DETAILED ACTION
Status of Application
This action is a Final Rejection. This action is in response to the amendment and response filed on July 9, 2026.
Claims 1, 6, 11, 23, 24, 26, 31, 32, 34, 39, and 40 have been amended.
Claims 2-5, 7-10, and 12-20 have been canceled.
Claims 1, 6, 11, and 21-40 are pending and are rejected.
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . 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.
Response to Arguments
Regarding the rejection under 35 U.S.C. 112(b), the rejection is withdrawn in light of Applicant’s amendments.
Regarding the rejection under 35 U.S.C. 103, Applicant argues that Lavian does not teach “‘selecting the external device based, at least in part, on a first gesture detected by the device, wherein the first gesture is a particular hand pose using fingers indicating an intent to interact with the external device.’ At most Lavian discloses using a gesture or hand movement to navigate menus and select GUI options. A hand movement, however, is not a hand pose, much less the claimed particular hand pose using finger that indicates an intent to interact with an external device.” Remarks at 10. Applicant further asserts that “[t]he cited portions of Lavian do not disclose multiple distinct hand poses used to select different external devices. Rather, Lavian merely describes gestures or hand movements for navigating menus, selecting GUI options, or performing actions associated with devices that have already been selected.” Id. However, paragraph 0204 of Lavian teaches “At step 1508, a selection of a device option may be received from the user. The user may provide the selection by touching the screen of the display device or by making some gestures or through hand movements in front of the display device or the access device. The gestures may be such as, but are not limited to, a thumbs up, a head nod, a smile, a laughter, a thumbs down, showing two fingers, and so forth.” This statement shows that a device can be selected using a gesture such as showing two fingers, thumbs up, or thumbs down. It is also clear that there would be more than one device that can be selected using a gesture, which would require a second hand pose for selecting a different device. Therefore, the rejection has been maintained.
Claim Interpretation
Applicant should be aware that there is claim language that does not serve to differentiate the claims from the prior art and/or provide an additional element that can be a consideration for eligibility1. See MPEP 2103(c).
Intended Use
Intended use language is generally not given patentable weight. See MPEP 2114(II) ("A claim containing a 'recitation with respect to the manner in which a claimed apparatus is intended to be employed does not differentiate the claimed apparatus from a prior art apparatus’ if the prior art apparatus teaches all the structural limitations of the claim. Ex parte Masham, 2 USPQ2d 1647 (Bd. Pat. App. & Inter. 1987).”); see also MPEP 2103(C). Examples of claim limitations that are often found to precede intended use include “adapted to,” “capable of,” “sufficient to,” “whereby,” and “for.”
The following limitations include intended use limitations:
Claims 24, 32, and 40: wherein the second gesture is a gesture setting a device-specific control paradigm associated with the selected external device and used to determine a context for interpreting one or more subsequent gestures and controlling the selected device. (The purpose of the second gesture is described, but there are no positively recited steps of setting a device-specific control paradigm or determining a context for interpreting one or more subsequent gestures and controlling the selected device.)
Claim Objections
Claims 23, 31, and 39 are objected to for the following reason: These claims recite “wherein the first gesture is one finger point pose, a one finger click pose, a two finger point pose, a two finger click pose, a prone one finger point pose, a prone one finger click pose, a prone two finger point pose, a prone two finger click pose, a medial one finger point pose, or a medial two finger point pose.” There appears to be a typographical error in these claims. For purposes of examination, “is one finger point pose” is being interpreted as “is a one finger point pose.” Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claims 1, 6, 11, 21-24, 26-32, 34-37, 39, and 40 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lavian, et al, U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2013/0080898 A1 and Ko, Dong-Ik and Guarav Agarwal. “Gesture Recognition: Enabling Natural Interactions with Electronics,” Texas Instruments, https://www.edge-ai-vision.com/2012/04/gesture-recognition-enabling-natural-interactions-with-electronics/ (April 13, 2012).
