Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1-3, 5-6, 8-13, 15-16 and 18-22 have been considered but are moot in view of new grounds of rejection.
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.
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.
Claims 1-3, 5-6, 11-13, 15-16 and 21-22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chun (US 2020/0015192 A1), in view of ZHAO (US 2023/0397075 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Chun teaches an information transmission method (FIG. 13), comprising: in a case that at least one remote user equipment (UE) (FIG. 13 RemoteUE) establishes a radio resource control (RRC) connection with a first network-side device (FIG. 13 eNB) through a relay UE (FIG. 13 Relay UE), configuring, by the first network-side device, UE context information ([0212] the remote UE needs to be registered in the network. For signaling between the remote UE and the network, the relay UE establishes RRC connection toward an eNB, [0218] the MME of the remote UE creates a session for the remote UE and builds the context for the remote UE using the information delivered from the eNB), wherein
the UE context information is context information of the relay UE, the UE context information comprises first related information of the remote UE served by the relay UE ([0222] the eNB may inform the MME of information regarding the remote UE that the relay UE serves. Then, the MME of the relay UE adds information regarding the remote UE to context information related to the relay UE);
wherein the first related information comprises: first configuration information associated with each piece of identifier information in identifier information of at least one remote UE (FIG. 12; [0207], [0209] UEs are distributed across a DRX cycle based on UE identities such that each UE identifier is mapped to a specific paging occasion and DRX configuration, and paging monitoring is performed based on the UE identifier, thereby providing configuration information associated with each identifier).
However, Chun does not teach wherein the first configuration information comprises at least one of: a mapping from a radio link control (RLC) channel of a first interface to a bearer of the remote UE, a mapping from an RLC channel of a second interface to a bearer of the remote UE; an RLC channel configuration of the first interface; or an RLC channel configuration of the second interface.
In an analogous art, ZHAO teaches wherein the first configuration information comprises at least one of: a mapping from a radio link control (RLC) channel of a first interface to a bearer of the remote UE ([0084], [0118] the RRC reconfiguration message includes a mapping relationship between a sidelink interface RLC channel and a Uu interface RLC channel, thereby providing a mapping from a RLC channel of a first interface to a corresponding channel of a second interface associated with the remote UE).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the
effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the relay as taught by ZHAO within the parameter of Chun. One would have been motivated to do so in order to solve a handover problem to extend network coverage (ZHAO [0005]).
Regarding claim 2, the combination of Chun and ZHAO, specifically Chun teaches receiving, by the first network-side device (FIG. 13 eNB), an acquiring request for UE context sent by a second network-side device (FIG. 13 RemoteUE MME) (FIG. 13 S1309; [0221] the eNB receives the NAS message from the RemoteUE MME. In this step, the RemoteUE MME requests that the eNB create the context for the remote UE),
wherein the acquiring request for UE context is sent by the second network-side device after receiving first information sent by a first UE (FIG. 13 S1304, S1305; [0212] a UE ID thereof and information about the RemoteUE MME thereof in an RRC message to transmit the same to the eNB); and
sending, by the first network-side device, feedback information to the second network-side device (FIG. 13 S1305; [0217] In this S1-AP procedure, the eNB delivers information about the RemoteUE MME that serves the associated relay UE to the RemoteUE MME), wherein
in a case that the feedback information is an acquiring response of UE context and the first UE is the relay UE ([0222] the MME of the relay UE adds information regarding the remote UE to context information related to the relay UE), the acquiring response of UE context comprises at least one of context information of the relay UE ([0218] the MME of the remote UE builds the context for the remote UE using the information delivered from the eNB).
Regarding claim 3, Chun teaches wherein the first related information further ([0213] remote UE information) comprises:
the identifier information of at least one remote UE ([0213] the relay UE provides information about an ID of the remote UE served thereby to the network).
