CTNF 19/035,000 CTNF 84811 Detailed Action 07-03-aia AIA 15-10-aia The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA. This is in response to Application with case number 19/035,000, filed on 1/23/2025 in which claims 1-6 are presented for examination. 12-151 AIA 26-51 12-51 Status of Claims Claims 1-6 are pending, of which claims 1 and 6 are in independent form. Specification The examiner notes that the Specification does not include any URL links and Trademark terms requiring capitalization. Drawing Drawings filed on 1/23/2025 are accepted by the examiner. Priority Applicant’s claim for benefit of priority based on Japanese patent application JP2024-014311 filed on 2/1/2024 is acknowledged by the examiner. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 07-20-aia AIA 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. 07-21-aia AIA Claim (s) 1, 6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tsutomu (JP2022054001 A), in view of Manabu ( JP2002312321 A ) . As to claim 1, Tsutomu teaches “An image forming apparatus ( e.g. printer 10) comprising:” a display (operation panel (touch panel) … of the printer 10 to input the password again (step S11), and waits for the administrator to input the administrator password pw1 again (step S12)) ; one or more storage devices that store authentication information of a user of the image forming apparatus (e.g., device storage unit 25 storing administrator password pw1) ; and one or more controllers that control authentication processing for the user ( The device control unit 21 includes a CPU (not shown), performs various operations, controls the entire printer 10, executes a program recorded in the ROM 22, and performs various processes. Therefore, the device control unit 21 has an NFC communication processing unit Pr1 as a communication processing unit on the device side, a device information management unit Pr2, a one-time password generation unit Pr3, an encryption processing unit Pr4, a decryption processing unit Pr5, and a timekeeping process. It has a timer unit Pr6, a password setting unit Pr7 ), wherein the one or more controllers: control the display such that, when authentication information of an administrator user who performs management of the image forming apparatus [is stored as authentication information of a maintenance user who performs maintenance] of the image forming apparatus, a notification that requests input of the authentication information by the administrator user is displayed on an authentication screen for the maintenance user (prompting the administrator at the device to re-enter an administrator password as part of a password-reset sequence (see steps S11–S14: device prompts for re-entry on the device panel before applying the reset) and storing the newly set administrator password in the device (step S14); …. (information processing device/printer stores an administrator password pw1 in device storage unit 25 (see FIG. 3 / description of device storage unit 25) … and that the server registration table Tb1 stores user information (user name /login password) associated with device information (FIG. 5, FIG. 9 and related text …stores device and user-related information in storage units …) ; control the display such that, when authentication processing for the maintenance user is successful, a notification prompting a change of the authentication information of the maintenance user is displayed ( Upon receiving the data dp2, the display processing unit Pr21 forms the second password reset screen ds2 shown in FIG. 16 on the touch panel 33, and displays the ‘password of the following device’ on the second password reset screen ds2. By displaying the message m2 such as ‘Reset’ and the device information dp1 of the printer 10, the administrator is notified that the administrator password pw1 of the printer 10 is to be reset, and ‘reset’. A message m3 such as ‘Please enter a password.’ And an input field Ar1 for inputting a new administrator password pw1 are displayed, and boxes bx1 and bx2 for inputting a new administrator password pw1 in the input field Ar1. By forming, the administrator is urged to enter the new administrator password ww1 (step S26), and by displaying the ‘confirm’ button bt1 and the ‘cancel’ button bt2, the administrator is given the administrator password. Ask to agree to reset pw1: second password reset screen ds2 (FIG. 16 / step S25–S27 …third and fourth password reset screens ds3 / ds4 (FIGS. 17–18 / steps S28–S32): prompt the administrator to log in to the management server and confirm sending device info and the new administrator password ); store the changed authentication information of the maintenance user when the authentication information of the maintenance user is changed ( the password setting unit Pr7 determines whether or not the password reset file fi1 has been decrypted (step S10), and when the password reset file fi1 is decrypted, the administrator password acquired by the decryption is obtained. In order to confirm whether or not the password is intended by the administrator, an instruction is sent to the mobile terminal 11, and the administrator password ww1 entered by the administrator on the second password reset screen ds2 (FIG. 16) described later, which is formed on the touch panel 33, and the management