DETAILED ACTION
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Specification
The title of the invention is not descriptive. A new title is required that is clearly indicative of the invention to which the claims are directed.
Claim Objections
Claim 16 is objected to because of the following informalities: In line 5 and 6, delete the second occurrence of “an input profile that has first color information and receives image data,”. Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claim 15 is 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.
Claim 15 recites the limitation "the printed matter" in line 2. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
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)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-14, 16 and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Mizuno et al. US Publication 2025/0021275 (hereafter “Mizuno”).
Referring to claims 1 and 17, Mizuno discloses a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a color conversion program causing a computer to execute a method comprising:
a first conversion step of converting a color space of image data by sequentially using
an input profile that has first color information and receives image data (paragraph 47-48, The controller 50 executes a first acquisition operation to acquire first image data for printing a first image F of the example of FIG. 5 on the printing medium A with ink ejected from the nozzle 24 (step S1). The first image data is input data input to the controller 50 and is expressed by color values in a predetermined color space), and
a print profile that has second color information and outputs image data as print data when printing the image data by a printing apparatus (paragraph 49, the controller 50 executes a first color conversion operation for generating second image data by performing color conversion on the first image data (step S2)); and
a second conversion step of converting the color space of the image data after the conversion in the first conversion step by sequentially using
the print profile, and
a display profile that has third color information and outputs the image data as display data in displaying the image data on a display unit (paragraph 61, the controller 50 executes a second color conversion operation for generating third image data by performing color conversion on the second image data according to display conditions when the first image F is displayed on the display device 14 (step S3)).
Referring to claim 2, Mizuno discloses wherein the print profile is used when a rendering intent is set in the first conversion step (paragraph 49, In the first color conversion operation, the controller 50 performs color conversion according to any one of the printing medium A, printing conditions, and a combination of the printing medium A and the printing conditions).
Referring to claim 3, Mizuno discloses wherein the rendering intent designates relative chromaticity retention (paragraph 55, The printing profile is a color conversion table and a conversion formula in which color values in a device-dependent color space and color values in a device-independent color space are associated with each other according to the printing information).
Referring to claim 4, Mizuno discloses wherein the first conversion step further includes performing a conversion that cancels a ground color component of a print sheet used when printing by the printing apparatus is performed by using the print profile in a state where the rendering intent is set (paragraph 49, In the first color conversion operation, the controller 50 performs color conversion according to any one of the printing medium A, printing conditions, and a combination of the printing medium A and the printing conditions [the color conversion adjusts the color to compensate for the medium]).
Referring to claim 5, Mizuno discloses wherein the display profile is used in a state where a rendering intent is set in the second conversion step (paragraph 62, The display conditions include, for example, display information of the display environment, display information of the display device 14, or display information of the display environment and the display device 14).
Referring to claim 6, Mizuno discloses wherein the rendering intent designates absolute chromaticity retention (paragraph 68, Since the third image data is obtained by performing the color conversion based on the first image data of the first image F according to the printing information and display information, the second image H based on the third image data takes into account factors that affect the colors of the printed image and the display image).
Referring to claim 7, Mizuno discloses wherein the second conversion step includes performing conversion that does not cancel a ground color component of a print sheet used when printing by the printing apparatus by using the display profile in a state where the rendering intent is set (paragraph 68, Since the third image data is obtained by performing the color conversion based on the first image data of the first image F according to the printing information and display information, the second image H based on the third image data takes into account factors that affect the colors of the printed image and the display image).
Referring to claim 8, Mizuno discloses wherein in the first conversion step, the color space of the image data input to the input profile is converted from a model dependent color space set for each model of the printing apparatus into a model independent color space that does not depend on the model of the printing apparatus, by using the input profile (paragraph 60, As a result, the color values of the first image data, for example, the RGB values in the RGB color space which is the device-dependent color space, are converted into the color values of the second image data, for example, the Lab values in the L*a*b* color space which is the device-independent color space).
Referring to claim 9, Mizuno discloses wherein in the first conversion step, the color space of the image data converted by the input profile is converted from the model independent color space into the model dependent color space by using the print profile (paragraph 60, The second image data is PCS image data)
Referring to claim 10, Mizuno discloses wherein in the second conversion step, the color space of the image data converted in the first conversion step is converted from the model dependent color space to the model independent color space by using the print profile (paragraph 123, Here, the controller 50 acquires a display profile corresponding to the display information of the display condition, performs color conversion on the fourth image data based on the display profile, and generates the fifth image data. As a result, the color values of the fourth image data, for example, the RGB values in the RGB color space which is the device-dependent color space, are converted into the color values of the fifth image data, for example, the Lab values in the L*a*b* color space which is the device-independent color space).
