Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 04, 2026
Application No. 18/088,220

Systems and Methods to Provide Otherwise Obscured Information to a User

Final Rejection §103
Filed
Dec 23, 2022
Examiner
MILLER, LEAH NICOLE
Art Unit
3663
Tech Center
3600 — Transportation & Electronic Commerce
Assignee
Rovi Guides Inc.
OA Round
4 (Final)
54%
Grant Probability
Moderate
5-6
OA Rounds
0m
Est. Remaining
50%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 54% of resolved cases
54%
Career Allowance Rate
25 granted / 46 resolved
+2.3% vs TC avg
Minimal -5% lift
Without
With
+-4.7%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
3y 0m
Avg Prosecution
16 currently pending
Career history
76
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
9.3%
-30.7% vs TC avg
§103
39.2%
-0.8% vs TC avg
§102
25.3%
-14.7% vs TC avg
§112
25.6%
-14.4% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 46 resolved cases

Office Action

§103
DETAILED ACTION Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . Status of Claims This Office Action is in response to the application filed on 16 July 2026. Claims 1-6, 8-19, and 79-80 are presently pending and are presented for examination. Claims 7 and 20-78 were previously cancelled. Response to Amendments In response to Applicant’s amendments dated 16 July 2026, Examiner withdraws the previous 35 U.S.C. 112(a) rejections; and withdraws the previous prior art rejections. Response to Arguments Applicant's arguments, see Remarks, filed 16 July 2026, have been fully considered but they are either not persuasive or moot. Applicant's arguments, see Remarks, pg. 8-9, with respect to claims 1 and 14 (specifically regarding the following limitations: “…identifying an object referenced by the triggering movement of the first user, wherein the object is external to the vehicle, based at least in part on: determining a field of view of the first user; identifying a plurality of objects within the field of view of the first user…”) have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Applicant argues that US-20230121260-A1 (“Kim”) fails to ‘…disclose, teach, or render obvious: "identifying an object referenced by the triggering movement of the first user, wherein the object is external to the vehicle, based at least in part on: determining a field of view of the first user; identifying a plurality of objects within the field of view of the first user…’. Examiner respectfully disagrees. Kim discloses identifying an object, external to a vehicle, referenced by a triggering movement of a first user in the vehicle (Kim, para. 0375) and identifying a plurality of objects within the field of view of the first user (Kim, para. 0074; para. 0378). For these reasons, examiner is unpersuaded and maintains the corresponding rejections. Applicant’s arguments, see Remarks, pg. 8-9, with respect to claim(s) 1 and 14 (specifically regarding the following limitation: “…determining that the object of the plurality of objects is referenced by the triggering movement of the first user based at least in part on a hierarchy of the plurality of objects…”) 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. The remaining arguments are essentially the same as those addressed above and/or below and are unpersuasive for at least the same reasons. Therefore, examiner is unpersuaded and maintains the corresponding rejections. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action: A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made. 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. Claim(s) 1-6, 8-19, and 79-80 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US-20230121260-A1 (Published: 2023-04-20; Filed: 2022-09-28), hereinafter “Kim” (previously of record) in view of US-20210382560-A1, hereinafter “Barth” (newly of record). Regarding claim 14 and analogous claim 1, Kim discloses a system comprising (Kim, claim 1; para. 0002: “The present disclosure relates to a system for recognizing gaze information of a plurality of occupants in a vehicle…”): Regarding claim 1, Kim discloses a method comprising (Kim, claim 12; para. 0021: “In another general aspect, a method for controlling a vehicle display based on an occupant's gaze includes…”). control circuitry configured to (Kim, para. 0395: “Various techniques described herein may be implemented as digital electronic circuitry, or as computer hardware, firmware, software, or combinations thereof.”): identify a triggering movement of a first user of a vehicle; in response to the identifying the triggering movement, identify an object referenced by the triggering movement of the first user, wherein the object is external to the vehicle (Kim, para. 0375: “At this time, the display control unit 4302 performs control to confirm the external interest object [i.e., in response to the identifying the triggering movement, identify an object referenced by the triggering movement of the first user, wherein the object is external to the vehicle] using voice information, head movement information, and gesture information in addition to occupant gaze information [i.e., identify a triggering movement of a first user of a vehicle], and to display information about the external interest object.”), based at least in part on: determining a field of view of the first user (Kim, para. 0378: “…when the external point of interest moves relatively and is out