server 12 The administrator password pw1 is verified by determining whether or not the administrator password pw1 included in the password reset file Fi1 sent from is matched. … the password setting unit Pr7 prompts the administrator to re-enter the administrator password pw1 (step S11) … When the administrator password pw1 is re-entered by the administrator, the administrator password setting unit Pr7 matches the re-entered administrator password pw1 with the administrator password pw1 obtained by decrypting the password reset file fi1. It is determined whether to do so (step S13), and when the administrator password ww1 re-entered and the administrator password ww1 obtained by decrypting the password reset file fi1 match, the administrator password ww1 is reset. (Step S14) . ). Tsutomu fails to teach when authentication information of an administrator user … is stored as authentication information of a maintenance user who performs maintenance…, a notification that requests input … for the maintenance user. However, Manabu teaches when authentication information of an administrator user … is stored as authentication information of a maintenance user who performs maintenance…, a notification that requests input … for the maintenance user ( FIG. 3, the security control unit 22 includes an authentication control unit 221, an access time monitoring unit 222, a role authority management unit 223, and an access authority management unit 224. The authentication control unit 221 checks the user account including the role authority and the access authority in the user authentication at the time of login, and prompts only the authenticated user to select the link content for maintenance only … The BM portal unit 21 has a man-machine function as an entrance to the web for each user, and a user inputs a user ID, a password, and a company code via a login screen and authenticates the user ID, password, and company code. Is displayed on the screen as My Portal. FIG. 6 shows an example of the portal screen …. The security control unit 22 includes a BM portal unit 21, a security control unit 22, a BM content unit 23, and a maintenance control unit 24. … Register own users (maintain own users from “User Information Maintenance”), and register own groups (register information of own groups from “Group Information Maintenance”. Grouping is performed for each role authority, each item, and each organization. The role authority that can be set by the business partner is “own group management” and “own user management.” When setting a group, one or more administrators who can maintain the own group Need to be set … The BM portal unit 21 has a man-machine function as an entrance to the web for each user, and a user inputs a user ID, a password, and a company code via a login screen and authenticates the user ID, password, and company code. Is displayed on the screen as My Portal…. teaches a role-authority-based authentication and that the authentication control unit displays portal/maintenance options only to authenticated users and enforces role-based maintenance privileges (authentication control unit 221, role authority management 223, access authority management 224 …flexible account/role model where account records contain role attributes and owner flags and can be organized by group/company) ). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention , having the teachings of Tsutomu and Manabu before him or her, to modify the scheme of Tsutomu by including Manabu. The suggestion/motivation for doing so would have been to provide controlled delegation of maintenance, simplified management across companies/groups, and selective provision of maintenance privileges to designated accounts (see Manabu, fig. 3). As to claim 6, claim 6 includes similar limitations as claim 1 and thus claim 6 is rejected under the same rationale as in claim 1. As to claim 2, in view of claim 1, Tsutomu teaches wherein the one or more controllers control the display such that, when authentication information that can be confirmed only by the administrator user is stored as the authentication information of the maintenance user, a notification that requests confirmation, by the administrator user, of the authentication information that can be confirmed only by the administrator user is displayed ( Notify that this has been done, and urge the administrator to confirm the device information dp1 and the administrator password pw1 of the printer 10 and press the "send" button bt5 .) As to claim 3, in view of claim 1, Manabu teaches wherein the one or more controllers restrict the request of the input of the authentication information by the administrator user after the authentication information of the maintenance user is changed ( …object of the present invention is to prevent the system of the present invention from being executed using authentication information of a past or another person by starting from a page stored in a cache or a “favorite”. Therefore, after checking whether the authentication information is specified… ). As to claim 4, in view of claim 2, Tsutomu teaches wherein the one or more controllers set either storing the authentication information of the administrator user as the authentication information of the maintenance user or storing the authentication