control to the MIB, "read/write (Read/Write right)", "read only (Read Only right)", and "community name" can be set (column 8, lines 60-65).
Regarding claim 8, Torii teaches A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium containing a communication processing program including computer-executable instructions that are executable by a controller of a communication device, the communication device including a communication interface and a memory configured to store a setting value, the instructions being configured to, when executed by the controller (storage medium (column 11, lines 29-43), cause the communication device to:
receive a command including an object identifier of a management information base through the communication interface (The manager transmits a device state request 103 to the agent and acquires a response 104 (MIB information) from the agent, thereby managing the device (column 4, lines 15-22). communication unit 564 can communicate with the client 101 via the network 570 by using a protocol such as SNMPv1 or SNMPv3. An integrated management application 951 can set the communication protocol to be used by the network device (column 5, lines 38-42). image forming apparatus receives a request packet SNMPv1 request 103 in FIG. 1) by the SNMPv1 protocol via the network I/F 554. (column 10, lines 47-52), the command being to request reading of the setting value corresponding to a value of the object identifier from the memory or writing the setting value corresponding to the value of the object identifier in the memory (The manager transmits a device state request 103 to the agent and acquires a response 104 (MIB information) from the agent, thereby managing the device (column 4, lines 15-22). The request packet by the SNMPv1 protocol contains requests (OID1, OID2, . . . ) each of which is identified by object identification information (identifier) (Object Identifier: OID) (column 10, lines 47-52);
determine whether the object identifier included in the command is a specific identifier (the CPU 551 analyzes the object identification information (identifiers) (OID1, OID2, . . . ) contained in the request packet (SNMPv1 request 103) transmitted from the manager. The CPU 551 determines whether each request is a response target (object) necessary for Plug and Play (column 11, lines 4-14);
read or write the setting value corresponding to a value of the specific identifier of the management information base according to the command, in response to determining that the command has been transmitted from the first device (The CPU 551 of the image forming apparatus can control communication complying with the network protocol (specific identifier) on the basis of settings in the setting fields (column 7, lines 45-52). CPU 551 can control access to the MIB on the basis of the setting in the setting field 602. As setting of access control to the MIB, "read/write (Read/Write right)", "read only (Read Only right)", and "community name" can be set (column 8, lines 61-65) Note: the first device is determined based on the device that uses the specific network protocol.
Torii fails to teach determine whether the command has been transmitted from a first device or a second device different from the first device, in response to determining that the object identifier included in the received is the specific identifier;
Salgado teaches determine whether the command has been transmitted from a first device or a second device different from the first device, in response to determining that the object identifier included in the received is the specific identifier (to obtain information for a target device 200, an operator will launch NM 122 by entering commands at NMS 110. NM 122 forwards a request for the desired object to NA 222 running on the selected printer using the appropriate OID 127. NA 222 then retrieves the associated object as shown in block 26 and sends it to NM 110 (paragraph 0041) Note: the device is determined based on command entered by the user, which is sent to a printer that is running the desired object, thereby determining which device the command was transmitted to. The command can only be transmitted to the device that is running the object in the command entered by the user;
Therefore it would have been obvious to a person with ordinary skill in the art to have modified Torii to include: determine whether the command has been transmitted from a first device or a second device different from the first device, in response to determining that the object identifier included in the received is the specific identifier
The reason for doing so would be to identify a desired device to perform desired function.
.
