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/Remarks
This communication is considered fully responsive to the amendment filed on 10/30/2025.
Claims 1, 3-6, 8-11, 16,-19 are pending and are examined in this office action.
Claims 1, 6, 11 have been amended.
No new claim has been added and claims 2, 7, 12-15 have been canceled.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, filed on 10/30/2025, with respect to claims have been considered but are moot because the arguments do not apply to any of the references being used in the current rejection. The Examiner found features modified to claims, i.e claim 1 as “1. (Currently Amended) A method performed by a first user equipment (UF) in a wireless communication system, the method comprising :receiving, from a second UF, sidelink discontinuous reception (DRX) preference information; transmitting, to a base station (BS), sidelink UF information including the sidelink DRX preference information; and receiving, from the BS, sidelink DRX configuration information, based on the sidelink DRX preference information, wherein a Uu DRX of the first UF at least partially overlaps with the sidelink DRX of the second UF in time...”
that have changed the scope of the invention, Therefore, Applicant’s remarks regarding rejection under 35 U.S.C 103 for the claims are moot. Applicant's remarks are considered as forward looking statement for the newly reconstructed claims.
In view of the applicant’s amendment to the claims, the examiner has clarified and remapped the rejection to the argued claim limitations in details, using the prior art of record in the current prosecution of the claims as well a new prior art. See CHENG8840 et al. (US 20230328840 A1; hereinafter as “CHENG8840”).
Priority
Applicant’s claim for the benefit of a prior-filed application under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) or under 35 U.S.C. 120, 121, 365(c), or 386(c) is acknowledged. Applicant has not complied with one or more conditions for receiving the benefit of an earlier filing date under 35 U.S.C. 35 U.S.C. 119(e) as follows:
The later-filed application must be an application for a patent for an invention which is also disclosed in the prior application (the parent or original nonprovisional application or provisional application). The disclosure of the invention in the parent application and in the later-filed application must be sufficient to comply with the requirements of 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, except for the best mode requirement. See Transco Products, Inc. v. Performance Contracting, Inc., 38 F.3d 551, 32 USPQ2d 1077 (Fed. Cir. 1994).
The disclosure of the prior-filed application, Foreign Application No. KR10-2020-0084597 (filed on 07/09/2020), fails to provide adequate support or enablement in the manner provided by 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, first paragraph for one or more claims of this application. See MPEP § 211.05(I)(A). Therefore, the effective filing date of the application has been deemed to be the filing date, 07/08/2021 of the instant application which is filling date of PCT/KR2021/008724.
Per MPEP §2152.06 “(C). Submitting a claim to priority under 35 U.S.C. 119(a) - (d) within the time period set in 37 CFR 1.55 by identifying a prior foreign application in a corrected application data sheet under 37 CFR 1.76 and by establishing that the prior foreign application satisfies the enablement and written description requirements of 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or filing a grantable petition to accept a delayed priority claim under 37 CFR 1.55. See MPEP §§ 213 - 216. The foreign priority filing date must antedate the reference and be perfected. The filing date of the priority document is not perfected unless applicant has filed a certified priority document in the application (and an English language translation, if the document is not in English) (see 37 CFR 1.55(g))”. The applicant must show that the Applicant has all the support for the claim languages in all the prior documents.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 1, 3-6, 8-11, 16-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
Claims 1, 6, 11 recite, inter alia, “wherein a Uu DRX of the first UF at least partially overlaps with the sidelink DRX of the second UF in time”.
However, there is no support in the specification and drawings for this feature. Without identifying “at least partially overlaps” the properties claimed specifically “wherein a Uu DRX of the first UF at least partially overlaps with the sidelink DRX of the second UF in time” is vague and uncertain to cause one of ordinary skill in the art to reasonably be able to assume that applicant had possession of the invention as claimed. MPEP 2163.01.
Applicant contests that it is supported by previously dependent claim 2, but previously dependent claim was
“ claim 2, The method of claim 1, wherein the sidelink DRX configuration information is configured to overlap Uu DRX and Sidelink DRX in a time domain”
which is different than newly amended independent claim 1.
At best, the examiner find that in the specification “
[0102] Referring to FIG. 6B, a case of partial coverage is illustrated, in which of the SL UEs, the first UE 620a is located in the coverage of the BS 610 and the second UE 620b is located outside the coverage of the BS 610. The first UE 620a located in the coverage of the BS 610 may receive data and control information from the BS in a DL or transmit data and control information to the BS in a UL. The second UE 620b located outside the coverage of the BS 610 may not receive data and control information from the BS in a DL and may not transmit data and control information to the BS in a UL. The second UE 620b may transmit or receive data and control information for SL communication in an SL to or from the first UE 620a.”