information that can be confirmed only by the administrator user as the authentication information of the maintenance user when setting processing at the time of first activation of the image forming apparatus is executed ( The dedicated application processing unit Pr13 waits for the touch panel 33 of the mobile terminal 11 to be operated by the administrator and the dedicated application to be started (step S21). When the dedicated application is started, the dedicated application processing unit Pr13 activates the password reset mode (step S22). When the password reset mode is activated, the display processing unit Pr21 forms the first password reset screen ds1 shown in FIG. 15 on the touch panel 33, and "password" is displayed on the first password reset screen ds1. By displaying a message m1 such as "Please hold the device to reset the password.", The administrator is urged to hold the mobile terminal 11 over the printer 10 .) As to claim 5, in view of claim 1, Tsutomu teaches wherein the one or more controllers restrict screen transition from a screen for changing the authentication information of the maintenance user to another screen until the authentication information of the maintenance user is changed ( Upon receiving the data dp2, the display processing unit Pr21 forms the second password reset screen ds2 shown in FIG. 16 on the touch panel 33, and displays the "password of the following device" on the second password reset screen ds2. By displaying the message m2 such as "Reset" and the device information dp1 of the printer 10, the administrator is notified that the administrator password pw1 of the printer 10 is to be reset, and "reset". A message m3 such as "Please enter a password." And an input field Ar1 for inputting a new administrator password pw1 are displayed, and boxes bx1 and bx2 for inputting a new administrator password pw1 in the input field Ar1. By forming, the administrator is urged to enter the new administrator password ww1 (step S26), and by displaying the "confirm" button bt1 and the "cancel" button bt2, the administrator is given the administrator password. Ask to agree to reset pw1. Then, the input processing unit Pr22 waits for the administrator to input the administrator password pw1 into the boxes bx1 and bx2 and press the "confirmation" button bt1 (step S27). When the administrator operates the touch panel 33 to input the new administrator password pw1 into the boxes bx1 and bx2 and presses the "confirm" button bt1, the input processing unit Pr22 reads the new administrator password pw1 and records it in the RAM 32. do. Subsequently, the display processing unit Pr21 forms a third password reset screen ds3 shown in FIG. 17 on the touch panel 33, and "reset the password of the following device" on the third password reset screen ds3. By displaying the message m4 such as "I will do it", the device information dp1 of the printer 10, and the administrator password pw1 entered by the administrator in blank characters, the administrator password pw1 is reset to the printer 10 by the administrator. ). Yamaguch et al. (US 2011/0170129 A1) teaches a password setting device for an image forming apparatus includes: an image reading unit which reads image information on a document; an image forming unit which forms an image on a sheet based on image data read by the image reading unit; an acceptance unit which accepts setting of a password used for user authentication; a determination unit which determines whether the password accepted via the acceptance unit violates prohibition information of the password or not; and a notification unit which notifies a user of information to prompt the user to change the password when it is determined by the determination unit that the password violates the prohibition information . The examiner notes that maintenance user being guided to the prompt of password change upon determining that the maintenance user password is pre-set with the administrator password and subsequently enforcing the administrator physically to enter the administrator password is not explicitly disclosed by Yamaguchi. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to HEE K SONG whose telephone number is (571)270-3260. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F 9:00 am – 5:00 pm. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Eleni Shiferaw can be reached on (571)272-3867 . The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-7291. 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. /HEE K SONG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2497 Application/Control Number: 19/035,000 Page 2 Art Unit: 2497 Application/Control Number: 19/035,000 Page 3 Art Unit: 2497 Application/Control Number: 19/035,000 Page 4 Art Unit: 2497 Application/Control Number: 19/035,000 Page 5 Art Unit: 2497 Application/Control Number: 19/035,000 Page 6 Art Unit: 2497 Application/Control Number: 19/035,000 Page 7 Art Unit: 2497 Application/Control Number: 19/035,000 Page 8 Art Unit: 2497 Application/Control Number: 19/035,000 Page 9 Art Unit: 2497 Application/Control Number: 19/035,000 Page 10 Art Unit: 2497 Application/Control Number: 19/035,000 Page 11 Art Unit: 2497 Application/Control Number: 19/035,000 Page 12 Art Unit: 2497
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