However, Chun does not teach the first configuration information further comprises at least one of: a mapping from the RLC channel of the first interface to the RLC channel of the second interface.
In an analogous art, ZHAO teaches the first configuration information further comprises at least one of: a mapping from the RLC channel of the first interface to the RLC channel of the second interface ([0084], [0118] the RRC reconfiguration message includes a mapping relationship between a sidelink interface RLC channel and a Uu interface RLC channel); wherein
the first interface is a connection interface between the relay UE and the remote UE (FIG. 3 shows a connection interface between the relay UE and the remote UE; sidelink), and the second interface is a connection interface between the relay UE and a network-side device (FIG. 3 shows a connection between relay UE and a network device; backhaul link).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the
effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the relay as taught by ZHAO within the parameter of Chun. One would have been motivated to do so in order to solve a handover problem to extend network coverage (ZHAO [0005]).
Regarding claim 5, Chun teaches an information acquiring method (FIG. 13), comprising:
sending, by a second network-side device (FIG. 13 RemoteUE MME), an acquiring request for user equipment (UE) context to a first network-side device (FIG. 13 eNB) (FIG. 13 S1309; [0221] the eNB receives the NAS message from the RemoteUE MME. In this step, the RemoteUE MME requests that the eNB create the context for the remote UE),
wherein the acquiring request for UE context is sent by the second network-side device after receiving first information sent by a first UE (FIG. 13 S1304, S1305; [0212] a UE ID thereof and information about the RemoteUE MME thereof in an RRC message to transmit the same to the eNB),
the first network-side device configures context information of a relay UE, and the context information of the relay UE comprises first related information of a remote UE served by the relay UE ([0222] the MME of the relay UE adds information regarding the remote UE to context information related to the relay UE, [0228] The Remote Paging Request message may include information about the relay UE, the remote UE, and the MME of the remote UE); and
acquiring, by the second network-side device, feedback information sent by the first network-side device (FIG. 13 S1305; [0217] In this S1-AP procedure, the eNB delivers information about the RemoteUE MME that serves the associated relay UE to the MME of the remote UE), wherein
in a case that the feedback information is an acquiring response of UE context and the first UE is the relay UE ([0222] the MME of the relay UE adds information regarding the remote UE to context information related to the relay UE), the acquiring response of UE context comprises at least one of context information of the relay UE or context information of the remote UE ([0218] the MME of the remote UE builds the context for the remote UE using the information delivered from the eNB);
wherein the first related information comprises: first configuration information associated with each piece of identifier information in identifier information of at least one remote UE (FIG. 12; [0207], [0209] UEs are distributed across a DRX cycle based on UE identities such that each UE identifier is mapped to a specific paging occasion and DRX configuration, and paging monitoring is performed based on the UE identifier, thereby providing configuration information associated with each identifier).
However, Chun does not teach wherein the first configuration information comprises at least one of: a mapping from a radio link control (RLC) channel of a first interface to a bearer of the remote UE, a mapping from an RLC channel of a second interface to a bearer of the remote UE; an RLC channel configuration of the first interface; or an RLC channel configuration of the second interface.
In an analogous art, ZHAO teaches wherein the first configuration information comprises at least one of: a mapping from a radio link control (RLC) channel of a first interface to a bearer of the remote UE ([0084], [0118] the RRC reconfiguration message includes a mapping relationship between a sidelink interface RLC channel and a Uu interface RLC channel, thereby providing a mapping from a RLC channel of a first interface to a corresponding channel of a second interface associated with the remote UE).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the
effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the relay as taught by ZHAO within the parameter of Chun. One would have been motivated to do so in order to solve a handover problem to extend network coverage (ZHAO [0005]).
Regarding claim 6, Chun teaches wherein the first related information ([0213]) further comprises: the identifier information of at least one remote UE ([0213] the relay UE provides information about an ID of the remote UE served thereby to the network).
