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 5, 6, 8-10 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.
Regarding claims 5, 6, 8 & 10, examiner is unsure as to how the remaining amount condition determines the recording agent remaining amount and how does it determines the remaining amount alert condition and that the remaining amount alert condition has occurred.
Further regarding claim 8, the examiner is unsure as to how the remaining amount condition determines if a remaining amount alert has occurred and has reduced to a predetermined first lower limit.
Regarding claim 9, the examiner is unsure as to how the remaining amount condition determines instructions are accepted by the operation device with respect to the remaining amount of the recording agent of the same color has reduced to the lower limit.
Further regarding claim 10, the examiner is unsure as to how a controller orders recording agent containers of recording agent of the same color as the recording agent for which the remaining amount alert condition has occurred. A controller controls devices or manages devices having functions capable of performing such functions. Also, how does the controller know that remaining amount condition determiner has determined the remaining amount alert condition has occurred.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
4. 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.
Claim(s) 1-10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Okada et al. (JP2003-048327).
Okada et al. (JP2003-048327) disclose the following:
* Re clm 1, an image forming apparatus/printer 10/ (Abst., figs );
* an image forming device/10/ that forms an image on a recording medium using a recording agent/ink/ (Abst., figs 1-11);
* a plurality of container loaders/cartridge 107/ capable of removably loading respective recording agent containers each containing a recording agent/ink/ of the same color/black/ (paras 0011, 0024, 0060, figs 1-11)
* a control device/computer 30, cpu 31/ that includes a processor and functions, through the processor executing a control program, as: (paras 0034-0039, figs 2
(a) a remaining amount detector that detects a remaining amount of recording agent in each of the recording agent containers loaded in the container loaders (paras 0041-0044, fig 7);
(b) a remaining amount condition determiner that determines, based on the remaining amount of recording agent in each of the recording agent containers detected by the remaining amount detector, whether or not a remaining amount alert condition has occurred in which the remaining amount of recording agent in one of the recording agent containers loaded in the container loaders or a total remaining amount of recording agent of the same color has reduced to a predetermined lower limit (paras 0011-0012, 0070-0071, fig 9)
* Re clm 2, wherein when the processor executes the control program, the control device further functions as a total remaining amount calculator that calculates the total remaining amount of recording agent of the same color based on the respective remaining amounts of recording agent in the recording agent containers loaded in the container loaders, and the remaining amount condition determiner determines, based on the total remaining amount calculated by the total remaining amount calculator, whether or not the remaining amount alert condition has occurred (paras 0011-0012, 0070-0071, fig 9).
* Re clm 3, wherein when any of the container loaders is free of the recording agent container, the total remaining amount calculator calculates the total remaining amount by assuming the remaining amount of recording agent in a recording agent container assumed to be loaded in the container loader free of the recording agent container to be zero (paras 0011-0012, 0059-0065, 0070-0071, fig 9).
* Re clm 4, when any of the container loaders loads the recording agent container of non-regular type, the remaining amount condition determiner keeps from determining, as for the recording agent of the same color as the recording agent contained in the recording agent container of non-regular type, whether or not the remaining amount alert condition has occurred (para 0033, figs 1-11).
* Re clm 5, wherein the remaining amount condition determiner determines, regarding the recording agent in each of the recording agent containers, whether or not the remaining amount alert condition has occurred, but, as for the container loader free of the recording agent container, the remaining amount state determiner keeps from determining whether or not the remaining amount alert condition has occurred /This claim has been rejected as best understood… see the 112 rejection above./ (paras 0029, 0033, 0059-0065, fig 5)
* Re clm 6, wherein the remaining amount condition determiner determines, regarding the recording agent in each of the recording agent containers, whether or not the remaining amount alert condition has occurred, but, as for the recording agent in the recording agent container of non-regular type loaded in the container loader, the remaining amount state determiner keeps from determining whether or not the remaining amount alert condition has occurred /this claim has been rejected as best understood… see the 112 rejection above/ (paras 0029, 0033, 0059-0065, figs 1- 5)
* Re clm 7, further comprising an operation device that accepts an input of an instruction from a user, wherein the operation device accepts a setting of the lower limit from the user, and the remaining amount condition determiner determines, based on the lower limit set by the user and accepted by the operation device, whether or not the remaining amount alert condition has occurred /this claim has been rejected as best understood… see the 112 rejection above./ (paras 0020, 0059-0065, figs 1-11).
* Re clm 8, further comprising an operation device that accepts an input of an instruction from a user, wherein the remaining amount condition determiner determines, in accordance with the instruction accepted by the operation device, whether or not a remaining amount alert condition has occurred in which the remaining amount of recording agent in the one of the recording agent containers loaded in the container loaders has reduced to a predetermined first lower limit or whether or not a remaining amount alert condition has occurred in which the total remaining amount of recording agent of the same color has reduced to a predetermined second lower limit /this claim has been rejected as best understood… see the 112 rejection above/ (para 0020, 0059-0065, figs 1-11).
* Re clm 9, further comprising an operation device that accepts an input of an instruction from a user, wherein the remaining amount condition determiner determines, in accordance with the instruction accepted by the operation device, whether or not the remaining amount of recording agent in the one of the recording agent containers has reduced to the lower limit or whether or not the total remaining amount of recording agent of the same color has reduced to the lower limit /this claim has been rejected as best understood… see the 112 rejection above./) paras 0020, 0059-0065, figs 1-11).
* Re clm 10, further comprising a controller/computer 30, cpu 31/ that controls operation of the image forming device to allow the image forming device to perform printing, wherein when the remaining amount condition determiner determines that the remaining amount alert condition has occurred, the controller/30, 31/ executes predetermined order processing for ordering the recording agent container containing a recording agent of the same color as the recording agent as for which the remaining amount alert condition has occurred. /this claim has been rejected as best understood…discloses inserting a new cartridge… see the 112 rejection above./ (paras 0020, 0034-0039, 0059-0065, figs 2).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KRISTAL FEGGINS whose telephone number is (571)272-2254. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 930-530pm.
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/KRISTAL FEGGINS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2853
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