CTNF 18/049,498 CTNF 96576 DETAILED ACTION Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status 07-03-aia AIA 15-10-aia The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA. 07-06 AIA 15-10-15 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 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. Election/Restrictions Applicant’s election without traverse of Group I, drawn to claims 1-10, in the reply filed on Apr 29 2026 is acknowledged. Nonelected claims 11-20 were canceled in Applicant’s reply. Claim Status Claims 1-10 are pending. Claims 11-20 are canceled. Claims 1 and 7-8 are objected to. Claims 1-10 are rejected. Priority The instant Application was filed Oct 25 2022 and does not claim the benefit of an earlier filed application. Information Disclosure Statement The information disclosure statement (IDS) filed on Nov 18 2024 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97 and has therefore been considered. A signed copy of the IDS document is included with this Office Action. 06-49-07 The information disclosure statement filed May 10 2024 fails to comply with 37 CFR 1.98(a)(2), which requires a legible copy of each cited foreign patent document; each non-patent literature publication or that portion which caused it to be listed; and all other information or that portion which caused it to be listed. It has been placed in the application file, but the NPL information referred to therein has not been considered. Drawings The Drawings submitted Oct 25 2022 are accepted. Nucleotide and/or Amino Acid Sequence Disclosures REQUIREMENTS FOR PATENT APPLICATIONS CONTAINING NUCLEOTIDE AND/OR AMINO ACID SEQUENCE DISCLOSURES Items 1) and 2) provide general guidance related to requirements for sequence disclosures. 37 CFR 1.821(c) requires that patent applications which contain disclosures of nucleotide and/or amino acid sequences that fall within the definitions of 37 CFR 1.821(a) must contain a "Sequence Listing," as a separate part of the disclosure, which presents the nucleotide and/or amino acid sequences and associated information using the symbols and format in accordance with the requirements of 37 CFR 1.821 - 1.825. This "Sequence Listing" part of the disclosure may be submitted: In accordance with 37 CFR 1.821(c)(1) via the USPTO patent electronic filing system (see Section I.1 of the Legal Framework for Patent Electronic System (https://www.uspto.gov/PatentLegalFramework), hereinafter "Legal Framework") as an ASCII text file, together with an incorporation-by-reference of the material in the ASCII text file in a separate paragraph of the specification as required by 37 CFR 1.823(b)(1) identifying: the name of the ASCII text file; ii) the date of creation; and iii) the size of the ASCII text file in bytes; In accordance with 37 CFR 1.821(c)(1) on read-only optical disc(s) as permitted by 37 CFR 1.52(e)(1)(ii), labeled according to 37 CFR 1.52(e)(5), with an incorporation-by-reference of the material in the ASCII text file according to 37 CFR 1.52(e)(8) and 37 CFR 1.823(b)(1) in a separate paragraph of the specification identifying: the name of the ASCII text file; the date of creation; and the size of the ASCII text file in bytes; In accordance with 37 CFR 1.821(c)(2) via the USPTO patent electronic filing system as a PDF file (not recommended); or In accordance with 37 CFR 1.821(c)(3) on physical sheets of paper (not recommended). When a “Sequence Listing” has been submitted as a PDF file as in 1(c) above (37 CFR 1.821(c)(2)) or on physical sheets of paper as in 1(d) above (37 CFR 1.821(c)(3)), 37 CFR 1.821(e)(1) requires a computer readable form (CRF) of the “Sequence Listing” in accordance with the requirements of 37 CFR 1.824. If the "Sequence Listing" required by 37 CFR 1.821(c) is filed via the USPTO patent electronic filing system as a PDF, then 37 CFR 1.821(e)(1)(ii) or 1.821(e)(2)(ii) requires submission of a statement that the "Sequence Listing" content of the PDF copy and the CRF copy (the ASCII text file copy) are identical. If the "Sequence Listing" required by 37 CFR 1.821(c) is filed on paper or read-only optical disc, then 37 CFR 1.821(e)(1)(ii) or 1.821(e)(2)(ii) requires submission of a statement that the "Sequence Listing" content of the paper or read-only optical disc copy and the CRF are identical. The specification includes sequences which fall within the definitions of 37 CFR 1.821(a) at least in FIG. 4-5, but does not include a sequence listing with SEQ IDs. Specific deficiencies and the required response to this Office Action are as follows: A. Specific deficiency - This application fails to comply with the requirements of 37 CFR 1.821 - 1.825 because it does not contain a "Sequence Listing" as a separate part of the disclosure or a CRF of the “Sequence Listing.”