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 papers submitted under 35 U.S.C. 119(a)–(d), which papers have been placed of record in the file.
Information Disclosure Statement
The Information Disclosure Statement submitted on 10/30/23 and 09/21/2023 has been considered by the examiner (see attached PTO-1449 form).
Claim Interpretation
Claims 1 recite “if… quality of service is lower than a… threshold… detach… device from the first cellular network and attaching… the device to second cellular network”. The “if” term indicates that the associated limitations occur only when the criteria of this clause is met. However, the present claims never affirmatively require such events to occur. The broadest reasonable interpretation of these limitations does not require these conditional steps to be performed. See Ex parte Schulhauser, 2013-007847 (PTAB 2016) (precedential) (MPEP 2111.04 II) where the board held that when method steps are to be carried out only upon the occurrence of a condition precedent, the broadest reasonable interpretation holds that those steps are not required to be performed. As such, the limitations followed by the clause including “if” do not appear to have patentable weight since they are contingent upon a condition occurring. Examiner suggests replacing “if” with “when”.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claim 11 recites “preferably comprising”. The word “preferably” makes it unclear whether the parameters have to comprise “signal strength or signal quality” or it is optional.
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 14 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because claim 14 recites a “computer program product” without being embodied in a non-transitory computer-readable media. Under the BRI, the product can be broadly interpreted as, data structures (program instructions), which are not claimed as embodied in a non-transitory computer-readable media, is considered descriptive material per se and is not statutory because it is not capable of causing functional change in the computer. Such claimed data structures do not define any structural and functional interrelationships between the data structure and other claimed aspects of the invention, which permit the data structure's functionality to be realized. In contrast, a claimed “A computer program product embodied on a non-transitory computer-readable medium, the computer program product configured to provide instructions to carry out a method according to claim 1.” defines structural and functional interrelationships between the data structure and the computer software and hardware components which permit the data structure's functionality to be realized, and is thus statutory.
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.
Claims 1-5, 14-17 and 20 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ponukumati (US 20150092611) in view of Chen (CN109511107A).
Regarding claim 1 and 14-16, Ponukumati A computer-implemented method of operating a mobile communication device, comprising:
attaching the mobile communication device to a first cellular network (Step 504 of Fig. 5 discloses "SIM modules connect according to MSMA (multi sim multi-active) scheme, with respective networks”; [0060] “FIG. 5 ..The method may include powering up a system associated with the multi-subscription device, including processors, a radio module or modules, a signal processor, and SIM modules or interfaces, in block 502. The SIM modules or interfaces may be activated, depending on whether the multi-SIM communication device is a multi-active or multi-standby device, and may allow connections between the subscriptions and respective networks. When the subscriptions are connected to the respective networks, link quality measurements and other information may be obtained in block 504.”); and
while the mobile communication device is attached to the first cellular network: calculating a first quality of service of the first cellular network (Fig. 5, Step 516, [0062] “When the subscription or network is selected, call setup for the call may be completed using the selected subscription or network in block 514. While the current call is in progress, link quality and other factors may be measured or obtained for the current subscription or network associated with the current call and other subscriptions and networks in block 516.");
for each of a plurality of other available cellular networks: measuring network quality parameters thereof (Fig. 5 Step 516, "Monitor link quality for other active SIMs and networks"); and
if the calculated first quality of service is lower than a pre-determined threshold value representing a minimally acceptable quality of service and the estimated quality of service (Fig. 6 Step 602, [0063] "During monitoring, as described above in connection with FIG. 5, a determination may be made, such as through a recognition of a degradation of quality related indicators, such as SINR, RSSI, CQI, or other factors as described above, that the current call to a called party may be degrading in block 602, The recognition of degradation may involve the recognition that respective indicator or indicators, or other factors, may be falling below a predetermined threshold level, or may be displaying a falling trend that indicates that the factors may soon fall below a threshold level”);
detaching the mobile communication device from the first cellular network (Fig. 6 Step 618, "Discard first call" from the first network); and
attaching the mobile communication device to a second cellular network among the at least one of the plurality of other available cellular networks (“[0065] The SIM for the subscription selected for the second call may be activated in block 620. The second call may be completed using the selected second network in block 622.”)
Ponukumati implicitly but does not explicitly teach that “the at least one of the plurality of other available cellular networks has an estimated quality of service higher than the first quality of service”. For compact prosecution purpose, Chen is additionally cited to show the explicit teaching.
