Prosecution Insights
Last updated: May 29, 2026
Application No. 17/829,582

ELECTRONIC DEVICE AND OPERATING METHOD THEREOF

Non-Final OA §103
Filed
Jun 01, 2022
Priority
Aug 18, 2021 — RE 10-2021-0108958 +1 more
Examiner
WEINMANN, RYU-SUNG PETER
Art Unit
2859
Tech Center
2800 — Semiconductors & Electrical Systems
Assignee
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
OA Round
4 (Non-Final)
64%
Grant Probability
Moderate
4-5
OA Rounds
0m
Est. Remaining
68%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 64% of resolved cases
64%
Career Allowance Rate
14 granted / 22 resolved
-4.4% vs TC avg
Minimal +4% lift
Without
With
+4.2%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
3y 6m
Avg Prosecution
30 currently pending
Career history
65
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
2.1%
-37.9% vs TC avg
§103
75.9%
+35.9% vs TC avg
§102
16.3%
-23.7% vs TC avg
§112
4.3%
-35.7% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 22 resolved cases

Office Action

§103
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 . Response to Amendment The Amendment filed 1/20/2026 has been entered. Claims 1-20 remain pending in the application. New rejections are made to claims which had been indicated in the last Office Action as having allowable subject matter. Therefore, this Office Action is made Non-Final. Response to Arguments Applicant's arguments filed 1/20/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. The applicant submits on page 9 of Remarks submitted 1/20/2026 that Khoshvenis Fratti, and SparkFun, alone or in combination, fail to disclose the combination of features recited in claim 1, particularly "obtaining BLE signal strength information from the BLE signal," and "determining whether to charge a mobile terminal based on the obtained BLE signal strength." The examiner submits that under the broadest reasonable interpretation of "obtaining BLE signal strength information from the BLE signal," and "determining whether to charge a mobile terminal based on the obtained BLE signal strength," Khoshvenis and Fratti, as evidenced by Sparkfun and Global Tech, disclose the features. Please see the rejection below. 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. Claims 1-7, 10-11, and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US Patent Publication of Khoshvenis (PGPub US 20160301238 A1) in view of Fratti et al. (US 20140035516 A1, hereinafter Fratti), as evidenced by SparkFun Learn (“Bluetooth Basics” < https://learn.sparkfun.com/tutorials/bluetooth-basics/how-bluetooth-works > posted 8/26/2013) and evidence by Global Teck (“What Blocks a Bluetooth Signal?” < https://headsetstore.global-teck.com/what-blocks-a-bluetooth-signal > Posted online 12/27/2022). Regarding independent claim 1, Khoshvenis teaches a method of operating an electronic apparatus (Fig. 1: wireless charging device 110), the method comprising: receiving a Bluetooth low energy (BLE) signal received from a mobile terminal (¶[34]: With BLE connection established between wireless charging device 110 and wireless device 120, which includes wireless charging device 110 receiving a BLE signal from the wireless device 120 as evidenced by SparkFun Learn in its description of how Bluetooth master/slave communications work with both master and slave sending and receiving signals, electrical power is generated and transmitted by the wireless charging device 110 and transferred to the wireless device 120); obtaining BLE signal strength information from the BLE signal (As evidenced by Global Tech, a Bluetooth signal is determined to be too weak if it cannot establish a connection due to physical obstacles, other wireless devices, electronic devices, or environmental factors. When a seamless communication signal is established, the signal is determined to be strong); determining whether to charge the mobile terminal based on the obtained BLE signal strength (¶0034: a BLE signal sent by the wireless device 120 is strong enough to allow the wireless charging device 110 to generate and transfer electric power to the wireless device 120); and transmitting a charge signal from the electronic apparatus to the mobile terminal while the electronic apparatus is operating in a standby mode, based on a determination to charge the mobile terminal (¶0034-0035: The examiner interprets standby mode in the claim as collectively the “power save state” and the “power transfer state,” where power save state saves power of the wireless charging device 110 if there is no wireless device 120 nearby to charge, and power transfer state establishes a BLE connection between the wireless charging device 110 and wireless device 120 and proceeds to conduct charging), Khoshvenis does not teach that in the standby mode, only a communicator of the electronic apparatus is supplied with power while at least a portion of the other components are disabled. Fratti teaches that in the standby mode, only a communicator of the electronic apparatus (¶[5, 19, 47]: wireless transceiver of a power supply) is supplied with power