. Required response - Applicant must provide: A "Sequence Listing" part of the disclosure; together with An amendment specifically directing its entry into the application in accordance with 37 CFR 1.825(a)(2) ; A statement that the "Sequence Listing" includes no new matter as required by 37 CFR 1.821(a)(4); and A statement that indicates support for the amendment in the application, as filed, as required by 37 CFR 1.825(a)(3). If the "Sequence Listing" part of the disclosure is submitted according to item 1) a) or b) above, Applicant must also provide: A substitute specification in compliance with 37 CFR 1.52, 1.121(b)(3) and 1.125 inserting the required incorporation-by-reference paragraph, consisting of: A copy of the previously-submitted specification, with deletions shown with strikethrough or brackets and insertions shown with underlining (marked-up version); A copy of the amended specification without markings (clean version); and A statement that the substitute specification contains no new matter. If the "Sequence Listing" part of the disclosure is submitted according to item 1) c) or d) above, applicant must also provide: A CRF in accordance with 37 CFR 1.821(e)(1) or 1.821(e)(2) as required by 1.825(a)(5); and A statement according to item 2) a) or b) above. B. Specific deficiency - This application fails to comply with the requirements of 37 CFR 1.821 - 1.825 because the application does not contain a statement that the CRF is identical to the "Sequence Listing" part of the disclosure, as described above in item 1), as required by 37 CFR 1.821(e)(1)(ii) or 1.821(e)(2)(ii). Required response - Applicant must provide such statement. C. Specific deficiency - This application contains a “Sequence Listing as a PDF file (37 CFR 1.821(c)(2)) or as physical sheets of paper (37 CFR 1.821(c)(3)), but fails to comply with the requirements of 37 CFR 1.821 - 1.825 because a copy of the "Sequence Listing" in computer readable form (CRF) has not been submitted as required by 37 CFR 1.821(e)(1)(i) or 1.821(e)(2)(i) as indicated in item 2) above. Required response - Applicant must provide: A new CRF of the “Sequence Listing” in accordance with 37 CFR 1.821(e)(1)(i) or 1.821(e)(2)(i) and A statement that the content of the CRF is identical of the “Sequence Listing” part of the disclosure, submitted as a PDF file (37 CFR 1.821(c)(2)) or on physical sheets of paper (37 CFR 1.821(c)(3)), as required by 37 CFR 1.821(e)(1)(ii) or 1.821(e)(2)(ii). D. Specific deficiency – Nucleotide and/or amino acid sequences appearing in the specification are not identified by sequence identifiers in accordance with 37 CFR 1.821(d). Required response – Applicant must provide: A substitute specification in compliance with 37 CFR 1.52, 1.121(b)(3) and 1.125 inserting the required sequence identifiers, consisting of: A copy of the previously-submitted specification, with deletions shown with strikethrough or brackets and insertions shown with underlining (marked-up version); A copy of the amended specification without markings (clean version); and A statement that the substitute specification contains no new matter. E. Specific deficiency – Nucleotide and/or amino acid sequences appearing in the drawings are not identified by sequence identifiers in accordance with 37 CFR 1.821(d). Sequence identifiers for nucleotide and/or amino acid sequences must appear either in the drawings or in the Brief Description of the Drawings. Required response – Applicant must provide: Replacement and annotated drawings in accordance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) inserting the required sequence identifiers; AND/OR A substitute specification in compliance with 37 CFR 1.52, 1.121(b)(3) and 1.125 inserting the required sequence identifiers into the Brief Description of the Drawings, consisting of: A copy of the previously-submitted specification, with deletions shown with strikethrough or brackets and insertions shown with underlining (marked-up version); A copy of the amended specification without markings (clean version); and A statement that the substitute specification contains no new matter. F. Specific deficiency - The Incorporation by Reference paragraph required by 37 CFR 1.821(c)(1) is missing or incomplete. See item 1) a) or 1) b) above. Required response – Applicant must provide: A substitute specification in compliance with 37 CFR 1.52, 1.121(b)(3) and 1.125 inserting the required incorporation-by-reference paragraph, consisting of: A copy of the previously-submitted specification, with deletions shown with strikethrough or brackets and insertions shown with underlining (marked-up version); A copy of the amended specification without