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 Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim 35 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Applicant's arguments filed 02/05/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Applicant asserts that Anh does not teach the limitation of “N configurations where N is more than one” and neither Ma or Anh teach or suggest a single N/ACK indicator shared across multiple configurations or channels. However, Anh further discloses ([0062], “When slot #(n+K1) is designated as a HARQ-ACK transmission time for a plurality of PDSCHs, the UCI transmitted in slot #(n+K1) includes a HARQ-ACK response to the plurality of PDSCHs.”) where the “HARQ-ACK response to the plurality of PDSCHs” suggests “N configurations where N is more than one”. Anh also states that spatial bundling can be used for the HARQ-ACK to be one bit response suggesting a “single N/ACK indicator”.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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 1-8, 11-12, 16, 18-21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ma et al. (US 2022/0061076) in view of Ahn et al. (US 2022/0104222).
Regarding claim 1, Ma discloses a method performed by a wireless communication device, comprising: receiving N configurations, where N is an integer greater than one ([0111], “S310: A network device sends first information to a terminal device, where the first information includes M transmission parameter groups, and M is an integer greater than or equal to 2.”) and the N configurations are N downlink semi-persistent scheduling (SPS) configurations or N uplink configured grant (CG) configurations ([0115], “The M transmission parameter groups in this application are M SPS configurations. Each SPS configuration includes one or more of the transmission period of the downlink data channel, the identifier of the transmission parameter group, and the modulation and coding scheme MCS table used for PDSCH transmission.”); and sending or receiving hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback ([0110], “FIG. 3 is a schematic flowchart of a method 300 for transmitting HARQ feedback information according to an embodiment of this application. As shown in FIG. 3, the method 300 includes the following steps.”) for N physical uplink or downlink shared channels that are associated to the N configurations ([0123], “S320: The network device sends K PDSCHs to the terminal device, where K is an integer greater than or equal to 2, each of the K PDSCHs corresponds to one of the M transmission parameter groups”) and belong to a same period ([0142], “S340: The terminal device sends, on the first transmission resource, HARQ feedback information corresponding to the K PDSCHs. Correspondingly, the network device receives, on the first transmission resource, the HARQ feedback information corresponding to the K PDSCHs from the terminal device.”). Ma does not disclose the HARQ codebook comprising a single HARQ ACK or NACK. Ahn discloses using a HARQ codebook ([0056], “The PUSCH transmission may be performed on a codebook basis or on a non-codebook basis.”) that comprises a single HARQ acknowledgement or negative acknowledgement (ACK/NACK) for the N physical uplink or downlink shared channels ([0062], “After receiving the PDSCH in slot #(n+K0) according to the scheduling information of slot #n, the UE may transmit UCI on the PUCCH in slot #(n+K1). Here, the UCI includes a HARQ-ACK response to the PDSCH. In the case where the PDSCH is configured to transmit a maximum of one TB, the HARQ-ACK response may be configured in one bit. In the case where the PDSCH is configured to transmit a maximum of two TBs, the HARQ-ACK response may be configured in two bits if spatial bundling is not configured and may be configured in one bit if spatial bundling is configured.”). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Ma in view of Ahn to have the HARQ codebook comprising a single HARQ ACK or NACK. The motivation would have been to reduce processing load (e.g., Ahn [0115]).
Regarding claim 2, Ma discloses the method of claim 1 wherein data is transmitted on at most one of the N physical uplink or downlink shared channels ([0123], “S320: The network device sends K PDSCHs to the terminal device, where K is an integer greater than or equal to 2, each of the K PDSCHs corresponds to one of the M transmission parameter groups”).
Regarding claim 3, Ma does not disclose the single HARQ ACK/NACK being a single bit in the codebook. Ahn discloses the method of claim 1 wherein the single HARQ ACK/NACK is a single bit in the HARQ codebook ([0062], “After receiving the PDSCH in slot #(n+K0) according to the scheduling information of slot #n, the UE may transmit UCI on the PUCCH in slot #(n+K1). Here, the UCI includes a HARQ-ACK response to the PDSCH. In the case where the PDSCH is configured to transmit a maximum of one TB, the HARQ-ACK response may be configured in one bit. In the case where the PDSCH is configured to transmit a maximum of two TBs, the HARQ-ACK response may be configured in two bits if spatial bundling is not configured and may be configured in one bit if spatial bundling is configured.”). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Ma in view of Ahn to have the HARQ codebook comprising a single HARQ ACK or NACK. The motivation would have been to reduce processing load (e.g., Ahn [0115]).