In an analogous art, Chen teaches “the at least one of the plurality of other available cellular networks has an estimated quality of service higher than the first quality of service” ([0063] “By establishing a network connection with the operator network with the strongest signal and continuously monitoring the network service quality of the operator network being used, the network can be switched to an operator network with a stronger signal when the network service quality deteriorates, thus improving the reliability of IoT network connections”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify Ponukumati's teaching of selecting a second network to include Chen's teaching of selecting a second network with better quality of service as taught by Chen to increase signal quality and performance (Chen [0063] “the network can be switched to an operator network with a stronger signal when the network service quality deteriorates, thus improving the reliability of IoT network connections”).
With further regard to claim 15, Ponukumati teach a mobile communication device (Fig. 8 portable electronic device) comprising: a processor (Fig. 8 processor 810); a memory (Fig. 8 memory 832); an antenna (Fig. 8 antenna 844).
Chen teaches a modulator demodulator unit, modem ([0092] 3) Modem start/Restart; [0063] “By establishing a network connection with the operator network with the strongest signal … thus improving the reliability of IoT network connections”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify Ponukumati's teaching of selecting a second network to include Chen's teaching of a modem to provide the ability to connect other devices to the internet.
Regarding claim 2, Ponukumati and Chen teach the method according to claim 1, wherein the mobile communication device being attached to the first cellular network involves the mobile communication device being registered with the first cellular network and maintaining a session with the first cellular network (Ponukumati Fig. 5, Step 504, "SIM modules connect according to MSMA (multi sim multi-active) scheme, with respective networks”; [0060] “FIG. 5 ..The method may include powering up a system associated with the multi-subscription device, including processors, a radio module or modules, a signal processor, and SIM modules or interfaces, in block 502. The SIM modules or interfaces may be activated, depending on whether the multi-SIM communication device is a multi-active or multi-standby device, and may allow connections between the subscriptions and respective networks. When the subscriptions are connected to the respective networks, link quality measurements and other information may be obtained in block 504.”)
Regarding claim 3, Ponukumati and Chen teach the method according to claim 1, wherein voice communication is not interrupted by the measuring network quality parameters of the plurality of other available cellular networks (Ponukumati Fig. 6 is silent on any "interruption" and the "first call' is only discarded in step 616 which is after the network quality of the other network has been measured in step 602 of Fig. 6 ([0063]"During monitoring, as described above in connection with FIG. 5, a determination may be made, such as through a recognition of a degradation of quality related indicators, such as SINR, RSSI, CQI, or other factors as described above, that the current call to a called party may be degrading in block 602").
Regarding claim 4, Ponukumati and Chen teach the method according to claim 1, wherein during the measuring network quality parameters of the plurality of other available cellular networks, a data connection is maintained via the first cellular network, and wherein the step of measuring network quality parameters takes place in passive mode with regard to the data connection (Ponukumati [0008] "An embodiment method may further include originating a voice over Internet Protocol (VolP) session on at least a leg of the first call between the calling party and the first network"). Hence, when the "call" mentioned by Figs. 5 and 6 is a VoIP call, then this call is "maintained via the first cellular network" while the "network quality parameters of the plurality of other available cellular networks" is measured;).
Regarding claim 5, Ponukumati and Chen teach the method according to claim 1, wherein the step of attaching the mobile communication device to a cellular network among the at least one of the plurality of other available cellular networks that has an estimated quality of service higher than the first quality of service comprises: attaching the mobile communication device to the cellular network among the at least one of the plurality of other available cellular networks that has the highest estimated quality of service (Chen [0053] Signal strength is a criterion for judging the priority of network operators. Generally speaking, the better the network strength, the better the network service quality. [0054] Step 2: Select the operator's network with the best signal strength from the PLMN list to establish a network connection; [0063] By establishing a network connection with the operator network with the strongest signal and continuously monitoring the network service quality of the operator network being used, the network can be switched to an operator network with a stronger signal when the network service quality deteriorates, thus improving the reliability of IoT network connections.”) Therefore, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify Ponukumati's teaching of selecting a second network to include Chen's teaching of attaching to the network that has the highest estimated quality of service to make it possible to achieve the best and most reliable service.
