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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 7 and 8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claims 7 and 8 recites “the print instruction includes an unconfigurable parameter”. However, neither the specification nor the drawings explains or even mention what an unconfigurable parameter means or what it is referring to. It is unclear to the examiner the meaning/definition of unconfigurable parameter. For the purpose of examination the unconfigurable parameter is interpreted as default settings that are not changeable by the user.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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 1-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Narita (US 20220300228).
Regarding claim 1: Narita teaches a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a support program for an information processing device communicable with a printer (Fig. 1 and paragraph [0026-0034] teach a computer readable storage medium 12 storing a support program 42 for an information processing device communicable with a printer 2), the information processing device including: a computer; and a memory configured to store therein an editing application program and an operating system in which a general-purpose printing program is embedded, the support program corresponding to the printer and supporting the general-purpose printing program (Figs. 1-2 and paragraph [0031-0037] teach a computer or PC 1, a memory 12 configured to store an editing application program 43 and an operating system OS 21 in which a general-purpose printing program 41 is embedded, the support program 42 corresponding to the printer 2 and supporting the general-purpose printing program 41), the support program, when executed by the computer, causing the information processing device to perform: when a selection instruction selecting the printer is issued from the editing application program to the general-purpose printing program: (a) acquiring, from the printer, a default print setting stored on the printer; and (b) storing, as a cache default print setting, the default print setting acquired in the (a) acquiring in the memory; and when using the default print setting: (c) reading, from the memory, the cache default print setting stored in the (b) storing (Figs. 1-2, 5 and paragraph [0042, 0050-0053, 0063-0067] teach selecting the printer; acquiring a default print setting stored on the printer; and storing as a cache default print settings in the memory; and when using the default print setting: reading, from the memory, the cache default print setting stored).
Regarding claim 2: Narita teaches wherein the support program, when executed by the computer, causes the information processing device to further perform: (d) displaying, through a user interface of the information processing device, a settings screen for accepting a print setting to be used for printing on the printer, the settings screen including a prescribed operation element; and when an operation on the prescribed operation element is received, (e) reflecting, in the settings screen, the cache default print setting read in the (c) reading (Figs. 2-5 and paragraph [0041-0053, 00057-0067] teach displaying a user interface including a settings screen for accepting a print setting including a prescribed operation element; and based on operation reflecting, in the settings screen, the cache default print setting read in the reading).
Regarding claim 3: Narita teaches wherein the support program, when executed by the computer, causes the information processing device to perform: when a display instruction instructing the general-purpose printing program to display the settings screen is issued from the editing application program, the (d) displaying, wherein the (d) displaying displays an advanced print settings screen as the settings screen, the support program having the advanced print settings screen, and wherein the (e) reflecting reflects, in the advanced print settings screen, the cache default print setting read in the (c) reading (Figs. 2-5 and paragraph [0041-0053, 00057-0067] teach displaying the settings screen is issued from the editing application program to perform basic print settings, and further displaying detailed or advanced print settings and reflecting reflects the detailed or advanced print settings screen, the cache default print setting read in the reading).
Regarding claim 4: Narita teaches wherein the support program, when executed by the computer, causes the information processing device to perform: in response to the (d) displaying first displaying the advanced print settings screen, the (c) reading (Figs. 2-5 and paragraph [0041-0053, 00057-0067], specifically Figs. 3A-B displaying detailed or the advanced print settings screen).
Regarding claim 5: Narita teaches wherein the support program, when executed by the computer, causes the information processing device to perform: when the (d) displaying first displays the advanced print settings screen: in response to determining that the cache default print setting is stored in the memory, the (c) reading; in response to determining that the cache default print setting is not stored in the memory, (f) acquiring, from the printer selected as a device to execute printing, the default print setting stored on the printer without performing the (c) reading (Figs. 2-5 and paragraph [0041-0053, 00057-0067], specifically Figs. 3A-B displaying detailed or the advanced print settings screen, and Fig. 5 further disclose determining that the cache default print setting is stored or not as claimed).
Regarding claim 6: Narita teaches wherein the support program, when executed by the computer, causes the information processing device to further perform: when a print instruction instructing the general-purpose printing program to cause the printer to execute printing is issued from the editing application program: (g) causing the printer to execute printing using print data representing an image to be printed and a print setting based on the print instruction (Figs. 2-5 and paragraph [0026, 0031-0044, 0080] teach printer 2 to execute printing as claimed).
Regarding claim 7: Narita teaches wherein the support program, when executed by the computer, causes the information processing device to perform: when the print setting based on the print instruction includes an unconfigurable parameter: the (c) reading; (h) changing, using the default print setting read in the (c) reading, the print setting based on the print instruction to a changed print setting not including the unconfigurable parameter; and the (g) causing the printer to execute printing using the changed print setting (Figs. 2-5 and paragraph [0038, 0044-0048, 0053-0058, 0080, 0105] teach the default print settings that cannot be changed by the user as unconfigurable parameter; displaying detailed print settings that can be changed by the user and causing the printer to execute printing based on changed settings).
Regarding claim 8: Narita teaches wherein the support program, when executed by the computer, causes the information processing device to perform: when the print setting based on the print instruction includes an unconfigurable parameter: in response to determining that the cache default print setting is stored in the memory: the (c) reading; and the (h) changing; and in response to determining that the cache default print setting is not stored in the memory: (i) acquiring, from the printer designated by the print instruction, the default print setting stored on the printer without performing the (c) reading; and the (h) changing, using the default print setting acquired in the (i) acquiring, the print setting based on the print instruction to a changed print setting not including the unconfigurable parameter (Figs. 2-5 and paragraph [0038, 0044-0048, 0050-0058, 0080, 0105] teach the default print settings that cannot be changed by the user as unconfigurable parameter; Fig. 5 further disclose determining that the cache default print setting is stored or not; if not storing the default print settings as cache; displaying detailed print settings that can be changed by the user and causing the printer to execute printing based on changed settings).
Regarding claim 9: Narita teaches wherein the default print setting acquired in the (a) acquiring includes a setting related to a tray of the printer (paragraph [0053, 0057]).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 10 is 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Regarding claim 10: None of the cited references either alone and/or in combination teach “wherein the memory of the information processing device includes a volatile memory and a nonvolatile memory, wherein the (b) storing stores, as the cache default print setting, the default print setting acquired in the (a) acquiring in the volatile memory and generates a file in which the default print setting acquired in the (a) acquiring is written as the cache default print setting to store the file in the nonvolatile memory, the cache default print setting stored in the volatile memory being held while a process executing the (b) storing remains active and being erased when the process ends, the file stored in the nonvolatile memory being held even when the process ends, and wherein the (c) reading reads the cache default print setting from the volatile memory when the cache default print setting is stored in the volatile memory, and reads the file from the nonvolatile memory when the cache default print setting is not stored in the volatile memory but the file is stored in the nonvolatile memory”.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to AMIT CHATLY whose telephone number is (571)270-1610. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 9-5.
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/AMIT CHATLY/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2624
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