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 .
Drawings
The drawings are objected to because the figures are blurry/distorted (especially figures 2-4). Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
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) 1-2 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over FUJIKAWA et al. (US 2021/0273270 A1, hereinafter FUJIKAWA) in view of ZHANG t al. (CN114844014 A, hereinafter ZHANG).
Regarding claim 1, FUJIKAWA discloses a battery pack, comprising:
at least one cell (See Figs.1-2, disclose a battery 11 comprising a plurality of battery cells E1-En);
a battery disconnect unit (See Fig.2, Items#40+32) electrically connected to the cell and configured for controlling discharging of the cell (See Fig.2, and Par.35 disclose disconnect unit 32 for connecting the battery 11 to inverter to provide power to the motor), and charging of the cell in a fast charging mode (See Fig.2 and Par.85, disclose a disconnect unit 40 for connecting the battery 11 to charger 2 during quick charging);
a cooling assembly configured for dissipating heat for the cell (See Fig.2, Item#20, discloses a cooling system for cooling the battery module 11); and
a control system electrically connected to the cooling assembly and the cell and configured for turning on the cooling assembly based on a temperature of the cell (See Figs.1-2, disclose a Battery management unit 12/12c and a cooling system management unit 22 for turning on and off the electric pump 21 of the cooling system. Fig.12, Step#S130-150, disclose operating the cooling system based on the temperature).
However, FUJIKAWA does not disclose the cooling assembly is provided at a side portion of the cell and a side portion of the battery disconnect unit and a cooling assembly for dissipating heat for the cell and the battery disconnect unit.
ZHANG discloses a battery system comprising a battery 3 and a BDU unit 1 and a cooling assembly (See Fig.1, Item#2) provided at a side portion of the cell and a side portion of the battery disconnect unit (See Fig.1, discloses the cooling unit 2 is placed between the battery 3 and the BDU 1) and configured for dissipating heat for the cell and the BDU (See Par.24, discloses the cooling circuit 2 cools the BDU 1 and the battery 3 and Par.25 discloses the cooling circuit can simultaneously cool the battery and the BDU).
FUJIKAWA and ZHANG are analogous art since they both deal with battery systems.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the invention disclosed by FUJIKAWA with the teachings of ZHANG by placing the cooling system on the side of the battery and the battery disconnect unit for the benefit of providing a system which can simultaneously cool the battery and the BDU to protect the battery and the BDU against damage caused by overheating.
Regarding claim 2, FUJIKAWA and ZHANG disclose the battery pack of claim 1 as discussed above, wherein the cooling assembly comprises:
a cooling member in contact with both the cell and the battery disconnect unit (See ZHANG, Fig.1, discloses a cooling circuit 2 in contact with the battery 3 and the BDU1); and
a driving member connected to the cooling member and configured for driving a cooling medium within the cooling member to flow within the cooling member (See FUJIKAWA, Fig.1, discloses an electric pump 21 for circulating the cooling to injection pipes 5a and discharge pipes 5b).
Claim(s) 3-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over FUJIKAWA in view of ZHANG and in further view of FLEMING et al. (US 2017/0214099 A1, hereinafter FLEMING).
Regarding claim 3, FUJIKAWA and ZHANG disclose the battery pack of claim 2 as discussed above, wherein the control system comprises a cell temperature control unit (See FUJIKAWA, Fig.1, discloses a management unit 1 for controlling the temperature) and the driving member is configured to receive a first control signal of the cell temperature control unit to drive the cooling medium (See Fig.1, and Par.35 disclose an electric pump 21 which receives a control signal from the management unit 22 to control the coolant flow).
However, FUJIKAWA and ZHANG do not explicitly disclose driving the cooling medium when the cell is charged in a fast-charging mode by the battery disconnect unit.
FLEMING discloses a battery comprising a cooling system, wherein the cooling system is driven when a cell is charged in a fast-charging mode (See Fig.3, Item#84 and Fig.4, Step#104 and 106, disclose activating a cooling system comprising a thermoelectric device 84 when a DC fast charging event is occurring).
FUJIKAWA, ZHANG and FLEMING are analogous art since they all deal with battery charging.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the invention disclosed by FUJIKAWA and ZHANG with the teachings of FLEMING by activating the cooling system when the cell is charged in a fast-charging mode for the benefit of protecting the battery disconnect unit against damage caused by overheating during fast charging.
