Prosecution Insights
Last updated: July 17, 2026
Application No. 18/195,721

ELECTRONIC APPARATUS AND OPERATING METHOD THEREOF

Non-Final OA §101§103
Filed
May 10, 2023
Priority
Nov 10, 2020 — RE 10-2020-0149594 +1 more
Examiner
PEHLKE, CAROLYN A
Art Unit
3799
Tech Center
3700 — Mechanical Engineering & Manufacturing
Assignee
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
OA Round
3 (Non-Final)
62%
Grant Probability
Moderate
3-4
OA Rounds
3m
Est. Remaining
90%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 62% of resolved cases
62%
Career Allowance Rate
305 granted / 492 resolved
-8.0% vs TC avg
Strong +28% interview lift
Without
With
+28.5%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
3y 5m
Avg Prosecution
23 currently pending
Career history
526
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
3.3%
-36.7% vs TC avg
§103
50.5%
+10.5% vs TC avg
§102
4.2%
-35.8% vs TC avg
§112
37.0%
-3.0% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 492 resolved cases

Office Action

§101 §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 . Priority Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55. Specification The abstract of the disclosure is objected to because it contains a paragraph number. A corrected abstract of the disclosure is required and must be presented on a separate sheet, apart from any other text. See MPEP § 608.01(b). This objection applies to the allegedly amended Abstract, filed on 09/03/2025, because it still contains a paragraph number. It does not appear that any amendment has been made. Claim Objections Claims 9 and 10 are objected to because of the following informalities: claim 9, and all dependent claims thereof, has double punctuation (a comma and a semi-colon) at the end of line 4. While Applicant asserts that claim 9 has been amended, it still appears to contain double punctuation. Applicant is reminded that the appropriate mark-up for removing a single character is double brackets surrounding the character (in this case that would be [[,]]). Appropriate correction is required. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101 35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows: Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title. Claim 20 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to non-statutory subject matter. The claim(s) does/do not fall within at least one of the four categories of patent eligible subject matter because the computer-readable recording medium is not set forth as being non-transitory, and the disclosure does not limit this element to only non-transitory embodiments (see [00191]). 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. 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. This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention. Claim(s) 1-4 and 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Klemmer (US 2020/0119780 A1, Apr. 16, 2020) (hereinafter “Klemmer”) in view of Baheti et al. (US 2019/0133609 A1, Apr. 18, 2019) (hereinafter “Baheti”), Lin et al. (US 2010/0198083 A1, Aug. 5, 2010) (hereinafter “Lin”), and Cho et al. (US 2018/0235506 A1, Aug. 23, 2018) (hereinafter “Cho”). Regarding claims 1 and 20: Klemmer teaches an operating method and a computer-readable recording medium having recorded thereon a program ([0010]) for executing an operating method, comprising: emitting a transmission signal ([0084], claim 1); receiving a UWB reflection signal reflected from an object ([0084], claim 1); and obtaining three-dimensional information of the object based on the transmission signal and the reflection signal (figs. 9 and 10, [0087]-[0097]), wherein the three-dimensional information includes motion information of the object ([0148]-[0150] – the three-dimensional information includes both the bio-signal and information on “whole-body movements”), wherein the plurality of antennas are respectively arranged in a vertical direction and a horizontal direction relative to a front surface of a display of the electronic apparatus (figs. 13A - 17C - installed around the device in the vertical and horizontal directions). While the antennas of Klemmer are located adjacent to/surrounding the front surface of a display of the electronic apparatus, they are not arranged on the front surface. Baheti, in the same field of endeavor, teaches a mobile electronic device having antennas arranged on a front surface of a display of the electronic apparatus (at least figs. 16-17, [0023]-[0024], [0047]-[0048], [0054], [0115]. [0118]). Baheti further teaches that integrating the antennas with the LCD screen (display) provides the advantage of reducing the overall size of the mobile electronic device ([0049]). It would have been prima facie obvious for one having ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method and recording medium of Klemmer by implementing them on a device having the antennas arranged on a front surface of a display of the electronic apparatus as taught by Baheti, in order to allow a more compact device size in view of the further teachings of Baheti. Klemmer as modified by Baheti discloses that separation of whole-body movements from the heart beat and respiration signal is a significant challenge ([0150]), Klemmer and Baheti are silent on the details of wherein the operating method further comprises obtaining a bio-signal by removing movement noise from the motion information, the movement noise corresponding to movement due to a change in position or posture of the object, and excluding micromovements of a biological organ. Lin, in the same field of endeavor, discloses obtaining a bio-signal by cancelation of (removing) movement noise