However, Chun does not teach the first configuration information further comprises at least one of: a mapping from the RLC channel of the first interface to the RLC channel of the second interface.
In an analogous art, ZHAO teaches the first configuration information further comprises at least one of: a mapping from the RLC channel of the first interface to the RLC channel of the second interface ([0084], [0118] the RRC reconfiguration message includes a mapping relationship between a sidelink interface RLC channel and a Uu interface RLC channel); wherein
the first interface is a connection interface between the relay UE and the remote UE (FIG. 3 shows a connection interface between the relay UE and the remote UE; sidelink), and the second interface is a connection interface between the relay UE and a network-side device (FIG. 3 shows a connection between relay UE and a network device; backhaul link).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the
effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the relay as taught by ZHAO within the parameter of Chun. One would have been motivated to do so in order to solve a handover problem to extend network coverage (ZHAO [0005]).
Regarding claim 8, the combination of Chun and ZHAO, specifically ZHAO teaches wherein in a case that the first UE (FIG. 6 Relay 1) is the relay UE ([0249]-[0251]), after the acquiring, by the second network-side device (FIG. 6 Network device), feedback information sent by the first network-side device (FIG. 6 Source network device) (FIG. 6 step d; [0110] after the source network device of the UE obtains the first indication information, the source network device performs the handover decision), the method (FIG. 6) further comprises:
sending, by the second network-side device (FIG. 6 Network device), first RRC reconfiguration to the remote UE served by the first UE (FIG. 6 step e->f; [0189] transmitting an RRC reconfiguration message to the terminal through a source relay), wherein the first RRC reconfiguration ([0115] the RRC reconfiguration message to the existing configuration) comprises an incremental configuration generated based on the context of the remote UE ([0115] in addition to the existing configuration, the RRC reconfiguration message carries, [0152]-[0154] incremental update fields including second target relay ID, second target relay link ID and RLC mapping relationship, [0249]-[0251] the context of the remote UE is provided through the second indication information).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the
effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the relay taught by ZHAO within the parameter of Chun. One would have been motivated to do so in order to solve a handover problem to extend network coverage (ZHAO [0005]).
Regarding claim 9, the combination of Chun and ZHAO, specifically ZHAO teaches wherein in a case that the feedback information is acquiring failure information for UE context and the first UE (FIG. 6 Relay 1) is the relay UE ([0249]-[0251]), after the acquiring, by the second network-side device (FIG. 6 Network device), feedback information sent by the first network-side device (FIG. 6 Source network device) (FIG. 6 step d; [0110] after the source network device of the UE obtains the first indication information, the source network device performs the handover decision), the method (FIG. 6) further comprises:
sending, by the second network-side device (FIG. 6 Network device), second RRC reconfiguration to the remote UE served by the first UE (FIG. 6 step e->f; [0189] transmitting an RRC reconfiguration message through a Uu interface or a source relay),
wherein the second RRC reconfiguration comprises a full configuration (FIG. 6 step i to k; [0154]-[0160] based on the received RRC reconfiguration completed message, network device performs full configuration of the handover/path switching procedure by performing in part step i to k).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the
effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the relay taught by ZHAO within the parameter of Chun. One would have been motivated to do so in order for solving a handover problem to extend network coverage (ZHAO [0005]).
Regarding claim 10, the combination of Chun and ZHAO, specifically ZHAO teaches wherein in a case that the feedback information is acquiring failure information for UE context and the first UE is the remote UE ([0249]-[0251]), after the acquiring, by the second network-side device, feedback information sent by the first network-side device (FIG. 6 step d; [0110] after the source network device of the UE obtains the first indication information, the source network device performs the handover decision), the method (FIG. 6) further comprises:
sending, by the second network-side device, fourth RRC reconfiguration to the relay UE serving the first UE (FIG. 6 step e->f; [0189] transmitting an RRC reconfiguration message to the terminal through a source relay), wherein the fourth RRC reconfiguration comprises a full configuration (FIG. 6 step i to k; [0154]-[0160] based on the received RRC reconfiguration completed message, network device performs full configuration of the handover/path switching procedure by performing in part step i to k).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the
effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the relay taught by ZHAO within the parameter of Chun. One would have been motivated to do so in order for solving a handover problem to extend network coverage (ZHAO [0005]).
