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 .
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.
Claim(s) 1 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Liu (US 2023/0047446) in view of Nguyen et al. (US 10,826,480).
Regarding claim 1, Liu teaches battery charging and control method in (see fig. 4), a power system, comprising: a first switch (310), a second switch (320), a first switched capacitor circuit (311, 312, 314), a second switched capacitor circuit (321, 322, 324), an inductive voltage conversion circuit (left converter, 302, 304, 305, 306, 307, 308, 309), an input end (VBUS), a first charging end (node coupled to capacitor, 316), and a second charging end (node coupled to battery, 317), wherein an input side of the inductive voltage conversion circuit is coupled to the input end (VBUS input coupled to an input of a box drawn around the buck converter); an output side of the inductive voltage conversion circuit is coupled to the first charging end through the first switch (310) and the second charging end through the second switch (320); the first switched capacitor circuit (311, 312, 314) is coupled to and located between the input end and the first charging end; and the second switched capacitor circuit (321, 322, 324) is coupled to and located between the input end and the second charging end (node coupled to battery).
Liu fails to teach wherein the second switch is configured to change from an off state to a linearly on state, and from the linearly on state to a fully on state.
It’s well known in the art to ramp up charging of a battery gradually to avoid saturating a battery with overcurrent or overvoltage. Operating in a constant current rate mode and/or voltage mode is known in the art
Nguyen teaches a method of regulating how transistors are operated and in (see abstract, column 2, specifically lines 30-32) wherein a transistor read as the second transistor can operate in a constant rate mode (linear mode) and later transition to a full mode. (see fig. 3 of US 2017/0365995, Bahl for linear or constant rate).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the teaching of Nguyen into the teaching of Liu thus making it possible to keep operation intact and safely in (see background of invention, Nguyen et al. ).
Claim(s) 2-3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Liu (US 2023/0047446) in view of Nguyen et al. (US 10,826,480) and further in view of Wally et al. (US 2018/0041060).
Regarding claim 2, The combination teaches a charging or discharging mode (nodes coupled to the batteries) used to charge the battery and to discharge power to loads but fails to teach a load coupled to the energy sources.
Walley teaches in (see fig. 13) wherein the power system further comprises a discharging end configured to supply power to a load, and the discharging end is coupled to and located between the inductive voltage conversion circuit and the first switch, and between the inductive voltage conversion circuit and the second switch (see the path connected after the buck converter) to send power to the load (Vsys) which appears to be coupled between the buck converter (inductive buck converter) and switches (1302, 1304).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the teaching of Wally into that of the combination to charge batteries and discharge them to power loads to provide desired operation and/or functional services.
Regarding claim 3, The combination fails to teach wherein the power system further comprises a first battery and a second battery, and the first charging end and the second charging end are configured to charge the first battery and the second battery respectively.
Walley teaches wherein the power system further comprises a first battery and a second battery, and the first charging end and the second charging end are configured to charge the first battery and the second battery respectively (see fig. 13B).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have redundant power supplies capable of operating loads should in case a primary power source fails
Claim(s) 4 and 7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Liu (US 2023/0047446) in view of Nguyen et al. (US 10,826,480) and further in view of Wally et al. (US 2018/0041060) and further in view of Kabasawa et al. (US 2012/0038320).
Regarding claim 4, The combination including Walley teaches in for instance a control circuit in (see figs., fig. 4) wherein a control circuit can be used to control charging of a battery such as a battery charger control unit in (see fig. 4) for instance for controlling charging of a battery but fails to teach wherein the power system further includes control circuit configured to: in response to that a voltage of the first charging end “connected to a battery” and a voltage of the second charging end “connected to a battery” are within a preset voltage range, control the first switch and the second switch to be off read by the examiner as when the batteries connected in parallel are fully charged for instance which reads on the pre-set voltage range, the switches can be disconnected, in effect the charging mode is terminated
Kabasawa et al. teaches a battery charger and battery charging in (see para 0031) that the batteries connected in parallel to one another can be disconnected via switches when fully charged in (see para 0030).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the teaching of Kabasawa into that of the combination thus making it possible to operate loads with the needed power source and not to overcharge batteries to extend its lifespan.
