DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s amendments to the drawings overcome the drawing object of the office action dated 11/20/2025 but raises new drawing issues with applicant’s amended limitations.
Applicant's arguments filed 03/20/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Applicant’s remarks state that Chenoweth’s pump 42 does not teach or suggest a cooling pump configured to pump the hydraulic fluid to a cooling apparatus external to the HPU. However, Chenoweth discloses a heat exchanger 46 in Fig. 2 which would meet the claimed cooling apparatus because it cools the fluid in the circuit (Chenoweth Col. 5 lines 34-42).
See below for updated rejections in light of new reference Aspelin (US 2887063).
Applicant’s amendments to claim 1 also appear to introduce new matter.
Claim 1 has been amended to recite a new limitation “wherein the pump is located within the reservoir, and wherein the pump is arranged to be, in use, submerged within the hydraulic fluid within the reservoir”, with respect to “a pump for pumping the hydraulic fluid to an outlet connectable to the material testing apparatus”.
However, the drawings and specification does not appear to support having the pump that pumps fluid to an outlet be located in and submerged in the reservoir. Applicant’s claim 1 also recites that the cooling pump is located and submerged in the reservoir. Applicant’s new Fig. 1 dated 03/20/2026 show cooling pump 117 within reservoir 116 but not pump 113. None of the drawings show pump 114 within the reservoir 116 and the disclosure does not appear to discuss having pump 114 submerged within the reservoir 116.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 03/20/2026 has been considered by the examiner.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the " a pump for pumping the hydraulic fluid to an outlet connectable to the material testing apparatus, wherein the pump is located within the reservoir, and wherein the pump is arranged to be, in use, submerged within the hydraulic fluid within the reservoir;" as claimed in claim 1 must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
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.
Specification
The amendment filed 03/20/2026 is objected to under 35 U.S.C. 132(a) because it introduces new matter into the disclosure. 35 U.S.C. 132(a) states that no amendment shall introduce new matter into the disclosure of the invention. The added material which is not supported by the original disclosure is as follows:
Claim 1 has been amended to recite a new limitation “wherein the pump is located within the reservoir, and wherein the pump is arranged to be, in use, submerged within the hydraulic fluid within the reservoir”, with respect to “a pump for pumping the hydraulic fluid to an outlet connectable to the material testing apparatus”.
However, the drawings and specification does not appear to support having the pump that pumps fluid to an outlet be located in and submerged in the reservoir. Applicant’s claim 1 also recites that the cooling pump is located and submerged in the reservoir. Applicant’s new Fig. 1 dated 03/20/2026 show cooling pump 117 within reservoir 116 but not pump 113. None of the drawings show pump 114 within the reservoir 116 and the disclosure does not appear to discuss having pump 114 submerged within the reservoir 116.
Applicant is required to cancel the new matter in the reply to this Office Action.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claim 1-15 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
Claim 1 recites “a pump for pumping the hydraulic fluid to an outlet connectable to the material testing apparatus, wherein the pump is located within the reservoir, and wherein the pump is arranged to be, in use, submerged within the hydraulic fluid within the reservoir;” and
“a cooling pump configured to pump the hydraulic fluid to a cooling apparatus external to the HPU, wherein the cooling pump is located within the reservoir, and wherein the cooling pump is arranged to be, in use, submerged within the hydraulic fluid within the reservoir;”.
However, the drawings and specification does not appear to support having two pumps, including the pump that pumps fluid to an outlet be located in and submerged in the reservoir. Applicant’s claim 1 also recites that the cooling pump is located and submerged in the reservoir. Applicant’s new Fig. 1 dated 03/20/2026 show cooling pump 117 within reservoir 116 but not pump 113. None of the drawings show two pumps, including pump 114 within the reservoir 116 and the disclosure does not appear to discuss having two pumps, including pump 114 submerged within the reservoir 116.
Claims 2-15 fail the written description requirement because they depend from claim 1 which fails the written description requirement.
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.
Claim(s) 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Guender (US 2018/0274526) in view of Chenoweth et al. (US 5109672), hereinafter ‘Chenoweth’ and Aspelin (US 2887063).