Regarding claim 17, Ponukumati and Chen teach the mobile communication device according to claim 15, further comprising: an output component (Ponukumati Fig. 8 display); and an input component (Ponukumati Fig. 8, mic 836), wherein the processor (Ponukumati Fig. 8 810) is further configured to execute instructions stored in the memory to: present a user interface listing the plurality of other available cellular networks, via the output component; and through the user interface, allow a user to select a preferred cellular network among the plurality of other available cellular networks in order to manually detach from the first cellular network and attach to the preferred cellular network, via the input component (Ponukumati Fig. 3A when the terminal displays "Call quality degrading Select new network"; [0063] “When the degradation condition is determined, the suitability list of subscriptions and networks may be displayed in an order of suitability for originating a second call to the called party in block 604. When the list is displayed, one of the subscriptions or networks may be selected for completing the second call based on the suitability, either automatically or manually by the user in block 606”)
Regarding claim 20, Ponukumati and Chen teach the method according to claim 4, wherein the step of measuring network quality parameters is scheduled adaptively for causing no disruption at all to the data connection (Ponukumati [0008] "An embodiment method may further include originating a voice over Internet Protocol (VolP) session on at least a leg of the first call between the calling party and the first network"). Hence, when the "call" mentioned by Figs. 5 and 6 is a VoIP call, then this call is "maintained via the first cellular network" while the "network quality parameters of the plurality of other available cellular networks" is measured).
Chen also teach the method according to claim 4, wherein the step of measuring network quality parameters is scheduled adaptively for causing no disruption at all to the data connection
Chen also teaches [0016] “ scanning operator information in the current environment in the background to obtain data such as network status, and selecting and switching to the optimal network based on the aboves tatus data [0073] “step 3: periodically check the network service quality of the operator network in use”). Therefore, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify Ponukumati's teaching of selecting a second network to include Chen's teaching of measured first network quality parameter of a packet loss rate because it is crucial for the network to schedule the measuring of the network quality to make sure that this crucial quality control step is not forgotten or skipped.
Claims 6-13 rejected under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) as being unpatentable over Ponukumati (US 20150092611) in view of Chen (CN109511107A) further in view Gordon (US-20150373574).
Regarding claim 6, Ponukumati and Chen teach the method according to claim 1, except wherein the step of calculating the first quality of service network comprises: measuring first network quality parameters of the first cellular network; and calculating the first quality of service of the first cellular network based on the basis of the measured first network quality parameters.
In an analogous art, Gordon teaches “calculating the first quality of service network comprises: measuring first network quality parameters of the first cellular network; and calculating the first quality of service of the first cellular network based on the basis of the measured first network quality parameters” ([0242] In step 1612, the mobile device 102 may calculate a cellular signal score based on a measured signal strength and/or quality. In some embodiments, a link module (e.g., link module 1510) may calculate the signal score. For example, the mobile device 102 may measure a signal strength and/or quality associated with the cellular data network 114. The signal strength and/or quality may be based on one more RSRQ values.)
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify Ponukumati's teaching of selecting a second network to include Chen's teaching selecting the second network of greater signal strength to also include Gordon’s teaching of calculating a quality of the network based on the measurement to facilitate the analysis and selection of better network.
Regarding claim 7, Ponukumati, Chen and Gordon teach the method according to claim 6, wherein the measured first network quality parameters comprise data quality parameters, wherein the data quality parameters comprise at least one of a latency, a jitter, a packet loss rate (Chen [0055] Step 3: Periodically check the network service quality of the operator network in use; in this embodiment, the network service quality includes received signal quality, network latency, and packet loss rate;”), and retransmissions. Therefore, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify Ponukumati's teaching of selecting a second network along with Chen to include Gordon's teaching of measuring a packet loss rate in order to ensure the required quality of service is maintained especially for video and gaming applications.
Regarding claim 8, Ponukumati, Chen and Gordon teach the method according to claim 6, wherein the measured first network quality parameters comprise signal quality parameters, wherein the signal quality parameters comprise at least one of a signal strength, a signal quality (Ponukumati [0063], "During monitoring, as described above in connection with FIG. 5, a determination may be made, such as through a recognition of a degradation of quality related indicators, such as SINR, RSSI, CQI, or other factors as described above, that the current call to a called party may be degrading in block 602.")