of the driver's field of view [i.e., determining a field of view of the first user] as the vehicle travels, the display control unit 4302 displays the external interest information on the side window display by time.”); identifying a plurality of objects within the field of view of the first user (Kim, para. 0003: ”An occupant [i.e., first user] in a vehicle may want to stare at an interesting object (e.g., tree, building, another vehicle, bicycle, motorcycle, etc.) among various objects viewed through a window of the vehicle [i.e., identifying a plurality of objects within the field of view of the first user] while driving, and to check information about the interest object.”; para. 0074: “…an occupant gaze recognition unit 101 configured to recognize a gaze of an occupant in a vehicle [i.e., first user]; a point of interest determination unit 103 configured to determine a point of interest, among external objects viewed through a side window of the vehicle in consideration of the gaze of the occupant [i.e., identifying a plurality of objects within the field of view of the first user]; and a seat position control unit 105 configured to change a seat position of the occupant to enable a continuous stare at the point of interest as the vehicle moves.”); and… …determine that the object is at least partially obstructed from a field of view of a second user of the vehicle based on (a) a position of the second user inside the vehicle, (b) the field of view of the second user, and (c) vehicle structural information (Kim, para. 0074: “The system for controlling a vehicle based on an occupant's intent according to the embodiment of the present disclosure includes: an occupant gaze recognition unit 101 configured to recognize a gaze of an occupant in a vehicle; a point of interest determination unit 103 configured to determine a point of interest [i.e., the object], among external objects viewed through a side window of the vehicle in consideration of the gaze of the occupant; and a seat position control unit 105 configured to change a seat position of the occupant to enable a continuous stare at the point of interest as the vehicle moves [i.e., determine that the object is at least partially obstructed from a field of view of a second user of the vehicle based on (a) a position of the second user inside the vehicle, (b) the field of view of the second user, (c) vehicle structural information].”; para. 0078: “The system for controlling a vehicle based on an occupant's intent according to the present disclosure further includes a display control unit 104 configured to control, when it is confirmed that the gazes of the plurality of vehicle occupants stare at the same point of interest [i.e., the object] and then it is determined that a field of view of the second occupant is blocked by the first occupant [i.e., at least partially obstructed from a field of view of a second user of the vehicle based on (a) a position of the second user inside the vehicle, (b) the field of view of the second user], an outer area, viewed through a first side window close to a seating position of the first occupant, to be displayed through a second side window close to a seating position of the second occupant.”); and input/output circuitry configured to (Kim, para 0388: “On the other hand, the method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may be implemented in a computer system or recorded in a recording medium. The computer system may include at least one or more processor, memory, user input device, data communication bus, user output device [i.e., input/output circuitry], and storage.”): in response to the control circuitry determining that the object is at least partially obstructed from a field of view of a second user of the vehicle: identify a display within the vehicle, wherein the display is within the field of view of the second user; and modify the display within the vehicle to present a view of the object to the second user (Kim, para. 0078: “The system for controlling a vehicle based on an occupant's intent according to the present disclosure further includes a display control unit 104 configured to control, when it is confirmed that the gazes of the plurality of vehicle occupants stare at the same point of interest [i.e., the object] and then it is determined that a field of view of the second occupant is blocked by the first occupant [i.e., the control circuitry determining that the object is at least partially obstructed from a field of view of a second user of the vehicle], an outer area, viewed through a first side window close to a seating position of the first occupant, to be displayed through a second side window close to a seating position of the second occupant [i.e., identifying a display within the vehicle, wherein the display is within the field of view of the second user; and modifying the display within the vehicle to present a view of the object to the second user].”). Kim does not appear to explicitly disclose the following: …determining that the object of the plurality of objects is referenced by the triggering movement of the first user based at least in part on a hierarchy of the plurality of objects… However, in the same field of endeavor, Barth teaches: …determining that the object of the plurality of objects is referenced by the triggering movement of the first user based at least in part on a hierarchy of the plurality of objects (Barth, para. 0057: “The exterior/interior fusion module 120 may combine information about objects from the exterior sensing module 102 with the pointing direction from the interior sensing module 110.”; para. 0058: “The exterior/interior fusion module 120 may provide a list of candidate objects which are likely being selected by a user either by pointing, viewing or combination of both [i.e., determining that the object of the plurality of objects is referenced by the triggering movement of the first user]. For each object, the module provides a likelihood or confidence measure of being selected [i.e., based at least in part on a hierarchy of the plurality of objects].”)… Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention and with a reasonable likelihood of success to modify the invention disclosed by Kim, with the concept of using a hierarchy or ranking of a plurality of objects that may be identified by an occupant of a vehicle, taught by Barth, in order to increase the likelihood of an accurate determination of the object being identified by the occupant and enabling an action provided by the vehicle (Barth, para. 0002: “The present disclosure relates to methods and system for determining a command of an occupant of a vehicle. Gesture control in vehicles may be used for in-vehicle controls of infotainment systems. However, gesture control is presently not possible for control related to objects outside the vehicle. Accordingly, there is a need to provide gesture control related to objects outside a vehicle, allowing making an intuitive and convenient link between objects outside the vehicle and a command that a user wants to trigger with respect to these objects.”). Regarding claim 15 and analogous claim 2, Kim and Barth teach the system of claim 14, and Kim further discloses the following: wherein the input/output circuitry is further configured to receive a first voice input from the first user (Kim, para. 258: “The external interest information confirmation unit 2701 [i.e., the input/output circuitry] uses voice information [i.e., receive a first voice input from the first user] and the gaze information of the first occupant [i.e., first user] to confirm the external interest object.”), and wherein the control circuitry is further configured to identify the object referenced by the triggering movement of the first user based on (a) the triggering movement of the first user and (b) the first voice input (Kim, para. 258: “The external interest information confirmation unit 2701 [i.e., the control circuitry] uses voice information [i.e., (b) the first voice input] and the gaze information of the first occupant [i.e., (a) the triggering movement of the first user] to confirm the external interest object [i.e., identify the object referenced by the triggering movement of the first user].”). Regarding claim 16 and analogous claim 3, Kim and Barth teach the system of claim 14, and Kim further discloses the following: wherein the control circuitry is further configured to identify the triggering movement of the first user of the vehicle by detecting movement of the first user's head toward the object (Kim, para. 0087: “When it is checked that the gaze of the first occupant stays on the interest object and the first occupant turns his/her head in the left backward direction and intends to continuously stare at the interest object [i.e., identify the triggering movement of the first user of the vehicle by detecting movement of the first user's head toward the object]…”; para. 0375: “At this time, the display control unit 4302 [i.e., the control circuitry] performs control to confirm the external interest object using voice information, head movement information [i.e., detecting movement of the first user's head toward the object], and gesture information in addition to occupant gaze information, and to display information about the external interest object.”). Regarding claim 17 and analogous claim 4, Kim and Barth teach the system of claim 14, and Kim further discloses the following: wherein the control circuitry is further configured to identify the triggering movement of the first user the vehicle by detecting movement of the first user's hand toward the object (Kim, para. 0075: “The system for controlling a vehicle based on an occupant's intent according to the present disclosure further includes: an occupant gesture recognition unit 102 configured to recognize at least any one of a touch input signal of the occupant and an air gesture of the occupant that is applied to the side window of the vehicle configured as a transparent display; and the point of interest determination unit 103 [i.e., the control circuitry] determines the point of interest [i.e., the object] as at least any one of the touch input signal and the air gesture is recognized [i.e., identify the triggering movement of the first user the vehicle by detecting movement of the first user's hand toward the object].”). Regarding claim 18 and analogous claim 5, Kim and Barth teach the system of claim 14, and Kim further discloses the following: wherein the control circuitry is further configured to identify the object referenced by the triggering movement by determining that the object external to the vehicle is included in the field of view of the first user (Kim, para. 0087: “When it is