markings (clean version); and A statement that the substitute specification contains no new matter. Claim Objections The claims are objected to for the following informalities: In claim 1 , the two “wherein” limitations starting on the second and third rows of the first limitation should each begin on separate lines. Claim 7 and claim 8 , second limitation, recites “permutations of the corresponding of the plurality of portions”, which appears to be grammatically incorrect. It is assumed that the limitations should be amended to recite “permutations of the corresponding ones of the plurality of portions”, as is recited earlier in the claims. Claim 7 and claim 8 , second limitation, recites “large genetic sequence”, which should be amended to recite “large r genetic sequence” to maintain consistent claim language. Claim 8 , first limitation, recites “where the APM device comprises a plurality of tiles each of the plurality of tiles comprising…”, which appears to be missing a comma and/or a word. The limitation should be amended to recite “where the APM device comprises a plurality of tiles , each of the plurality of tiles comprising…” or similar. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101 The claims are found to be patent eligible because they are directed to an apparatus comprising an associative processing memory device comprising memory cells storing nucleotides of a genetic sequence in a specific manner, which is configured to provide a result of a comparison between the stored sequence and a second sequence. The claims therefore do not recite a judicial exception at Step 2A, Prong 1, and even if they were considered to recite a judicial exception of comparing the genetic sequences, the device recites a particular machine at Step 2A, Prong 2, for performing the judicial exception. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 07-07-aia AIA 07-07 The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action: A person shall be entitled to a patent unless – 07-08-aia AIA (a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention. 07-12-aia AIA (a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention. 07-15 AIA Claim s 1-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102( a)(1 ) as being anticipated by Angizi et al. (Proceedings of the 56th Annual Design Automation Conference, 2019 , p. 1-6; newly cited) . Claim 1 discloses an apparatus comprising: an associative processing memory (APM) device comprising a plane including an array of memory cells organized in a plurality of rows and a plurality of columns, Angizi discloses an energy-efficient and parallel Processing-in-Memory accelerator (AlignS) to execute DNA short read alignment based on an optimized and hardware-friendly alignment algorithm (abstract). Angizi teaches that AlignS harnesses SOT-MRAM as computational memory ( i.e. , an apparatus comprising an associative processing memory device ) (abstract). Angizi teaches that the main memory rank is a set of MRAM chips, each divided into multiple Banks, each bank consisting of multiple memory matrices (mats), each mat consisting of multiple computation memory sub-arrays ( i.e. , plane ) (p. 2-3, section 2 ALIGNS ARCHITECTURE; Figure 1). Angizi teaches that each SOT-MRAM cell is located in computational sub- arrays , where Angizi also refers to the cells as memory cells (p. 2, col. 1, par. 3 through col. 2, par. 1; Figure 1b). Angizi teaches and illustrates the memory cells being arranged in a plurality of columns and rows (p. 2, col. 2, par. 2; Figure 1b). wherein individual columns of the plurality of columns store data corresponding to a first genetic sequence, Angizi teaches pre-computing tables of a reference genome which are saved into memory arrays (p. 3, col. 2, par. 2; p. 2, col. 2, par. 2). Angizi teaches constructing a BW matrix by circulating the string of nucleotide sequences and then lexicographically sorting them, thereby providing a suffix array of the reference genome (p. 3, col. 2, par. 1; Figure 4). Angizi teaches storing the BWT, Marker Table, and Suffix Array in the memory cells of the sub-array, where individual columns are illustrated to store the sorted nucleotides of the reference sequence ( i.e. , data corresponding to a first genetic sequence ) (p. 3, col. 2, par. 2; p. 4, col. 2, par. 2; Figures 4-6(a)). wherein individual rows of the corresponding individual columns store data corresponding to a nucleotide of a plurality of nucleotides of the first genetic sequence, Angizi teaches storing the BWT and the Suffix Array in the memory cells of the sub-array, where each row is illustrated to store each nucleotide in a memory cell, corresponding to the BW matrix stored in the columns (p. 3, col. 2, par. 