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 .
DETAILED OFFICE ACTION
Status of Claims:
Claims 1-10 are pending examination.
Claims 11-15 are Allowed.
Reason for Allowance
1. The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance:
Prior art made of record fails to teach the limitations underlined within the independent claims mentioned below.
Regarding claim 11, A method of modeling a system to predict contagion dispersion, comprising: converting the first gaseous fluid source in the first thermal depth video stream into a first fluid dispersion model; identifying a second gaseous fluid source in the first thermal depth video stream, acquiring a first thermal depth video stream; identifying a first gaseous fluid source in the first thermal depth video stream, and converting the second gaseous fluid source in the first thermal depth video stream into a second fluid dispersion model; determining that the first fluid dispersion model may interact with the second fluid dispersion model and a first stationary object, resulting in a density of the first fluid that is above a threshold value in a first location; determining a recommended layout change in response to the determination that the density of the first fluid is above the threshold value in the first location; and indicating the recommended layout change.
Regarding claim 11, Jin Fei et al. ( NPL Doc: "Imaging Breathing Rate in the CO2 Absorption Band," 10th April 2006, Proceedings of the 2005 IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology 27th Annual Conference, Shanghai, China, September 1-4, 2005,Pages 700-704.) teaches A method of modeling a system to predict contagion dispersion( A model for detection of breathing within an environment taught within Page 700- Col. 2- “…proposed a statistical methodology that models breathing as a mixture of expiration and non expiration distributions. Every frame is classified as expiratory or non-expiratory by comparing the incoming distributions with the existing distributions using the Jeffrey’s divergence measure. Thanks to this frame labelling we are able to compute the breathing rate….”), comprising: converting the first gaseous fluid source in the first thermal depth video stream into a first fluid dispersion model ( Page 701- Fig. 2 and Fig. 3 showing thermal image of a gaseous source from the subject);
Within analogous art, J.W. Tang et al. (NPL Doc: “Observing and quantifying airflows in the infection control of aerosol and airborne-transmitted diseases: an overview of approaches," 30th December 2010, Journal of Hospital Infection 77 (2011),Pages 213-219. ) teaches identifying a second gaseous fluid source in the first thermal depth video stream ( Page 217- “Figure 3. A computational fluid dynamics (CFD) prediction of the temperature distribution in a room ventilated by displacement ventilation containing a single individual….” AND “…Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is a numerical method of calculating the movement of air (fluid) within open or closed spaces based on governing physical laws of mass, momentum and energy conservation (Figure 3)….”),
Within analogous art, MAN ( USPUB 20210270677) teaches acquiring a first thermal depth video stream; identifying a first gaseous fluid source in the first thermal depth video stream( FIG. 1- 180a( thermal imager) AND Paragraph [0008]- “… depth thermal imaging module comprises a thermal imager array, which comprises a plurality of at least two thermal imagers that capture thermal radiation of wavelength of a scene from different viewpoints…” AND FIG. 7 – 710 AND Paragraphs [0020-0022]- “…field of view of each thermal imager encompasses a scene including a foreground object and a background object. Since some of the plurality of thermal imagers are aimed in different directions, the field of view differs between some of the thermal imagers…. measuring depth using a depth thermal imaging module with a plurality of thermal imagers aimed in a plurality of directions begins by capturing thermal image data by the thermal imaging array of the depth thermal imaging module….”),
Combination of the prior arts mentioned above does not explicitly teach: “ converting the second gaseous fluid source in the first thermal depth video stream into a second fluid dispersion model; determining that the first fluid dispersion model may interact with the second fluid dispersion model and a first stationary object, resulting in a density of the first fluid that is above a threshold value in a first location; determining a recommended layout change in response to the determination that the density of the first fluid is above the threshold value in the first location; and indicating the recommended layout change.”
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.
The factual inquiries set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied 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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b) (2) (C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a) (2) prior art against the later invention.
2. Claims 1,2,3 and 6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C 103(a) as being unpatentable over MAN ( USPUB 20210270677) in view of Jin Fei et al. ( NPL Doc: "Imaging Breathing Rate in the CO2 Absorption Band," 10th April 2006, Proceedings of the 2005 IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology 27th Annual Conference, Shanghai, China, September 1-4, 2005,Pages 700-704.) .
