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 .
Application, filed on 12/12/2024, has been received, entered, and made of record. Currently, claim 1 remains pending in the application.
Claim Interpretation
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(f):
(f) Element in Claim for a Combination. – An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
This application includes one or more claim limitations that do not use the word “means,” but are nonetheless being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, because the claim limitation(s) uses a generic placeholder that is coupled with functional language without reciting sufficient structure to perform the recited function and the generic placeholder is not preceded by a structural modifier. Such claim limitation(s) is/are: “character recognition unit”, “transmission unit”, and “reception unit” in claim 1.
Because this/these claim limitation(s) is/are being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, it/they is/are being interpreted to cover the corresponding structure described in the specification as performing the claimed function, and equivalents thereof.
A review of the specification shows that the following appears to be the corresponding structure described in the specification for the 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph limitation:
[0031] The operation unit 205 is a user interface for the user to operate the MFP 101, for example, a touch panel, and also serves as a reception unit receiving operation and input by the user. The operation unit 205 can be also used as a display unit that displays a screen to operate the MFP 101.
[0106] In step S1005, the CPU 201 performs the character recognition processing on the image data generated in step S1003 based on the character recognition area set in the input fields 704 to 707 of the keyword character string setting screen 700 of FIG. 7, and acquires a character string.
[0109] In step S1008, the CPU 201 transmits the image data (PDF file) generated in step S1004 to a folder indicated by the folder path generated in step S1007. More specifically, the CPU 201 performs control the image data to be transmitted to the file server by using a SMB protocol or an FTP protocol and stored in the folder indicated by the designated folder path.
If applicant does not intend to have this/these limitation(s) interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, applicant may: (1) amend the claim limitation(s) to avoid it/them being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph (e.g., by reciting sufficient structure to perform the claimed function); or (2) present a sufficient showing that the claim limitation(s) recite(s) sufficient structure to perform the claimed function so as to avoid it/them being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
Claim 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C.102(a)(1) as being anticipated by IGA (US 2011/0051179 A1).
Referring to claim 1, IGA discloses an image processing apparatus (figs.1-3, image forming device 10), comprising:
a character recognition unit (fig.3, CPU 32) configured to perform character recognition processing for recognizing a character string included in image data
([0050]-[0052]) (Note: obtaining unit 32B obtains the second destination information from the offer document image data obtained by the read controller by converting the image of the facsimile number into text data using the character recognition technique);
a transmission unit (fig.3, CPU 32) configured to transmit the image data to store the image data in a folder including a name containing the character string acquired by the character recognition processing (fig.16, S122, and [0063]-[0064]) (Note: the image forming device 10 instructs the transmission/reception controller 38 to transmit the offer document image data to the destination (folder) indicated by the second destination information (name) containing the character string acquired by the character recognition processing); and
a reception unit (fig.2, display 24) configured to receive an instruction from a user ([0035]),
wherein, in a case where a result of the character recognition processing by the character recognition unit does not satisfy a predetermined condition, the transmission unit does not transmit the image data until the reception unit receives the instruction from the user ([0053], fig.16, S118, S120’, figs.17-18, [0084], and [0087]-[0091]) (Note: when the second destination information obtained by the character recognition unit does not match the first destination information, the transmission of read offer document image data stops until display 24 receives the instruction from the user), and
wherein, in a case where the result of the character recognition processing by the character recognition unit satisfies the predetermined condition, the transmission unit transmits the image data without receiving the instruction from the user by the reception unit ([0064] and [0084]) (Note: when the second destination information obtained by the character recognition unit matches the first destination information, the image forming device 10 instructs the transmission/reception controller 38 to transmit the offer document image data to the destination indicated by the second destination information).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MOUSTAPHA DIABY whose telephone number is (571)270-1669. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday: 9AM-6PM.
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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.
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/MOUSTAPHA DIABY/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2683
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