Claim 1:
Lavian teaches:
capturing, using a device equipped with a sensor that is capable of detecting gestures made by an object…, an image of the object, the sensor being a motion sensory control device to detect the gestures in the 3D space (see at least Lavian, paragraph 0124 (“FIG. 3A illustrates an exemplary visual access menu 308 and an enhanced visual access menu 310 at a device 102, in accordance with the first embodiment of the invention. As discussed with reference to FIG. 1A, the device 102 may include a graphical user interface (GUI) for accessing the visual access menus. Further, the VMThings 108 may display the visual access menu 308 (or the Internet of Things menu) at the device 102 so as to enable the user to control the remote devices 106a-n. A visual access menu 308 may include one or more options. The options may be a remote devices 302 option and services 304 option. Though not shown, but a person skilled in the art will appreciate that the visual access menu 308 (or the Internet of Things menu) may include more than two options. A user of the device 102 may select an option of these options from the displayed visual access menu 308 (or the Internet of Things menu). Further, the user may select an option by any of the following ways, but are not limited to, touching an option, through a voice command, through a gesture or hand movement, through an audio input, by pressing one or more keys at the device 102, and so forth.”); paragraph 0172 (“At step 808, a selection of a device option may be received from the user. The user may provide the selection by touching the screen of the display device or by making some gestures or through hand movements in front of the display device or the access device.”)).
detecting, by the device, an external device that is external to the device and the sensor (see at least Lavian, Figure 3A (shows the detected devices); paragraph 0087 (“In an embodiment of the invention, the user may select an option by making gestures or hand movements at the device. For example, the user may do a thumb up gesture to switch on an appliance at home or may do a thumb down gesture to switch off the same. Similarly, the user may do other gestures such as, but are not limited to, waving a hand, nodding head, smiling, blinking an eye, and so forth. In an embodiment of the invention, the device may include a camera for detecting the gestures or hand movements. In an embodiment of the invention, the VMThings 108 may be configured to analyze and interpret the gestures and hand movements.”); paragraph 0128 (The devices can be controlled by gestures or hand movements.); paragraph 0125 (An enhanced visual access menu of a device displays remote devices that may be controlled.)).
selecting the external device based, at least in part, on a first gesture detected by the device, wherein the first gesture is a particular hand pose using fingers indicating an intent to interact with the device, wherein the device is configured to detect a second hand pose different from the particular hand pose for selecting another external device (see at least Lavian, paragraph 0124 (“FIG. 3A illustrates an exemplary visual access menu 308 and an enhanced visual access menu 310 at a device 102, in accordance with the first embodiment of the invention. As discussed with reference to FIG. 1A, the device 102 may include a graphical user interface (GUI) for accessing the visual access menus. Further, the VMThings 108 may display the visual access menu 308 (or the Internet of Things menu) at the device 102 so as to enable the user to control the remote devices 106a-n. A visual access menu 308 may include one or more options. The options may be a remote devices 302 option and services 304 option. Though not shown, but a person skilled in the art will appreciate that the visual access menu 308 (or the Internet of Things menu) may include more than two options. A user of the device 102 may select an option of these options from the displayed visual access menu 308 (or the Internet of Things menu). Further, the user may select an option by any of the following ways, but are not limited to, touching an option, through a voice command, through a gesture or hand movement, through an audio input, by pressing one or more keys at the device 102, and so forth.”); paragraph 0125; paragraph 0172 (“At step 808, a selection of a device option may be received from the user. The user may provide the selection by touching the screen of the display device or by making some gestures or through hand movements in front of the display device or the access device.”); paragraph 0186; paragraph 0204 (“At step 1508, a selection of a device option may be received from the user. The user may provide the selection by touching the screen of the display device or by making some gestures or through hand movements in front of the display device or the access device. The gestures may be such as, but are not limited to, a thumbs up, a head nod, a smile, a laughter, a thumbs down, showing two fingers, and so forth.” One reading Lavian would understand that different hand gestures or poses would be used for selecting different devices to interact with.)).
establishing a connection that is capable of sending gesture data between the device and the external device (see at least Lavian, Figure 1A, Item 104; Figure 4; paragraph 0080 (“The device 102 is connected to the plurality of remote devices 106a-n through the network 104.”); paragraph 0128 (A user may control devices using hand gestures or hand movements.); paragraph 0133; paragraph 0173 (“At step 810, the user may be connected to a remote device based on the selection of a device option.”)).