checked that the gaze of the first occupant stays on the interest object [i.e., the object] and the first occupant turns his/her head [i.e., the control circuitry is further configured to identify the object referenced by the triggering movement] in the left backward direction and intends to continuously stare at the interest object [i.e., determining that the object external to the vehicle is included in the field of view of the first user], the seat position control unit 105 rotates the left rear seat, on which the first occupant is seated, in a counterclockwise direction, allowing the first occupant to continuously stare at the interest object in a more comfortable position.”). Regarding claim 19, and analogous claim 6, Kim and Barth teach the system of claim 14, and Kim further discloses the following: wherein the control circuitry is further configured to identify the object referenced by the triggering movement of the first user by: selecting the object referenced by the triggering movement of the first user from the plurality of objects based on a voice input received from the first user (Kim, para. 0074: “...an occupant gaze recognition unit 101 configured to recognize a gaze of an occupant in a vehicle [i.e., triggering movement of the first user]; a point of interest determination unit 103 configured to determine a point of interest, among external objects [i.e., the plurality of objects] viewed through a side window of the vehicle in consideration of the gaze of the occupant…”; para. 0258: “The external interest information confirmation unit 2701 uses voice information [i.e., based on a voice input received from the first user] and the gaze information of the first occupant [i.e., triggering movement of the first user] to confirm the external interest object [i.e., selecting the object referenced by the triggering movement of the first user from the plurality of objects].”). Regarding claim 8, Kim and Barth teach the method of claim 1, and Kim further discloses the following: wherein the determining that the object is at least partially obstructed from the field of view of the second user comprises: identifying a movement of the second user (Kim, para. 0075: “The system for controlling a vehicle based on an occupant's intent according to the present disclosure further includes: an occupant gesture recognition unit 102 configured to recognize at least any one of a touch input signal of the occupant and an air gesture of the occupant [i.e., identifying a movement of the second user] that is applied to the side window of the vehicle configured as a transparent display; and the point of interest determination unit 103 determines the point of interest as at least any one of the touch input signal and the air gesture is recognized.”; para. 0078: “The system for controlling a vehicle based on an occupant's intent according to the present disclosure further includes a display control unit 104 configured to control, when it is confirmed that the gazes of the plurality of vehicle occupants stare at the same point of interest and then it is determined that a field of view of the second occupant is blocked by the first occupant [i.e., determining that the object is at least partially obstructed from the field of view of the second user]…”); and receiving a voice signal from the second user indicating the second user's view of the object is obstructed (Kim, para. 0274: “In the step S2901, the external interest information is confirmed using at least any one of gaze information, voice information [i.e., receiving a voice signal from the second user indicating the second user's view of the object is obstructed], and gesture information of the first occupant.”). Regarding claim 9, Kim and Barth teach the method of claim 1, and Kim further discloses the following: further comprising: modifying the view of the object to be an unobstructed view of the object; and displaying the unobstructed view of the object on the display within the vehicle, wherein the display within the vehicle is on a window of the vehicle closest to the second user (Kim, FIG. 4; para. 0112: “In addition, in consideration of the field of view of the second occupant blocked by the first occupant as the external interest object is relatively moved, the display control unit 104 duplicates and displays the screen of an outer landscape viewed through the transparent display of the left side window through the display of the right side window [i.e., displaying the unobstructed view of the object on the display within the vehicle, wherein the display within the vehicle is on a window of the vehicle closest to the second user], and the seat position control unit 105 rotates the right rear seat, on which the second occupant is seated, in the clockwise direction so that the second occupant can more easily and continuously stare at the interest object through the display of the right side window [i.e., modifying the view of the object to be an unobstructed view of the object].”). Regarding claim 10, Kim and Barth teach the method of claim 1, and Kim further discloses the following: further comprising: modifying the view of the object to be an unobstructed view of the object; and displaying the unobstructed view of the object on the display within the vehicle, wherein the display within the vehicle is on a window of the vehicle positioned between the second