Guender discloses:
1. (Currently Amended) A hydraulic power unit (HPU), for providing a pressurised hydraulic fluid to a material testing apparatus, the HPU comprising: a reservoir (T) for storing a hydraulic fluid; a pump (1) for pumping the hydraulic fluid to an outlet (14) connectable to the material testing apparatus (capable of being connected to any hydraulic consumer including a material testing apparatus); an alternating current, AC, (implicit with the frequency converter 2) electric motor (M) arranged to drive the pump, wherein the electric motor is located within the reservoir (see Fig. 4, M is located within reservoir T); and an electrical inverter (2) for providing an AC electrical supply to the electric motor, wherein the electrical inverter is arranged to control an operating point of the electric motor (paragraph [0042]). Guender further discloses wherein the pump is located within the reservoir, and wherein the pump is arranged to be, in use, submerged within the hydraulic fluid within the reservoir (pump 1 within reservoir T).
Guender does not disclose a cooling pump configured to pump the hydraulic fluid to a cooling apparatus external to the HPU.
However, Chenoweth discloses an electrohydraulic assembly similar to Guender and the present application and therefore constitute analogous art. Chenoweth discloses a cooling pump 42 configured to pump the hydraulic fluid 32 to a cooling apparatus 46 external to the HPU (Chenoweth Col. 5 lines 20-49), wherein the hydraulic power unit (HPU) includes a pump 16 driven by an electric motor 18, wherein both the pump and the electric motor are submerged in the hydraulic fluid 32 within the reservoir 30, similar Guender and the present application.
It is obvious to combine prior art elements according to known methods to yield predictable results. See MPEP 2143(A). The MPEP states the prior art must: (1) teach each claimed element (a method or apparatus that will be modified), (2) show that one of ordinary skill in the art could have combined the elements by known methods and that the combination doesn’t change the function of the elements, and (3) show that one of ordinary skill would have recognized that applying the known technique to the base device would yield predictable results. See MPEP 2143(A).
In this case, Guender teaches most elements except a cooling pump configured to pump the hydraulic fluid to a cooling apparatus external to the HPU. Chenoweth teaches a cooling pump configured to pump the hydraulic fluid to a cooling apparatus external to the hydraulic power unit, which has the function of cooling the fluid within the reservoir. When combined into Guender by pumping the fluid of the reservoir to a heat exchanger, it maintains its function of cooling the hydraulic fluid of a hydraulic power unit. One of ordinary skill would expect predictable results because both references pertain to hydraulic power units that function in the same manner in the environment of electrohydraulic assemblies.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the system of Guender in view of Chenoweth because the claimed elements were known in the prior art and one skilled in the art could have combined the elements as claimed by known methods with no change in their respective functions, and the combination yielded nothing more than predictable results to one of ordinary skill in the art.
Further, the primary reference Guender discloses that it is beneficial to provide cooling of the electric motor by having it submerged in the hydraulic fluid of the tank. One of ordinary skill in the art would recognize that cooling the fluid in the hydraulic tank would benefit the cooling effect of the submerging of the motor in the fluid of the hydraulic tank, and therefore would be obvious to implement the cooling pump 42 of Chenoweth with its heat exchanger 46 that is external to the hydraulic power unit of Guender to provide enhanced cooling into the device of Guender.
The combination of Guender and Chenoweth does not explicitly disclose wherein the cooling pump is located within the reservoir, and wherein the cooling pump is arranged to be, in use, submerged within the hydraulic fluid within the reservoir.
However, Aspelin discloses a hydraulic system similar to the present application and therefore constitute analogous art. Aspelin teaches that it is known in the art to submerge a pump in a bath of the liquid which it pumps to lubricate the pump (Aspelin Col. 1 lines 28-39).
Since lubricating a pump is beneficial, it is known in the art to submerge pumps, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to have further modified the system of Guender in view of Chenoweth to have the cooling pump is located within the reservoir, and wherein the cooling pump is arranged to be, in use, submerged within the hydraulic fluid within the reservoir as taught by Aspelin. Further, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to have modified the system of Guender in view of Chenoweth to position the implemented cooling pump of Chenoweth rearrangement of parts rationale since relocation of a submerged pump to any reservoir would not change its function of pumping the fluid that it is submerged in.