detecting, by the device, a second gesture made in the 3D space (see at least Lavian, paragraph 0087 (“Further, the VMThings 108 may include stored gestures defined by the user at device 102 and may compare or match the real time gestures with the stored gestures.”); paragraph 0128 (“In another embodiment of the invention, the user may provide inputs at the device 102 by using different gestures or hand movements. For example the user may switch on an air conditioner by showing a gesture of a thumb up at the device 102. In an embodiment of the invention, the device 102 may include a camera. … In an embodiment of the invention, the VMThings 108 may store a list of voice commands or gestures or hand movements for selecting options from the visual access menus or the enhanced visual access menus (or the Internet of Things menus). The VMThings 108 may store the actions to be taken corresponding to these commands or gestures or hand movements.”)).
sending, by the device, a command to the external device based, at least in part, on the second gesture (see at least Lavian, paragraph 0087 (“Further, the VMThings 108 may include stored gestures defined by the user at device 102 and may compare or match the real time gestures with the stored gestures.”); paragraph 0128 (“In another embodiment of the invention, the user may provide inputs at the device 102 by using different gestures or hand movements. For example the user may switch on an air conditioner by showing a gesture of a thumb up at the device 102. In an embodiment of the invention, the device 102 may include a camera. … In an embodiment of the invention, the VMThings 108 may store a list of voice commands or gestures or hand movements for selecting options from the visual access menus or the enhanced visual access menus (or the Internet of Things menus). The VMThings 108 may store the actions to be taken corresponding to these commands or gestures or hand movements.”)).
Lavian does not explicitly teach, however, Ko teaches:
in a three-dimensional (3D) space (see at least Ko, page 3 (“The most common 3D acquisition system is the stereoscopic vision system, which uses two cameras to obtain a left and right stereo image. These images are slightly offset on the same order as the human eyes are. As the computer compares the two images, it develops a disparity image that relates the displacement of objects in the images. Commonly used in 3D movies, stereoscopic vision systems enable exciting and low-cost entertainment. It is ideal for 2D movies and mobile devices, including smartphones and tablets.”); page 4 (“Stereoscopic vision systems can be more cost effective and fit in a small form factor, making them a good choice for devices like smartphones, tablets and other consumer devices.”); page 6 (gesture recognition)).
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 incorporate Ko’s 3D gesture recognition system with Lavian’s method of using a smart phone to interact with other devices using voice commands or gestures. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to incorporate this feature for the purpose of recognizing 3D movement of gestures in order to more accurately identify gestures and be able to recognize many types of gestures.
Claim 6:
Claim 6 is rejected using the same rationale that was used for the rejection of claim 1.
Claim 11:
Claim 11 is rejected using the same rationale that was used for the rejection of claim 1.
Claim 21:
Lavian further teaches:
displaying data that identifies the external device (see at least Lavian, Figure 3A; paragraph 0125 (An enhanced visual access menu of a device displays remote devices that may be controlled.)).
interpreting the first gesture made in the 3D space as selecting the external device based, at least in part, on the data (see at least Lavian, paragraph 0124 (“FIG. 3A illustrates an exemplary visual access menu 308 and an enhanced visual access menu 310 at a device 102, in accordance with the first embodiment of the invention. As discussed with reference to FIG. 1A, the device 102 may include a graphical user interface (GUI) for accessing the visual access menus. Further, the VMThings 108 may display the visual access menu 308 (or the Internet of Things menu) at the device 102 so as to enable the user to control the remote devices 106a-n. A visual access menu 308 may include one or more options. The options may be a remote devices 302 option and services 304 option. Though not shown, but a person skilled in the art will appreciate that the visual access menu 308 (or the Internet of Things menu) may include more than two options. A user of the device 102 may select an option of these options from the displayed visual access menu 308 (or the Internet of Things menu). Further, the user may select an option by any of the following ways, but are not limited to, touching an option, through a voice command, through a gesture or hand movement, through an audio input, by pressing one or more keys at the device 102, and so forth.”); paragraph 0172 (“At step 808, a selection of a device option may be received from the user. The user may provide the selection by touching the screen of the display device or by making some gestures or through hand movements in front of the display device or the access device.”)).