“[0113] The aforementioned SL unicast communication, groupcast communication, and broadcast communication may be supported in an in-coverage scenario, a partial-coverage scenario or an out-of-coverage scenario.”
The above paragraphs do not teach this amended feature “wherein a Uu DRX of the first UF at least partially overlaps with the sidelink DRX of the second UF in time” . Thus, Applicant does not appear to be in possession of the claimed subject matter.
As such, the examiner has taken broadest reasonable interpretation, in light of the above specification, to reject the independent claims as best understood by the examiner.
Dependent claims 3-5, 8-10, 16-19 are rejected accordingly as they don’t’ cure the above deficiency.
Applicant is welcome to point out where in the specification the Examiner can find written description for the above-mentioned limitations if Applicant believes otherwise.
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, 3-6, 8-11, 16-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over CHENG et al. (US 20230156854 A1; hereinafter as “CHENG”) in view of CHENG8840 et al. (US 20230328840 A1; hereinafter as “CHENG8840”).
Examiner’s note: in what follows, references are drawn to CHENG unless otherwise mentioned.
With respect to independence claim:
Regarding claim 1, CHENG teaches, A method performed a first user equipment (UE) in a wireless communication system (see fig. 15: UE Relay is connected with gNB and Remote UE in wireless communication: [0095]-[0096]; see Relay is Relay UE : [abstract]; also “ FIG. 12 is a flow diagram illustrating example operations that may be performed by a relay UE, in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure. ”:[0024]), the method comprising:
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receiving, from a second UE (==Remote UE ), sidelink discontinuous reception (DRX) preference information (see fig. 15 where Relay UE is receiving Sidelink DRX Preference from Remote UE: “ UE … report its sidelink DRX preference to relay node ”: [095]-[0096]; also see fig. 12 element 1204 “At 1204, the relay node receives, from the remote UE, an indication of a sidelink discontinuous reception (DRX) configuration preference. ” : [0084]);
transmitting, to a base station (BS) (==gNB), sidelink UE information including the sidelink DRX preference information (see fig. 15 where UE Relay transmits “SidelinkUEInformationNR” to gNB which include SL DRX Preference from Remote UE: “ relay node forwards remote UE’s sidelink DRX preference to NW via SidelinkUEinformationNR (SUI) or UEAssistencelnformation (UAI)”: [0095]-[0096]; also see fig. 13 element 1302, 1304; “At 1304, the network entity receives an indication of a sidelink discontinuous reception (DRX) configuration preference. ” from Relay UE: [0086]); and
receiving, from the BS (==gNB), sidelink DRX configuration information, based on the sidelink DRX preference information (see fig. 15 where gNB Decide “DL DRX Config” after receiving SL DRX Preference from Remote UE Via Relay UE; After that gNB sends and Relay UE receives “SL DRX Configuration” which has SL DRX Preference Information: “ network entity decides remote UE specific sidelink DRX configuration, and sends it to relay node via RRC reconfiguration message”: [0095]-[0096]; also see Fig. 13 element 1306 “At 1306, the network entity sends Via Relay UE the remote UE, after receiving the indication, a sidelink DRX configuration defining at least one sidelink DRX pattern. ”: [0086]).
While CHENG teaches, receiving, from the BS, sidelink DRX configuration information, based on the sidelink DRX preference information, CHENG does not expressively disclose:
Wherein Uu DRX of the first UE at least partially overlaps with the Sidelink DRX of the second UE in time.
CHENG8840, in the same field of endeavor, discloses:
Wherein Uu DRX of the first UE at least partially overlaps with the Sidelink DRX of the second UE in time ( Relay UE (==first UE in claim) has Uu interface between Relay UE and Base Station and Relay UE to UE (==second UE in claim ) has PC5 interface: [0031]; see fig. 2,; base station determines sidelink DRX configuration based on received sidelink DRX information from UEs: Aforesaid Base Station created UE-specific DRX patten for both Uu DRX and PC5 interface: Base station also modify or configure the sidelink DRX configuration to consider of Uu DRX and PC5/sidelink DRX during a DRX Cyle, ie C-DRX ON” periods : [0154])
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teaching of CHENG to include the above recited limitations as taught by CHENG8840. The suggestion/motivation would be to support and improve device-to-device (D2D) communications, vehicle-based communications, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communications systems, vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communications systems, cellular V2X (C-V2X) communications systems (CHENG8840; [0004]).