Regarding claim 11, Chun teaches a network-side device (FIG. 13 RemoteUE MME), wherein the network-side device is a first network-side device comprising a processor (FIG. 20 processor 220), a memory (FIG. 20 memory 230), and a program or instructions stored in the memory and executable on the processor ([0276] The memory 230 stores the calculated and processed information), and the program or the instructions, when executed by the processor ([0276] the processor 220 is configured to perform the proposed operations), cause the first network-side device to perform:
in a case that at least one remote user equipment (UE) establishes a radio resource control (RRC) connection with a first network-side device through a relay UE, configuring UE context information ([0212] For signaling between the remote UE and the network, the relay UE establishes RRC connection toward an eNB, [0218] the MME of the remote UE creates a session for the remote UE and builds the context for the remote UE using the information delivered from the eNB), wherein
the UE context information is context information of the relay UE, and the UE context information comprises first related information of the remote UE served by the relay UE ([0222] the eNB may inform the MME of information regarding the remote UE that the relay UE serves. Then, the MME of the relay UE adds information regarding the remote UE to context information related to the relay UE);
wherein the first related information comprises: first configuration information associated with each piece of identifier information in identifier information of at least one remote UE (FIG. 12; [0207], [0209] UEs are distributed across a DRX cycle based on UE identities such that each UE identifier is mapped to a specific paging occasion and DRX configuration, and paging monitoring is performed based on the UE identifier, thereby providing configuration information associated with each identifier).
However, Chun does not teach wherein the first configuration information comprises at least one of: a mapping from a radio link control (RLC) channel of a first interface to a bearer of the remote UE, a mapping from an RLC channel of a second interface to a bearer of the remote UE; an RLC channel configuration of the first interface; or an RLC channel configuration of the second interface.
In an analogous art, ZHAO teaches wherein the first configuration information comprises at least one of: a mapping from a radio link control (RLC) channel of a first interface to a bearer of the remote UE ([0084], [0118] the RRC reconfiguration message includes a mapping relationship between a sidelink interface RLC channel and a Uu interface RLC channel, thereby providing a mapping from a RLC channel of a first interface to a corresponding channel of a second interface associated with the remote UE).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the
effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the relay as taught by ZHAO within the parameter of Chun. One would have been motivated to do so in order to solve a handover problem to extend network coverage (ZHAO [0005]).
Regarding claim 12, the combination of Chun and ZHAO, specifically Chun teaches wherein the program or the instructions ([0276] The memory 230 stores the calculated and processed information), when executed by the processor ([0276] the processor 220 is configured to perform the proposed operations), cause the first network-side device to further perform:
receiving an acquiring request for UE context sent by a second network-side device (FIG. 13 RemoteUE MME) (FIG. 13 S1309; [0221] the eNB receives the NAS message from the RemoteUE MME. In this step, the RemoteUE MME requests that the eNB create the context for the remote UE), wherein the acquiring request for UE context is sent by the second network-side device after receiving first information sent by a first UE (FIG. 13 S1304, S1305; [0212] a UE ID thereof and information about the RemoteUE MME thereof in an RRC message to transmit the same to the eNB); and
sending feedback information to the second network-side device (FIG. 13 S1305; [0217] In this S1-AP procedure, the eNB delivers information about the RemoteUE MME that serves the associated relay UE to the RemoteUE MME), wherein
in a case that the feedback information is an acquiring response of UE context and the first UE is the relay UE ([0222] the MME of the relay UE adds information regarding the remote UE to context information related to the relay UE), the acquiring response of UE context comprises at least one of context information of the relay UE or context information of the remote UE ([0218] the MME of the remote UE builds the context for the remote UE using the information delivered from the eNB).