Claim 22:
Lavian further teaches:
processing the second gesture; and sending the processed second gesture via the connection to the external device (see at least Lavian, paragraph 0087 (“Further, the VMThings 108 may include stored gestures defined by the user at device 102 and may compare or match the real time gestures with the stored gestures.”); paragraph 0128 (“In another embodiment of the invention, the user may provide inputs at the device 102 by using different gestures or hand movements. For example the user may switch on an air conditioner by showing a gesture of a thumb up at the device 102. In an embodiment of the invention, the device 102 may include a camera. … In an embodiment of the invention, the VMThings 108 may store a list of voice commands or gestures or hand movements for selecting options from the visual access menus or the enhanced visual access menus (or the Internet of Things menus). The VMThings 108 may store the actions to be taken corresponding to these commands or gestures or hand movements.” The gestures are recognized at the VMThings and then the processed information is sent to the device that is being controlled.)).
Claim 23:
Lavian further teaches:
wherein the first gesture is one finger point pose, a one finger click pose, a two finger point pose, a two finger click pose, a prone one finger point pose, a prone one finger click pose, a prone two finger point pose, a prone two finger click pose, a medial one finger point pose, or a medial two finger point pose (see at least Lavian, paragraph 0204 (“At step 1508, a selection of a device option may be received from the user. The user may provide the selection by touching the screen of the display device or by making some gestures or through hand movements in front of the display device or the access device. The gestures may be such as, but are not limited to, a thumbs up, a head nod, a smile, a laughter, a thumbs down, showing two fingers, and so forth.” One reading Lavian would understand that different hand gestures or poses would be used for selecting different devices to interact with.)).
Claim 24:
Lavian further teaches:
wherein the second gesture is a gesture setting a device-specific control paradigm associated with the selected external device and used to determine a context for interpreting one or more subsequent gestures and controlling the selected device (see at least Lavian, paragraph 0087 (“Further, the VMThings 108 may include stored gestures defined by the user at device 102 and may compare or match the real time gestures with the stored gestures.”); paragraph 0128 (“In another embodiment of the invention, the user may provide inputs at the device 102 by using different gestures or hand movements. For example the user may switch on an air conditioner by showing a gesture of a thumb up at the device 102. In an embodiment of the invention, the device 102 may include a camera. … In an embodiment of the invention, the VMThings 108 may store a list of voice commands or gestures or hand movements for selecting options from the visual access menus or the enhanced visual access menus (or the Internet of Things menus). The VMThings 108 may store the actions to be taken corresponding to these commands or gestures or hand movements.”)).
Claim 26:
Lavian further teaches:
wherein the device is a portable device (see at least Lavian, paragraph 0202 (“The access device may be a portable device such as a mobile phone, smart phone, PDA, page, watch, tablet, ipod, etc.)).
Claim 27:
Lavian further teaches:
detecting, by the sensor, the second gesture; and determining, for the second gesture, gesture information based, at least in part, on a library of gestures stored in the device (see at least Lavian, paragraph 0087 (“Further, the VMThings 108 may include stored gestures defined by the user at device 102 and may compare or match the real time gestures with the stored gestures.”); paragraph 0128 (“In another embodiment of the invention, the user may provide inputs at the device 102 by using different gestures or hand movements. For example the user may switch on an air conditioner by showing a gesture of a thumb up at the device 102. In an embodiment of the invention, the device 102 may include a camera. … In an embodiment of the invention, the VMThings 108 may store a list of voice commands or gestures or hand movements for selecting options from the visual access menus or the enhanced visual access menus (or the Internet of Things menus). The VMThings 108 may store the actions to be taken corresponding to these commands or gestures or hand movements.”)).
Claim 28:
Lavian further teaches:
detecting, by the device, a third gesture; interpreting the third gesture as selecting another external device; and establishing a second connection that is capable of exchanging commands between the external device and the other external device (see at least Lavian, Figure 3A and associated text (A user can select a second device to control.)). See rejection of claim 1.