Regarding claim 6, CHENG teaches A method by which a base station (BS) operates in a wireless communication system (see fig. 15: gNB is connected with Relay UE which is connected to Remote UE: [0095]-[0096]; see Relay is Relay UE : [abstract]; also “ FIG. 13 is a flow diagram illustrating example operations that may be performed by a network entity, in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure. ”:[0025]), the method comprising:
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Receiving from a first user equipment (UE) (==Relay UE in fig. 15), sidelink UE information including sidelink discontinuous reception (DRX) preference information ((see fig. 15 where UE Relay transmits and aforesaid gNB receives “SidelinkUEInformationNR” which include SL DRX Preference from Remote UE: [0095]-[0096]; also see fig. 13 element 1302, 1304; “At 1304, the network entity (==gNB) receives an indication of a sidelink discontinuous reception (DRX) configuration preference. ” from Relay UE: [0086]));
determining sidelink DRX configuration information, based on the sidelink DRX preference information (see fig. 15 gNB “Decide SL DRX Config” based on SL DRX Preference Information from Remote UE: “ network entity (==gNB ) decides remote UE specific sidelink DRX configuration,” based on SL DRX Preference Information Via Relay UE: [0095], [0096]); and
transmitting, to the first UE (==Relay UE ), the sidelink DRX configuration information ((see fig. 15 where gNB Decide “DL DRX Config” after receiving SL DRX Preference from Remote UE Via Relay UE; After that gNB sends and Relay UE receives “SL DRX Configuration” which has SL DRX Preference Information: [0095]-[0096]; also see Fig. 13 element 1306 “At 1306, the network entity (==gNB) sends Via Relay UE the remote UE, after receiving the indication, a sidelink DRX configuration defining at least one sidelink DRX pattern. ”: [0086]).
While CHENG teaches, transmitting, to the first UE, the sidelink DRX configuration information, CHENG does not expressively disclose:
Wherein Uu DRX of the first UE at least partially overlaps with the Sidelink DRX of the second UE in time.
CHENG8840, in the same field of endeavor, discloses:
Wherein Uu DRX of the first UE at least partially overlaps with the Sidelink DRX of the second UE in time ( Relay UE (==first UE in claim) has Uu interface between Relay UE and Base Station and Relay UE to UE (==second UE in claim ) has PC5 interface: [0031]; see fig. 2,; base station determines sidelink DRX configuration based on received sidelink DRX information from UEs: Aforesaid Base Station created UE-specific DRX patten for both Uu DRX and PC5 interface: Base station also modify or configure the sidelink DRX configuration to consider of Uu DRX and PC5/sidelink DRX during a DRX Cyle, ie C-DRX ON” periods : [0154])
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teaching of CHENG to include the above recited limitations as taught by CHENG8840. The suggestion/motivation would be to support and improve device-to-device (D2D) communications, vehicle-based communications, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communications systems, vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communications systems, cellular V2X (C-V2X) communications systems (CHENG8840; [0004]).
Regarding claim 11, CHENG teaches, A first user equipment (UE) (see fig. 15: Relay UE ) performed in a wireless communication system (see fig. 15: UE Relay is connected with gNB and Remote UE in wireless communication: [0095]-[0096]; see Relay is Relay UE : [abstract]; also “ FIG. 12 is a flow diagram illustrating example operations that may be performed by a relay UE, in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure. ”:[0024]), the first UE (see fig. 15: Relay UE ) comprising:
a communicator (see transceiver 2108 ; “transceiver 2108 is configured to transmit and receive signals for the communications device 2100 via an antenna 2110, ”: [0110] ); and
at least one processor (==processor 2104 ; “ The processing system 2102 includes a processor 2104 coupled to a computer-readable medium/memory 2121 via a bus 2106” : [0111]) coupled to the communicator ( transceiver is connected to processors: [0111] )and configured to:
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control the communicator to receive, from a second UE (==remote UE in Fig. 15), sidelink discontinuous reception (DRX) preference information (see fig. 15 where Relay UE is receiving Sidelink DRX Preference from Remote UE: [095]-[0096]; also see fig. 12 element 1204 “At 1204, the relay node receives, from the remote UE, an indication of a sidelink discontinuous reception (DRX) configuration preference. ” : [0084]),
control the communicator to transmit, to a base station (BS) (==gNB in Fig. 15 ), sidelink UE information including the sidelink (see fig. 15 where UE Relay transmits “SidelinkUEInformationNR” to gNB which include SL DRX Preference from Remote UE: [0095]-[0096]; also see fig. 13 element 1302, 1304; “At 1304, the network entity receives an indication of a sidelink discontinuous reception (DRX) configuration preference. ” from Relay UE: [0086]), and
control the communicator to receive, from the BS (==gNB in Fig. 15 ), sidelink DRX configuration information, based on the sidelink DRX preference information (see fig. 15 where gNB Decide “DL DRX Config” after receiving SL DRX Preference from Remote UE Via Relay UE; After that gNB sends and Relay UE receives “SL DRX Configuration” which has SL DRX Preference Information: [0095]-[0096]; also see Fig. 13 element 1306 “At 1306, the network entity sends Via Relay UE the remote UE, after receiving the indication, a sidelink DRX configuration defining at least one sidelink DRX pattern. ”: [0086]).