Regarding claim 8, FUJIKAWA discloses a temperature control method for a battery pack, the battery pack comprising:
at least one cell (See Figs.1-2, disclose a battery 11 comprising a plurality of battery cells E1-En);
a battery disconnect unit (See Fig.2, Items#40+32) electrically connected to the cell and configured for controlling discharging of the cell (See Fig.2, and Par.35 disclose disconnect unit 32 for connecting the battery 11 to inverter to provide power to the motor) and charging of the cell in a fast charging mode (See Fig.2 and Par.85, disclose a disconnect unit 40 for connecting the battery 11 to charger 2 during quick charging);
a cooling assembly configured for dissipating heat for the cell (See Fig.2, Item#20, discloses a cooling system for cooling the battery module 11); and
a control system electrically connected to the cooling assembly and the cell and configured for turning on the cooling assembly based on a temperature of the cell (See Figs.1-2, disclose a Battery management unit 12/12c and a cooling system management unit 22 for turning on and off the electric pump 21 of the cooling system. Fig.12, Step#S130-150, disclose operating the cooling system based on the temperature);
wherein the control system in the battery pack comprises a cell temperature control unit (See Fig.1, Item#22) and a battery management system configured to execute the temperature control method (See Fig.1, Item#12).
However, FUJIKAWA does not disclose the cooling assembly is provided at a side portion of the cell and a side portion of the battery disconnect unit and a cooling assembly for dissipating heat for the cell and the battery disconnect unit or that the method comprises: determining a charging mode of the cell including the fast charging mode based on a charging current of the battery disconnect unit; and transmitting a first control instruction to the cell temperature control unit based on the cell being charged in the fast charging mode, wherein the first control instruction is configured to control the cell temperature control unit to generate a first control signal for turning on the cooling assembly.
ZHANG discloses a battery system comprising a battery 3 and a BDU unit 1 and a cooling assembly (See Fig.1, Item#2) provided at a side portion of the cell and a side portion of the battery disconnect unit (See Fig.1, discloses the cooling unit 2 is placed between the battery 3 and the BDU 1) and configured for dissipating heat for the cell and the BDU (See Par.24, discloses the cooling circuit 2 cools the BDU 1 and the battery 3 and Par.25 discloses the cooling circuit can simultaneously cool the battery and the BDU).
FUJIKAWA and ZHANG are analogous art since they both deal with battery systems.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the invention disclosed by FUJIKAWA with the teachings of ZHANG by placing the cooling system on the side of the battery and the battery disconnect unit for the benefit of providing a system which can simultaneously cool the battery and the BDU to protect the battery and the BDU against damage caused by overheating.
However, FUJIKAWA and ZHANG do not disclose the method comprises: determining a charging mode of the cell including the fast charging mode based on a charging current of the battery disconnect unit; and transmitting a first control instruction to the cell temperature control unit based on the cell being charged in the fast charging mode, wherein the first control instruction is configured to control the cell temperature control unit to generate a first control signal for turning on the cooling assembly.
FLEMING discloses a battery comprising a cooling system, determining a charging mode of the cell including the fast charging mode based on a charging current of the battery disconnect unit (See Fig.4 and Par.60, discloses detecting fast charging based on the charging voltage, the examiner views monitoring the charging voltage and the charging current to determine a fast charging event to be interchangeable) and transmitting a first control instruction to the cell temperature control unit based on the cell being charged in the fast charging mode (See FUJIKAWA, Fig.1, discloses BMS 12 which transmits a control signal to management unit 22 to activate cooling. FUJIKAWA as modified by FLEMING discloses the BMS detecting the fast charging mod and sending a controls signal to management circuit 22), wherein the first control instruction is configured to control the cell temperature control unit to generate a first control signal for turning on the cooling assembly (See Fig.3, Item#84 and Fig.4, Step#104 and 106, disclose activating a cooling system comprising a thermoelectric device 84 when a DC fast charging event is occurring).
FUJIKAWA, ZHANG and FLEMING are analogous art since they all deal with battery charging.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the invention disclosed by FUJIKAWA and ZHANG with the teachings of FLEMING by activating the cooling system when the cell is charged in a fast-charging mode for the benefit of protecting the battery disconnect unit against damage caused by overheating during fast charging.