Regarding claim 9, Ponukumati, Chen and Gordon teach the method according to claim 6, wherein the calculating the first quality of service comprises: converting each of the measured first network quality parameters to a numerical value; calculating a weighted sum of the numerical values; and adding the calculated weighted sum to a rolling average (Gordon, [0164] “The QoE system 108 may provide a set of ping responses back to the mobile device 102. Each ping response may be measured to determine a ping time (e.g., a roundtrip time) and/or packet loss.” [0167] In some embodiments, the ping module 1508 determines an average of the ping times from the set of ping responses (e.g., a time average based on timestamps). [0171] In some embodiments, a ping score may be calculated as follows: Ping Score=(1−(standard deviation/ping average))*(packets received/packets sent) [0172] In various embodiments, the ping score may be weighted by multiplying the ping score with a ping weight. In one example, after testing the ping score calculations, a ping weight of 0.6 may be used. It will be appreciated that any ping weight may be used. [0173] It will be appreciated that the calculation of the ping standard deviation divided by the ping average may remove at least some variations in ping times which may be caused by fixed network latency based on the location of the mobile device 102 relative to the QoE system 108 (e.g., relative to the data center hosting the QoE system 108)”). Therefore, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify Ponukumati's teaching of selecting a second network along with Chen to include Gordon's teaching a calculating a weighted sum and average of the quality of service because this allows incorporating varying degrees of importance into the calculations which would yield a more informed conclusion.
Regarding claim 10, Ponukumati and Chen teach the method according to claim 1, wherein the step of estimating a quality of service of each of the plurality of other available cellular networks comprises: measuring second network quality parameters of each of the plurality of other available cellular networks (Ponukumati[0060] “FIG. 5 .. The SIM modules or interfaces may be activated, depending on whether the multi-SIM communication device is a multi-active or multi-standby device, and may allow connections between the subscriptions and respective networks. When the subscriptions are connected to the respective networks, link quality measurements and other information may be obtained in block 504.”);
However, Ponukumati does not teach estimating the quality of service of each of the plurality of other available network on the basis of the measured second network quality parameters of each of the plurality of other available networks, respectively.
In an analogous art, Gordon teaches “estimating the quality of service of each of the plurality of other available network on the basis of the measured second network quality parameters of each of the plurality of other available networks, respectively” ([0242] In step 1612, the mobile device 102 may calculate a cellular signal score based on a measured signal strength and/or quality. In some embodiments, a link module (e.g., link module 1510) may calculate the signal score. For example, the mobile device 102 may measure a signal strength and/or quality associated with the cellular data network 114. The signal strength and/or quality may be based on one more RSRQ values.) By applying Gordon’s teaching of estimating the quality of service a second network on the basis of the measured second network quality parameters to
Ponukumati’s plurality of networks would result in the claimed limitation of estimating the quality of service of each of the plurality of other available network on the basis of the measured second network quality parameters of each of the plurality of other available networks, respectively”. Therefore, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify Ponukumati's teaching of selecting a second network to include Chen's teaching selecting the second network of greater signal strength to also include Gordon’s teaching of estimating a quality of the network based on the measurement to facilitate the analysis and selection of better network.
Regarding claim 11, Ponukumati, Chen and Gordon teach the method according to claim 10, wherein the measured second network quality parameters comprise signal quality parameters, wherein the signal quality parameters preferably comprise one or more of signal strength, a signal quality (Ponukumati Fig. 5 Step 516, "Monitor link quality for other active SIMs and networks"); and Fig. 6 Step 602, [0063] "During monitoring, as described above in connection with FIG. 5, a determination may be made, such as through a recognition of a degradation of quality related indicators, such as SINR, RSSI, CQI, or other factors as described above”a radio access technology, (“RAT”), being used, a frequency being used, and a distance to base station.
Regarding claim 12, Ponukumati, Chen and Gordon teach the method according to claim 10, wherein the step of estimating a quality of service of each of the plurality of other available cellular networks on the basis of the measured second network quality parameters of each of the plurality of other available cellular networks, respectively, comprises for each of the plurality of other available cellular networks: converting each measured second network parameter to a numerical value; calculating a weighted sum of the converted numerical values for each one among the plurality of other available cellular networks; and adding each calculated weighted sum to a rolling average for the respective one among the plurality of other available cellular networks (Gordon, [0164] “The QoE system 108 may provide a set of ping responses back to the mobile device 102. Each ping response may be measured to determine a ping time (e.g., a roundtrip time) and/or packet loss.” [0167] In some embodiments, the ping module 1508 determines an average of the ping times from the set of ping responses (e.g., a time average based on timestamps). [0171] In some embodiments, a ping score may be calculated as follows: Ping Score=(1−(standard deviation/ping average))*(packets received/packets sent) [0172] In various embodiments, the ping score may be weighted by multiplying the ping score with a ping weight. In one example, after testing the ping score calculations, a ping weight of 0.6 may be used. It will be appreciated that any ping weight may be used. [0173] It will be appreciated that the calculation of the ping standard deviation divided by the ping average may remove at least some variations in ping times which may be caused by fixed network latency based on the location of the mobile device 102 relative to the QoE system 108 (e.g., relative to the data center hosting the QoE system 108)”. Therefore, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify Ponukumati's teaching of selecting a second network along with Chen to include Gordon's teaching a calculating a weighted sum and average of the quality of service because this allows incorporating varying degrees of importance into the calculations which would yield a more informed conclusion.