Regarding claim 4, Ma does not disclose the single HARQ ACK/NACK being a two or more bits in the codebook. Ahn discloses the method of claim 1 wherein the single HARQ ACK/NACK spans two or more bits in the HARQ codebook ([0062], “After receiving the PDSCH in slot #(n+K0) according to the scheduling information of slot #n, the UE may transmit UCI on the PUCCH in slot #(n+K1). Here, the UCI includes a HARQ-ACK response to the PDSCH. In the case where the PDSCH is configured to transmit a maximum of one TB, the HARQ-ACK response may be configured in one bit. In the case where the PDSCH is configured to transmit a maximum of two TBs, the HARQ-ACK response may be configured in two bits if spatial bundling is not configured and may be configured in one bit if spatial bundling is configured.”). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Ma in view of Ahn to have the HARQ codebook comprising a single HARQ ACK or NACK. The motivation would have been to reduce processing load (e.g., Ahn [0115]).
Regarding claim 5, Ma does not disclose the single HARQ ACK/NACK repeating more than once. Ahn discloses the method of claim 1 wherein the single HARQ ACK/NACK is repeated Y times in the HARQ codebook, where Y is an integer that is greater than 1 ([0062], “In the case where the PDSCH is configured to transmit a maximum of one TB, the HARQ-ACK response may be configured in one bit. In the case where the PDSCH is configured to transmit a maximum of two TBs, the HARQ-ACK response may be configured in two bits if spatial bundling is not configured and may be configured in one bit if spatial bundling is configured. When slot #(n+K1) is designated as a HARQ-ACK transmission time for a plurality of PDSCHs, the UCI transmitted in slot #(n+K1) includes a HARQ-ACK response to the plurality of PDSCHs.”). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Ma in view of Ahn to have the single HARQ ACK/NACK repeating more than once. The motivation would have been to reduce processing load (e.g., Ahn [0115]).
Regarding claim 6, Ma does not disclose the single HARQ ACK/NACK bit repeating more than once. Ahn discloses the method of claim 1 wherein the single HARQ ACK/NACK is a single bit that is repeated Y times in the HARQ codebook, where Y is an integer that is greater than 1 ([0062], “In the case where the PDSCH is configured to transmit a maximum of one TB, the HARQ-ACK response may be configured in one bit. In the case where the PDSCH is configured to transmit a maximum of two TBs, the HARQ-ACK response may be configured in two bits if spatial bundling is not configured and may be configured in one bit if spatial bundling is configured. When slot #(n+K1) is designated as a HARQ-ACK transmission time for a plurality of PDSCHs, the UCI transmitted in slot #(n+K1) includes a HARQ-ACK response to the plurality of PDSCHs.”). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Ma in view of Ahn to have the single HARQ ACK/NACK bit repeating more than once. The motivation would have been to reduce processing load (e.g., Ahn [0115]).
Regarding claim 7, Ma does not disclose the HARQ codebook repeating more than once. Anh discloses the method of claim 1 wherein sending or receiving the HARQ feedback for the N physical uplink or downlink shared channels comprises sending or receiving Q repetitions of the HARQ codebook, where Q is an integer that is greater than or equal to 1 ([0062], “After receiving the PDSCH in slot #(n+K0) according to the scheduling information of slot #n, the UE may transmit UCI on the PUCCH in slot #(n+K1). Here, the UCI includes a HARQ-ACK response to the PDSCH. In the case where the PDSCH is configured to transmit a maximum of one TB, the HARQ-ACK response may be configured in one bit. In the case where the PDSCH is configured to transmit a maximum of two TBs, the HARQ-ACK response may be configured in two bits if spatial bundling is not configured and may be configured in one bit if spatial bundling is configured. When slot #(n+K1) is designated as a HARQ-ACK transmission time for a plurality of PDSCHs, the UCI transmitted in slot #(n+K1) includes a HARQ-ACK response to the plurality of PDSCHs.”). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Ma in view of Ahn to have the HARQ codebook repeating more than once. The motivation would have been to reduce processing load (e.g., Ahn [0115]).