while at least a portion of the other components are disabled (¶[3, esp. 22, 39, 44]: in the “off” state, various master devices 102 and devices 110 still consume power from the mains to power various circuit components). Khoshvenis and Fratti teach systems for charging peripheral devices through a main charger device. It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant application to incorporate the low power mode of Fratti into Khoshvenis for the master device, even when turned off, to quickly respond to commands such as for powering on or the recharge of remote controls (¶0003). Regarding independent claim 20, Khoshvenis teaches a non-transitory computer-readable recording medium having recorded thereon a program which, when executed, causes an electronic device (Fig. 1: wireless charging device 110) to perform at least one operation, the at least one operation comprising: receiving a Bluetooth low energy signal received from a mobile terminal (¶[34]: With BLE connection established between wireless charging device 110 and wireless device 120, which includes wireless charging device 110 receiving a BLE signal from the wireless device 120 as evidenced by SparkFun Learn in its description of how Bluetooth master/slave communications work with both master and slave sending and receiving signals, electrical power is generated and transmitted by the wireless charging device 110 and transferred to the wireless device 120); obtaining BLE signal strength information from the BLE signal (As evidenced by Global Tech, a Bluetooth signal is determined to be too weak if it cannot establish a connection due to physical obstacles, other wireless devices, electronic devices, or environmental factors. When a seamless communication signal is established, the signal is determined to be strong); determining whether to charge the mobile terminal based on the obtained BLE signal strength (¶0034: a BLE signal sent by the wireless device 120 is strong enough to allow the wireless charging device 110 to generate and transfer electric power to the wireless device 120); and transmitting a charge signal from the electronic device to the mobile terminal while the electronic device is operating in a standby mode, based on determining to charge the mobile terminal (¶0034-0035: The examiner interprets standby mode in the claim as both the “power save state” and the “power transfer state,” where power save state saves power of the wireless charging device 110 if there is no wireless device 120 nearby to charge, and power transfer state establishes a BLE connection between the wireless charging device 110 and wireless device 120 and proceeds to conduct charging), Khoshvenis does not teach that in the standby mode, only a communicator of the electronic device is supplied with power while at least a portion of the other components are disabled. Fratti teaches that in the standby mode, only a communicator of the electronic device (¶[5, 19, 47]: wireless transceiver of a power supply) is supplied with power while at least a portion of the other components are disabled (¶[3, esp. 22, 39, 44]: in the “off” state, various master devices 102 and devices 110 still consume power from the mains to power various circuit components). Khoshvenis and Fratti teach systems for charging peripheral devices through a main charger device. It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant application to incorporate the low power mode of Fratti into Khoshvenis for the master device, even when turned off, to quickly respond to commands such as for powering on or the recharge of remote controls (¶0003). Regarding claim 2, Khoshvenis teaches the method of claim 1, wherein the determining of whether to charge the mobile terminal (wireless device 120) comprises: obtaining battery information (¶0049: battery charge level) from the BLE signal; and determining whether to charge the mobile terminal using the battery information and the BLE signal strength information (¶0049: examiner interprets battery information as being part of the BLE connection between wireless charging device 110 and wireless device 120). Regarding claim 3, Khoshvenis teaches the method of claim 2, wherein the determining of whether to charge the mobile terminal (wireless device 120) using the battery information comprises, based on a remaining battery capacity based on the battery information being less than a specified amount (¶0049: battery charge less than 100%), determining to charge the mobile terminal. (NOTE: As BLE strength information is recited as an alternative to battery information in parent claim 2, BLE strength information in claim 3 is considered optional) Regarding claim 4, Khoshvenis teaches the method of claim 1, wherein the BLE signal comprises a first BLE signal received from the mobile terminal (120) while the electronic apparatus (110) operates in a normal mode before the electronic apparatus operates in the standby mode (¶0034: standby mode is interpreted as both “power transfer state” and “power saving state”. As normal mode