The combination of Guender, Chenoweth, and Aspelin further renders obvious:
2. (Original) The HPU of claim 1, wherein the HPU is arranged to provide the hydraulic fluid to the outlet at a target pressure (Guender, paragraph [0042]).
3. (Original) The HPU of claim 2, wherein the target pressure is set based on a received signal (Guender, paragraph [0042]).
4. (Currently Amended) The HPU of claim 1,wherein the electrical inverter is arranged to control the operating point of the electric motor by controlling any one or more of: a voltage of the AC electrical supply; a current of the AC electrical supply; a frequency of the AC electrical supply; and a phase of the AC electrical supply (Guender, paragraph [0042]).
5. (Currently Amended)The HPU of claim 4, wherein the electrical inverter is arranged to control the operating point of the electric motor by controlling one or more of the current of the AC electrical supply, the frequency of the AC electrical supply, and the phase of the AC electrical supply such that an operating efficiency of the electric motor is changed to maintain the operating point (Guender, paragraph [0042], operating point is controlled to maintain p, depending on p, the operating efficiency changes).
7. (Currently Amended) The HPU of claim 1, further comprising a controller arranged to control a rotational speed of the electric motor to maintain the hydraulic fluid at the outlet at the target pressure (Guender, paragraph [0042], PID regulator is a controller).
8. (Original) The HPU of claim 7, wherein the controller is arranged to control a fluid displacement of the pump to maintain the hydraulic fluid at the outlet at the target pressure (Guender, paragraph [0042]).
15. (Currently Amended) A system comprising: the HPU of claim 1; and a material testing apparatus arranged to receive a pressurised hydraulic fluid from the HPU (absent further limitations pertaining to what a material testing apparatus actually requires, Guender 16 will be interpreted to be a material testing apparatus because the disclosed cylinder, such as a conventional hydraulic cylinder having a linear output disclosed in paragraph [0039], can test materials by placing forces on it).
Claim(s) 1, 2, 13, 14, 15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hobson (US 5988989) in view of Chenoweth and Aspelin.
Hobson renders obvious:
1. (Currently Amended) A hydraulic power unit (HPU), for providing a pressurised hydraulic fluid to a material testing apparatus, the HPU comprising: a reservoir (12) for storing a hydraulic fluid; a pump (14) for pumping the hydraulic fluid to an outlet (24) connectable to the material testing apparatus; an alternating current, AC, electric motor (14, Col. 3 lines 28-34) arranged to drive the pump, wherein the electric motor is located within the reservoir (Col. 3 lines 28-34); and an electrical inverter for providing an AC electrical supply to the electric motor, wherein the electrical inverter is arranged to control an operating point of the electric motor. Hobson further discloses wherein the pump is located within the reservoir, and wherein the pump is arranged to be, in use, submerged within the hydraulic fluid within the reservoir (pump 16 submerged within reservoir 12 seen in Fig. 2)
Hobson does not disclose a cooling pump configured to pump the hydraulic fluid to a cooling apparatus external to the HPU, or wherein the cooling pump is located within the reservoir, and wherein the cooling pump is arranged to be, in use, submerged within the hydraulic fluid within the reservoir.
However, Chenoweth discloses an electrohydraulic assembly similar to Hobson and the present application and therefore constitute analogous art. Chenoweth discloses a cooling pump 42 configured to pump the hydraulic fluid 32 to a cooling apparatus 46 external to the HPU (Chenoweth Col. 5 lines 20-49), wherein the hydraulic power unit (HPU) includes a pump 16 driven by an electric motor 18, wherein both the pump and the electric motor are submerged in the hydraulic fluid 32 within the reservoir 30, similar Hobson and the present application.
It is obvious to combine prior art elements according to known methods to yield predictable results. See MPEP 2143(A). The MPEP states the prior art must: (1) teach each claimed element (a method or apparatus that will be modified), (2) show that one of ordinary skill in the art could have combined the elements by known methods and that the combination doesn’t change the function of the elements, and (3) show that one of ordinary skill would have recognized that applying the known technique to the base device would yield predictable results. See MPEP 2143(A).