Regarding claim 9, FUJIKAWA, ZHANG and FLEMING disclose the method of claim 8 as discussed above, wherein the charging mode further comprises a slow charging mode (See FUJIKAWA, Fig.1, Item#32 and Par.35, disclose a switching unit which controls charging from the motor at time of regeneration. Regenerative charging is considered slow charging), and the method further comprises:
transmitting a second control instruction to the cell temperature control unit based on the cell being charged in the slow charging mode, wherein the second control instruction is configured to control the cell temperature control unit to generate a second control signal for turning off the cooling assembly (See FLEMING, Fig.4, discloses turning off cooling when no fast charging is detected. Par.62 further discloses programming control unit 98 to control operation of the thermoelectric device of when to turn off. In case the applicant disagrees with the examiner’s interpretation of Fig.4 application to the claim limitation. The examiner further explains that it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the invention disclosed by FUJIKAWA, ZHANG and FLEMING by turning off the cooling assembly based on the cell being slow charged for the benefit of preserving power by keeping the cooling system turned off when there is no expectation of overheating during slow charging).
Regarding claim 13, FUJIKAWA, ZHANG and FLEMING disclose the temperature control method of claim 8, wherein the cooling assembly comprises:
a cooling member in contact with both the cell and the battery disconnect unit (See ZHANG, Fig.1, Item#2, discloses a cooling circuit in between battery 3 and BDU 1); and
a driving member connected to the cooling member and configured for driving a cooling medium within the cooling member to flow within the cooling member (See FUJIKAWA, Fig.1, and Par.35 disclose an electric pump 21 receives a control signal from the management unit 22 to control the coolant flow).
Regarding claim 14, FUJIKAWA, ZHANG and FLEMING disclose the temperature control method of claim 13 as discussed above, wherein the control system comprises a cell temperature control unit, and the driving member is configured to receive a first control signal of the cell temperature control unit to drive the cooling medium when the cell is charged in the fast charging mode by the battery disconnect unit (See FLEMING, Fig.4 and Par.60, discloses detecting fast charging based on the charging voltage. See FUJIKAWA, Fig.1, discloses BMS 12 which transmits a control signal to management unit 22 to activate cooling. FUJIKAWA as modified by FLEMING discloses the BMS detecting the fast-charging mod and sending a controls signal to management circuit 22).
Regarding claims 7 and 18 (claim 7 is considered representative for limitation matching purposes), FUJIKAWA, ZHANG and FLEMING disclose the battery pack of claim 3 as discussed above, wherein the battery disconnect unit is configured to control charging of the cell in a slow charging mode (See FUJIKAWA, Fig.1, Item#32 and Par.35, disclose a switching unit which controls charging from the motor at time of regeneration. Regenerative charging is considered slow charging) in which the cell temperature control unit is configured to turn off the cooling assembly (See FLEMING, Fig.4, Step#104, discloses the thermoelectric device is not activated when no DC fast charging event is occurring).
Regarding claim 11, FUJIKAWA discloses a battery management system, comprising:
a processor; and a memory storing thereon instructions executable by the processor to implement a temperature control method for a battery pack (See Par.14, discloses management unit 12 estimates batter temperature and cools the battery based on temperature exceeding a threshold. The management system 12 of Fig.1, inherently includes a processor and a memory to perform the comparison between detected temperatures and stored temperature threshold), the battery pack comprising:
at least one cell (See Figs.1-2, disclose a battery 11 comprising a plurality of battery cells E1-En);
a battery disconnect unit (See Fig.2, Items#40+32) electrically connected to the cell and configured for controlling discharging of the cell (See Fig.2, and Par.35 disclose disconnect unit 32 for connecting the battery 11 to inverter to provide power to the motor) and charging of the cell in a fast charging mode (See Fig.2 and Par.85, disclose a disconnect unit 40 for connecting the battery 11 to charger 2 during quick charging) and charging of the cell in a fast charging mode (See Fig.2 and Par.85, disclose a disconnect unit 40 for connecting the battery 11 to charger 2 during quick charging);
a cooling assembly configured for dissipating heat for the cell (See Fig.2, Item#20, discloses a cooling system for cooling the battery module 11); and
a control system electrically connected to the cooling assembly and the cell and configured for turning on the cooling assembly based on a temperature of the cell (See Figs.1-2, disclose a Battery management unit 12/12c and a cooling system management unit 22 for turning on and off the electric pump 21 of the cooling system. Fig.12, Step#S130-150, disclose operating the cooling system based on the temperature);
wherein the control system in the battery pack comprises a cell temperature control unit (See Fig.1, Item#22) and a battery management system configured to execute the temperature control method (See Fig.1, Item#12).
