DETAILED ACTION
This is a final office action on the merits in response to communications on 6/5/2025. Claims 2, 4, 7, 14 are cancelled. Claims 1, 3, 5-6, 8-13, 15 are pending and addressed below.
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1, 12, 13, see starting page 11 of REMARKS, have been considered but are moot because of new amendments thus the arguments do not apply to current rejections.
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.
Claims 1, 3, 5-6, 8-11, 12, 13 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 1 recites the limitation "said steps" in line 33. It is not clear what steps this is referring to. Note the only previous introduction of “the steps” is in line 4, and this includes all steps after line 4. However, at line 33, not all steps of this claim have been introduced yet, so it is not clear if “said steps” in line 33 is referring to all steps from line 4 to line 33, or all steps from line 4 to the end of claim 1, or some other combination of steps.
Claims 3, 5-6, 8-11 depend on this claim and suffer from the same issues.
Claim 12 recites the limitation "said steps" in line 32. It is not clear what steps this is referring to. In addition, there is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 13 recites the limitation "said steps" in line 35. It is not clear what steps this is referring to. In addition, there is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
All dependent claims of these claims are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, by virtue of their dependency.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 15 allowed.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
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BAO LONG T. NGUYEN
Examiner
Art Unit 3664
/BAO LONG T NGUYEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3656
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