While CHENG teaches, control the communicator to receive, from the BS), sidelink DRX configuration information, based on the sidelink DRX preference information, CHENG does not expressively disclose: Wherein Uu DRX of the first UE at least partially overlaps with the Sidelink DRX of the second UE in time.
CHENG8840, in the same field of endeavor, discloses:
Wherein Uu DRX of the first UE at least partially overlaps with the Sidelink DRX of the second UE in time ( Relay UE (==first UE in claim) has Uu interface between Relay UE and Base Station and Relay UE to UE (==second UE in claim ) has PC5 interface: [0031]; see fig. 2,; base station determines sidelink DRX configuration based on received sidelink DRX information from UEs: Aforesaid Base Station created UE-specific DRX patten for both Uu DRX and PC5 interface: Base station also modify or configure the sidelink DRX configuration to consider of Uu DRX and PC5/sidelink DRX during a DRX Cyle, ie C-DRX ON” periods : [0154])
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teaching of CHENG to include the above recited limitations as taught by CHENG8840. The suggestion/motivation would be to support and improve device-to-device (D2D) communications, vehicle-based communications, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communications systems, vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communications systems, cellular V2X (C-V2X) communications systems (CHENG8840; [0004]).
With respect to independence claim:
Regarding claim 3, CHENG in view of CHENG8840 teaches claim 1 as shown above. Furthermore CHENG teaches, The method of claim 1, wherein the sidelink DRX configuration information is received from the BS (==Fig. 15: gNB), in case that the first UE (==Relay UE ) is in radio resource control (RRC)_CONNECTED and is performing sidelink operation with resource allocation mode 1 (aforesaid Relay UE and gNB in Fig. 15 are connected in RRC; Remote “UE may report its sidelink DRX preference to relay node via PC5 RRC message. ”: “The network entity decides remote UE specific sidelink DRX configuration, and sends it to relay node via RRC reconfiguration message. The relay node the forwards the sidelink DRX configuration to the remote UE (e.g., via a PC5 RRC message), and the remote UE applies the sidelink DRX as noted above. ”: [0095]-[0096]; “ the Relay UE is in CONNECTED mode only (==Mode 1 in claim ), rather than IDLE/INACTIVE. A remote UE, may be in a CONNECTED, IDLE/INACTIVE or out of coverage (OOC) modes.”: [0076]; [0107]).
Regarding claim 4, , CHENG in view of CHENG8840 teaches claim 1 as shown above. Furthermore CHENG teaches, The method of claim 1, wherein the sidelink DRX preference information comprises information indicating whether the sidelink DRX configuration information corresponds to Uu DRX configuration information (“Sidelink DRX modes may be used for broadcast, groupcast, and unicast operations. DRX configurations define on-durations and off-durations for sidelinks and specify the corresponding UE procedure. Aspects of the present disclosure may provide a mechanism that may help align sidelink DRX wake-up times among UEs (remote and relay UEs) communicating with each other and/or to align sidelink DRX wake-up times with Uu DRX wake-up times for in-coverage UEs. ”:[0070]; “For L3 relay scenarios, the remote UE may report its DRX preference (e.g., preferred parameters) to a relay node via PC5 RRC message. The relay node may decide the remote UE’s sidelink DRX configuration (e.g., according to the indicated preference or some other configuration). As an alternative, the relay node may forward the remote UE’s sidelink DRX preference to the network, for example, via a sidelink UE information (SUI) or UE assistance information (UAI), and the network entity may decide the remote UE SL DRX configuration. ”:[0089]).