Regarding claim 8, Ma does not disclose the control information allocating the codebook for PUSCH. Ahn discloses the method of claim 1 further comprising receiving control information that describes an allocation of the HARQ codebook for the N physical downlink or uplink shared channels ([0056], “PUSCH transmission may be dynamically scheduled by the UL grant in the DCI or semi-statically scheduled based on higher layer (e.g., RRC) signaling (and/or Layer 1 (L1) signaling (e.g., PDCCH)) (configured grant). The PUSCH transmission may be performed on a codebook basis or on a non-codebook basis.”). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Ma in view of Ahn to have the control information allocating the codebook for PUSCH. The motivation would have been to reduce processing load (e.g., Ahn [0115]).
Regarding claim 11, Ma discloses the method of claim 1 wherein the HARQ codebook further comprises additional HARQ feedback ([0214], “The terminal device may add the HARQ feedback information corresponding to the K PDSCHs after the HARQ feedback information corresponding to the dynamically scheduled PDSCH, to generate new HARQ feedback information, which is referred to as a HARQ-ACK codebook, and then send the new HARQ feedback information on the first transmission resource.”).
Regarding claim 12, Ma discloses the method of claim 11 wherein the additional HARQ feedback comprises HARQ feedback for one or more dynamic physical downlink or uplink shared channels ([0213], “Optionally, on the first transmission resource, not only the HARQ feedback information corresponding to the K PDSCHs needs to be sent, but also HARQ feedback information corresponding to a dynamically scheduled PDSCH may be sent. The dynamically scheduled PDSCH refers to a PDSCH whose corresponding PDCCH needs to be sent each time new data is transmitted.”).
Regarding claim 16, Ma discloses a wireless communication device comprising: one or more transmitters; one or more receivers; and processing circuitry associated with the one or more transmitters and the one or more receivers, the processing circuitry configured to cause the wireless communication device to ([0312], “The apparatus 700 includes a transceiver module 710 and a processing module 720.”): receive N configurations, where N is an integer greater than one ([0111], “S310: A network device sends first information to a terminal device, where the first information includes M transmission parameter groups, and M is an integer greater than or equal to 2.”) and the N configurations are N downlink semi-persistent scheduling (SPS) configurations or N uplink configured grant (CG) configurations ([0115], “The M transmission parameter groups in this application are M SPS configurations. Each SPS configuration includes one or more of the transmission period of the downlink data channel, the identifier of the transmission parameter group, and the modulation and coding scheme MCS table used for PDSCH transmission.”); and send or receive hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback for N physical uplink or downlink shared channels that are associated to the N configurations ([0123], “S320: The network device sends K PDSCHs to the terminal device, where K is an integer greater than or equal to 2, each of the K PDSCHs corresponds to one of the M transmission parameter groups”) and belong to a same period ([0142], “S340: The terminal device sends, on the first transmission resource, HARQ feedback information corresponding to the K PDSCHs. Correspondingly, the network device receives, on the first transmission resource, the HARQ feedback information corresponding to the K PDSCHs from the terminal device.”). Ma does not disclose the HARQ codebook comprising a single HARQ ACK or NACK. Ahn discloses using a HARQ codebook ([0056], “The PUSCH transmission may be performed on a codebook basis or on a non-codebook basis.”) that comprises a single HARQ acknowledgement or negative acknowledgement (ACK/NACK) for the N physical uplink or downlink shared channels ([0062], “After receiving the PDSCH in slot #(n+K0) according to the scheduling information of slot #n, the UE may transmit UCI on the PUCCH in slot #(n+K1). Here, the UCI includes a HARQ-ACK response to the PDSCH. In the case where the PDSCH is configured to transmit a maximum of one TB, the HARQ-ACK response may be configured in one bit. In the case where the PDSCH is configured to transmit a maximum of two TBs, the HARQ-ACK response may be configured in two bits if spatial bundling is not configured and may be configured in one bit if spatial bundling is configured.”). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Ma in view of Ahn to have the HARQ codebook comprising a single HARQ ACK or NACK. The motivation would have been to reduce processing load (e.g., Ahn [0115]).