is not defined in claim language, the broadest reasonable interpretation of normal mode does not preclude it to be standby mode). Regarding claim 5, Khoshvenis teaches the method of claim 4, wherein the first BLE signal comprises a BLE signal received first from the mobile terminal (Fig. 120) after the electronic apparatus (110) is connected with the mobile terminal through a BLE communication network (Fig. 1 and ¶0022: 130), while the electronic apparatus operates in the normal mode (¶0034). Regarding claim 6, Khoshvenis teaches the method of claim 1, wherein the BLE signal comprises a second BLE signal received from the mobile terminal while the electronic apparatus operates in the standby mode (¶0034). Regarding claim 7, Khoshvenis teaches the method of claim 1, further comprising: outputting a user interface screen (¶0062: touchscreen interface) configured to receive an input of selection with respect to whether or not to automatically charge the mobile terminal; and receiving an input to automatically charge the mobile terminal from the user interface screen (¶0062), wherein the determining of whether to charge the mobile terminal is performed based on the input to automatically charge the mobile terminal (The examiner interprets that once the BLE connection is made between the wireless charging device 110 and wireless device 120 and the user input is given ¶0062, charge is done automatically). Regarding claim 8, Khoshvenis teaches the method of claim 1, wherein the transmitting of the charge signal comprises transmitting the charge signal as a Wi-Fi signal (¶0021) having an output level greater than or equal to a specified value (While the charge signal is being transmitted, Wi-Fi signals may be greater than or equal to the minimum strength needed for the purpose of communication to enable charging). Regarding claim 10, Khoshvenis teaches the method of claim 1, further comprising: setting, using a timer, a time at which the charge signal is transmitted; and re-determining whether to continually transmit the charge signal to the mobile terminal, based on the time set using the timer elapsing (¶0076: “The circuit disable unit 664 may be implemented in hardware, firmware or software to disable the device discovery and/or wireless powering functions, such as presence pulsing process and/or a long beacon extension pulsing process, for a predetermined period of time, which predetermined period may be selected by the user and saved as a charging preference”). Regarding claim 11, Khoshvenis teaches the method of claim 1, further comprising: detecting an event of suspension of the charge signal transmission (¶0034: The examiner interprets event of suspension as when the wireless charging device 110 detects the battery of the wireless device 120 is full and disables charging), while transmitting the charge signal; and suspending the transmission of the charge signal based on the detection of the event of suspension of the charge signal transmission (¶0034), wherein the event of suspension of the charge signal transmission comprises one or more from among an event in which the electronic apparatus performs Wi-Fi communication (¶0021), an event in which the electronic apparatus is switched from the standby mode to a different mode (alternative claim language), an event in which a remaining battery capacity of the mobile terminal is identified to be greater than or equal to a specified amount (¶0049: battery charge greater than 99%), and an event in which a strength of the BLE signal from the mobile terminal is identified to be less than or equal to a specified strength (¶0049: battery charge less than 100%). Claims 8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Khoshvenis in view of Fratti, as evidenced by SparkFun, and further in view of Leabman (US 20140376646 A1). Regarding claim 8, Khoshvenis teaches the method of claim 1, wherein the transmitting of the charge signal comprises transmitting a Wi-Fi signal (¶0021) having an output level greater than or equal to a specified value (While the signal is being transmitted, Wi-Fi signals may be greater than or equal to the minimum strength needed for the purpose of communication). Khoshvenis does not teach the method of claim 1, wherein the transmitting of the charge signal comprises transmitting the charge signal as a Wi-Fi signal having an output level greater than or equal to a specified value. Leabman teaches transmitting the charge signal as a Wi-Fi signal (¶[5]: WiFi signals transmitted by a hybrid transmitter to receivers that convert signals into suitable electricity) having an output level greater than or equal to a specified value (While the signal is being transmitted, Wi-Fi signals may be greater than or equal to the minimum strength needed for the purpose of charging). Khoshvenis and Leabman teach wireless charging. It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant application to incorporate the charging WiFi signal and signal receiving circuits of Leabman into the system of Khoshvenis to circumvent the