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 .
Status of Application
Claims 1, 2, 10 and 11 (3-9 are withdrawn) are pending and presented for examination. Claims 1, 2, 10 and 11 were amended via the instant amendment dated 13 August 2025 which is acknowledged and entered.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s remarks dated 13 August 2025 (hereinafter, “Remarks at __”) are acknowledged and entered.
The objection to claims 1, 2 and 11 are WITHDRAWN as the suggested language was adopted.
The rejection of claims 1, 2, 10 and 11 under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) is WITHDRAWN as claim 1 properly sets forth the value for y.
The rejection of claims 1, 2, 10 and 11 under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) over US PG Pub No. 20160039678 to Tanimola is MAINTAINED.
Applicant has attempted to petition an unintentional delayed benefit claim under 37 C.F.R. 1.79(e) by stating such in their Remarks (Remarks at 7). However, this is not a proper petition. Applicants needed to file a separation petition via EFS-Web/Patent Center along with the required fee, a corrected Application Data Sheet and showing priority to the Tanimola reference (As noted, Applicants cannot claim priority to 62/035,140 as it was filed on 8/10/2015 and the instant application was filed on 09/09/2022 which is more than a year later).
The traversal is that inter alia Tanimola is not prior art. While the Examiner agrees that Tanimola is Applicant’s own work, given that there is a break in the chain of priority, Tanimola was published more than one year before the effective filing date of the instantly claimed application (02/11/2016 vs. 09/09/2022) and as such Tanimola is available under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as it published after 02/11/2017 as the instant application is not a continuation of Tanimola.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
The rejection of claims 1, 2, 10 and 11 under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) over Tanimola from the Non-Final Office Action dated 22 April 2025 is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
Conclusion
Claims 1, 2, 10 and 11 are finally rejected.
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 RICHARD M RUMP whose telephone number is (571)270-5848. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Thursday 06:45 AM to 04:45 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, Duane Smith can be reached at 571-272-1166. 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.
RICHARD M. RUMP
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 1759
/RICHARD M RUMP/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1759