However, FUJIKAWA does not disclose the cooling assembly is provided at a side portion of the cell and a side portion of the battery disconnect unit and a cooling assembly for dissipating heat for the cell and the battery disconnect unit or that the method comprises: determining a charging mode of the cell including the fast charging mode based on a charging current of the battery disconnect unit; and transmitting a first control instruction to the cell temperature control unit based on the cell being charged in the fast charging mode, wherein the first control instruction is configured to control the cell temperature control unit to generate a first control signal for turning on the cooling assembly.
ZHANG discloses a battery system comprising a battery 3 and a BDU unit 1 and a cooling assembly (See Fig.1, Item#2) provided at a side portion of the cell and a side portion of the battery disconnect unit (See Fig.1, discloses the cooling unit 2 is placed between the battery 3 and the BDU 1) and configured for dissipating heat for the cell and the BDU (See Par.24, discloses the cooling circuit 2 cools the BDU 1 and the battery 3 and Par.25 discloses the cooling circuit can simultaneously cool the battery and the BDU).
FUJIKAWA and ZHANG are analogous art since they both deal with battery systems.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the invention disclosed by FUJIKAWA with the teachings of ZHANG by placing the cooling system on the side of the battery and the battery disconnect unit for the benefit of providing a system which can simultaneously cool the battery and the BDU to protect the battery and the BDU against damage caused by overheating.
However, FUJIKAWA and ZHANG do not disclose the method comprises: determining a charging mode of the cell including the fast charging mode based on a charging current of the battery disconnect unit; and transmitting a first control instruction to the cell temperature control unit based on the cell being charged in the fast charging mode, wherein the first control instruction is configured to control the cell temperature control unit to generate a first control signal for turning on the cooling assembly.
FLEMING discloses a battery comprising a cooling system, determining a charging mode of the cell including the fast charging mode based on a charging current of the battery disconnect unit (See Fig.4 and Par.60, discloses detecting fast charging based on the charging voltage, the examiner views monitoring the charging voltage and the charging current to determine a fast charging event to be interchangeable) and transmitting a first control instruction to the cell temperature control unit based on the cell being charged in the fast charging mode (See FUJIKAWA, Fig.1, discloses BMS 12 which transmits a control signal to management unit 22 to activate cooling. FUJIKAWA as modified by FLEMING discloses the BMS detecting the fast charging mod and sending a controls signal to management circuit 22), wherein the first control instruction is configured to control the cell temperature control unit to generate a first control signal for turning on the cooling assembly (See Fig.3, Item#84 and Fig.4, Step#104 and 106, disclose activating a cooling system comprising a thermoelectric device 84 when a DC fast charging event is occurring).
FUJIKAWA, ZHANG and FLEMING are analogous art since they all deal with battery charging.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the invention disclosed by FUJIKAWA and ZHANG with the teachings of FLEMING by activating the cooling system when the cell is charged in a fast-charging mode for the benefit of protecting the battery disconnect unit against damage caused by overheating during fast charging.
Regarding claim 19, FUJIKAWA, ZHANG and FLEMING disclose the battery management system of claim 11 as discussed above, wherein the charging mode further comprises a slow charging mode (See FUJIKAWA, Fig.1, Item#32 and Par.35, disclose a switching unit which controls charging from the motor at time of regeneration. Regenerative charging is considered slow charging), and the method further comprises:
transmitting a second control instruction to the cell temperature control unit based on the cell being charged in the slow charging mode, wherein the second control instruction is configured to control the cell temperature control unit to generate a second control signal for turning off the cooling assembly (See FLEMING, Fig.4, discloses turning off cooling when no fast charging is detected. Par.62 further discloses programming control unit 98 to control operation of the thermoelectric device of when to turn off. In case the applicant disagrees with the examiner’s interpretation of Fig.4 application to the claim limitation. The examiner further explains that it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the invention disclosed by FUJIKAWA, ZHANG and FLEMING by turning off the cooling assembly based on the cell being slow charged for the benefit of preserving power by keeping the cooling system turned off when there is no expectation of overheating during slow charging).