from acquired motion information, the movement noise corresponding to movement due to a change in position or posture of the object, and excluding micromovements of a biological organ ([0031], [0095]). Lin further discloses that removal of random body movement noise makes vital sign acquisition more robust ([0032]) and improves accuracy ([0031]). It would have been prima facie obvious for one having ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method of Klemmer and Baheti to include the random body movement removal of Lin in order to improve the robustness and accuracy of the vital sign measurements in view of the teachings of Klemmer that this is a significant issue. Further regarding claims 1 and 20: Klemmer, Baheti, and Lin silent on the transmission and reflection signals being UWB. Cho, in the same field of endeavor, teaches acquiring measurement data from a user by emitting a UWB transmission signal (fig. 2, s201; [0045]) and receiving a UWB reflection signal reflected from an object (fig. 2, s203; [0046]). Cho further teaches that the use of UWB is desirable because UWB is a radio technique that uses the frequencies of a wide band and provides various advantages such as high range resolution, penetrability, strong immunity to narrowband noise, and compatibility with other devices that share frequencies ([0003]). It would have been prima facie obvious for one having ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the method and recording medium of Klemmer, Baheti, and Lin using UWB as taught by Cho in order to achieve the advantages such as high range resolution, penetrability, strong immunity to narrowband noise, and compatibility with other devices that share frequencies in view of the teachings of Cho. Regarding claim 2: Klemmer as modified by Baheti, Lin, and Cho teaches the method of claim 1, wherein the obtaining of the three- dimensional information of the object comprises obtaining the three-dimensional information of the object responsive to at least one of positions of the plurality of antennas, an emission time of the UWB transmission signal, a reception time of the UWB reflection signal, and magnitudes and angles of the UWB transmission signal and the UWB reflection signal (Klemmer - figs. 9 and 10, [0087]-[0105]). Regarding claim 3: Klemmer as modified by Baheti, Lin, and Cho teaches the method of claim 2, wherein the obtaining of the three- dimensional information of the object further comprises obtaining at least one of a difference in emission times of the UWB transmission signal between the plurality of antennas, a difference in reception times of the UWB reflection signal between the plurality of antennas, a difference in the magnitudes and angles of the UWB transmission signal and the UWB reflection signal between the plurality of antennas, and a difference in the positions of the plurality of antennas (figs. 9 and 10, [0087]-[0105]). Regarding claim 4: Klemmer as modified by Baheti, Lin, and Cho teaches the method of claim 1, wherein the three-dimensional information of the object comprises at least one of position information of the object, direction information of the object, movement amount information of the object, and movement speed information of the object (Klemmer - figs. 9 and 10 show at least the object's 3D position). Claim(s) 5-8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Klemmer, Baheti, Lin, and Cho as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Bliss et al. (US 2019/0142289 A1, May 16, 2019) (hereinafter “Bliss”). Regarding claim 5: Klemmer as modified by Baheti, Lin, and Cho teaches the method of claim 1 including obtaining a signal from the three-dimensional information of the object (Klemmer - [0148]-[0150], figs. 16a-c), where Klemmer indicates that the bio-signal is extracted from particular spectral (frequency) ranges (fig. 16C, [0148]-[0149]) but is silent on the specifics of obtaining a signal on a frequency domain, from the three-dimensional information of the object; filtering a signal having a certain frequency range, from the signal on the frequency domain to generate a filtered signal having the certain frequency range; and inversely transforming the filtered signal having the certain frequency range into a time domain. Bliss, in the same field of endeavor, teaches obtaining heartbeat and respiration signals using radar methods, including UWB ([0045]). Bliss teaches processing the obtained signals to separate heartbeat and respiration signals and to remove noise ([0049]) by obtaining a signal on a frequency domain, from the three-dimensional information of the object ([0048]); filtering a signal having a certain frequency range, from the signal on the frequency domain to generate a filtered signal having the certain frequency range ([0049]-[0052]); and inversely transforming the filtered signal having the certain frequency range into a time domain ([0053], figs. 7-8; while Bliss doesn't explicitly state that an inverse transform is performed on the filtered signal, this is implicitly disclosed by the discussion of the reconstructed time-domain heart beat signal). It would have been prima facie obvious for one having ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method of Klemmer, Baheti, Lin, and Cho by processing the obtained signal data in the manner taught by Bliss in order to effectively remove noise and separate the heartbeat and respiration signals in view of the teachings of Bliss. Regarding claim 6: Klemmer as modified by Baheti, Lin, Cho and Bliss teaches the method of claim 5, including obtaining a signal of each of an X-axis, a Y-axis, and a Z-axis from the three- dimensional