System and method for depth thermal imaging module
As per claim 1, MAN teaches a first CO2 thermal depth imaging camera, having a first field of view ( FIG. 1- 180a( thermal imager) AND Paragraph [0008]- “… depth thermal imaging module comprises a thermal imager array, which comprises a plurality of at least two thermal imagers that capture thermal radiation of wavelength of a scene from different viewpoints…” AND FIG. 7 – 710 AND Paragraphs [0020-0022]- “…field of view of each thermal imager encompasses a scene including a foreground object and a background object. Since some of the plurality of thermal imagers are aimed in different directions, the field of view differs between some of the thermal imagers…. measuring depth using a depth thermal imaging module with a plurality of thermal imagers aimed in a plurality of directions begins by capturing thermal image data by the thermal imaging array of the depth thermal imaging module….”) ; a second CO2 thermal depth imaging camera, having a second field of view( FIG. 1- 180b( thermal imager) AND Paragraph [0008]-“… depth thermal imaging module comprises a thermal imager array, which comprises a plurality of at least two thermal imagers that capture thermal radiation of wavelength of a scene from different viewpoints…” AND FIG. 7 – 710 AND Paragraphs [0020-0022]- “…field of view of each thermal imager encompasses a scene including a foreground object and a background object. Since some of the plurality of thermal imagers are aimed in different directions, the field of view differs between some of the thermal imagers…. measuring depth using a depth thermal imaging module with a plurality of thermal imagers aimed in a plurality of directions begins by capturing thermal image data by the thermal imaging array of the depth thermal imaging module….”);
a processor, connected to the first and second CO2 thermal depth imaging cameras ( FIG. 1 showing a Central Processing Unit ( 130 ) connecting to the thermal imagers and further taught within Paragraph [0042-0043]- “…The processing unit 130 receives input data or control signals from the ingress ports 110 via the receiving unit 120….”) ; wherein the first and second CO2 thermal depth imaging cameras are configured so that the first and second fields of view are located within a modeling area ( FIG. 3 ,FIGs 6-8 shows the process and the thermal camera setups within the same location for modeling an area for detecting of object and environment and further taught within Paragraphs [0060] and [0069-0072]) ,
MAN does not explicitly teach A contagion modeling system, comprising:
the modeling area comprising: a first contagion source, where the contagion source is a gaseous fluid source ; a first stationary object ; and a first moving object.
However, within analogous art, Jin Fei et al. teaches A contagion modeling system ( A model for detection of breathing within an environment taught within Page 700- Col. 2- “…proposed a statistical methodology that models breathing as a mixture of expiration and non expiration distributions. Every frame is classified as expiratory or non-expiratory by comparing the incoming distributions with the existing distributions using the Jeffrey’s divergence measure. Thanks to this frame labelling we are able to compute the breathing rate….”) , comprising: the modeling area comprising: a first contagion source ( Page 703- Fig. 7 showing a Source ( human seating) ) , where the contagion source is a gaseous fluid source ( Page 701- Fig. 2 and Fig. 3 showing thermal image of a gaseous source from the subject) ; a first stationary object ( Page 703- Fig. 7 showing a Source ( human seating) ) ; and a first moving object ( Page 701-Col. 2- “…All subjects in our video clips are mostly stationary and exhibit only occasional minor movement. To overcome the inaccuracy caused by such movement, we use a simple tracker….”) .
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to combine the teaching of Jin Fei et al. within the modified teaching of the System and method for depth thermal imaging module mentioned by MAN because the Imaging Breathing Rate in the CO2 Absorption Band mentioned by Jin Fei et al. provides a method and system for implementation of monitoring CO2 within the air from beating utilizing thermal image processing.
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one in the ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the Imaging Breathing Rate in the CO2 Absorption Band mentioned by Jin Fei et al. within the modified teaching of the System and method for depth thermal imaging module mentioned by MAN for implementing a system and method for monitoring CO2 within the air from beating utilizing thermal image processing.
