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 .
DETAILED ACTION
2. This is the initial Office Action based on the application filed on November 11, 2024. The Examiner acknowledges the following:
3. Claims 1 – 12 were filed by Applicant.
4. The drawings filed on 11/11/2024 are accepted by the Examiner.
5. Current claims 1 – 12 are pending and they are being considered for examination.
Information Disclosure Statement
6. The IDS document filed on filed on 11/11/2024 is acknowledged by the Examiner.
Priority
7. Priority data is based on a Japanese patent application JP-2024-007721, filed on01/23/2024. Certified copies were mailed to the office on 11/28/2025.
Claim Objections
8. Claim 3 is objected. Claim 3 discloses “… the second capturing image signal is a signal generated by a hardware clock or a real-time OS”. There is no description/definition for what “OS” stands for. When some abbreviation is mentioned by the first time, it should include between parenthesis what it means. Probably, it refers to RTOS or rea-time operation system. Appropriate correction is needed.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
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.
Claims 1, 5, 6, 11 and 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by “Shoichi Nomura, US 2022/0182509 A1, hereinafter Nomura”.
Regarding Claims 1, 11 and 12:
Nomura teaches an image inspection apparatus comprising: a first reader that acquires a first read image by reading one side of a sheet so as to include a background, the sheet having an image printed thereon; a first background material that is provided at a position which serves as the background of the sheet in reading of the sheet by the first reader; a second reader that acquires a second read image by reading the other side of the sheet so as to include a background; a second background material that is provided at a position which serves as the background of the sheet in reading of the sheet by the second reader; and a hardware processor that acquires sheet outline information of the sheet from the first read image and the second read image, and measures misalignment of the image with respect to the sheet based on the acquired sheet outline information, wherein the hardware processor acquires a first read image and a second read image by causing each of the first background material and the second background material to have a different density, and acquires sheet outline information of one read image that is one of the first read image and the second read image by performing estimation of estimating the sheet outline information of the one read image based on sheet outline information of the other of the first read image and the second read image, wherein the hardware processor performs the estimation in response to failure to extract the sheet outline information from the one of the first read image and the second read image.
Regarding Claim 1:
An image inspection apparatus (Fig 1, image forming/inspecting apparatus 100. See [0027 – 0042]) comprising: a first capturing unit to capture a first image of one surface of a medium (Fig 1, reading unit 170 includes a first reader 170a, which reads an image in one side of the sheet to obtain a read image (first read image) and it is capable of getting an image of the medium or paper sheet placed on the sheet tray 105. See [0028; 0038]); a second capturing unit to capture a second image of the other surface of the medium (Fig 1, reading unit 170 includes a second reader 170b, which reads an image in a second side of the sheet to obtain a read image (second read image) and it is capable of getting an image of the other side of the medium or paper sheet placed on the sheet tray 105. See [0028; 0038]); and a capturing-signal generator to generate a second capturing-image signal for causing the second capturing unit to capture the second image after a predetermined time has elapsed since a first start-capturing-image signal for causing the first capturing unit to capture the first image (Fig 1, controller 101 includes a CPU, a ROM and a RAM memories and it is capable of generating signals as to acquire/capture a first image or a second image. In general, a second image is obtained/capture/acquired after a fist image, which implies that there is a certain/predetermined period of time that has to have elapsed before the second one happens. Nomura teaches that that the reader 170b (second one) is read after a certain time. See [0050]).
Regarding Claim 11:
The rejection of claim 1 is incorporated herein. Claim 11 pertains to the method as for operating the image inspection apparatus of claim 1. In order t operate the image inspection apparatus of claim 1, it would have necessitated to perform the methos procedure as disclosed in claim 11. As for
“the method comprising: generating a second capturing-image signal for causing the second capturing unit to capture the second image after a predetermined time has elapsed since a first start-capturing-image signal for causing the first capturing unit to capture the first image” (Fig 1, controller 101 includes a CPU, a ROM and a RAM memory and it is capable of generating signals as to acquire/capture a first image or a second image. In general, a second image is obtained/capture/acquired after a fist image, which implies that there is a certain/predetermined period of time that has to have elapsed before the second one happens. Nomura teaches that that the reader 170b (second one) is read after a certain time. See [0050]). Furthermore, Nomura Fig 6 shows a flowchart for the printing processing executed by the controller 101 for starting the printing (or obtaining the images processing) in step S14 and acquire read images in step S16. See [0065; 0066]).
Regarding Claim 12:
The rejection of claims 1 and 11 is incorporated herein. Claim 12 pertains to a non-transitory computer-readable medium for storing a program that when executed by one or more processors, performs the method of claim 11 as to operate the image inspection apparatus of claim 1. In order to operate an apparatus as disclosed in claim 1 using the method as disclosed in claim 11, it would have necessitated to have a program including the method steps stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium as in claim 12. As for the program stored in a medium, Nomura teaches that the controller 101 uses a program stored in the ROM memory. See 0053; 0065].
Regarding Claim 5:
The rejection of claim 1 is incorporated herein. As for the medium color obtainer, Fig 1, image former 150 prints the image based on the job setting information and the image data and it has the image forming unit for each color Yellow Y, magenta M, Cyan C, black K and special color S. See [0035; 0036].