information of the object (Klemmer – see at least figs. 9 and 10, and all associated description – the information on the object is in the form of three-dimensional – x, y, z – coordinates); and performing a Fourier transform on the acquired data (Bliss – [0048]). The specific limitations of “converting the signal of each of the X-axis, the Y-axis, and the Z-axis into a frequency domain signal” are merely a description of performing a Fourier transform on three-dimensional data (as evidenced by Gabriel Popescu (Quantitative Phase Imaging of Cells and Tissues, 1st Edition; 2011)), where the combination of Klemmer, Baheti, Lin, Cho and Bliss would require performing transforming the 3D data of Klemmer as taught by Bliss. Regarding claim 7: Klemmer as modified by Baheti, Lin, Cho and Bliss teaches the method of claim 5, wherein the bio-signal comprises at least one of a heart rate signal and a respiration signal (Klemmer - [0030], [0148]-[0150]; Cho – [0009]; Bliss – abstract). Regarding claim 8: Klemmer as modified by Baheti, Lin, Cho and Bliss teaches the method of claim 5. Klemmer further discloses performing the method on a device with various outputs (e.g. display 355, I/O interface 345, speaker 330) and generating graphs of the bio-signals ([0148], figs. 16a-c). While Klemmer does not explicitly disclose outputting the bio-signals, it is considered to have been prima facie obvious for one having ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to output the bio-signals to the user in order for the user to obtain the collected health information and because, in the absence of some form of output, acquiring and measuring the bio-signals would serve no useful purpose. Claim(s) 9 and 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Klemmer as modified by Baheti, Lin, Cho and Bliss as applied to claim 5 above, and further in view of Sarely et al. (US 2021/0052176 A1, Feb. 25, 2021) (hereinafter “Sarely”). Regarding claim 9: Klemmer as modified by Baheti, Lin, Cho and Bliss teach the method of claim 5 but are silent on detecting a change in the bio-signal, wherein if the change is greater than or equal to a reference value, generating notification information in response to the change in the bio-signal,; and outputting the notification information. Sarely, in the same field of endeavor, teaches monitoring changes in breathing rate, heart rate, and heart rate variability, where such changes may indicate changes in the mental or health state of an individual ([0118]), and generating/outputting an alarm (“notification”) in response to a threshold variation in breathing rate, heart rate, or heart rate variability ([0146], [0152], [0153]). It would have been prima facie obvious for one having ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method of Klemmer as modified by Baheti, Lin, Cho and Bliss by providing an alarm in response to a threshold variation in breathing rate, heart rate, or heart rate variability as taught by Sarely in order to alert the user to a potential change in a health or mental status. Regarding claim 10: Klemmer as modified by Baheti, Lin, Cho, Bliss and Sarely teach the method of claim 9, wherein the notification information comprises at least one of an audio signal and a video signal, and the outputting of the notification information comprises at least one of outputting the notification information through the electronic apparatus and transmitting the notification information to an external user terminal through a communication network ([0095], [0153]). Claim(s) 11-14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Klemmer (US 2020/0119780 A1, Apr. 16, 2020) (hereinafter “Klemmer”) in view of Lin et al. (US 2010/0198083 A1, Aug. 5, 2010) (hereinafter “Lin”) and Cho et al. (US 2018/0235506 A1, Aug. 23, 2018) (hereinafter “Cho”). Regarding claim 11: Klemmer teaches an electronic apparatus comprising: a module comprising a plurality of antennas, wherein the plurality of antennas are respectively arranged in a vertical direction and a horizontal direction relative to a front surface of the electronic apparatus (figs. 13A - 17C - installed around the device in the vertical and horizontal directions "relative to" the front surface of the device); a memory storing one or more instructions ([0050]); and a processor communicated with the memory and configured to execute the one or more instructions stored in the memory ([0050]), wherein the module transmits a transmission signal to an object and receives a reflection signal reflected from the object, and wherein the processor executes the one or more instructions to obtain three- dimensional information of the object based on the transmission signal and the reflection signal (figs. 9 and 10, [0087]-[0097]; [0084], claim 1), wherein the three-dimensional information includes motion information of the object ([0148]-[0150] – the three-dimensional information includes both the bio-signal and information on “whole-body movements”). Klemmer discloses that separation of whole-body movements from the heart beat and respiration signal is a significant challenge ([0150]), Klemmer is silent on the details of wherein the operating method further comprises obtaining a bio-signal by removing movement noise from the motion information, the movement noise corresponding to movement due to a change in position or posture of the object, and excluding micromovements of a biological organ. Lin, in the same field of endeavor, discloses obtaining a bio-signal by cancelation of (removing) movement noise from acquired motion information, the movement noise corresponding to movement due to a change in position or posture