Claim 29:
Claim 29 is rejected using the same rationale that was used for the rejection of claim 21.
Claim 30:
Claim 30 is rejected using the same rationale that was used for the rejection of claim 22.
Claim 31:
Claim 31 is rejected using the same rationale that was used for the rejection of claim 23.
Claim 32:
Claim 32 is rejected using the same rationale that was used for the rejection of claim 24.
Claim 34:
Claim 34 is rejected using the same rationale that was used for the rejection of claim 26.
Claim 35:
Claim 35 is rejected using the same rationale that was used for the rejection of claim 27.
Claim 36:
Claim 36 is rejected using the same rationale that was used for the rejection of claim 28.
Claim 37:
Claim 37 is rejected using the same rationale that was used for the rejection of claim 21.
Claim 39:
Claim 39 is rejected using the same rationale that was used for the rejection of claim 23.
Claim 40:
Claim 40 is rejected using the same rationale that was used for the rejection of claim 24.
Claims 25 and 33 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lavian, et al, U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2013/0080898 A1; Ko, Dong-Ik and Guarav Agarwal. “Gesture Recognition: Enabling Natural Interactions with Electronics,” Texas Instruments, https://www.edge-ai-vision.com/2012/04/gesture-recognition-enabling-natural-interactions-with-electronics/ (April 13, 2012); and Poon et al., U.S. Patent Application Publication Number 2011/0175822 A1.
Claim 25:
Lavian does not explicitly teach, however, Poon teaches:
wherein selecting the external device is based, at least in part, on biometric information determined from the object performing at least one of the first or second gesture (see at least Poon, paragraphs 0028-0035 (A user’s fingerprint is detected and recognized while the user is making a gesture.); paragraph 0036 (“Also note that in particular embodiments, fingerprint could be used to authenticate and authorize the object transfer with the source and destination device.”)).
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 incorporate Poon’s method of detecting a fingerprint while a user is making a gesture to control a device with Lavian’s method of using a smart phone to interact with other devices using voice commands or gestures. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to incorporate this feature for the purpose of making sure that the user is authorized to control the device. This is an efficient method of preventing an unauthorized user from controlling the device.
Claim 33:
Claim 33 is rejected using the same rationale that was used for the rejection of claim 25.
Claim 38 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lavian, et al, U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2013/0080898 A1; Ko, Dong-Ik and Guarav Agarwal. “Gesture Recognition: Enabling Natural Interactions with Electronics,” Texas Instruments, https://www.edge-ai-vision.com/2012/04/gesture-recognition-enabling-natural-interactions-with-electronics/ (April 13, 2012); and Lynch et al., U.S. Patent Number 9,069,385 B1.
Claim 38:
Lavian further teaches:
process the second gesture, … and send the processed second gesture via the connection to the external device (see at least Lavian, paragraph 0087 (“Further, the VMThings 108 may include stored gestures defined by the user at device 102 and may compare or match the real time gestures with the stored gestures.”); paragraph 0128 (“In another embodiment of the invention, the user may provide inputs at the device 102 by using different gestures or hand movements. For example the user may switch on an air conditioner by showing a gesture of a thumb up at the device 102. In an embodiment of the invention, the device 102 may include a camera. … In an embodiment of the invention, the VMThings 108 may store a list of voice commands or gestures or hand movements for selecting options from the visual access menus or the enhanced visual access menus (or the Internet of Things menus). The VMThings 108 may store the actions to be taken corresponding to these commands or gestures or hand movements.” The gestures are recognized at the VMThings and then the processed information is sent to the device that is being controlled.)).
Lavian does not explicitly teach, however, Lynch teaches:
wherein the processing enables sending the processed second gesture with less bandwidth than sending a second unprocessed gesture (see at least Lynch, column 9, lines 8-19 (“In embodiments of the present invention, the communication component 141 of FIG. 2 is configured for compressing the coordinate representations 170 into reduced-bandwidth streaming data. Generally, the streaming data is conveyed from the source device 120 via the wireless connection 110. In an exemplary embodiment, the reduced-bandwidth streaming data is conveyed at a bit rate that is less than that of streaming video media. That is, because the streaming data being transmitted comprises spatial coordinates (e.g., coordinate representations 170 of physical gestures 180), the size of the data is substantially less than image data, thus, obviating the need for video codec compression.”)). Note: This limitation is intended use and descriptive of an inherent outcome or purpose of the processing of the gesture. Although this limitation is found in the art, it is not given patentable weight.