Regarding claims 4, 10, 15 and 20 (claim 4 is considered representative for limitation matching purposes), FUJIKAWA, ZHANG and FLEMING disclose the battery pack of claim 3 as discussed above, wherein the control system further comprises a battery management system electrically connected to both the battery disconnect unit and the cell temperature control unit (See FUJIKAWA, Fig.2, discloses a battery management unit 12 electrically connected to relays 32 and 40 and to cooling system 20. Fig.1, discloses cooling system 20 comprising cell temperature control unit “management unit” 22), the battery disconnect unit is provided with a temperature detection point (See ZHANG, Fig.2, discloses a plurality of temperature detection point 2-1 to 4-2 on the Battery disconnect unit “BDU”), and the battery management system is configured to obtain temperature data of the temperature detection point and determine whether a failure is present in the cooling assembly based on the temperature data (See ZHANG, Par.58, discloses the BMS receives the temperature data from the plurality of sensors and determines if there is an abnormality and the BMS will respond with limiting power or increasing coolant flow. ZHANG also discloses in Par.47 determining if the coolant temperature and flow rate are abnormal based on the detected temperature and Par.48 discloses taking action when the cooling system is abnormal); and
the battery management system is further configured to control the cell temperature control unit to generate a control signal based on a charging mode of the cell so that the cooling assembly is turned on or off based on the control signal (See FLEMING, Fig.4 and Par.60, discloses detecting fast charging. FLEMING, Fig.3, Item#84 and Fig.4, Step#104 and 106, disclose activating a cooling system comprising a thermoelectric device 84 when a DC fast charging event is occurring or leaving the cooling system inactive when no fast-charging event has occurred. Regarding claims 10 and 20, ZHANG discloses limiting the power [P=V x I] when an abnormal temperature is detected. The abnormal temperature is interpreted to be an indication of the cooling system malfunction).
Regarding claims 6 and 17 (Claim 6 is considered representative for limitation matching purposes), FUJIKAWA, ZHANG and FLEMING disclose the battery pack of claim 4 as discussed above, wherein the battery disconnect unit comprises a main positive relay (See ZHANG, Fig.2, and Par.34 disclose a relay with two temperature detection point 2-1 and 2-2) and a fuse (See ZHANG, Fig.2, and Par.34 disclose a fuse with two temperature detection points 3-1 and 3-2).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the invention disclosed by FUJIKAWA, ZHANG and FLEMING as applied to claim 4 with the further teachings of ZHANG by adding the plurality of temperature sensor for the benefit of determining an abnormal condition in any of the BDU components.
However, FUJIKAWA, ZHANG and FLEMING do not disclose the temperature detection point is provided at a connection between the main positive relay and the fuse.
The examiner explains that changing the location of a sensor from one position to another is obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art and that it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the invention disclosed by FUJIKAWA, ZHANG and FLEMING by placing the temperature detection point between the relay and the fuse for the benefit of reducing the number of sensor by using a common temperature sensor to detect the temperature of the fuse and the relay using a shared sensor.
Regarding claims 5 and 16 (claim 5 is considered representative for limitation matching purposes), FUJIKAWA, ZHANG and FLEMING disclose the battery pack of claim 4 as discussed above, comprising a liquid cooling assembly (See FUJIKAWA, Fig.1, Item#21). However, FUJIKAWA, ZHANG and FLEMING do not disclose wherein the cooling assembly comprises a first liquid cooling assembly for dissipating heat for the cell, and a second liquid cooling assembly in communication with the first liquid cooling assembly and configured for dissipating heat for the battery disconnect unit, and the first liquid cooling assembly is electrically connected to the cell temperature control unit and the second liquid cooling assembly is electrically connected to the battery management system.
The examiner explains that replacing one shared cooling assembly with a dual separate cooling assemblies for each of the battery and the BDU is obvious design choice to one of ordinary skill in the art and that it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the invention disclosed by FUJIKAWA, ZHANG and FLEMING by providing separate cooling assemblies for each of the battery and the BDU for the benefit of increasing the cooling efficiency and redundancy since a cooling loop is shortened and a failure of one cooling assembly does not stop cooling altogether.
References considered but nor relied upon in the above rejection:
FURUSAWA et al. (US 2013/0323539A1): discloses a cooling system comprising a first cooling pump and a second cooling pump.
JEON et al. (US 2018/0354376 A1): Discloses a cooling system evaluation circuit which stops battery charging when a cooling system failure is detected.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to AHMED H OMAR whose telephone number is (571)270-7165. The examiner can normally be reached 10:00 am -7:00 PM EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Drew Dunn can be reached at 571-272-2312. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/AHMED H OMAR/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2859
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