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, see page 7, filed 12/10/2025, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 1, 17, 19 under 35 USC 102 have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of Sterner (US 7,028,753).
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).
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.
Claim(s) 1-10, 12-14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kataoka et al. (US 2022/0123569), the rejection is relied on the same disclosure as disclosed in (WO2020175010A1 (PCT published on 2020/09/03)) and Sterner (US 7,028,753).
Regarding claim 1, Kataoka discloses a charger (charging device 1, fig. 2), comprising:
a housing (A charging device case 2 being the housing of the charging device 1, fig. 2; paragraph [0025]) formed with an air inlet and an air outlet (A first opening portion 5 is formed in the vicinity of the lower center of a front side wall surface 2a of the charging device case 2, and a second opening portion 6 is formed from the vicinity of the right corner of the front side wall surface 2a to the vicinity of the front corner of a right side wall surface 2b, paragraph [0026], fig. 2);
a fan (30, fig. 2) disposed in the housing and used for generating a heat dissipation airflow entering from the air inlet and flowing out from the air outlet (the air that has flowed into the charging device case 2 through the first opening portion 5 passes through the air path forming portion 33 after passing through the fan 30, and then is discharged to the outside of the charging device case 2 via the second opening portion 6, paragraph [0036]); and
a circuit board assembly (circuit board 20, fig. 3) comprising at least heating elements which generate heat when energized (Choke coils 13a and 13b, a condenser 14, a transformer 15, three diodes 16a to 16c, a FET (field effect transistor) 17, and the like are mounted on the circuit board 20. elements that generates a large amount of heat (for example, the diodes 16a to 16c, the FET 17, and the transformer 15, paragraph [0035]);
wherein a heat dissipation channel for the heat dissipation airflow to flow through is provided in the housing (The air that has flowed into the charging device case 2 through the first opening portion 5 passes through the air path forming portion 33 after passing through the fan 30, and then is discharged to the outside of the charging device case 2 via the second opening portion 6, paragraph [0036])and comprises at least a first channel and a second channel which sequentially communicate with each other (the cooling air path has a first region arranged on the fan side and a second region that is continuous with the first region and is arranged on the opening portion (exhaust port) side, paragraph [0010] where the intake air from opening 5 and the exhaust air output are in communication, fig. 4), at least part of the heating elements are disposed in the second channel (coil 13a is disposed at the second channel, fig. 4);
Kataoka substantially teaches all the elements of the claim 1. However, Kataoka does not explicitly disclose the first channel and second channel are aligned along a rotation axis of the fan on an air outlet side of the fan and a cross-sectional area of a first port of the first channel facing the air inlet is larger than a cross-sectional area of the second channel so that the heat dissipation airflow flowing through the first channel is capable of accelerating through the second channel.
Sterner discloses an apparatus to enhance cooling of electronic device (Abstract). Sterner further discloses the first channel (air flow in the intake manifold 130, fig. 5) and second channel (the air flow in the restriction chamber 150, fig. 5 ) are aligned along a rotation axis of the fan on an air outlet side of the fan (the air flow in the first channel and second channel are aligned along a rotation axis of the fan, fig. 5) and a cross-sectional area of a first port of the first channel facing the air inlet is larger than a cross-sectional area of the second channel (the cross-sectional area of intake manifold 130 is greater than the restriction chamber 150, fig. 5) so that the heat dissipation airflow flowing through the first channel is capable of accelerating through the second channel (The intake manifold 130 has a first volume 132 comprised of a first area and a first length Air within the first volume is compressed as it leaves the intake manifold 130 and is coupled with first coupling 134 into restriction chamber 150. As the air is compressed, its speed or velocity must increase, col. 3, lines 15-20; Note: if the velocity increases along the flow path, fluid is accelerating).
It would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skills in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify Kataoka’s charger to have the Bernoulli’s principle kind of heat dissipation path as taught by Sterner, in order to enhance convective heat transfer efficiency while reducing auxiliary power consumption.
Regarding claim 2, Kataoka further discloses wherein the first channel further comprises a second port facing away from the air inlet (the second opening portion 6 is used as the exhaust port, paragraph [0026], fig. 2) and the first port has a larger cross-sectional area than the second port (the first opening portion 5 being the intake port is widened in the lateral direction, paragraph [0028], fig. 4).
Regarding claim 3, Kataoka further discloses wherein the fan is disposed between the air inlet and the second port of the first channel (the fan 30 is between opening 5 and 6, fig. 4).