In this case, Hobson teaches most elements except a cooling pump configured to pump the hydraulic fluid to a cooling apparatus external to the HPU. Chenoweth teaches a cooling pump configured to pump the hydraulic fluid to a cooling apparatus external to the hydraulic power unit, which has the function of cooling the fluid within the reservoir. When combined into Hobson by pumping the fluid of the reservoir to a heat exchanger, it maintains its function of cooling the hydraulic fluid of a hydraulic power unit. One of ordinary skill would expect predictable results because both references pertain to hydraulic power units that function in the same manner in the environment of electrohydraulic assemblies.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the system of Hobson in view of Chenoweth because the claimed elements were known in the prior art and one skilled in the art could have combined the elements as claimed by known methods with no change in their respective functions, and the combination yielded nothing more than predictable results to one of ordinary skill in the art.
Further, the primary reference Hobson discloses that it is beneficial to provide cooling of the electric motor by having it submerged in the hydraulic fluid of the tank. One of ordinary skill in the art would recognize that cooling the fluid in the hydraulic tank would benefit the cooling effect of the submerging of the motor in the fluid of the hydraulic tank, and therefore would be obvious to implement the cooling pump 42 of Chenoweth with its heat exchanger 46 that is external to the hydraulic power unit to provide enhanced cooling into the device of Hobson.
The combination of Hobson and Chenoweth does not explicitly disclose wherein the cooling pump is located within the reservoir, and wherein the cooling pump is arranged to be, in use, submerged within the hydraulic fluid within the reservoir.
However, Aspelin discloses a hydraulic system similar to the present application and therefore constitute analogous art. Aspelin teaches that it is known in the art to submerge a pump in a bath of the liquid which it pumps to lubricate the pump (Aspelin Col. 1 lines 28-39).
Since lubricating a pump is beneficial, it is known in the art to submerge pumps, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to have further modified the system of Hobson in view of Chenoweth to have the cooling pump is located within the reservoir, and wherein the cooling pump is arranged to be, in use, submerged within the hydraulic fluid within the reservoir as taught by Aspelin. Further, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to have modified the system of Hobson in view of Chenoweth to position the implemented cooling pump of Chenoweth rearrangement of parts rationale since relocation of a submerged pump to any reservoir would not change its function of pumping the fluid that it is submerged in.
The combination of Hobson and Chenoweth further renders obvious:
2. (Original) The HPU of claim 1, wherein the HPU is arranged to provide the hydraulic fluid to the outlet at a target pressure (Hobson, target pressure is the pressure level required by the lift).
13. (Currently Amended) The hydraulic power unit of claim 1,wherein the electric motor is arranged to be, in use, submerged within the hydraulic fluid within the reservoir (Hobson, pump 16 and motor 14 are submerged within the hydraulic fluid within reservoir 12 as seen in Fig. 2).
14. (Currently Amended) The hydraulic power unit of claim 1,wherein the pump is located within the reservoir, and wherein the pump is arranged to be, in use, submerged within the hydraulic fluid within the reservoir (Hobson, pump 16 and motor 14 are submerged within the hydraulic fluid within reservoir 12 as seen in Fig. 2).
15. (Currently Amended) A system comprising: the HPU of claim 1; and a material testing apparatus arranged to receive a pressurised hydraulic fluid from the HPU (Hobson, the lift is interpreted to be a material testing apparatus absent further limitations, a material may be tested by a hydraulic lift).
Claim(s) 6-12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Guender in view of Chenoweth and Aspelin and in further view of Henno (DE 102012009136).
Regarding claim 6, Guender in view of Chenoweth and Aspelin renders obvious the HPU of claim 1, but does not explicitly disclose wherein the pump is a variable displacement pump to control a flow rate of the hydraulic fluid from the outlet.
Henno discloses a device including a pump 20 driven by an electric motor 31 similar to Guender and the present application and therefore constitutes analogous art. Henno teaches: wherein the pump is a variable displacement pump (20) to control a flow rate of the hydraulic fluid from the outlet (paragraph [0021]-[0023]) as claimed in claim 6.