Regarding claim 13, Chun teaches wherein the first related information further comprises: identifier information of at least one remote UE ([0213] the relay UE provides information about an ID of the remote UE served thereby to the network);
However, Chun does not teach the first configuration information further comprises at least one of: a mapping from the RLC channel of the first interface to the RLC channel of the second interface.
In an analogous art, ZHAO teaches the first configuration information further comprises at least one of: a mapping from the RLC channel of the first interface to the RLC channel of the second interface ([0084], [0118] the RRC reconfiguration message includes a mapping relationship between a sidelink interface RLC channel and a Uu interface RLC channel); wherein
the first interface is a connection interface between the relay UE and the remote UE (FIG. 3 shows a connection interface between the relay UE and the remote UE; sidelink), and the second interface is a connection interface between the relay UE and a network-side device (FIG. 3 shows a connection between relay UE and a network device; backhaul link).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the
effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the relay as taught by ZHAO within the parameter of Chun. One would have been motivated to do so in order to solve a handover problem to extend network coverage (ZHAO [0005]).
Regarding claim 15, the combination of Chun and ZHAO, specifically Chun teaches a network-side device (FIG. 13 RemoteUE MME), wherein the network-side device (FIG. 20 network node 200) is a second network-side device ([0276] the network node 200 may be an MME device) comprising a processor (FIG. 20 processor 220), a memory (FIG. 20 memory 230), and a program or instructions stored in the memory and executable on the processor ([0276] The memory 230 stores the calculated and processed information), and the program or the instructions, when executed by the processor ([0276] the processor 220 is configured to perform the proposed operations), cause the second network-side device to perform steps of the information acquiring method according to claim 5.
Regarding claim 16, Chun teaches wherein the first related information comprises at least one of: identifier information of at least one remote UE ([0213] the relay UE provides information about an ID of the remote UE served thereby to the network).
However, Chun does not teach the first configuration information further comprises at least one of: a mapping from the RLC channel of the first interface to the RLC channel of the second interface.
In an analogous art, ZHAO teaches the first configuration information further comprises at least one of: a mapping from the RLC channel of the first interface to the RLC channel of the second interface ([0084], [0118] the RRC reconfiguration message includes a mapping relationship between a sidelink interface RLC channel and a Uu interface RLC channel); wherein
the first interface is a connection interface between the relay UE and the remote UE (FIG. 3 shows a connection interface between the relay UE and the remote UE; sidelink), and the second interface is a connection interface between the relay UE and a network-side device (FIG. 3 shows a connection between relay UE and a network device; backhaul link).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the
effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the relay as taught by ZHAO within the parameter of Chun. One would have been motivated to do so in order to solve a handover problem to extend network coverage (ZHAO [0005]).
Regarding claim 18, the combination of Chun and ZHAO, specifically ZHAO teaches wherein the program or the instructions (FIG. 13 the memory 1303), when executed by the processor (FIG. 13 the processor 1301), cause the second network-side device (FIG. 13 a network device) to further perform:
sending, in a case that the first UE is the relay UE ([0249]-[0251]), first radio resource control (RRC) reconfiguration to the remote UE served by the first UE (FIG. 6 step e->f; [0189] transmitting an RRC reconfiguration message to the terminal through a source relay) after acquiring feedback information sent by the first network-side device (FIG. 6 step d; [0110] after the source network device of the UE obtains the first indication information, the source network device performs the handover decision), wherein the first RRC reconfiguration ([0115] the RRC reconfiguration message to the existing configuration) comprises an incremental configuration generated based on the context of the remote UE ([0115] in addition to the existing configuration, the RRC reconfiguration message carries, [0152]-[0154] incremental update fields including second target relay ID, second target relay link ID and RLC mapping relationship, [0249]-[0251] the context of the remote UE is provided through the second indication information).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the
effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the relay taught by ZHAO within the parameter of Chun. One would have been motivated to do so in order for solving a handover problem to extend network coverage (ZHAO [0005]).