Regarding claim 4, Kataoka in view Sterner discloses the charger of claim 1. However, Kataoka is silent about wherein the heat dissipation channel further comprises a third channel communicating with the second channel, and the heat dissipation airflow sequentially flows through the first channel, the second channel, and the third channel.
Sterner discloses the heat dissipation channel further comprises a third channel (the air flowing in the exhaust manifold 110, fig. 5) communicating with the second channel, and the heat dissipation airflow sequentially flows through the first channel, the second channel, and the third channel (enters intake manifold 130 of air duct 15 and is constricted in a restriction chamber 150 such that venturi vent 120 creates a vacuum suction force for the second air flow which draws in air from cavity 230 to cool the system components 300. The two air flows are mixed in exhaust manifold 110 before being expelled out of electronic device 10 by air-moving device 100; Col. 4, lines 1-7, fig. 5).
It would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skills in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify Kataoka’s charger to have the Bernoulli’s principle kind of heat dissipation path as taught by Sterner, in order to enhance convective heat transfer efficiency while reducing auxiliary power consumption.
Regarding claim 5, Kataoka in view of Sterner discloses the charger of claim 4. Sterner further discloses wherein the third channel comprises a third port (second coupling unit 152, fig. 2) away from the air outlet and a fourth port close to the air outlet (a port close to the air outlet part of the exhaust manifold 110, fig. 2), and the fourth port is disposed opposite to the air outlet (the fourth port of 110 is opposite to the air outlet, fig. 5).
It would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skills in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify Kataoka’s charger to have the Bernoulli’s principle kind of heat dissipation path as taught by Sterner, in order to enhance convective heat transfer efficiency while reducing auxiliary power consumption.
Regarding claim 6, Kataoka in view of Sterner discloses the charger of claim 4. Sterner further discloses wherein the fourth port of the third channel has a larger cross-sectional area than the third port of the third channel (the cross sectional area of the air outlet port is greater than 152, fig. 2, 5).
It would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skills in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify Kataoka’s charger to have the Bernoulli’s principle kind of heat dissipation path as taught by Sterner, in order to enhance convective heat transfer efficiency while reducing auxiliary power consumption.
Regarding claim 7, Kataoka in view of Sterner discloses the charger of claim 5, Sterner further discloses wherein the cross-sectional area of the first port of the first channel is larger than or equal to a cross-sectional area of the fourth port of the third channel (intake manifold cross-sectional area and exhaust manifold cross-sectional area is larger than or equal to a cross-sectional area of the fourth port of the third channel, fig. 2, 5).
It would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skills in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify Kataoka’s charger to have the Bernoulli’s principle kind of heat dissipation path as taught by Sterner, in order to enhance convective heat transfer efficiency while reducing auxiliary power consumption.
Regarding claim 8, Kataoka further discloses the charger further comprising a deflector (18, 19, fig. 3-4) disposed in the housing and detachably connected to the housing (the cooling fins 18 and 19 function as a guide portion for guiding the cooling air flowing through the charging circuit portion to a predetermined direction, paragraph [0035]).
Regarding claim 9, Kataoka further discloses wherein the deflector and the housing form the heat dissipation channel for guiding a flow direction of the heat dissipation airflow flowing into the housing (paragraph [0035]).
Regarding claim 10, Kataoka further discloses wherein the fan has a fan air inlet facing the air inlet and a fan air outlet facing away from the air inlet, and approximately all of the heat dissipation airflow flowing out from the fan air outlet flows out of the heat dissipation channel (the air is going in to fan 30 and coming out, fig. 4).
Regarding claim 12, Kataoka further discloses wherein a ratio of a diameter of a blade of the fan to a distance between the fan air inlet and the air inlet is greater than or equal to 6 (the fan 30 has a maximum diameter that makes it possible to be accommodated by fully utilizing the space from the bottom surface to the ceiling surface in the internal space below the battery pack connection portion 10 of the charging device case 2,paragraph [0042] the ratio can be 6 as desired for the application).
Regarding claim 13, Kataoka further discloses wherein the circuit board assembly comprises a circuit board (20, fig. 4) and a heat dissipation member, the circuit board is provided with a printed circuit (The circuit board 20 is a single-layer or multi-layer printed circuit board, paragraph [0035]), and the heat dissipation member is connected to the heating elements in a thermally conductive manner and used for dissipating the heat generated by the heating elements (The heat dissipating portion on the back surface of the diode 16c and the heat dissipating portion on the back surface of the FET 17 are fixed so as to be in contact with a cooling fin 18 made of aluminum, and high heat dissipation is maintained by the cooling fin 18, paragraph [0035]).