Regarding claim 18, Ma discloses a method performed by a base station comprising: sending N configurations to a wireless communication device, where N is an integer greater than one ([0111], “S310: A network device sends first information to a terminal device, where the first information includes M transmission parameter groups, and M is an integer greater than or equal to 2.”) and the N configurations are N downlink semi-persistent scheduling (SPS) configurations or N uplink configured grant (CG) configurations ([0115], “The M transmission parameter groups in this application are M SPS configurations. Each SPS configuration includes one or more of the transmission period of the downlink data channel, the identifier of the transmission parameter group, and the modulation and coding scheme MCS table used for PDSCH transmission.”); and sending or receiving hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback ([0110], “FIG. 3 is a schematic flowchart of a method 300 for transmitting HARQ feedback information according to an embodiment of this application. As shown in FIG. 3, the method 300 includes the following steps.”) for N physical uplink or downlink shared channels that are associated to the N configurations ([0123], “S320: The network device sends K PDSCHs to the terminal device, where K is an integer greater than or equal to 2, each of the K PDSCHs corresponds to one of the M transmission parameter groups”) and belong to a same period ([0142], “S340: The terminal device sends, on the first transmission resource, HARQ feedback information corresponding to the K PDSCHs. Correspondingly, the network device receives, on the first transmission resource, the HARQ feedback information corresponding to the K PDSCHs from the terminal device.”). Ma does not disclose the HARQ codebook comprising a single HARQ ACK or NACK. Ahn discloses using a HARQ codebook ([0056], “The PUSCH transmission may be performed on a codebook basis or on a non-codebook basis.”) that comprises a single HARQ acknowledgement or negative acknowledgement (ACK/NACK for the N physical uplink or downlink shared channels ([0062], “After receiving the PDSCH in slot #(n+K0) according to the scheduling information of slot #n, the UE may transmit UCI on the PUCCH in slot #(n+K1). Here, the UCI includes a HARQ-ACK response to the PDSCH. In the case where the PDSCH is configured to transmit a maximum of one TB, the HARQ-ACK response may be configured in one bit. In the case where the PDSCH is configured to transmit a maximum of two TBs, the HARQ-ACK response may be configured in two bits if spatial bundling is not configured and may be configured in one bit if spatial bundling is configured.”). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Ma in view of Ahn to have the HARQ codebook comprising a single HARQ ACK or NACK. The motivation would have been to reduce processing load (e.g., Ahn [0115]).
Regarding claim 19, Ma discloses the method of claim 18 wherein data is transmitted on at most one of the N physical uplink or downlink shared channels ([0123], “S320: The network device sends K PDSCHs to the terminal device, where K is an integer greater than or equal to 2, each of the K PDSCHs corresponds to one of the M transmission parameter groups”).
Regarding claim 20, Ma does not disclose the single HARQ ACK/NACK being a single bit in the codebook. Ahn discloses the method of claim 18 wherein the single HARQ ACK/NACK is a single bit in the HARQ codebook ([0062], “After receiving the PDSCH in slot #(n+K0) according to the scheduling information of slot #n, the UE may transmit UCI on the PUCCH in slot #(n+K1). Here, the UCI includes a HARQ-ACK response to the PDSCH. In the case where the PDSCH is configured to transmit a maximum of one TB, the HARQ-ACK response may be configured in one bit. In the case where the PDSCH is configured to transmit a maximum of two TBs, the HARQ-ACK response may be configured in two bits if spatial bundling is not configured and may be configured in one bit if spatial bundling is configured.”). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Ma in view of Ahn to have the HARQ codebook comprising a single HARQ ACK or NACK. The motivation would have been to reduce processing load (e.g., Ahn [0115]).
Regarding claim 21, Ma does not disclose the single HARQ ACK/NACK being a two or more bits in the codebook. Ahn discloses the method of claim 18 wherein the single HARQ ACK/NACK spans two or more bits in the HARQ codebook ([0062], “After receiving the PDSCH in slot #(n+K0) according to the scheduling information of slot #n, the UE may transmit UCI on the PUCCH in slot #(n+K1). Here, the UCI includes a HARQ-ACK response to the PDSCH. In the case where the PDSCH is configured to transmit a maximum of one TB, the HARQ-ACK response may be configured in one bit. In the case where the PDSCH is configured to transmit a maximum of two TBs, the HARQ-ACK response may be configured in two bits if spatial bundling is not configured and may be configured in one bit if spatial bundling is configured.”). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Ma in view of Ahn to have the HARQ codebook comprising a single HARQ ACK or NACK. The motivation would have been to reduce processing load (e.g., Ahn [0115]).
Claims 9-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ma et al. (US 2022/0061076) in view of Ahn et al. (US 2022/0104222) and further in view of Yang et al. (US 2021/0258102; hereinafter Yang 102).