Regarding claim 7, The combination including Walley teaches in for instance a control circuit in (see figs., fig. 4) wherein a control circuit can be used to control charging of a battery but fails to teaches a battery charger control unit in (see fig. 4) for instance for controlling charging of a battery that is wherein the control circuit is further configured to: in response to that the voltage of the first charging end and the voltage of the second charging end are outside the preset voltage range, control the first switch and the second switch to be on. Read by the examiner as turning on the switches coupled to the charging ends when the batteries are below a certain threshold
Kabasawa et al. teaches a battery charger and battery charging in (see para 0031) that the batteries connected in parallel to one another can be turned on via switches when it fails to meet a certain threshold in (see para 0031).
Therefore, it would have obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the teaching of Kabasawa into that of the combination thus making it possible to power loads with adequate power by making sure batteries are fully charged to act as standby sources should in case the main power AC fails.
Claim(s) 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Liu (US 2023/0047446) in view of Nguyen et al. (US 10,826,480) and in view of Yang (WO 2020101784).
Regarding claim 5, The combination including Walley teaches being able to possible activate a mode in (see para 0034) but fails to teach wherein the power system further comprises a control circuit, and the control circuit is configured to: in response to that a voltage of the first charging end and a voltage of the second charging end are within a preset voltage range, control the inductive voltage conversion circuit to stop providing electric energy, control the first switched capacitor circuit to provide electric energy to the first charging end, control the second switched capacitor circuit to provide electric energy to the second charging end, and control at least one of the first switch and the second switch to be on. The examiner would read the claimed limitation as switching between an inductive converter charging mode to a switched capacitive charging mode when the batteries connected to the charging end have a voltage output that satisfies a voltage level or range or threshold.
Yang teaches a battery charging system in (see para 0071-0079 and figs.) wherein a buck converter can be used for charging a load (batteries in light of the combination) till a threshold or a certain level is attained after which the buck converter can be disabled and then the switched capacitor can then be enabled.
Yang teaches a single battery and not a plurality of batteries but the concept of being able to switch between an inductive charging mode to a switched capacitive charging mode would equally be applicable to a system with multiple batteries as taught by Walley, duplicating the charging process for the multiple batteries.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the teaching of Yang into that of the combination thus making it possible to charge batteries effectively via inductive charging and faster via capacitive charging, even though with limited energy, based on the needs of coupled loads.
Claim(s) 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Liu (US 2023/0047446) in view of Nguyen et al. (US 10,826,480) and in view of Yang (WO 2020101784).
and further in view of Jing et al. (US 2021/0067033) .
Regarding claim 6, The combination fails to teach wherein the control circuit is further configured to: in response to that at least one of the voltage of the first charging end and the voltage of the second charging end is higher than an upper limit of the preset voltage range, control a switched capacitor circuit coupled to the charging end whose voltage exceeds the upper limit of the preset voltage range to stop providing electric energy. The examiner reads or would read that as switching off switched capacitive circuit charging after a certain threshold has been achieved for or when charging a battery.
Jing teaches a battery charging system in (see para 0053, 0065, 0066) with two charging schemes namely a master charger which could be a buck charger and a slave charger which could be a switched capacitor. According to Jing, switching can be transitioned from a buck operation to a switch capacitor and then back to a buck operation depending on operation conditions. Note that Jing teaches transitioning to a buck operation and stopping a switched capacitor circuit from providing electrical energy.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to incorporate the teaching of Jing into that of the combination thus making it possible to control charging of batteries and to power loads via a fast charging method and long duration
Claim(s) 8 and 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Liu (US 2023/0047446) in view of Nguyen et al. (US 10,826,480) and further in view of Wally et al. (US 2018/0041060) and further in view of Kabasawa et al. (US 2012/0038320) and further in view of Minnickel et al. (US 11,738,432).
Regarding claim 8, The combination fails to teach, wherein the control circuit is further configured to: in response to that at least one of a voltage of the first charging end and a voltage of a second charging end greater than a preset voltage threshold of the discharging end (load voltage), control at least one of the first switch and the second switch to be on. Read by the examiner to be the path connected to a battery via a switch capable of powering a load is activated to discharge energy to a load given it satisfies the needs of a load
Minnickel et al. teaches a load powering system in (see cols. 7-8) wherein the voltage threshold met by either a storage means (supercapacitors or battery) can be used to power a load based on the load power requirement by activating a switch connected to the power sources (see specifically col. 9).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the teaching of Minnickel into the combination thus making it possible to switch between power sources based on load power requirement and at the same time charge other sources as backup while the primary source is being used.
