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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group I and Species A, claims 1-7 and 10 in the reply filed on 28 September 2026 is acknowledged. Claims 8, 9, and 11-20 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention and species, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 28 September 2026.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The reference cited in the information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 05 February 2025, has been considered.
Drawings
The drawings received on 05 February 2025 are accepted.
Specification
The specification has not been checked to the extent necessary to determine the presence of all possible minor errors. Applicant’s cooperation is requested in correcting any errors of which applicant may become aware in the specification.
Examiner’s Note
The examiner has pointed out particular references contained in the prior art of record in the body of this action for the convenience of the applicant. Although the specified citations are representative of the teachings in the art and are applied to the specific limitations within the individual claim, other passages and figures may apply as well. Applicant should consider the entire prior art as applicable as to the limitations of the claims. It is respectfully requested from the applicant, in preparing the response, to consider fully the entire references as potentially teaching all or part of the claimed invention, as well as the context of the passage as taught by the prior art or disclosed 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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 1, 2, and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shimura (JP 2014-166724).
With respect to claim 1, Shimura discloses a printer comprising:
a roller (Fig. 1, element 2) that conveys a sheet (Fig. 1, element P) in a conveyance direction (Fig. 1, i.e. up/down);
a motor (Fig. 1, element 3) that drives the roller (paragraph 0014);
a print head (Fig. 1, element 1) disposed along a line direction (Fig. 1, i.e. left/right) intersecting the conveyance direction; and
a processor (Fig. 1, element 4) configured to:
set print speeds (Fig. 1, element 402) for dot data sets of lines (Fig. 2) to be printed based on a number of dots to be printed in each of the dot data sets (paragraphs 0025-0026),
change the set print speeds (Fig. 1, element 403) of target dot data sets among the dot data sets (Fig. 2) to a uniform print speed (Fig. 4) when the set print speeds of the dot data sets change multiple times within a predetermined number of consecutive lines (paragraphs 0028-0032), and
control the print head (Fig. 1, element 6) to print the dot data sets line by line (Fig. 2) on the sheet while controlling the motor to cause the roller to convey the sheet toward the print head at the set print speeds and the uniform print speed (paragraphs 0033-0037).
The examiner notes to applicant that the limitations concerning how the printer is operated are broad in scope and would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art in view of Shimura as applied above.
With respect to claim 2, Shimura discloses when detecting a speed change (Fig. 1, element 400) involving a change in a speed change direction (Fig. 4) within the predetermined number of consecutive lines (Fig. 2), the processor changes, to the uniform print speed, the set print speeds of the target dot data sets that are related to the speed change (paragraphs 0028-0032).
With respect to claim 10, Shimura discloses the motor (Fig. 1, element 3) is a stepping motor (paragraph 0014), and the predetermined number of lines (Fig. 2) is set based on a specification of the stepping motor to such a number of lines that the stepping motor tends to step out when the set print speeds change multiple times within the number of lines (paragraphs 0026-0037).
Allowable Subject Matter
1. Claim 3 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 primary reasons for allowance for claim 3 is that applicant’s claimed invention includes a printer having a processor, wherein the processor is configured to compare print speeds of dot data sets of each consecutive two lines, and when detecting the speed change involving the change in the speed change direction within the predetermined number of consecutive lines after first detecting a speed change, change the set print speeds of the target dot data sets, which correspond to lines from a line at which the speed change is first detected to a line at which the speed change involving the change in the speed change direction is detected, to the uniform print speed. It is this limitation, expressed in the claimed combination not found, taught, or suggested in the prior art that makes this claim allowable over the prior art.
2. Claims 4-7 are objected to for being dependent upon claim 3.
Conclusion
In view of the foregoing, the above claims have failed to patentably distinguish over the applied art.
The remaining references listed on forms 892 and 1449 have been reviewed by the examiner and are considered to be cumulative to or less material than the prior art references relied upon in the rejection above.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Geoffrey Mruk whose telephone number is (571)272-2810. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8-4:30 PM.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Ricardo Magallanes can be reached at (571) 272-5960. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/GEOFFREY S MRUK/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2853 10/08/2026