As per claim 2, Combination of MAN and Jin Fei et al. teaches claim 1,
Within analogous art, Jin Fei et al. teaches wherein the first CO2 filtered thermal depth imaging camera comprises a first CO2 filtered thermal camera and a first depth camera, both configured to capture the first field of view ( Page 700- Col. 1- “…optical filter tuned to the CO2 absorption band (4.3 μm). This is a new acquisition method meant to boost the relative power of the breathing signal in the thermal imagery….” AND Page 703- Col. 1- “…A narrow band-pass optical filter from Spectrogon [19] is attached between the camera’s FPA and lens. The center wavelength of the filter is 2343.5 cm−1 or 4269 nm, which is close to the absorption wavelength of the fundamental vibration of CO2 molecules….”) .
As per claim 3, Combination of MAN and Jin Fei et al. teaches claim 1,
Within analogous art, Jin Fei et al. teaches wherein the processor is configured to translate first image data from the from the first CO2 thermal depth imaging camera into a first 3D density-flow representation ( Page 701- Col. 1- “…substantially higher CO2 density (3.7%) than the ambient air (0.04%) [1]. The high density cluster of CO2 molecules absorb monochromatic radiation at 4.3 μm emitted from the background (e.g., wall) and boost the thermal power of the breath in this band even further. The end result is increased contrast in the thermal imagery between weakened background and boosted breath intensities. This discriminating feature provides the basis for the development of our method….”) .
As per claim 6, Combination of MAN and Jin Fei et al. teaches claim 3,
MAN does not explicitly teach wherein the processor is configured to calculate a predicted airflow pattern in the modeling area based at least on the first 3D density-flow representation, the first stationary object and the first moving object.
Within analogous art, Jin Fei et al. teaches wherein the processor is configured to calculate a predicted airflow pattern in the modeling area based at least on the first 3D density-flow representation, the first stationary object and the first moving object ( Page 701- Fig. 2( c) and Fig. 3 AND Col. 2- “…We choose the nasal tip as the Tracking Region of Interest (TROI) (see Fig. 3). This area marks the beginning of the stream of expired air and at the same time provides excellent contrast (tissue versus background) for tracking purposes. Our tracking method is based on the iterative image registration technique….”) .
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to combine the teaching of Jin Fei et al. within the modified teaching of the System and method for depth thermal imaging module mentioned by MAN because the Imaging Breathing Rate in the CO2 Absorption Band mentioned by Jin Fei et al. provides a method and system for implementation of monitoring CO2 within the air from beating utilizing thermal image processing.
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one in the ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the Imaging Breathing Rate in the CO2 Absorption Band mentioned by Jin Fei et al. within the modified teaching of the System and method for depth thermal imaging module mentioned by MAN for implementing a system and method for monitoring CO2 within the air from beating utilizing thermal image processing.
3. Claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C 103(a) as being unpatentable over MAN ( USPUB 20210270677) in view of Jin Fei et al. ( NPL Doc: "Imaging Breathing Rate in the CO2 Absorption Band," 10th April 2006, Proceedings of the 2005 IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology 27th Annual Conference, Shanghai, China, September 1-4, 2005,Pages 700-704.) in further view of Mendez et al. (USPUB 20180190017).
As per claim 4, Combination of MAN and Jin Fei et al. teaches claim 3,
Within analogous art, Jin Fei et al. teaches CO2 thermal depth imaging camera into a second 3D density-flow representation ( Page 700- Col. 2- “…we describe the filtration of the thermal signal through an optical filter tuned to the CO2 absorption band (4.3 μm). This is a new acquisition method meant to boost the relative power of the breathing signal in the thermal imagery. …” AND Page 701- Col.1 – “…The high density cluster of CO2 molecules absorb monochromatic radiation at 4.3 μm emitted from the background (e.g., wall) and boost the thermal power of the breath in this band even further….”) .
Combination of MAN and Jin Fei et al. does not explicitly teach wherein the processor is configured to translate second image data
Within analogous art, Mendez et al. teaches wherein the processor is configured to translate second image data ( FIG . 1 showing multiple WEARABLE DEVICE (104,106,114 ) that include sensors 202 with optical sensors (e.g., camera), depth sensors (e.g., an infrared projector and infrared camera), thermal sensors (e.g., FLIR™ sensors, other thermal IR detectors) mentioned within Paragraphs [0067-0068] and combines within Visualization server ( 118) within FIG. 1 for processing Data the sensor gathers as image data)
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to combine the teaching of Mendez et al. within the combined modified teaching of the System and method for depth thermal imaging module mentioned by MAN and the Imaging Breathing Rate in the CO2 Absorption Band mentioned by Jin Fei et al. because the Environmental Mapping System mentioned by Mendez et al. provides a method and system for implementation of mapping of visualized objects with thermal camera imaging.