Regarding claim 14, Kataoka further discloses wherein the heating elements are power semiconductor devices or transformers, and the heat generated by the heating elements in a working process of the charger is greater than 0.1 kWh (paragraph [0035] Note: the heating elements are semiconductors devices like FET, Diode and transformer as mentioned in the claim. Thus, they can also generate heat up to 0.1kWh).
Claim(s) 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kataoka (US 2022/0123569), and Sterner (US 7,028,753) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Tsai (US 2012/0063886).
Regarding claim 11, Kataoka in view of Sterner discloses the charger of claim 1. Kataoka further discloses a fan (30, fig. 4) used to cool the electric component of the charger.
However, they are silent about the construction detail of the Fan.
Tsai discloses an outer fan frame (11, fig. 2) for fixedly mounting the fan to the housing, and a shock-absorbing material is wrapped on an outer side of the outer fan frame (Each of the vibration absorbers 20 is composed of an elastic body 25 made of plastic, rubber or silicone and two pins 21 which oppositely protrude from the elastic body 25. Each of the pins 21 is formed with a circular trough 22 which abuts against the elastic body 25, paragraph [0020], fig. 2).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of claimed invention to modify Kataoka charging device in view of Sterner fan to include the frame and shock absorbing material in the fan as taught by Tsai, in order to reduce the noise of the fan during the use of a charging device.
Claim(s) 15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kataoka (US 2022/0123569), and Sterner (US 7,028,753) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Xue et al. (US 2016/0172877), herein after Xue.
Regarding claim 15, Kataoka in view of Sterner discloses the charger of claim 1. However, they are silent wherein output power of the charger is higher than or equal to 1200 W and lower than or equal to 1600 W.
Xue discloses a charger capable to provide higher than or equal to 1200 W and lower than or equal to 1600 W (Si charge provide output power approx. 1260, table 1).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of claimed invention to modify Kataoka charging device in view of Sterner to have the charger with the high output power as taught by Xue, in order to have extremely fast charging, the ability to power multiple devices simultaneously, and compatibility with heavy-duty equipment.
Claim(s) 16-17, 19is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kataoka (US 2022/0123569), Sterner (US 7,028,753) and Lu et al. (US 2022/0203816), herein after Lu.
Regarding claim 16, Kataoka in view of Sterner discloses the charger of claim 1. Kataoka further discloses a USB socket (24, fig. 4) which can be connected to any external device (paragraph [0001]).
However, they are silent over the charging device comprises a charging gun for connection with a tool interface of a riding mower and a charging cable for connecting the charging gun to a body of the charger.
Lu discloses the charging device comprises a charging gun for connection with a tool interface of a riding mower and a charging cable for connecting the charging gun to a body of the charger (The docking interface 3121 is used to connect with the battery pack 32 to obtain the power in the battery pack 32 or to charge the battery pack 32. The output part is arranged at a bottom of the charging portion 312 to output power to the outside. The output part includes a first power output interface 3122 and a second power output interface (not shown). The first power output interface 3122 is used to connect with the power input port to supply power to the electric vehicle 100. The inverter unit and the control unit 313 are housed in the base 311, paragraph [0048]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of claimed invention to install Kataoka charging device in the riding mower as taught by Lu, in order to have high output power charger in riding mower which can significantly reduce the charging time for an electric riding mower, increasing convenience and productivity.