Claims 13 rejected under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) as being unpatentable over Ponukumati (US 20150092611) in view of Chen (CN109511107A) further in view Gordon (US-20150373574) further in view of Kwok (US 20200337054)
Regarding claim 13, Ponukumati, Chen and Gordon teach the method according to claim 10, wherein in attaching to the second cellular network, the selection of at least one parameter, is based on signal quality parameters of the second cellular network measured during the measuring signal qualities of the second cellular network (Chen [0063] “By establishing a network connection with the operator network with the strongest signal and continuously monitoring the network service quality of the operator network being used, the network can be switched to an operator network with a stronger signal when the network service quality deteriorates, thus improving the reliability of IoT network connections”). However, Chen does not explicitly teach that the selection of at least of one multiplexing parameter. In an analogous art, Kwok teaches the selection of at least of one multiplexing parameter (“after the UE 102 attaches to a cell operated by a base station 104 using an anchor layer chosen by the UE 102, the base station 104 can evaluate data about the base station 104 … to determine if the UE 102 should switch to camping on a different anchor layer that the base station 104 predicts will provide the UE 102 with an improved experience relative to an experience provided by the current anchor layer”). Therefore, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify Ponukumati's teaching of selecting a second network to include Kwok's teaching of selection of at least of one multiplexing parameter along with Chen and Gordon in order to increase quality of the system.
Claims 18-19 rejected under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) as being unpatentable over Ponukumati (US 20150092611) in view of Chen (CN109511107A) further in view Bertorelle (US 20180004956)
Regarding claim 18, Ponukumati and Chen teach mobile communication device according to claim 15, except for comprising a universal integrated circuit card, UICC, optionally an embedded UICC, e-UICC, wherein the UICC comprises a subscriber identity module, SIM, application, optionally a universal SIM, USIM, application configured to provide a subscriber identity to the first cellular network, the second cellular network, or the preferred the cellular network during the attaching to said network.
In an analogous art, Bertorelle teaches a universal integrated circuit card, UICC (Fig. 1, UICC 21), optionally an embedded UICC, e-UICC, wherein the UICC comprises a subscriber identity module, SIM, application, optionally a universal SIM, USIM, application configured to provide a subscriber identity to the first cellular network, the second cellular network, or the preferred the cellular network during the attaching to said network ([0084] “The security of 3GPP cellular systems, such as device 20, is based upon a Universal Integrated Circuit Card (UICC) 21, commonly called a “SIM card”..The UICC securely contains the user subscription information, and a secret used to derive authentication and cryptographic keys to support secure exchanges between the device and various services in the network”). Therefore, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify Ponukumati's teaching of selecting a second network along with Chen to include Bertorelle's teaching of UICC in order to authenticate the user and comply with 3GPP security standard (Bertorelle [0084]).
Regarding claim 19, Ponukumati, Chen and Bertorelle teach the mobile communication device according to claim 18, wherein the instructions stored in the memory are part of an application stored in the memory, wherein the UICC further comprises an authentication application configured to authorize the application to control the modem (Bertorelle [0084] “The UICC securely contains the user subscription information, and a secret used to derive authentication and cryptographic keys to support secure exchanges between the device and various services in the network” [0086] “Although the UICC 21 is a slave to the modem, it is able to run applications on its SE 25. Using the Card Application Toolkit (CAT) specification (3GPP TS 31.111), commonly called “SIM Toolkit” or STK, it is possible for an application running on a UICC 21: [0087] To interact with the modem 22, and in particular request services from the modem, such as initiating a communication channel 16 with a server 13 in the network 15 that the device communicates with. [0088] To interact with a service on the network side in a secure way, with mutual authentication between the STK application running on the UICC 21 and the remote service 13, as well as encryption of the data exchanged”). Therefore, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify Ponukumati's teaching of selecting a second network along with Chen to include Bertorelle's teaching of UICC in order to authenticate the user and comply with 3GPP security standard (Bertorelle [0084]).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DUNG L LAM whose telephone number is (571)272-6497. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday -Thursday 9-5pm.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Jeanette Parker can be reached on 571-270-3647. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/Dung Lam/
Examiner, Art Unit 2617
/JEANETTE J PARKER/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2646