2; Figures 4-6(a)). wherein a first row of the plurality of columns stores data corresponding to the first genetic sequence and subsequent rows of the plurality of columns store data corresponding to permutations of the first genetic sequence, Angizi teaches and illustrates an example of generating the BW matrix of the sequence ATTCG, where the first row of the BW matrix holds the sequence ATTCG ( i.e. , a first row of the plurality of columns stores data corresponding to the first genetic sequence ), and each subsequent row holds a sorted permutation of the circulated string of the reference nucleotide sequence (p. 3, col. 2, par. 1; Figure 4). As Angizi teaches storing the BWT and the Suffix Array in the memory cells of the sub-array (p. 3, col. 2, par. 2; Figures 4-6(a)), it is considered that Angizi fairly teaches the instant limitation. wherein the APM device is configured to provide a result for the plane, wherein the result is based, at least in part, on a comparison of the first genetic sequence to a second genetic sequence. Angizi teaches that the computation sub-array of AlignS is optimized to perform ( i.e. , configured to ) two bulk bit-wise in-memory logic operations between the operands located in the same bit-line (p. 2, col. 2, par. 2 through p. 3, col. 1, par. 2; Figure 1(b-c)). Angizi teaches a read searching operation ( i.e. , a result for the plane ) to compare reads with the stored BW matrix of the reference sequence in the sub-array (p. 4, col. 1, par. 2; Figure 5). Regarding claim 2 , Angizi teaches claim 1 as described above. Claim 2 further adds that the result comprises a plurality of values, wherein a number of values of the plurality of values is equal to a number of the plurality of columns, wherein individual ones of the values indicate a number of nucleotides in a second genetic sequence that match the plurality of nucleotides of the first genetic sequence stored in corresponding ones of the plurality of columns. Angizi teaches an XNOR_Match procedure to locate input nucleotide T in a sub-array storing the reference sequence (p. 4, col. 2, par. 3 through p. 5, col. 1, par. 1), where the output “count_match” is illustrated as a row of values for each nucleotide stored in a the columns and rows of the sub-array (Figure 7). Regarding claim 3 , Angizi teaches claim 1 as described above. Claim 3 further adds that the permutations of the first genetic sequence comprise shifted permutations of the first genetic sequence. Angizi teaches that the BW matrix is constructed by circulating ( i.e. , shifted permutations ) the string of nucleotide sequences, where the BWT is a permutation of the characters of the string (p. 3, col. 2, par. 1; Figure 4). Regarding claim 4 , Angizi teaches claims 1 and 3 as described above. Claim 4 further adds that the shifted permutations are shifted by one nucleotide per column of the plurality of columns. Angizi teaches that the BW matrix is constructed by circulating ( i.e. , shifted by one nucleotide ) and then sorting the string of nucleotide sequences (p. 3, col. 2, par. 1; Figure 4). Regarding claim 5 , Angizi teaches claim 1 as described above. Claim 5 further adds a plurality of APM devices, wherein the APM device is included in the plurality of APM devices. Angizi teaches that the main memory rank is a set of MRAM chips, each divided into multiple Banks, each bank consisting of multiple memory matrices (mats), each mat consisting of multiple computation memory sub-arrays ( i.e. , plane ) (p. 2-3, section 2 ALIGNS ARCHITECTURE; Figure 1). Any of the MRAM chips, Banks, and mats taught by Angizi reads on a plurality of APM devices as instantly claimed. Regarding claim 6 , Angizi teaches claims 1 and 5 as described above. Claim 6 further adds that the plurality of APM devices store corresponding ones of a first plurality of genetic sequences, wherein the first genetic sequence is included in the first plurality of genetic sequences. Angizi teaches that in order to enable fast memory access and parallel in-memory computing, the data in BWT, Marker Table, and Suffix Array have to be reconstructed and saved into different memory arrays, banks, and chips (p. 3, col. 1, par. 2; p. 4, col. 1, par. 3 through p. 5, col. 1, par. 1; Figure 7), which reads on storing a corresponding one of a first plurality of genetic sequences as instantly claimed. Regarding claim 7 , Angizi teaches claim 1 as described above. Claim 7 further adds that the APM device comprises a tile comprising a plurality of planes, wherein the plane is included in the plurality of planes, wherein individual ones of the plurality of planes store corresponding ones of a plurality of portions of a larger genetic sequence and permutations of the corresponding