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 Amendment
The request for reconsideration filed on 03/04/2026 is acknowledged.
Double Patenting
Claims 1 and 3-21 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claim 1 of U.S. Patent No. 10,701,776; 10,677,399; and 11,168,250.the basis for this rejection was previously set forth in detail in the Non-Final Office Action mailed on 11/04/2025. Accordingly, the rejection of claims 1 and 3-21 is maintained.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1 and 3-21 are allowed.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance: this application includes all the allowable subject matters of U.S. patent No. 10,701,776. No prior art was found teaching individually, or suggesting in combination, all of the features of the applicant’s invention, as recited in claims 1 and 16 are not taught by prior arts.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 03/04/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Regarding the Examiner’s nonstatutory double patenting rejection, the Applicant states that the Applicant will submit a terminal disclaimer once the claims are determined to be otherwise allowable. Applicant’s arguments have been fully considered but are not persuasive. Applicant has not filed a terminal disclaimer in response to the nonstatutory double patenting rejection and has not otherwise shown that the claims subject to the rejection are patentably distinct from the claims of the reference patent/application. Applicant’s statement that a terminal disclaimer will be filed at a later time does not overcome the outstanding rejection. See MPEP § 804.
Accordingly, the nonstatutory double patenting rejection is maintained.
Regarding the Examiner’s Claim objections, the Applicant requests reconsideration of the objection to claims 3–5 under 37 CFR 1.75(c), arguing that claims 3–5 originally depended from former claim 1 and were amended to depend from claim 16 after the subject matter of former claim 1 was incorporated into claim 16. Applicant further argues that the dependency will be corrected when the claims are placed in condition for allowance. Applicant’s arguments are persuasive. The dependency of claims 3–5 on claim 16 is clear in view of the amendments made during prosecution, and the issue can be addressed by appropriate renumbering of the claims when the application is placed in condition for allowance. MPEP § 608.01(n) provides that, where a claim refers to a numerically following claim, but the dependency is clear both as presented and as it will be renumbered at issue, the claims should be examined on the merits and no objection as to form need be made.
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 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 Tsion Tumebo whose telephone number is 571-270-1668. The examiner can normally be reached on 7:30 am to 4:00 pm, Monday thru Friday.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Jong-Suk (James) Lee can be reached on (571)272-7044. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/TSION TUMEBO/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2875
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