Regarding claim 17, Kataoka discloses a charger(charging device 1, fig. 2);
wherein the charger comprises:
a housing (A charging device case 2 being the housing of the charging device 1, fig. 2; paragraph [0025]) formed with an air inlet and an air outlet (A first opening portion 5 is formed in the vicinity of the lower center of a front side wall surface 2a of the charging device case 2, and a second opening portion 6 is formed from the vicinity of the right corner of the front side wall surface 2a to the vicinity of the front corner of a right side wall surface 2b, paragraph [0026], fig. 2);
a fan (30, fig. 2) disposed in the housing and used for generating a heat dissipation airflow entering from the air inlet and flowing out from the air outlet (the air that has flowed into the charging device case 2 through the first opening portion 5 passes through the air path forming portion 33 after passing through the fan 30, and then is discharged to the outside of the charging device case 2 via the second opening portion 6, paragraph [0036]); and
a circuit board assembly (circuit board 20, fig. 3) comprising at least heating elements which generate heat when energized (Choke coils 13a and 13b, a condenser 14, a transformer 15, three diodes 16a to 16c, a FET (field effect transistor) 17, and the like are mounted on the circuit board 20. elements that generates a large amount of heat (for example, the diodes 16a to 16c, the FET 17, and the transformer 15, paragraph [0035]); wherein a heat dissipation channel for the heat dissipation airflow to flow through is provided in the housing (The air that has flowed into the charging device case 2 through the first opening portion 5 passes through the air path forming portion 33 after passing through the fan 30, and then is discharged to the outside of the charging device case 2 via the second opening portion 6, paragraph [0036]) and comprises at least a first channel and a second channel which sequentially communicate with each other(the cooling air path has a first region arranged on the fan side and a second region that is continuous with the first region and is arranged on the opening portion (exhaust port) side, paragraph [0010] where the intake air from opening 5 and the exhaust air output are in communication, fig. 4), at least part of the heating elements are disposed in the second channel (coil 13a, fig. 4);
However, Kataoka is silent over a combination, comprising: a riding mower; and a charger and a cross-sectional area of a first port of the first channel facing the air inlet is larger than a cross-sectional area of a second channel so that the heat dissipation airflow flowing through the first channel is capable of accelerating through the second channel and first channel and second channel are disposed on air outlet side of the fan.
Lu discloses a riding mower having the charging device (fig. 2).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of claimed invention to install Kataoka charging device in the riding mower as taught by Lu, in order to have high output power charger in riding mower which can significantly reduce the charging time for an electric riding mower, increasing convenience and productivity.
Sterner discloses an apparatus to enhance cooling of electronic device (Abstract). Sterner further discloses the first channel (air flow in the intake manifold 130, fig. 3B) and second channel (the air flow in the restriction chamber 150, fig. 3B ) are disposed on an air outlet side of the fan (the first channel and second channel get the air from fan 100, fig. 3B) and a cross-sectional area of a first port of the first channel facing the air inlet is larger than a cross-sectional area of the second channel (the cross-sectional area of intake manifold 130 is greater than the restriction chamber 150, fig. 3B) so that the heat dissipation airflow flowing through the first channel is capable of accelerating through the second channel (The intake manifold 130 has a first volume 132 comprised of a first area and a first length Air within the first volume is compressed as it leaves the intake manifold 130 and is coupled with first coupling 134 into restriction chamber 150. As the air is compressed, its speed or velocity must increase, col. 3, lines 15-20; Note: if the velocity increases along the flow path, fluid is accelerating).
It would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skills in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify Kataoka’s charger to have the Bernoulli’s principle kind of heat dissipation path as taught by Sterner, in order to enhance convective heat transfer efficiency while reducing auxiliary power consumption.
Regarding claim 19, Kataoka discloses a charger(charging device 1, fig. 2); wherein the charger comprises:
a housing (A charging device case 2 being the housing of the charging device 1, fig. 2; paragraph [0025]) formed with an air inlet and an air outlet(A first opening portion 5 is formed in the vicinity of the lower center of a front side wall surface 2a of the charging device case 2, and a second opening portion 6 is formed from the vicinity of the right corner of the front side wall surface 2a to the vicinity of the front corner of a right side wall surface 2b, paragraph [0026], fig. 2);
a fan (30, fig. 2) disposed in the housing and used for generating a heat dissipation airflow entering from the air inlet and flowing out from the air outlet (the air that has flowed into the charging device case 2 through the first opening portion 5 passes through the air path forming portion 33 after passing through the fan 30, and then is discharged to the outside of the charging device case 2 via the second opening portion 6, paragraph [0036]); and
a circuit board assembly (circuit board 20, fig. 3) comprising at least heating elements which generate heat when energized (Choke coils 13a and 13b, a condenser 14, a transformer 15, three diodes 16a to 16c, a FET (field effect transistor) 17, and the like are mounted on the circuit board 20. elements that generates a large amount of heat (for example, the diodes 16a to 16c, the FET 17, and the transformer 15, paragraph [0035]);
wherein a heat dissipation channel for the heat dissipation airflow to flow through is provided in the housing (The air that has flowed into the charging device case 2 through the first opening portion 5 passes through the air path forming portion 33 after passing through the fan 30, and then is discharged to the outside of the charging device case 2 via the second opening portion 6, paragraph [0036]) and comprises at least a first channel and a second channel which sequentially communicate with each other (the cooling air path has a first region arranged on the fan side and a second region that is continuous with the first region and is arranged on the opening portion (exhaust port) side, paragraph [0010] where the intake air from opening 5 and the exhaust air output are in communication, fig. 4), at least part of the heating elements are disposed in the second channel (elements that generates a large amount of heat (for example, the diodes 16a to 16c, the FET 17, and the transformer 15) are arranged at a position that is in the vicinity of the first opening portion 5, paragraph [0035] where the intake air section is considered as the second region, paragraph [0010]):
However, Kataoka is silent over a combination, comprising: utility task vehicle (UTV); and a charger and first channel, second channel, and third channel are disposed on an air outlet side of the fan. A cross-sectional area of a first port of the first channel facing the air inlet is larger than a cross-sectional area of a second channel so that the heat dissipation airflow flowing through the first channel is capable of accelerating through the second channel and a cross-sectional area of a second port of the third channel facing the air outlet is larger than across-sectional area of the second channel, so that across-sectional area of the heat dissipation channel is substantially in the shape of a dumbbell.