Regarding claim 9, see the explanation as set forth regarding claim 8. Furthermore, initially the supercapacitor can be switched on and then the battery can be switched on after switching off the supercapacitor based on load power requirement in (see col. 9 of Minnickel) the examiner reads the discharging end as the load voltage requirement which can be power by one of the sources based on its voltage levels and which one is suitable to power the load.
Claim 12 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Liu (US 2023/0047446) in view of Yang (WO 2020101784) and further in view of Nguyen et al. (US 10,826,480).
Regarding claim 12, Liu teaches battery charging and control method in (see fig. 4), a power system, comprising: a first switch (310), a second switch (320), a first switched capacitor circuit (311, 312, 314), a second switched capacitor circuit (321, 322, 324), an inductive voltage conversion circuit (left converter, 302, 304, 305, 306, 307, 308, 309), an input end (VBUS), a first charging end (node coupled to capacitor, 316), obvious to replace with a battery for the same storage functionality with the battery being capable of a higher storage capacity and a second charging end (node coupled to battery, 317), wherein an input side of the inductive voltage conversion circuit is coupled to the input end (VBUS input coupled to an input of a box drawn around the buck converter); an output side of the inductive voltage conversion circuit is coupled to the first charging end through the first switch (310) and the second charging end through the second switch (320); the first switched capacitor circuit (311, 312, 314) is coupled to and located between the input end and the first charging end; and the second switched capacitor circuit (321, 322, 324) is coupled to and located between the input end and the second charging end (node coupled to battery).
Liu teaches two possible charging mode (inductive mode and switch capacitor mode, in see figs.) but fails to teach being able to activate one mode or the other explicitly wherein the power system further comprises a control circuit, and the control circuit is configured to: in response to that a voltage of the first charging end and a voltage of the second charging end are within a preset voltage range, control the inductive voltage conversion circuit to stop providing electric energy, control the first switched capacitor circuit to provide electric energy to the first charging end, control the second switched capacitor circuit to provide electric energy to the second charging end, and control at least one of the first switch and the second switch to be on. The examiner would read the claimed limitation as switching between an inductive converter charging mode to a switched capacitive charging mode when the batteries connected to the charging end have a voltage output that satisfies a voltage level or range or threshold.
Yang teaches a battery charging system in (see 0071-0079, figs.) wherein a buck converter can be used for charging a load (batteries in light of Liu) till a threshold or a certain level is attained after which the buck converter can be disabled and then the switched capacitor can then be enabled. Yang teaches a single battery and not a plurality of batteries but the concept of being able to switch between an inductive charging mode to a switched capacitive charging mode would equally be applicable to a system with multiple batteries as taught by Liu, duplicating the charging process for the multiple batteries.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the teaching of Yang into that of Liu thus making it possible to charge batteries effectively via inductive charging and faster via capacitive charging, even though with limited energy, based on the needs of coupled loads and how urgent it’s needed to keep certain loads running.
The combination fails to teach wherein the second switch is configured to change from an off state to a linearly on state, and from the linearly on state to a fully on state.
It’s well known in the art to ramp up charging of a battery gradually to avoid saturating a battery with overcurrent or overvoltage. Operating in a constant current rate mode and/or voltage mode is known in the art
Nguyen teaches a method of regulating how transistors are operated and in (see abstract, column 2, specifically lines 30-32) wherein a transistor read as the second transistor can operate in a constant rate mode (linear mode) and later transition to a full mode. (see fig. 3 of US 2017/0365995, Bahl for linear or constant rate).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the teaching of Nguyen into the teaching of Liu thus making it possible to keep operation intact and safely in (see background of invention, Nguyen et al. ).
Claim 13 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Liu (US 2023/0047446) in view of Yang (WO 2020101784) and further in view of Nguyen et al. (US 10,826,480) and further in view of Jing et al. (US 2021/0067033) .