Regarding claim 9, Ma in view of Ahn does not disclose the control information indicating location of the HARQ codebook for the DL or UL shared channel. Yang 102 discloses the method of claim 8 wherein the control information explicitly indicates a location of the HARQ codebook for a particular one of the N physical downlink or uplink shared channels ([0105], “For HARQ feedback associated with a Type 1 codebook, the UE 115 and the base station 105 may determine a location and/or size of the codebook based on a configured rule (e.g., regardless of a number or amount of HARQ feedback bits to be transmitted by the UE 115).”). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Ma in view of Ahn and further in view of Yang 102 to have the control information indicating location of the HARQ codebook for the DL or UL shared channel. The motivation would have been to increase the likelihood that data is received successfully (e.g., Yang 102 [0103]).
Regarding claim 10, Ma in view of Ahn does not disclose the control information associating the configurations. Yang 102 discloses the method of claim 8 wherein the control information associates the N configurations ([0067], “The base station may transmit multiple downlink transmissions to the UE, where a downlink control information (DCI) message or radio resource control (RRC) information associated with a respective downlink transmission may indicate whether feedback associated with the downlink transmission is super-ACK feedback or HARQ feedback.”). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Ma in view of Ahn and further in view of Yang 102 to have the control information associating the configurations. The motivation would have been to increase the likelihood that data is received successfully (e.g., Yang 102 [0103]).
Claims 13 and 35 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ma et al. (US 2022/0061076) in view of Ahn et al. (US 2022/0104222) and further in view of Yang et al. (US 2020/0374089; hereinafter Yang 089).
Regarding claim 13, Ma in view of Ahn does not disclose the HARQ feedback for one or more SPS PDSCH. Yang 089 discloses the method of claim 11 wherein the additional HARQ feedback comprise HARQ feedback for one or more other SPS physical downlink shared channels or one or more other CG physical uplink shared channels ([0156], “Additionally, the SPS configurations may indicate a number of configured processes (e.g., HARQ processes) for the SPS 205 (e.g., downlink SPS). In some cases, the number of configured processes may range from one to eight. In some cases, the SPS configurations may include resource(s) (e.g., HARQ resources) for PUCCH 210 for transmitting ACK messages (e.g., an ACK 220) for PDSCHs 215 in the corresponding SPS 205.”). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Ma in view of Ahn and further in view of Yang 089 to have the HARQ feedback for one or more SPS PDSCH. The motivation would have been to improve link efficiency (e.g., Yang 089 [0136]).
Regarding claim 35, Ma in view of Ahn does not explicitly disclose the ACK or NACK after decoding N configurations. Yang 089 discloses the method of claim 1 wherein selecting the HARQ feedback comprises: where data is decoded on one of the N configurations in the same period, the wireless communications device sends a single ACK; where data could not be decoded on any of the N configurations in the same period, then the wireless communications device sends a single NACK ([0157], “Accordingly, base station 105-a may configure PUCCH 210 to carry ACKs 220 (e.g., HARQ ACK feedback messages, ACK feedback messages, ACK feedbacks, etc.) that UE 115-a transmits for the PDSCHs 215. For example, UE 115-a may transmit ACKs 220 to indicate whether a corresponding PDSCH 215 was received and decoded successfully (e.g., an ACK if successfully received and decoded or a NACK if unsuccessfully received or decoded). In some cases, base station 105-a may configure UE 115-a to transmit an ACK 220 in a next occurring slot that a PDSCH 215 is transmitted to UE 115-a. Additionally or alternatively, base station 105-a may configure UE 115-a to transmit an ACK 220 a number of slots (e.g., K1 slots) after a PDSCH 215 is transmitted to UE 115-a. Accordingly, this number of slots may be an integer signaled in a downlink control information (DCI) message that activates the SPS 205 for the PDSCH 215 transmissions.”; [0162], “Additionally or alternatively, if multiple PDSCHs 215 are received within a slot 225, then UE 115-a may determine a PUCCH resource to use for transmitting the corresponding ACKs 220 based on the separate configuration message and the number of ACK information bits needed to be transmitted (e.g., number of ACKs to transmit). In some cases, UE 115-a may multiplex the multiple ACKs 220 into a single ACK feedback message (e.g., based on different codebooks).”). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Ma in view of Ahn and further in view of Yang 089 to have the ACK or NACK after decoding N configurations. The motivation would have been to improve link efficiency (e.g., Yang 089 [0136]).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 36 is objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). 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 Nick A Sundara whose telephone number is (571)272-6749. The examiner can normally be reached M-TH 7:30-5:30 EST.
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, Jae Y. Lee can be reached at (571) 270-3936. 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.
/NICK ANON SUNDARA/Examiner, Art Unit 2479 /JAE Y LEE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2479
Prosecution Insights