Regarding claim 19, the combination of Chun and ZHAO, specifically ZHAO teaches wherein the program or the instructions (FIG. 13 the memory 1303), when executed by the processor (FIG. 13 the processor 1301), cause the second network-side device (FIG. 13 a network device) to further perform:
sending, in a case that the feedback information is acquiring failure information for UE context and the first UE is the relay UE ([0249]-[0251]), second RRC reconfiguration to the remote UE served by the first UE (FIG. 6 step e->f; [0189] transmitting an RRC reconfiguration message to the terminal through a source relay) after acquiring feedback information sent by the first network-side device (FIG. 6 step d; [0110] after the source network device of the UE obtains the first indication information, the source network device performs the handover decision),
wherein the second RRC reconfiguration comprises a full configuration (FIG. 6 step i to k; [0154]-[0160] based on the received RRC reconfiguration completed message, network device performs full configuration of the handover/path switching procedure by performing in part step i to k).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the
effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the relay taught by ZHAO within the parameter of Chun. One would have been motivated to do so in order for solving a handover problem to extend network coverage (ZHAO [0005]).
Regarding claim 20, the combination of Chun and ZHAO, specifically ZHAO teaches wherein the program or the instructions (FIG. 13 the memory 1303), when executed by the processor (FIG. 13 the processor 1301), cause the second network-side device (FIG. 13 a network device) to further perform:
sending, in a case that the feedback information is acquiring failure information for UE context and the first UE is the remote UE ([0249]-[0251]), fourth RRC reconfiguration to the relay UE serving the first UE (FIG. 6 step e->f; [0189] transmitting an RRC reconfiguration message to the terminal through a source relay) after acquiring feedback information sent by the first network-side device (FIG. 6 step d; [0110] after the source network device of the UE obtains the first indication information, the source network device performs the handover decision),
wherein the fourth RRC reconfiguration comprises a full configuration (FIG. 6 step i to k; [0154]-[0160] based on the received RRC reconfiguration completed message, network device performs full configuration of the handover/path switching procedure by performing in part step i to k).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the
effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the relay taught by ZHAO within the parameter of Chun. One would have been motivated to do so in order for solving a handover problem to extend network coverage (ZHAO [0005]).
Regarding claim 21, the combination of Chun and ZHAO, specifically Chun teaches a non-transitory readable storage medium (FIG. 20 memory 130), wher ein the non-transitory readable storage medium stores a program or instructions, and when the program or the instructions are executed by a processor, the steps of the information transmission method according to claim 1 are implemented ([0284] Software code may be stored in a memory unit and executed by a processor. The memory unit is located at the interior or exterior of the processor and may transmit and receive data to and from the processor).
Regarding claim 22, the combination of Chun and ZHAO, specifically Chun teaches a non-transitory readable storage medium (FIG. 20 memory 230), wherein the non-transitory readable storage medium stores a program or instructions, and when the program or the instructions are executed by a processor, the steps of the information transmission method according to claim 5 are implemented ([0284] Software code may be stored in a memory unit and executed by a processor. The memory unit is located at the interior or exterior of the processor and may transmit and receive data to and from the processor).
Conclusion
The following prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
US 2022/0086931 A1 (Tenny et al.) discloses a method of connection establishment through a relay UE for a remote UE is proposed.
US 2023/0308940 A1 (Peng) discloses a data transmission method and an apparatus.
US 2024/0205989 A1 (KANG et al.) discloses a method, performed by a relay user equipment (UE), of relaying communication between a remote UE and a base station.
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.
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/T.I./ Examiner, Art Unit 2413
/UN C CHO/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2413
Prosecution Insights