DETAILED ACTION
This action is made in response to the RCE filed on 06/10/2026. This action is made non-final.
Claims 1-42 are pending. Claims 1, 19 and 20 are independent claims.
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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 06/05/2026 has been entered.
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.
Claims 20, 32-42 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to non-statutory subject matter.
With respect to claim 20, a “computer readable storage medium” is being recited; however, the Applicant’s specification does not define the scope of the computer readable storage medium. Specifically, the specification recites a non-transitory computer readable storage medium as a form of non-transitory readable media. The specification does not limit the scope of the “computer readable storage medium” to “non-transitory computer readable medium”. The examiner interprets the “computer readable storage medium” to include both the non-transitory and transitory computer readable storage medium. Therefore, the claim is rejected for being directed to non-statutory subject matter under the meaning of 35 USC § 101.
Claims 32-42 fail to resolve the deficiencies of claim 20 upon which they depend; therefore, are also rejected.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-19, 21-31 are allowed. The reasons for allowance are indicated in the notice for allowance mailed on 03/10/26.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record on form PTO-892 and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Applicant is required under 37 C.F.R. § 1.111(c) to consider these references fully when responding to this action.
It is noted that any citation to specific, pages, columns, lines, or figures in the prior art references and any interpretation of the references should not be considered to be limiting in any way. A reference is relevant for all it contains and may be relied upon for all that it would have reasonably suggested to one having ordinary skill in the art. In re Heck, 699 F.2d 1331, 1332-33,216 USPQ 1038, 1039 (Fed. Cir. 1983) (quoting In re Lemelson, 397 F.2d 1006,1009, 158 USPQ 275,277 (CCPA 1968)).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TUYETLIEN T TRAN whose telephone number is (571)270-1033. The examiner can normally be reached M-F: 8:00 AM - 8:00 PM.
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, Irete (Fred) Ehichioya can be reached on 571-272-4034. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/TUYETLIEN T TRAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2179
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