Lu discloses a UTV having the charging device (fig. 2).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of claimed invention to install Kataoka charging device in the riding mower as taught by Lu, in order to have high output power charger in riding mower which can significantly reduce the charging time for an electric riding mower, increasing convenience and productivity.
Sterner discloses an apparatus to enhance cooling of electronic device (Abstract). Sterner further discloses the first channel (air flow in the intake manifold 130, fig. 3B) , second channel, (the air flow in the restriction chamber 150, fig. 3B ) and third channel (the airflow in exhaust manifold 110, fig. 3B) are disposed on an air outlet side of the fan (the first channel and second channel get the air from fan 100, fig. 3B) and a cross-sectional area of a first port of the first channel facing the air inlet is larger than a cross-sectional area of the second channel (the cross-sectional area of intake manifold 130 is greater than the restriction chamber 150, fig. 3B) so that the heat dissipation airflow flowing through the first channel is capable of accelerating through the second channel (The intake manifold 130 has a first volume 132 comprised of a first area and a first length Air within the first volume is compressed as it leaves the intake manifold 130 and is coupled with first coupling 134 into restriction chamber 150. As the air is compressed, its speed or velocity must increase, col. 3, lines 15-20; Note: if the velocity increases along the flow path, fluid is accelerating). Sterner further discloses a cross-sectional area of a second port of the third channel facing the air outlet is larger than across-sectional area of the second channel (the cross-sectional area of the second channel port 152 is smaller than the port at the end of exhaust manifold 110, fig. 2), so that across-sectional area of the heat dissipation channel is substantially in the shape of a dumbbell (the heat dissipation device is in a dumbbell shape, fig. 2).
It would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skills in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify Kataoka’s charger to have the Bernoulli’s principle kind of heat dissipation path as taught by Sterner, in order to enhance convective heat transfer efficiency while reducing auxiliary power consumption.
Claim(s) 18, 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kataoka (US 2022/0123569), Sterner (US 7,028,753) and Lu (US 2022/0203816) , and further in view of Xue et al. (US 2016/0172877), herein after Xue.
Regarding claim 18, Kataoka in view of Sterner and Lu discloses the charger of claim 17. However, they are silent wherein output power of the charger is higher than or equal to 1200 W and lower than or equal to 1600 W.
Xue discloses a charger capable to provide higher than or equal to 1200 W and lower than or equal to 1600 W (Si charge provide output power approx. 1260, table 1).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of claimed invention to modify Kataoka charging device in view of Sterner, and Lu to have the charger with the high output power as taught by Xue, in order to have extremely fast charging, the ability to power multiple devices simultaneously, and compatibility with heavy-duty equipment.
Regarding claim 20, Kataoka in view of Sterner and Lu discloses the charger of claim 19. However, they are silent wherein output power of the charger is higher than or equal to 1200 W and lower than or equal to 1600 W.
Xue discloses a charger capable to provide higher than or equal to 1200 W and lower than or equal to 1600 W (Si charge provide output power approx. 1260, table 1).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of claimed invention to modify Kataoka charging device in view of Sterner in view of Lu to have the charger with the high output power as taught by Xue, in order to have extremely fast charging, the ability to power multiple devices simultaneously, and compatibility with heavy-duty equipment.
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 SADIA KOUSAR whose telephone number is (571)272-3386. The examiner can normally be reached M-Th 7:30am-5:30pm.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Julian Huffman can be reached at (571) 272-2147. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
SADIA . KOUSAR
Examiner
Art Unit 2859
/JULIAN D HUFFMAN/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2859