Regarding claim 5, , CHENG in view of CHENG8840 teaches claim 1 as shown above. Furthermore CHENG teaches, The method of claim 1, wherein the sidelink DRX preference information is configured by the second UE (==Remote UE ) (see fig. 15 where DRX Preference information is asked by Remote UE : [0095]-[0096]).
Regarding claim 17, , CHENG in view of CHENG8840 teaches claim 1 as shown above. Furthermore CHENG teaches, The method of claim 1, wherein the sidelink DRX preference information is configured to have a value corresponding to a Uu DRX operation parameter (“Sidelink DRX modes may be used for broadcast, groupcast, and unicast operations. DRX configurations define on-durations and off-durations for sidelinks and specify the corresponding UE procedure. Aspects of the present disclosure may provide a mechanism that may help align sidelink DRX wake-up times among UEs (remote and relay UEs) communicating with each other and/or to align sidelink DRX wake-up times with Uu DRX wake-up times for in-coverage UEs. ”:[0070]; “For L3 relay scenarios, the remote UE may report its DRX preference (e.g., preferred parameters) to a relay node via PC5 RRC message. The relay node may decide the remote UE’s sidelink DRX configuration (e.g., according to the indicated preference or some other configuration). As an alternative, the relay node may forward the remote UE’s sidelink DRX preference to the network, for example, via a sidelink UE information (SUI) or UE assistance information (UAI), and the network entity may decide the remote UE SL DRX configuration. ”:[0089]).
Regarding claim 18, , CHENG in view of CHENG8840 teaches claim 6 as shown above. Furthermore CHENG teaches, The method of claim 6, wherein the sidelink DRX preference information is received from the first UE, in case that the first UE is in RRC_CONNECTED and is performing sidelink operation with resource allocation mode 1 (aforesaid Relay UE and gNB in Fig. 15 are connected in RRC; Remote “UE may report its sidelink DRX preference to relay node via PC5 RRC message. ”: “The network entity decides remote UE specific sidelink DRX configuration, and sends it to relay node via RRC reconfiguration message. The relay node the forwards the sidelink DRX configuration to the remote UE (e.g., via a PC5 RRC message), and the remote UE applies the sidelink DRX as noted above. ”: [0095]-[0096]; “ the Relay UE is in CONNECTED mode only (==Mode 1 in claim ), rather than IDLE/INACTIVE. A remote UE, may be in a CONNECTED, IDLE/INACTIVE or out of coverage (OOC) modes.”: [0076]; [0107]).
Regarding claim 19, , CHENG in view of CHENG8840 teaches claim 6 as shown above. Furthermore CHENG teaches, The method of claim 6, wherein the sidelink DRX preference information is configured to have a value corresponding to a Uu DRX operation parameter (“Sidelink DRX modes may be used for broadcast, groupcast, and unicast operations. DRX configurations define on-durations and off-durations for sidelinks and specify the corresponding UE procedure. Aspects of the present disclosure may provide a mechanism that may help align sidelink DRX wake-up times among UEs (remote and relay UEs) communicating with each other and/or to align sidelink DRX wake-up times with Uu DRX wake-up times for in-coverage UEs. ”:[0070]; “For L3 relay scenarios, the remote UE may report its DRX preference (e.g., preferred parameters) to a relay node via PC5 RRC message. The relay node may decide the remote UE’s sidelink DRX configuration (e.g., according to the indicated preference or some other configuration). As an alternative, the relay node may forward the remote UE’s sidelink DRX preference to the network, for example, via a sidelink UE information (SUI) or UE assistance information (UAI), and the network entity may decide the remote UE SL DRX configuration. ”:[0089]).
Regarding claim 8, the claim is interpreted and rejected for the same reason as set forth in claim 3.
Regarding claim 9, the claim is interpreted and rejected for the same reason as set forth in claim 4.
Regarding claim 10, the claim is interpreted and rejected for the same reason as set forth in claim 5.
Regarding claim 16, the claim is interpreted and rejected for the same reason as set forth in claim 3.
Conclusion
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 M MOSTAZIR RAHMAN whose telephone number is (571)272-4785. The examiner can normally be reached 8:30am-5:00pm PST.
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, Derrick Ferris can be reached at 571-272-3123. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/M Mostazir Rahman/Examiner, Art Unit 2411
/DERRICK W FERRIS/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2411