of the plurality of portions of the large genetic sequence, wherein the first genetic sequence is included in the plurality of portions of the large genetic sequence. Angizi teaches that the main memory rank is a set of MRAM chips, each divided into multiple Banks, each bank consisting of multiple memory matrices (mats) ( i.e. , tile ), each mat consisting of multiple computation memory sub-arrays ( i.e. , a plane in a plurality of planes ) (p. 2-3, section 2 ALIGNS ARCHITECTURE; Figure 1). Angizi teaches that in order to enable fast memory access and parallel in-memory computing, the data in BWT, Marker Table, and Suffix Array have to be reconstructed and saved into different memory arrays, banks, and chips (p. 3, col. 1, par. 2; p. 4, col. 1, par. 3 through p. 5, col. 1, par. 1; Figure 7), which reads on storing a corresponding larger genetic sequence and its permutations as instantly claimed. Regarding claim 8 , Angizi teaches claim 1 as described above. Claim 8 further adds that the APM device comprises a plurality of tiles each of the plurality of tiles comprising a plurality of planes, wherein the plane is included in the plurality of planes of one of the plurality of tiles, wherein a plane of each of the plurality of planes of each of the plurality of tiles are included in a hyperplane, wherein individual planes of the hyperplane store corresponding ones of a plurality of portions of a larger genetic sequence and permutations of the corresponding of the plurality of portions of the large genetic sequence, wherein the first genetic sequence is included in the plurality of portions of the larger genetic sequence. Angizi teaches that the main memory rank is a set of MRAM chips, each divided into multiple Banks, each bank consisting of multiple memory matrices (mats) ( i.e. , tile ), each mat consisting of multiple computation memory sub-arrays ( i.e. , a plane in a plurality of planes ) (p. 2-3, section 2 ALIGNS ARCHITECTURE; Figure 1). Angizi teaches that in order to enable fast memory access and parallel in-memory computing, the data in BWT, Marker Table, and Suffix Array have to be reconstructed and saved into different memory arrays, banks, and chips (p. 3, col. 1, par. 2; p. 4, col. 1, par. 3 through p. 5, col. 1, par. 1; Figure 7), which reads on storing a corresponding larger genetic sequence and its permutations in a hyperplane as instantly claimed. Regarding claim 9 , Angizi teaches claims 1 and 8 as described above. Claim 9 further adds that the APM device is further configured to provide a plurality of results for the plurality of planes of the hyperplane. Angizi teaches parallel search across the banks, mats, and memory sub-arrays in the multiple chips ( i.e. , p. 4, col. 2, par. 2 through p. 5, col. 1, par. 1; Figure 7 ) . Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 07-20-aia AIA 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. 07-23-aia AIA The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows: 1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art. 2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue. 3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art. 4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness. 07-20-02-aia AIA This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention. 07-21-aia AIA Claim 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Angizi , as applied to claim 1 in the above 35 USC 102 rejection, and in view of Jiang et al. (IEEE International Symposium on High-Performance Computer Architecture (HPCA), 2021, p. 399-411; newly cited) . Regarding claim 10 , Angizi teaches claim 1 as described above. Claim 10 further adds that the memory cells comprise content addressable memory cells, which Angizi does not teach. However, the prior art to Jiang discloses a hardware accelerator to enhance FM-Index search throughput (abstract). Jiang teaches implementing their accelerator with content-addressable memory (CAM), which can perform sorting operations (p. 8, col. 2, par. 2). Jiang teaches that k -mer and positions of a request are stored in one row of the CAM (p. 8, col. 2, par. 2). It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine, in the course of routine experimentation and with a reasonable expectation of success, Angizi and Jiang because both references disclose processing-in-memory (PIM) devices for read alignment to a reference genome. Jiang explicitly identifies Angizi as a PIM in the same field (p. 5, col. 1, par. 2). The motivation to substitute the memory cells of Angizi with the content-addressable memory cells of Jiang would have been to fully utilize the available DRAM bandwidth, as taught by Jiang. (p. 5, col. 1, par. 2). Therefore, it would have been obvious to