user and the object external to the vehicle (Kim, FIG. 3; para. 0099: ” The display control unit 104 displays a specific information of the interest object through the transparent display of the left side window [i.e., displaying the unobstructed view of the object on the display within the vehicle, wherein the display within the vehicle is on a window of the vehicle positioned between the second user and the object external to the vehicle], in the form of text, images, icons, etc.”; para. 0103: “In addition, in consideration of the field of view of the second occupant obscured by the first occupant as the external interest object is relatively moved, the seat position control unit 105 slides the right rear seat, on which the second occupant is seated, backward of the vehicle body and rotates the right rear seat in the counterclockwise direction, so that the second occupant can more easily and continuously stare at the interest object [i.e., modifying the view of the object to be an unobstructed view of the object].”; para. 0172: “The display control unit 1006 performs control to display the external interest information of the passenger B [i.e., the second user] as AR or displayed as a camera video [i.e., modifying the view of the object to be an unobstructed view of the object].”;). Regarding claim 11, Kim and Barth teach the method of claim 1, and Kim further discloses the following: further comprising: accessing metadata for the object (Kim, para. 0084: “The display control unit 104 displays specific information about the interest object [i.e., accessing metadata for the object] through the transparent display of the left side window, in the form of text, images, icons, etc.”); determining that a portion of the metadata matches user profile information of the second user (Kim, para. 0082: “According to the embodiment of the present disclosure, the gaze of the occupant is recognized and AR information personalized for each occupant [i.e., a portion of the metadata matches user profile information of the second user] based on a gaze information is displayed through the transparent display of the left side window.”); and generating, for display on the display within the vehicle that is within the field of view of the second user, the portion of the metadata that matches the user profile information of the second user (Kim, para. 0082: “According to the embodiment of the present disclosure, the gaze of the occupant is recognized and AR information personalized for each occupant [i.e., the portion of the metadata that matches the user profile information of the second user] based on a gaze information is displayed through the transparent display of the left side window [i.e., generating, for display on the display within the vehicle that is within the field of view of the second user].”). Regarding claim 12, Kim and Barth teach the method of claim 11, and Kim further discloses the following: further comprising: determining that a second portion of the metadata matches user profile information of the first user (Kim, para. 0082: “According to the embodiment of the present disclosure, the gaze of the occupant is recognized and AR information personalized for each occupant [i.e., a second portion of the metadata matches user profile information of the first user] based on a gaze information is displayed through the transparent display of the left side window.”); identifying a second display within the vehicle that is within a field of view of the first user (Kim, para. 0112: “In addition, in consideration of the field of view of the second occupant blocked by the first occupant as the external interest object is relatively moved, the display control unit 104 duplicates and displays the screen of an outer landscape viewed through the transparent display of the left side window through the display of the right side window [i.e., identifying a second display within the vehicle that is within a field of view of the first user], and the seat position control unit 105 rotates the right rear seat, on which the second occupant is seated, in the clockwise direction so that the second occupant can more easily and continuously stare at the interest object through the display of the right side window.”); and generating for display on the second display, the second portion of the metadata that matches the user profile information of the first user (Kim, para. 0082: “According to the embodiment of the present disclosure, the gaze of the occupant is recognized and AR information personalized for each occupant [i.e., second portion of the metadata that matches the user profile information of the first user] based on a gaze information is displayed through the transparent display of the left side window [i.e., generating for display on the second display].”). Regarding claim 13, Kim and Barth teach the method of claim 1, and Kim further discloses the following: wherein identifying the object referenced by the triggering movement further comprises: tracking a plurality of gazes of the first user; detecting the triggering movement of the first user within the vehicle (Kim, para. 0087: ” When it is checked that the gaze of the first occupant [i.e., tracking a plurality of gazes of the first user] stays on the interest object [i.e., the object] and the first occupant turns his/her head [i.e., detecting the triggering movement of