of the object, and excluding micromovements of a biological organ ([0031], [0095]). Lin further discloses that removal of random body movement noise makes vital sign acquisition more robust ([0032]) and improves accuracy ([0031]). It would have been prima facie obvious for one having ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the apparatus of Klemmer to include the random body movement removal of Lin in order to improve the robustness and accuracy of the vital sign measurements in view of the teachings of Klemmer that this is a significant issue. Klemmer and Lin are silent on the transmission and reflection signals being UWB. Cho, in the same field of endeavor, teaches acquiring measurement data from a user by emitting a UWB transmission signal (fig. 2, s201; [0045]) and receiving a UWB reflection signal reflected from an object (fig. 2, s203; [0046]). Cho further teaches that the use of UWB is desirable because UWB is a radio technique that uses the frequencies of a wide band and provides various advantages such as high range resolution, penetrability, strong immunity to narrowband noise, and compatibility with other devices that share frequencies ([0003]). It would have been prima facie obvious for one having ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the apparatus of Klemmer and Lin using UWB as taught by Cho in order to achieve the advantages such as high range resolution, penetrability, strong immunity to narrowband noise, and compatibility with other devices that share frequencies in view of the teachings of Cho. Regarding claim 12: Klemmer as modified by Lin and Cho teaches the electronic apparatus of claim 11, wherein the processor is configured to execute the one or more instructions to obtain the three-dimensional information of the object by using at least one of positions of the plurality of antennas, an emission time of the UWB transmission signal, a reception time of the UWB reflection signal, and magnitudes and angles of the UWB transmission signal and the reflection signal (figs. 9 and 10, [0087]-[0105]). Regarding claim 13: Klemmer as modified by Lin and Cho teaches the electronic apparatus of claim 12, wherein the processor is configured to execute the one or more instructions to obtain at least one of a difference in emission times of the UWB transmission signal between the plurality of antennas, a difference in reception times of the UWB reflection signal between the plurality of antennas, a difference in magnitudes and angles of the UWB transmission signal and the UWB reception signal between the plurality of antennas, and a difference in the positions of the plurality of antennas (figs. 9 and 10, [0087]-[0105]). Regarding claim 14: Klemmer as modified by Lin and Cho teaches the electronic apparatus of claim 11, wherein the three-dimensional information of the object comprises at least one of position information, direction information, movement amount information, and movement speed information of the object (figs. 9 and 10 show at least the object's 3D position). Claim(s) 15-18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Klemmer and Cho as applied to claim 11 above, and further in view of Bliss et al. (US 2019/0142289 A1, May 16, 2019) (hereinafter “Bliss”). Regarding claim 15: Klemmer as modified by Cho teaches the apparatus of claim 11 including obtaining a signal from the three-dimensional information of the object (Klemmer - [0148]-[0150], figs. 16a-c), where Klemmer indicates that the bio-signal is extracted from particular spectral (frequency) ranges (fig. 16C, [0148]-[0149]) but is silent on the specifics of obtaining a signal on a frequency domain, from the three-dimensional information of the object; filtering a signal having a certain frequency range, from the signal on the frequency domain to generate a filtered signal having the certain frequency range; and inversely transforming the filtered signal having the certain frequency range into a time domain. Bliss, in the same field of endeavor, teaches obtaining heartbeat and respiration signals using radar methods, including UWB ([0045]). Bliss teaches processing the obtained signals to separate heartbeat and respiration signals and to remove noise ([0049]) by obtaining a signal on a frequency domain, from the three-dimensional information of the object ([0048]); filtering a signal having a certain frequency range, from the signal on the frequency domain to generate a filtered signal having the certain frequency range ([0049]-[0052]); and inversely transforming the filtered signal having the certain frequency range into a time domain ([0053], figs. 7-8; while Bliss doesn't explicitly state that an inverse transform is performed on the filtered signal, this is implicitly disclosed by the discussion of the reconstructed time-domain heart beat signal). It would have been prima facie obvious for one having ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the apparatus of Klemmer, Lin, and Cho by processing the obtained signal data in the manner taught by Bliss in order to effectively remove noise and separate the heartbeat and respiration signals in view of the teachings of Bliss. Regarding claim 16: Klemmer as modified by Lin, Cho and Bliss teaches the apparatus of claim 15, including the processor being configured to obtain a signal of each of an X-axis, a Y-axis, and a Z-axis from the three- dimensional information of the object (Klemmer – see at least figs. 9 and 10, and all associated description – the information on the object is in the form of three-dimensional – x, y, z – coordinates); and perform a Fourier transform on the acquired data (Bliss – [0048]). The