Regarding Claim 6:
The rejection of claims 1 and 5 is incorporated herein. As for claim 6 limitations, Nomura teaches in Fig 1, first background member 171a; second background member 171b (See [0039]). As for the reflectance, the optical density is based on reflectance may be used but, in this embodiment, the tone value output from the reading unit 170 (the tone value of the read image) is used as the density. Specifically, among the tone values of the three channels (R, G, and B) of the read image, the tone value of the channel in which the difference between the tone value of the background (background material) and the tone value of the sheet is the largest is used as the density. See [0101].
Claim Objections
10. Claims 2 – 4 and 7 – 10 are objected because its dependence to a base rejected claim; however, they would be allowable if written in an independent form.
Conclusion
11. The prior art is made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant’s disclosure.
1. S. Nomura, US 2022/0182509 A1 – it includes the same assignee and a different inventor. It teaches an image inspection apparatus includes a first reader and a second reader that acquire read images by respectively reading one side and the other side of a sheet having an image printed thereon, a first background material and a second background material provided at positions as the backgrounds of the sheet in reading by the first reader and the second reader respectively, and a hardware processor that acquires sheet outline information from the read images and measures misalignment of the image with respect to the sheet based on the acquired sheet outline information. The hardware processor acquires read images with the first background material and the second background material having different densities, and acquires sheet outline information of one read image by estimating the sheet outline information of the one read image based on sheet outline information of the other of the read images.
2. Y. Naruse, US 2021/0364447 A1 – it teaches an inspection device comprising: an image-capturing unit which has a sensor that images at least one workpiece illuminated in a plurality of predetermined illumination light emission pattern and obtains a plurality of evaluation workpiece images that are associated with each predetermined illumination light emission patterns and each workpiece; an image area setting unit which sets, for the evaluation workpiece images, a plurality of image areas associated with a plurality of different labels that indicate non-defective products or defective products; an optimization calculation unit which generates, from the image areas, a first index, an output value of which increases as differences between image areas associated with labels indicating the non-defective products and image areas associated with labels indicating the defective products increase, generates a second index, an output value of which increases as differences between the image areas associated with the labels indicating the non-defective products increase or as contrast in the image areas associated with the labels indicating the non-defective products increases, and calculates an illumination light emission pattern for inspection such that the first index becomes larger and the second index becomes smaller; and a determination unit which determines a pass/fail label of the workpiece to be inspected by performing image processing on an inspection workpiece image obtained by the image-capturing unit imaging a workpiece to be inspected illuminated in the illumination light emission pattern for inspection.
3. Y. Sasaki, US 2018/0347970 A1 – it teaches an image inspection apparatus that inspects a defect of an inspection target object using an image obtained by imaging the inspection target object moving in one direction, the image inspection apparatus comprising: a pattern light illuminating section including a two-dimensionally disposed plurality of light emitting diodes and a diffusing member that diffuses lights irradiated from the light emitting diodes, the pattern light illuminating section generating pattern light having a periodic illuminance distribution and irradiating the pattern light on the inspection target object; an imaging section including a line camera that includes a plurality of image receiving elements arrayed in a line shape and is capable of being set such that an array direction of the light receiving elements is a direction orthogonal to the moving direction of the inspection target object; a trigger signal transmitting section configured to transmit an illumination trigger signal to the pattern light illuminating section; an imaging control section configured to control, on the basis of the illumination trigger signal transmitted from the trigger signal transmitting section, values of electric currents fed to the plurality of light emitting diodes to thereby cause the pattern light illuminating section to generate a plurality of pattern lights, phases of illuminance distributions of which are shifted in the array direction of the light receiving elements and the moving direction of the inspection target object, and sequentially irradiate the plurality of pattern lights on the inspection target object, and control the pattern light illuminating section and the imaging section to image the inspection target object at timings when the pattern lights are irradiated and obtain a plurality of line images; and an image generating section configured to generate, on the basis of a deflectometry principle, phase data for one line of a surface of the inspection target object from the plurality of line images captured by the imaging section and generate, on the basis of the phase data, an image for inspection showing a shape of the inspection target object.
4. D. Ando, US 10,560,634 B2 – it teaches an image inspection apparatus includes an imaging section including a light-condensing optical system configured to condense reflected light of illumination light and a line camera for receiving the reflected light, an imaging inclination sensor capable of outputting, a direction orthogonal to a Z axis and parallel to an arranging direction of imaging elements is represented as an X axis, and a direction orthogonal to the X axis and the Z axis is represented as a Y axis, values indicating inclinations of the X axis, the Y axis, and the Z axis of the imaging section with respect to a horizontal direction or a gravity direction, and a display control section for causing a display section to display figures or values indicating degrees of at least any two inclinations among the inclinations of the X axis, the Y axis, and the Z axis of the imaging section.
Contact
12. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MARLY S.B. CAMARGO whose telephone number is (571)270-3729. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F 8:00-5:00 PM.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Lin Ye can be reached on 571-272-7372. 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.
/MARLY S CAMARGO/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2638