the first user within the vehicle] in the left backward direction and intends to continuously stare at the interest object...”); determining, in response to detecting the triggering movement of the first user, a shared object that is common to the plurality of gazes; and identifying the object based on the shared object (Kim, para. 0087: ” When it is checked that the gaze of the first occupant stays on the interest object [i.e., a shared object that is common to the plurality of gazes] and the first occupant turns his/her head [i.e., in response to detecting the triggering movement of the first user] in the left backward direction and intends to continuously stare at the interest object [i.e., identifying the object based on the shared object]...”). Regarding claim 80, and analogous claim 79, Kim and Barth teach The system of claim 14, and Barth further teaches the following: wherein the hierarchy of the plurality of objects comprises respective rankings of each of the plurality of objects (Barth, para. 0057: “The exterior/interior fusion module 120 may combine information about objects from the exterior sensing module 102 with the pointing direction from the interior sensing module 110.”; para. 0058: “The exterior/interior fusion module 120 may provide a list of candidate objects which are likely being selected by a user either by pointing, viewing or combination of both. For each object, the module provides a likelihood or confidence measure [i.e., the hierarchy of the plurality of objects comprises respective rankings of each of the plurality of objects] of being selected.”), and the control circuitry (Barth, para. 0027: “The computer system may comprise a plurality of computer hardware components (for example a processor, for example processing unit or processing network, at least one memory, for example memory unit or memory network, and at least one non-transitory data storage). It will be understood that further computer hardware components may be provided and used for carrying out steps of the computer implemented method in the computer system.”) is further configured to: access a user profile for the first user comprising one or more object preferences; and rank the plurality of objects based at least in part on the one or more object preferences (Barth, para. 0077: “In a further exemplary object identification task, a specific vehicle may be identified (for example with a command like “follow the car of my wife” or the like). The system may have knowledge about who the user is (which may include personalization, for example based on a user ID (identifier) from an interior sensing system), and knowledge about the car of the user's wife (for example the license plate and/or the make and/or color of the car), for example from a user profile/database [i.e., access a user profile for the first user comprising one or more object preferences]. The system may then filter out objects in the exterior field of view according to the known information [i.e., rank the plurality of objects based at least in part on the one or more object preferences].”). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention and with a reasonable likelihood of success to modify the invention disclosed by Kim, with the concept of using a hierarchy or ranking of a plurality of objects that may be identified by an occupant of a vehicle and accessing a user profile with object preferences to determine the rankings in the hierarchy, taught by Barth, in order to increase the likelihood of an accurate determination of the object being identified by the occupant and enabling an action provided by the vehicle (Barth, para. 0002: “The present disclosure relates to methods and system for determining a command of an occupant of a vehicle. Gesture control in vehicles may be used for in-vehicle controls of infotainment systems. However, gesture control is presently not possible for control related to objects outside the vehicle. Accordingly, there is a need to provide gesture control related to objects outside a vehicle, allowing making an intuitive and convenient link between objects outside the vehicle and a command that a user wants to trigger with respect to these objects.”). 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 Leah N Miller whose telephone number is (703)756-1933. The examiner can normally be reached M-Th 8:30am - 5:30pm ET. 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, Abby Flynn can be reached on (571) 272-9855. 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. /Leah N Miller/Examiner, Art Unit 3663 /ABBY J FLYNN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3663
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Prosecution Timeline

Show 1 earlier event
Jan 28, 2025
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §103
Jul 23, 2025
Response Filed
Oct 24, 2025
Final Rejection mailed — §103
Jan 16, 2026
Request for Continued Examination
Feb 17, 2026
Response after Non-Final Action
Apr 16, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §103
Jul 16, 2026
Response Filed
Aug 19, 2026
Final Rejection mailed — §103 (current)

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Prosecution Projections

5-6
Expected OA Rounds
54%
Grant Probability
50%
With Interview (-4.7%)
3y 0m (~0m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
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