specific limitations of “converting the signal of each of the X-axis, the Y-axis, and the Z-axis into a frequency domain signal” are merely a description of performing a Fourier transform on three-dimensional data (as evidenced by Gabriel Popescu (Quantitative Phase Imaging of Cells and Tissues, 1st Edition; 2011)), where the combination of Klemmer, Lin, Cho, and Bliss would require performing transforming the 3D data of Klemmer as taught by Bliss. Regarding claim 17: Klemmer as modified by Lin, Cho and Bliss teach the electronic apparatus of claim 15, wherein the bio-signal comprises at least one of a heart rate signal and a respiration signal (Klemmer - [0030], [0148]-[0150]; Cho – [0009]; Bliss – abstract). Regarding claim 18: Klemmer as modified by Lin, Cho and Bliss teaches the apparatus of claim 15. Klemmer further discloses various outputs (e.g. display 355, I/O interface 345, speaker 330) and generating graphs of the bio-signals ([0148], figs. 16a-c). While Klemmer does not explicitly disclose outputting the bio-signals, it is considered to have been prima facie obvious for one having ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to output the bio-signals to the user in order for the user to obtain the collected health information and because, in the absence of some form of output, acquiring and measuring the bio-signals would serve no useful purpose. Claim(s) 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Klemmer, Lin, Cho, and Bliss as applied to claim 15 above, and further in view of Sarely et al. (US 2021/0052176 A1, Feb. 25, 2021) (hereinafter “Sarely”). Regarding claim 19: Klemmer as modified by Lin, Cho and Bliss teaches the electronic apparatus of claim 15, further comprising a display (Klemmer - display 355); and a speaker (speaker 330), but is silent on wherein the processor is further configured to execute the one or more instructions to detect a change in the bio-signal, wherein if the change is greater than or equal to a reference value, generate notification information in response to the change in the bio-signal, the notification information including at least one of an audio signal and a video signal; and output the notification information to at least one of the display, the speaker, and an external user terminal through a communication network. Sarely, in the same field of endeavor, teaches monitoring changes in breathing rate, heart rate, and heart rate variability, where such changes may indicate changes in the mental or health state of an individual ([0118]), and generating/outputting an alarm (“notification”) in response to a threshold variation in breathing rate, heart rate, or heart rate variability ([0146], [0152], [0153]). It would have been prima facie obvious for one having ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the apparatus of Klemmer, Lin, Cho, and Bliss by providing an alarm in response to a threshold variation in breathing rate, heart rate, or heart rate variability as taught by Sarely in order to alert the user to a potential change in a health or mental status. Response to Arguments Previous objection to claims 1-20 with respect to the acronym “UWB” is withdrawn in light of the amendments to the claims. Previous objection to claims 9-10 with respect to double punctuation in claim 9 is maintained. While Applicant asserts that claim 9 has been amended, it still appears to contain double punctuation. Applicant is reminded that the appropriate mark-up for removing a single character is double brackets surrounding the character (in this case that would be [[,]]). Previous object to the Abstract is maintained. While Applicant asserts that the Abstract has been amended, no such amendment appears to have been filed. An allegedly amended Abstract was filed on 09/03/2025, however it appears to be identical to the original Abstract and still contains a paragraph number. Rejection of claim 20 under 35 U.S.C. §101 is maintained. Applicant alleges that the claim was amended to include the phrase “non-transitory,” however no such amendment has been filed. Claim 20 as filed on 09/03/2025 presents the same deficiency as the originally filed claim 20. Applicant’s arguments with respect to prior art rejections of all pending claims, filed 09/03/2025, have been fully considered but are moot in view of the updated grounds of rejection necessitated by amendment. 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 CAROLYN A PEHLKE whose telephone number is (571)270-3484. The examiner can normally be reached 9:00am - 5:00pm (Central Time), Monday - Friday. 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, Chris Koharski can be reached at (571) 272-7230. 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. /CAROLYN A PEHLKE/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3799
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Prosecution Timeline

Show 1 earlier event
Jun 04, 2025
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §101, §103
Jul 17, 2025
Applicant Interview (Telephonic)
Jul 17, 2025
Examiner Interview Summary
Sep 03, 2025
Response Filed
Dec 30, 2025
Final Rejection mailed — §101, §103
Feb 25, 2026
Request for Continued Examination
Mar 16, 2026
Response after Non-Final Action
Jul 15, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §101, §103 (current)

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Prosecution Projections

3-4
Expected OA Rounds
62%
Grant Probability
90%
With Interview (+28.5%)
3y 5m (~3m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
High
PTA Risk
Based on 492 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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