Regarding claim 9, Torii teaches A communication system comprising a communication device and an external device (image forming apparatus (column 5, lines 9-10), wherein the communication device is configured to:
receive a command including an object identifier of a management information base from the external device (The manager transmits a device state request 103 to the agent and acquires a response 104 (MIB information) from the agent, thereby managing the device (column 4, lines 15-22). communication unit 564 can communicate with the client 101 via the network 570 by using a protocol such as SNMPv1 or SNMPv3. An integrated management application 951 can set the communication protocol to be used by the network device (column 5, lines 38-42). image forming apparatus receives a request packet SNMPv1 request 103 in FIG. 1) by the SNMPv1 protocol via the network I/F 554. (column 10, lines 47-52), the command being to request reading a setting value corresponding to a value of the object identifier from a memory or writing the setting value corresponding to the value of the object identifier in the memory (The manager transmits a device state request 103 to the agent and acquires a response 104 (MIB information) from the agent, thereby managing the device (column 4, lines 15-22). The request packet by the SNMPv1 protocol contains requests (OID1, OID2, . . . ) each of which is identified by object identification information (identifier) (Object Identifier: OID) (column 10, lines 47-52);
determine whether the object identifier included in the command is a specific identifier (the CPU 551 analyzes the object identification information (identifiers) (OID1, OID2, . . . ) contained in the request packet (SNMPv1 request 103) transmitted from the manager. The CPU 551 determines whether each request is a response target (object) necessary for Plug and Play (column 11, lines 4-14);
read or write the setting value corresponding to a value of the specific identifier of the management information base according to the command, in response to determining that the command has been transmitted from the first external device (The CPU 551 of the image forming apparatus can control communication complying with the network protocol (specific identifier) on the basis of settings in the setting fields (column 7, lines 45-52). CPU 551 can control access to the MIB on the basis of the setting in the setting field 602. As setting of access control to the MIB, "read/write (Read/Write right)", "read only (Read Only right)", and "community name" can be set (column 8, lines 61-65) Note: the first device is determined based on the device that uses the specific network protocol.
Torii fails to teach determine whether the command has been transmitted from a first external device or a second external device different from the first external device, in response to determining that the object identifier included in the command is the specific identifier;
Salgado teaches determine whether the command has been transmitted from a first external device or a second external device different from the first external device, in response to determining that the object identifier included in the command is the specific identifier (to obtain information for a target device 200, an operator will launch NM 122 by entering commands at NMS 110. NM 122 forwards a request for the desired object to NA 222 running on the selected printer using the appropriate OID 127. NA 222 then retrieves the associated object as shown in block 26 and sends it to NM 110 (paragraph 0041) Note: the device is determined based on command entered by the user, which is sent to a printer that is running the desired object, thereby determining which device the command was transmitted to. The command can only be transmitted to the device that is running the object in the command entered by the user;
Therefore it would have been obvious to a person with ordinary skill in the art to have modified Torii to include: determine whether the command has been transmitted from a first external device or a second external device different from the first external device, in response to determining that the object identifier included in the command is the specific identifier
The reason for doing so would be to identify a desired device to perform desired function.
.
Claim(s) 4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Torii US 8392599 in view of Salgado US 2006/0230060 further in view of Swenberg US 20200210661.
Regarding claim 4, Torii in view of Salgado teaches all of the limitations of claim 1
Torii in view of Salgado fails to teach wherein the controller is configured to notify the second device that the specific identifier included in the command does not exist, in response to determining that the command has been transmitted from the second device.
Swenberg teaches wherein the controller is configured to notify the second device that the specific identifier included in the command does not exist, in response to determining that the command has been transmitted from the second device (The object tracking system can identify at least a first rule from the plurality of rules based at least in part on the item information, wherein the first rule comprises a flag associated with the first object, and wherein the flag identifiers the first object as missing. The object tracking system can determine a first user of the plurality of users based in part on the first rule. The object tracking system can generate and transmit a notification to a second electronic device of the plurality of electronic devices, (paragraph 0004)
Therefore it would have been obvious to a person with ordinary skill in the art to have modified Torii in view of Salgado to include: wherein the controller is configured to notify the second device that the specific identifier included in the command does not exist, in response to determining that the command has been transmitted from the second device
The reason for doing so would be to notify a user of a desired or selected identifier is missing.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MICHAEL L BURLESON whose telephone number is (571)272-7460.
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Michael Burleson
Patent Examiner
Art Unit 2683
Michael Burleson
August 22, 2026
/MICHAEL L BURLESON/Examiner, Art Unit 2683
/AKWASI M SARPONG/SPE, Art Unit 2681 8/26/2026
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