Referring to claim 11, Mizuno discloses wherein in the second conversion step, the color space of the image data converted by the print profile is converted from the model independent color space to a color space reproducible by the display unit using the display profile (paragraph 63, The color space of the display device 14 defines the colors displayed on the display device 14 and is a device-dependent color space, examples of which include sRGB and adobeRGB).
Referring to claim 12, Mizuno discloses wherein the print profile is provided for each type of print sheet used for printing by the printing apparatus (paragraph 51, The printing information of the printing medium A is an element related to the printing medium A that affects the color of the image printed on the printing medium A).
Referring to claim 13, Mizuno discloses wherein in the first conversion step and the second conversion step, the print profile corresponding to the print sheet selected in the printing apparatus from among a plurality of types of print sheets mounted on the printing apparatus is used (paragraph 51, The printing information of the printing medium A is an element related to the printing medium A that affects the color of the image printed on the printing medium A).
Referring to claim 15, Mizuno discloses wherein a color tone of the printed matter obtained by printing the image data converted in the first conversion step by the printing apparatus is visually recognized to be identical to a color tone of the display image obtained by displaying the image data converted in the second conversion step on the display unit (paragraph 68, Since the third image data is obtained by performing the color conversion based on the first image data of the first image F according to the printing information and display information, the second image H based on the third image data takes into account factors that affect the colors of the printed image and the display image).
Referring to claim 16, Mizuno discloses a color conversion apparatus comprising:
one or more memories storing
an input profile that has first color information and receives image data (paragraph 47-48, The controller 50 executes a first acquisition operation to acquire first image data for printing a first image F of the example of FIG. 5 on the printing medium A with ink ejected from the nozzle 24 (step S1). The first image data is input data input to the controller 50 and is expressed by color values in a predetermined color space),
a print profile that has second color information and outputs the image data as print data when printing the image data by a printing apparatus (paragraph 55, The printing profile is a color conversion table and a conversion formula in which color values in a device-dependent color space and color values in a device-independent color space are associated with each other according to the printing information), and
a display profile that has third color information and outputs the image data as display data in displaying the image data on a display unit (paragraph 64, The display profile is a color conversion table and a conversion formula in which color values in a device-dependent color space and color values in a device-independent color space are associated with each other according to the display information);
one or more control programs; and one or more processors configured to cause, by executing the one or more control programs, the color conversion apparatus to:
convert a color space of the image data using the input profile and the print profile in sequence (paragraph 47-48, The controller 50 executes a first acquisition operation to acquire first image data for printing a first image F of the example of FIG. 5 on the printing medium A with ink ejected from the nozzle 24 (step S1). The first image data is input data input to the controller 50 and is expressed by color values in a predetermined color space); and
convert the color space of the image data by using the print profile (paragraph 47-48, The controller 50 executes a first acquisition operation to acquire first image data for printing a first image F of the example of FIG. 5 on the printing medium A with ink ejected from the nozzle 24 (step S1). The first image data is input data input to the controller 50 and is expressed by color values in a predetermined color space) and the display profile in sequence (paragraph 61, the controller 50 executes a second color conversion operation for generating third image data by performing color conversion on the second image data according to display conditions when the first image F is displayed on the display device 14 (step S3)).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
Claim 14 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mizuno et al. US Publication 2025/0021275 as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Kumada US Publication 2004/0136020 (hereafter” Kumada”)
Referring to claim 14, Mizuno discloses outputting image data as print data in the first conversion step, but does not disclose expressly performing rasterizing between the first conversion step and the second conversion step.
Kumada discloses wherein the control method further comprises a rasterizing step of applying a rasterizing process to the image data between the first conversion step and the second conversion step (paragraph 135, the printer controller of the printer 211 rasterizes the PDL data to bitmap data (S1424), converts the rasterized bitmap data into the file format designated in step S1104 (S1425), and transits that file data to the client 201 via the servers 213 and 203 (S1426)).
Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to rasterize image data after converting by a printer profile. The motivation for doing so would have been to increase the accuracy of simulating the result of the image printed by the printer. Therefore, it would have been obvious to combine Kumada with Mizuno to obtain the invention as specified in claim 14.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Ono et al. US Publication 2024/0126484
Jung US Publication 2007/0052987
Cho et al. US Publication 2008/0084570
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to PETER K HUNTSINGER whose telephone number is (571)272-7435. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 8:30 - 5:00.
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, Benny Q Tieu can be reached at 571-272-7490. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/PETER K HUNTSINGER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2682
Prosecution Insights