store the BWT, Marker Table, and Suffix Array of Angizi in the CAM taught by Jiang for subsequent read searching. Double Patenting 08-33 AIA The nonstatutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper timewise extension of the “right to exclude” granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A nonstatutory double patenting rejection is appropriate where the conflicting claims are not identical, but at least one examined application claim is not patentably distinct from the reference claim(s) because the examined application claim is either anticipated by, or would have been obvious over, the reference claim(s). See, e.g., In re Berg , 140 F.3d 1428, 46 USPQ2d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Goodman , 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi , 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Van Ornum , 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel , 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); In re Thorington , 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969). A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on nonstatutory double patenting provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with the examined application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. See MPEP § 717.02 for applications subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA as explained in MPEP § 2159. See MPEP § 2146 et seq. for applications not subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA. A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b). The filing of a terminal disclaimer by itself is not a complete reply to a nonstatutory double patenting (NSDP) rejection. A complete reply requires that the terminal disclaimer be accompanied by a reply requesting reconsideration of the prior Office action. Even where the NSDP rejection is provisional the reply must be complete. See MPEP § 804, subsection I.B.1. For a reply to a non-final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.111(a). For a reply to final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.113(c). A request for reconsideration while not provided for in 37 CFR 1.113(c) may be filed after final for consideration. See MPEP §§ 706.07(e) and 714.13. The USPTO Internet website contains terminal disclaimer forms which may be used. Please visit www.uspto.gov/patent/patents-forms. The actual filing date of the application in which the form is filed determines what form (e.g., PTO/SB/25, PTO/SB/26, PTO/AIA/25, or PTO/AIA/26) should be used. A web-based eTerminal Disclaimer may be filled out completely online using web-screens. An eTerminal Disclaimer that meets all requirements is auto-processed and approved immediately upon submission. For more information about eTerminal Disclaimers, refer to www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/applying-online/eterminal-disclaimer. Claims 1-4 and 7 are provisionally rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-2, 6-7, and 10 of copending Application No. 18/049,498 (reference application). Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other for the following reasons. Claims 5-6 and 8-9 are provisionally rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claim 1 and 7 of copending Application No. 18/049,498 in view of Angizi et al. (Proceedings of the 56th Annual Design Automation Conference, 2019 , p. 1-6; newly cited). Claim 10 is provisionally rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claim 1 of copending Application No. 18/049,498 in view of Jiang et al. (IEEE International Symposium on High-Performance Computer Architecture (HPCA), 2021, p. 399-411; newly cited). These are provisional nonstatutory double patenting rejections because the patentably indistinct claims have not in fact been patented. Reference claim 1 discloses the limitations of instant claim 1 . Reference claim 6 discloses the limitations of instant claim 2 . Reference claim 2 discloses the limitations of instant claim 3 . Reference claim 2 discloses the limitations of instant claim 4 . The reference application does not disclose the limitations of instant claim 5 . However, the prior art to Angizi discloses an energy-efficient and parallel Processing-in-Memory accelerator (AlignS) to execute DNA short read alignment based on an optimized and hardware-friendly alignment algorithm (abstract). Angizi teaches that the main memory rank is a set of MRAM chips, each divided into multiple Banks, each bank consisting of multiple memory matrices (mats), each mat consisting of multiple computation memory sub-arrays ( i.e. , plane ) (p. 2-3, section 2 ALIGNS ARCHITECTURE; Figure 1). Any of the MRAM chips, Banks, and mats taught by Angizi reads on a