Regarding claim 13, The combination fails to teach wherein the control circuit is further configured to: in response to that at least one of the voltage of the first charging end and the voltage of the second charging end is higher than an upper limit of the preset voltage range, control a switched capacitor circuit coupled to the charging end whose voltage exceeds the upper limit of the preset voltage range to stop providing electric energy. The examiner reads or would read that as switching off switched capacitive circuit charging after a certain threshold has been achieved for or when charging a battery.
Jing teaches a battery charging system in (see para 0053, 0065, 0066) with two charging schemes namely a master charger which could be a buck charger and a slave charger which could be a switched capacitor. According to Jing, switching can be transitioned from a buck operation to a switch capacitor and then back to a buck operation depending on operation conditions. Note that Jing teaches transitioning to a buck operation and stopping a switched capacitor circuit from providing electrical energy.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to incorporate the teaching of Jing into that of the combination thus making it possible to control charging of batteries and to power loads via a fast charging method and long duration
Claim 14 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Liu (US 2023/0047446) in view of Yang (WO 2020101784) and further in view of Nguyen et al. (US 10,826,480) and further in view of Kabasawa et al. (US 2012/0038320)
Regarding claim 14, The combination including Liu teaches in for instance a control circuit in (see figs., fig. 4) wherein a control circuit can be used to control charging of a battery but fails to teach a battery charger control unit in (see fig. 4) for instance for controlling charging of a battery wherein the control circuit is further configured to: in response to that the voltage of the first charging end and the voltage of the second charging end are outside the preset voltage range, control the first switch and the second switch to be on. Read by the examiner as turning on the switches coupled to the charging ends when the batteries are below a certain threshold
Kabasawa et al. teaches a battery charger and battery charging in (see para 0031) that the batteries connected in parallel to one another can be turned on via switches when it fails to meet a certain threshold in (see para 0031).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the teaching of Kabasawa into that of the combination thus making it possible to power loads with adequate power by making sure batteries are fully charged to act as a standby source should in case the main power AC fails.
Claims 15 and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Liu (US 2023/0047446) in view of Yang (WO 2020101784) and further in view of Nguyen et al. (US 10,826,480) and further in view of Minnickel et al. (US 11,738,432).
Regarding claim 15, The combination fails to teach, wherein the control circuit is further configured to: in response to that at least one of a voltage of the first charging end and a voltage of a second charging end greater than a preset voltage threshold of the discharging end (load voltage), control at least one of the first switch and the second switch to be on. Read by the examiner to be the path connected to a battery via a switch capable of powering a load is activated to discharge energy to a load given it satisfies the needs of a load
Minnickel et al. teaches a load powering system in (see cols. 7-8) wherein the voltage threshold met by either a storage means (supercapacitors or battery) can be used to power a load by activating a switch connected to the power sources (see specifically col. 9). The voltage of the bus or needed on the bus to power the load can be applied accordingly
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the teaching of Minnickel into the combination thus making it possible to switch between power sources based on load power requirement and at the same time charge other sources as backup while the primary source is being used.
Regarding claim 16, Furthermore, initially the supercapacitor can be switched on and then the battery can be switched on after switching off the supercapacitor based on load power requirement in (see col. 9 of Minnickel) the examiner reads the discharging end as the load voltage line requirement which can be power by one of the sources based on its voltage levels and which one is suitable to power the load.
Claim(s) 17-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Walley et al. (US 2018/0041060) in view of Hu et al. (US 2014/0203780) and further in view of Ye et al. (US 2012/0293002).
Regarding claim 17, Liu teaches battery charging and control method in (see fig. 4), a power system, comprising: a first switch (310), a second switch (320), a first switched capacitor circuit (311, 312, 314), a second switched capacitor circuit (321, 322, 324), an inductive voltage conversion circuit (left converter, 302, 304, 305, 306, 307, 308, 309), an input end (VBUS), a first charging end (node coupled to capacitor, 316), and a second charging end (node coupled to battery, 317), wherein an input side of the inductive voltage conversion circuit is coupled to the input end (VBUS input coupled to an input of a box drawn around the buck converter); an output side of the inductive voltage conversion circuit is coupled to the first charging end through the first switch (310) and the second charging end through the second switch (320); the first switched capacitor circuit (311, 312, 314) is coupled to and located between the input end and the first charging end; and the second switched capacitor circuit (321, 322, 324) is coupled to and located between the input end and the second charging end (node coupled to battery).