need to use wireless charging pads and less electronic equipment (¶[9]). Claims 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Khoshvenis in view of Fratti, as evidenced by SparkFun, and Leabman, and further in view of Amazon (“Google Nest Wifi – Home Wi-Fi System – Wi-Fi Extender – Mesh Router for Wireless Internet – 2Pack” < https://www.amazon.com/Google-Nest-Wifi-Router-Generation/dp/B07YMJ57MB?th=1 > A number of reviews posted in bottom are from 2020 implying that the product was posted and available to be sold since 2020) as evidenced by More (“How to set up your Google Next WiFi” < https://www.more.com.au/storage/Modem%20guides/Google_Nest_v5_compressed.pdf > Copyright by More 2022) and Marcel (“How Bluetooth technology creates reliability from unreliable foundations” Bluetooth.com < https://www.bluetooth.com/blog/how-bluetooth-technology-creates-reliability-from-unreliable-foundations/ > Posted online 10/30/2020). Regarding claim 9, Khoshvenis teaches the method of claim 8. Khoshvenis does not teach the method further comprising adjusting the output level of the Wi-Fi signal based on the BLE signal strength information. Amazon teaches adjusting the output level of a Wi-Fi signal based on the BLE signal strength information (Amazon sells Google Nest WiFi. As evidenced by More on pages 4-5, steps 6-10, Bluetooth connection on the Google Nest WiFi is established to turn on and configure the WiFi. As evidenced by Marcel, Bluetooth uses a frequency modulation scheme for encoding information. As explained on page 5/13, Bluetooth technology uses a binary modulation scheme based on a carrier frequency and then shifting the frequency up or down to represent 1 or 0 respectively). Khoshvenis and Amazon both disclose systems of communication via radio frequencies. It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant application to incorporate turning on the WiFi with commands sent through Bluetooth as depicted by Amazon into the system of Khoshvenis as a remote means of controlling and configuring the WiFi signal. Claims 12-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Khoshvenis in view of Fratti and Huang et al. (PGPub US 20140152235 A1, Published Jun. 5, 2014), hereinafter referred to as Huang, and as evidenced by SparkFun Learn (“Bluetooth Basics” < https://learn.sparkfun.com/tutorials/bluetooth-basics/how-bluetooth-works > posted 8/26/2013) and evidence by Global Teck (“What Blocks a Bluetooth Signal?” < https://headsetstore.global-teck.com/what-blocks-a-bluetooth-signal > Posted online 12/27/2022). Regarding independent claim 12, Khoshvenis teaches a wireless device (Fig. 5: 510, receiving charging energy) comprising: a communicator (radio unit 528) comprising communication circuitry (antenna(s) 532); a memory (530) storing one or more instructions (operating system instructions 538); and at least one processor (524) comprising processing circuitry, the at least one processor, individually and/or collectively, configured to execute the one or more instructions stored in the memory (¶0064), wherein the wireless device is configured to: receive a Bluetooth low energy (BLE) signal received from a mobile terminal (¶[34]: With BLE connection established between wireless charging device 110 and wireless device 120, which includes wireless charging device 110 receiving a BLE signal from the wireless device 120 as evidenced by SparkFun Learn in its description of how Bluetooth master/slave communications work with both master and slave sending and receiving signals, electrical power is generated and transmitted by the wireless charging device 110 and transferred to the wireless device 120); obtain BLE signal strength information from the BLE signal (As evidenced by Global Tech, a Bluetooth signal is determined to be too weak if it cannot establish a connection due to physical obstacles, other wireless devices, electronic devices, or environmental factors. When a seamless communication signal is established, the signal is determined to be strong); determine whether to charge the wireless device based on the obtained BLE strength (¶0034: a BLE signal sent by the wireless device 120 is strong enough to allow the wireless charging device 110 to generate and transfer electric power to the wireless device 120), cause the wireless charging device to transmit a charge signal to the wireless device while the electronic apparatus is operating in a standby mode, based on a determination to charge the wireless device (¶0034-0035: The examiner interprets standby mode in the claim as both the “power save state” and the “power transfer state,” where power save state saves power of the wireless charging device 110 if there is no wireless device 120 nearby to charge, and power transfer state establishes a BLE connection between the wireless charging device 110 and wireless device 120 and proceeds to conduct charging) Khoshvenis does not teach an electronic device (sending the charging energy) comprising: a communicator comprising communication circuitry; a memory storing one or more