plurality of APM devices as instantly claimed. Reference claim 7 discloses the limitations of instant claim 6 . Reference claims 7 and 10 discloses the limitations of instant claim 7 . Reference claims 7 and 10 discloses the limitations of instant claim 8 except for “wherein a plane of each of the plurality of planes of each of the plurality of tiles are included in a hyperplane”. However, Angizi teaches that the main memory rank is a set of MRAM chips, each divided into multiple Banks, each bank consisting of multiple memory matrices (mats) ( i.e. , tile ), each mat consisting of multiple computation memory sub-arrays ( i.e. , a plane in a plurality of planes ) (p. 2-3, section 2 ALIGNS ARCHITECTURE; Figure 1). Angizi teaches that in order to enable fast memory access and parallel in-memory computing, the data in BWT, Marker Table, and Suffix Array have to be reconstructed and saved into different memory arrays, banks, and chips (p. 3, col. 1, par. 2; p. 4, col. 1, par. 3 through p. 5, col. 1, par. 1; Figure 7), which reads on storing a corresponding larger genetic sequence and its permutations in a hyperplane as instantly claimed. The reference application does not disclose the limitations of instant claim 9 . However, Angizi teaches parallel search across the banks, mats, and memory sub-arrays in the multiple chips ( i.e. , p. 4, col. 2, par. 2 through p. 5, col. 1, par. 1; Figure 7 ). The reference application does not disclose the limitations of instant claim 10 . However, the prior art to Jiang discloses a hardware accelerator to enhance FM-Index search throughput (abstract). Jiang teaches implementing their accelerator with content-addressable memory (CAM), which can perform sorting operations (p. 8, col. 2, par. 2). Jiang teaches that k -mer and positions of a request are stored in one row of the CAM (p. 8, col. 2, par. 2). Regarding claims 5-6 and 8-9 , it would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine, in the course of routine experimentation and with a reasonable expectation of success, the reference application and Angizi because both references disclose processing-in-memory (PIM) devices for read alignment to a reference genome. The motivation to use the device as taught by Angizi would have been to provide energy efficient and parallel processing-in-memory acceleration of DNA short read alignment, as taught by Angizi (abstract). Regarding claim 10 , it would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine, in the course of routine experimentation and with a reasonable expectation of success, the reference application and Jiang because both references disclose processing-in-memory (PIM) devices for read alignment to a reference genome. The motivation to substitute the memory cells of the reference application with the content-addressable memory cells of Jiang would have been to fully utilize the available DRAM bandwidth, as taught by Jiang. (p. 5, col. 1, par. 2). Therefore, it would have been obvious to store the permutations of the sequence in the CAM taught by Jiang for subsequent read searching. Conclusion No claims are allowed. Inquiries Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JANNA NICOLE SCHULTZHAUS whose telephone number is (571)272-0812. 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If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /JANNA NICOLE SCHULTZHAUS/Examiner, Art Unit 1685 Application/Control Number: 18/049,498 Page 2 Art Unit: 1685 Application/Control Number: 18/049,498 Page 3 Art Unit: 1685 Application/Control Number: 18/049,498 Page 4 Art Unit: 1685 Application/Control Number: 18/049,498 Page 5 Art Unit: 1685 Application/Control Number: 18/049,498 Page 6 Art Unit: 1685 Application/Control Number: 18/049,498 Page 7 Art Unit: 1685 Application/Control Number: 18/049,498 Page 8 Art Unit: 1685 Application/Control Number: 18/049,498 Page 9 Art Unit: 1685 Application/Control Number: 18/049,498 Page 10 Art Unit: 1685 Application/Control Number: 18/049,498 Page 11 Art Unit: 1685 Application/Control Number: 18/049,498 Page 12 Art Unit: 1685 Application/Control Number: 18/049,498 Page 13 Art Unit: 1685 Application/Control Number: 18/049,498 Page 14 Art Unit: 1685 Application/Control Number: 18/049,498 Page 15 Art Unit: 1685 Application/Control Number: 18/049,498 Page 16 Art Unit: 1685 Application/Control Number: 18/049,498 Page 17 Art Unit: 1685 Application/Control Number: 18/049,498 Page 18 Art Unit: 1685 Application/Control Number: 18/049,498 Page 19 Art Unit: 1685 Application/Control Number: 18/049,498 Page 20 Art Unit: 1685 Application/Control Number: 18/049,498 Page 21 Art Unit: 1685 Application/Control Number: 18/049,498 Page 22 Art Unit: 1685
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