Since a variable displacement pump provides the benefit of being able to adjust the fluid output volume of the pump, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to have further modified the device of Guender in view of Chenoweth and Aspelin to have used a variable displacement pump to control a flow rate of the hydraulic fluid from the outlet as taught by Henno.
By implementing a variable displacement pump into the modified device of Guender in view of Chenoweth and Aspelin, the device is able to be operated more efficiently as taught by Henno (Henno [0007] discloses that its invention improves the pump operation during load fluctuations and counteracts load-dependent leakage losses) and discloses benefits in the field of injection molding machines, presses, woodworking machines, test benches, etc., since a high dynamic and static control quality is particularly advantageous (Henno [0012]).
Henno further discloses:
further comprising a controller (40) arranged to control a rotational speed of the electric motor to maintain the hydraulic fluid at the outlet at the target pressure (paragraph [0022]), as claimed in claim 7;
wherein the controller is arranged to control a fluid displacement of the pump to maintain the hydraulic fluid at the outlet at the target pressure (paragraph [0023]), as claimed in claim 8;
wherein the pump is operable as a pressure compensated variable displacement pump having an adjustable pressure set point, the controller being arranged to control the fluid displacement of the pump by controlling the said adjustable pressure set point (paragraph [0021] discloses the controller specifying a setpoint for the pump which affects the pressure, paragraph [0024] discloses a pressure control element that uses a target delivery pressure and an actual delivery pressure in the control, therefore the variable displacement pump is operable as a pressure compensated variable displacement pump), as claimed in claim 9,
wherein the controller is arranged to control both the speed of the electric motor and the fluid displacement of the pump; wherein one or both of the fluid displacement of the pump and the rotational speed of the electric motor are controlled in dependence on predetermined characterisation data, such that a combined operating efficiency of the electric motor and the pump is controlled (paragraph [0025], Fig. 2), as claimed in claim 10;
where the controller is arranged to: determine a flow rate of hydraulic fluid flowing through the pump and control one or both of the fluid displacement of the pump and the rotational speed of the electric motor in dependence thereon; wherein the predetermined characterisation data is indicative of one or both of a target fluid displacement of the pump and a target rotational speed of the electric motor depending on the said flow rate (paragraph [0023], target volume flow is used to control the pump displacement), as claimed in claim 11;
wherein the controller is arranged to: control the fluid displacement of the pump based on the target fluid displacement; or control the rotational speed of the electric motor based on the target rotational speed (paragraph [0024]-[0027], Fig. 2), as claimed in claim 12.
Since improved pump operation is beneficial, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to have modified the device of Guender in view of Chenoweth and Aspelin to have used the controller wherein the controller is arranged to control a fluid displacement of the pump to maintain the hydraulic fluid at the outlet at the target pressure, wherein the controller is arranged to control both the speed of the electric motor and the fluid displacement of the pump; wherein one or both of the fluid displacement of the pump and the rotational speed of the electric motor are controlled in dependence on predetermined characterisation data, such that a combined operating efficiency of the electric motor and the pump is controlled,
where the controller is arranged to: determine a flow rate of hydraulic fluid flowing through the pump and control one or both of the fluid displacement of the pump and the rotational speed of the electric motor in dependence thereon; wherein the predetermined characterisation data is indicative of one or both of a target fluid displacement of the pump and a target rotational speed of the electric motor depending on the said flow rate, wherein the pump is operable as a pressure compensated variable displacement pump having an adjustable pressure set point, the controller being arranged to control the fluid displacement of the pump by controlling the said adjustable pressure set point, wherein the controller is arranged to: control the fluid displacement of the pump based on the target fluid displacement; or control the rotational speed of the electric motor based on the target rotational speed, as taught by Henno.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Dustin T Nguyen whose telephone number is (571)270-0163. The examiner can normally be reached M - F: 8:00am - 4:30pm.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Nathaniel E. Wiehe can be reached at (571) 272-8648. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/DUSTIN T NGUYEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3745 April 13, 2026