instructions; and a processor configured to execute the one or more instructions stored in the memory, wherein the electronic device is configured to: determine whether to charge a mobile terminal using a Bluetooth low energy (BLE) signal received from the mobile terminal transmit a charge signal to the mobile terminal while the electronic apparatus is operating in a standby mode, based on a determination to charge the mobile terminal. Huang teaches an electronic device (Fig. 2: docking host 220) comprising: a communicator (Fig. 1: communication interface 222) comprising communication circuitry; a memory (223) storing one or more instructions; and a processor (221) configured to execute the one or more instructions stored in the memory, wherein the electronic device is configured to: determine whether to charge a mobile terminal (dockee 230) using a Bluetooth low energy (BLE) signal received from the mobile terminal (¶0018: Wi-Fi or Bluetooth protocols are used to communicate between docking host and dockee, the processor configured to couple wireless charging circuitry) , wherein, in the standby mode, only a communicator of the electronic apparatus is supplied with power while at least a portion of the other components are disabled. Both Khoshvenis and Huang teach systems using Bluetooth communication and wireless charging. It would have been obvious for a person with ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant application to incorporate the communicator, memory, and processor in the electronic device (docking host 220) of Huang into of the wireless charging device 110 of Khoshvenis to centralize data processing to the wireless charging device and save space and manufacturing cost of the mobile terminal. Khoshvenis does not teach that in the standby mode, only a communicator of the electronic apparatus is supplied with power while at least a portion of the other components are disabled. Fratti teaches that in the standby mode, only a communicator of the electronic apparatus (¶[5, 19, 47]: wireless transceiver of a power supply) is supplied with power while at least a portion of the other components are disabled (¶[3, esp. 22, 39, 44]: in the “off” state, various master devices 102 and devices 110 still consume power from the mains to power various circuit components). Khoshvenis and Fratti teach systems for charging peripheral devices through a main charger device. It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant application to incorporate the low power mode of Fratti into Khoshvenis for the master device, even when turned off, to quickly respond to commands such as for powering on or the recharge of remote controls (¶0003). Regarding claim 13, Khoshvenis in view of Huang teaches the electronic device of claim 12, wherein Khoshvenis teaches the electronic device is configured to obtain battery information (¶0049: battery charge level) from the BLE signal, and to determine whether to charge the mobile terminal using the battery information and the BLE signal strength information (¶0044: wireless device 120 sends to wireless charging device 110 a BLE advertisement which is used by the wireless charging device to determine whether to provide power). Regarding claim 14, Khoshvenis in view of Huang teaches the electronic device of claim 13, wherein Khoshvenis teaches based on the electronic device determining whether to charge the mobile terminal using the battery information, the electronic device is further configured to determine to charge the mobile terminal, based on a remaining battery capacity based on the battery information being less than a specified amount (¶0049: battery charge less than 100%). (NOTE: As BLE strength information is recited as an alternative to battery information in parent claim 13, BLE strength information in claim 14 is considered optional) Regarding claim 15, Khoshvenis in view of Huang teaches the electronic device of claim 12, wherein Khoshvenis teaches the BLE signal comprises a first BLE signal received from the mobile terminal while the electronic device operates in a normal mode before the electronic device operates in the standby mode (¶0034-0035: The examiner interprets standby mode in the claim as both the “power save state” and the “power transfer state,” where power save state saves power of the wireless charging device 110 if there is no wireless device 120 nearby to charge, and power transfer state establishes a BLE connection between the wireless charging device 110 and wireless device 120 and proceeds to conduct charging. As normal mode is not defined in claim language, the broadest reasonable interpretation of normal mode does not preclude it to be standby mode). Regarding claim 16, Khoshvenis in view of Huang teaches the electronic device of claim 15, wherein Khoshvenis teaches the first BLE signal comprises a BLE signal received first from the mobile terminal (Fig. 120) after the electronic device (110) is connected with the mobile terminal through a BLE communication network (Fig. 1 and ¶0022: 130), while