The limitation “in response to no voltage input to a power system, obtaining a voltage of a first charging end coupled to a first battery in the parallel battery pack and a voltage of a second charging end coupled to a second battery in the parallel battery pack” is not explicitly taught by Liu, however, when there is no AC power, the only alternative power to power the loads would be the backup power storage devices (316, 317) arguably.
Hu et al. teaches a system and method for active charge and discharge current balancing connected battery packs wherein a regulator in (see para 0022) can be used to determine current or for sensing voltage through the branches connected to the parallel connected battery packs. Hu teaches supplying power to a load via energy from the first and/or second battery unit when there is no AC power in (see fig. 2).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the teaching of Hu into that of the Liu thus making it possible to detect output voltages of batteries in order to make decisions regarding which battery to discharge to a load to avoid undercurrent or overvoltage.
The combination fails to teach explicitly the subject matter comprising turning on a first switch when the voltage of the first charging end is greater than the voltage of the second charging end; obtaining a voltage of a discharging end that supplies power to a load; and turning on a second switch when the voltage of the discharging end is less than the voltage of the second charging end.
Ye et al. teaches a power system, analogous to the present invention, wherein batteries can be connected in parallel and to an external source (AC) in (see para 0034, 0039-0044, 0051-0061, 0063, 0070). According to Ye, when the AC power is abnormal or fails, meaning the bus receiving power from the AC would detect no current, the first switch coupled to a battery can be connected to supply power to a load wherein the first battery has a higher voltage than the second. The battery with the highest voltage, if unable to power the load bus due to insufficient voltage would then be supplemented with energy from a parallel connected battery.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one or ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the teaching of Yu into that of the combination thus making it possible to maintain power to a load even when power from the grid is abnormal or out to keep it operating.
Regarding claim 18, The examiner takes official notice that it’s well known in the art to keep power supplies active (on) based on the power needs of connected loads in this case both batteries can be connected by turning or keeping the switches on. The combination including Yu teaches a possibility wherein both switches coupled to batteries can be connected to supply power to loads even not initially in (see para 0070) after re-connection.
Claim(s) 21 and 22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Walley et al. (US 2018/0041060) in view of Hu et al. (US 2014/0203780) and further in view of Ye et al. (US 2012/0293002) and further in view of Minnickel et al. (US 11,738,432).
Regarding claim 22, The combination fails to teach the claimed subject matter but Minnickel et al. teaches a load powering system in (see cols. 7-8) wherein the voltage threshold met by either a storage means (supercapacitors or battery) can be used to power a load based on the load power requirement by activating a switch connected to the power sources (see specifically col. 9). Furthermore, initially the supercapacitor can be switched on and then the battery can be switched on after switching off the supercapacitor based on load power requirement in (see col. 9 of Minnickel). The examiner reads the discharging end as the load voltage requirement which can be power by one of the sources based on its voltage levels and which one is suitable to power the load.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the teaching of Minnickel into the combination thus making it possible to switch between power sources based on load power requirement and at the same time charge other sources as backup while the primary source is being used.
Regarding claim 21, The examiner takes official notice that when batteries are turned on simultaneously and then one falls below a threshold requiring charging, the switch connected to the battery can be turned off.
Recommendation
After consideration of the claimed inventive concept, the applicant is advised to claim the structure as shown in (see fig. 5) by claiming the interconnections wherein the first switched capacitor circuit has its input coupled to the input of the inductive conversion circuit with its output coupled to the positive terminal of a first battery and the second capacitor switch has its input coupled to the input of the inductive conversion circuit and its output coupled to the positive terminal of a second battery wherein the inductive circuit is coupled to the respective batteries via its respective switch (first and second switch) to overcome the prior art record. The closest art (Yang) teaches a structure relevant to the claimed invention but not the details of the circuit shown in (Fig. 5).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 11 and 20 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
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 Rexford n barnie whose telephone number is (571)272-7492. The examiner can normally be reached 8AM-4PM.
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.
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.
/REXFORD N BARNIE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2836
Prosecution Insights