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 incorporate Lynch’s method of compressing gesture data in order to reduce bandwidth with Lavian’s method of using a smart phone to interact with other devices using voice commands or gestures. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to incorporate this feature for the purpose of reducing bandwidth resources that are needed in order to increase data transfer speeds, reduce latency, and reduce costs.
Other Relevant Prior Art
Phillips, U.S. Patent Number 9,274,742 B2. Phillips teaches visual-symbolic control (VSC) software that allows a controlling device to control a target device that has a display that changes in response to user interaction.
Lapidot et al., U.S. Patent Number 9,766,855 B2. Lapidot teaches an invention for controlling a surveillance system using gestures and/or voice commands.
Friedman, U.S. Patent Application Publication Number 2011/0090407 A1. This reference teaches gesture-based remote control. See Figure 2 and associated text.
Kramer et al., U.S. Patent Application Publication Number 2014/0195988 A1. This reference teaches gestural control of devices. See paragraph 0437.
De Schepper et al., U.S. Patent Application Publication Number 2014/0320274 A2. This reference teaches gesture control of remotely controllable devices.
Yoon et al., U.S. Patent Application Publication Number 2008/0019589 A1. This reference teaches a gesture-recognizing device that is, for example, a TV control set top.
Forutanpour et al., U.S. Patent Number 9,170,674 B2. This reference teaches gesture-based device control.
S. Berman and H. Stern, "Sensors for Gesture Recognition Systems," in IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics, Part C (Applications and Reviews), vol. 42, no. 3, pp. 277-290, May 2012, doi: 10.1109/TSMCC.2011.2161077. Berman teaches a gesture recognition system.
Adzhigirey et al., U.S. Patent Application Number 2014/0198024 A1. This reference teaches detecting three dimensional gestures.
Park et al., U.S. Patent Application Publication Number 2014/0111423 A1. This reference teaches a mobile system with a three dimensional image sensor.
Chae et al., U.S. Patent Application Publication Number 2007/0275755 A1. This reference teaches a mobile wireless console that senses three dimensional motion .
Lee et al., U.S. Patent Application Publication Number 2012/0062558 A1. This reference teaches a mobile device such as a smart phone that detects three dimensional movement of a user’s hand.
Ivanich et al., U.S. Patent Application Publication Number 2011/0026765 A1. This reference teaches hand gesture control of an electronic device.
Marvit et al., U.S. Patent Application Publication Number 2005/0212911 A1. This reference teaches identification of controlled devices. Specifically, Marvit teaches “mapping gestures to a plurality of functions depending on the context.” See paragraph 0139.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any extension fee 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 ELIZABETH H ROSEN whose telephone number is (571) 270-1850 and email address is elizabeth.rosen@uspto.gov. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday, 10 AM ET - 7 PM ET.
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/ELIZABETH H ROSEN/Primary Examiner, 3693
1 See MPEP 2106.04(d)(2) (“Examiners should keep in mind that in order to qualify as a "treatment" or "prophylaxis" limitation for purposes of this consideration, the claim limitation in question must affirmatively recite an action that effects a particular treatment or prophylaxis for a disease or medical condition. An example of such a limitation is a step of "administering amazonic acid to a patient" or a step of "administering a course of plasmapheresis to a patient." If the limitation does not actually provide a treatment or prophylaxis, e.g., it is merely an intended use of the claimed invention or a field of use limitation, then it cannot integrate a judicial exception under the "treatment or prophylaxis" consideration. For example, a step of "prescribing a topical steroid to a patient with eczema" is not a positive limitation because it does not require that the steroid actually be used by or on the patient, and a recitation that a claimed product is a "pharmaceutical composition" or that a "feed dispenser is operable to dispense a mineral supplement" are not affirmative limitations because they are merely indicating how the claimed invention might be used.”)