the electronic device operates in the normal mode (¶0034). Regarding claim 17, Khoshvenis in view of Huang teaches the electronic device of claim 12, wherein Khoshvenis teaches the BLE signal comprises a second BLE signal received from the mobile terminal while the electronic device operates in the standby mode (¶0034, 0037, 0040 and Fig. 2: During the “power save” state, the wireless device 110 periodically checks the presence of the wireless device 120 by sensing changing impedance caused when the wireless device 110 is nearby. When presence is detected, a BLE connection is established). Regarding claim 18, Khoshvenis in view of Huang teaches the electronic device of claim 12, wherein Khoshvenis teaches the electronic device further comprising: a display (¶0062: touchscreen interface); and a user inputter (¶0062: input/output interfaces 526) comprising input circuitry, wherein the display is configured to output a user interface screen (touchscreen) configured to receive an input of selection with respect to whether or not to automatically charge the mobile terminal, the user inputter is configured to receive an input to automatically charge the mobile terminal based on the user interface screen, and the electronic device is further configured to determine whether to charge the mobile terminal based on the input to automatically charge the mobile terminal (¶0062: “A user may be able to administer or manage the systems and methods disclosed herein by interacting with the wireless device 510 via the input/output interfaces 526, such as a touchscreen interface, a display, a guided user interface, or any other input/output interface.”). Claims 19 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Khoshvenis in view of Fratti and Huang, and further in view of Leabman. Regarding claim 19, Khoshvenis teaches the method of claim 12, wherein the electronic device is further configured to transmit a Wi-Fi signal (¶0021) having an output level greater than or equal to a specified value (While the signal is being transmitted, Wi-Fi signals may be greater than or equal to the minimum strength needed for the purpose of communication). Khoshvenis does not teach the method of claim 1, wherein the electronic device is further configured to transmit a Wi-Fi signal having an output level greater than or equal to a specified value, as a charge signal. Leabman teaches transmitting an electronic device (Fig. 1 and ¶[22]) configured to transmit a Wi-Fi signal, as a charge signal (¶[5]: WiFi signals transmitted by a hybrid transmitter to receivers that convert signals into suitable electricity) having an output level greater than or equal to a specified value (While the signal is being transmitted, Wi-Fi signals may be greater than or equal to the minimum strength needed for the purpose of charging). Khoshvenis and Leabman teach wireless charging. It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant application to incorporate the charging WiFi signal and signal receiving circuits of Leabman into the system of Khoshvenis to circumvent the need to use wireless charging pads and less electronic equipment (¶[9]). Conclusion The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Park (KR 20180108174 A) discloses monitoring BLE signal strength. Li (US 20170250561 A1) teaches wireless charging in a room by way of an intelligent management device 120 on the ceiling and one or more wireless charging transmitters placed around the room (Fig. 1B). Google (“Google Nest WiFi review_ A solid mesh network with built-in Assistant” < https://www.engadget.com/2019-11-07-google-nest-wifi-review.html > posted online 11/7/2019) teaches Bluetooth pairing with a Wi-Fi Router. THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a). A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Ryu-Sung Peter Weinmann whose telephone number is (703)756-5964. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 9am-5pm ET. 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, Julian Huffman, can be reached at (571) 272-2147. 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. /Ryu-Sung P. Weinmann/Examiner, Art Unit 2859 March 24, 2026 /JULIAN D HUFFMAN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2859
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Prosecution Timeline

Show 3 earlier events
May 09, 2025
Examiner Interview Summary
May 27, 2025
Response Filed
Aug 11, 2025
Final Rejection mailed — §103
Oct 10, 2025
Request for Continued Examination
Oct 16, 2025
Response after Non-Final Action
Oct 22, 2025
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §103
Jan 20, 2026
Response Filed
Apr 01, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §103 (current)

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Prosecution Projections

4-5
Expected OA Rounds
64%
Grant Probability
68%
With Interview (+4.2%)
3y 6m (~0m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
High
PTA Risk
Based on 22 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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