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one in the ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the Environmental Mapping System mentioned by Mendez et al. within the combined modified teaching of the System and method for depth thermal imaging module mentioned by MAN and the Imaging Breathing Rate in the CO2 Absorption Band mentioned by Jin Fei et al. for implementing a system and method for mapping of visualized objects with thermal camera imaging.
4. Claim 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C 103(a) as being unpatentable over MAN ( USPUB 20210270677) in view of Jin Fei et al. ( NPL Doc: "Imaging Breathing Rate in the CO2 Absorption Band," 10th April 2006, Proceedings of the 2005 IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology 27th Annual Conference, Shanghai, China, September 1-4, 2005,Pages 700-704.) in further view of Fatema-Tuz-Zohra Khanam et al. ( NPL Doc: "Noncontact Sensing of Contagion," 5th February 2021,Journal of Imaging,2021, 7,28,Pages 1-24.).
As per claim 5, Combination of MAN and Jin Fei et al. and Mendez et al. teaches claim 4,
Combination of MAN and Jin Fei et al. and Mendez et al. does not explicitly teach wherein the first density-flow representation corresponds, at least in part, to the first contagion source.
Within analogous art, Fatema-Tuz-Zohra Khanam et al. teaches wherein the first density-flow representation corresponds, at least in part, to the first contagion source ( Page 14- “…The thermal imaging system was the most notable feature of their solution. They used this feature to capture the images of people and implement social distancing measurements
and for density-based thermal imaging. The drone was tested for COVID-19 operations…” And Page 27 – “…A more useful outcome would be new methods for control and response to contagion in human populations through surveillance and mapping….”) .
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to combine the teaching of Fatema-Tuz-Zohra Khanam et al. within the combined modified teaching of the System and method for depth thermal imaging module mentioned by MAN and the Imaging Breathing Rate in the CO2 Absorption Band mentioned by Jin Fei et al. and the Environmental Mapping System mentioned by Mendez et al. because the Noncontact Sensing of Contagion mentioned by Fatema-Tuz-Zohra Khanam et al. provides a method and system for implementation of sensing of contagion with thermal imaging .
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one in the ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the Noncontact Sensing of Contagion mentioned by Fatema-Tuz-Zohra Khanam et al. within the combined modified teaching of the System and method for depth thermal imaging module mentioned by MAN and the Imaging Breathing Rate in the CO2 Absorption Band mentioned by Jin Fei et al. and the Environmental Mapping System mentioned by Mendez et al. for implementing a system and method for sensing of contagion with thermal imaging .
5. Claims 7,8 and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C 103(a) as being unpatentable over Jin Fei et al. ( NPL Doc: "Imaging Breathing Rate in the CO2 Absorption Band," 10th April 2006, Proceedings of the 2005 IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology 27th Annual Conference, Shanghai, China, September 1-4, 2005,Pages 700-704.) in view of MAN ( USPUB 20210270677).
As per claim 7, Jin Fei et al. teaches A method of modeling the spread of a contagion A model for detection of breathing within an environment taught within Page 700- Col. 2- “…proposed a statistical methodology that models breathing as a mixture of expiration and non expiration distributions. Every frame is classified as expiratory or non-expiratory by comparing the incoming distributions with the existing distributions using the Jeffrey’s divergence measure. Thanks to this frame labelling we are able to compute the breathing rate….”), comprising:
the modeling area comprising at least a gaseous flow contagion source( Page 703- Fig. 7 showing a Source ( human seating) ), a stationary object and a moving object( Page 703- Fig. 7 showing a Source ( human seating) AND Page 701-Col. 2- “…All subjects in our video clips are mostly stationary and exhibit only occasional minor movement. To overcome the inaccuracy caused by such movement, we use a simple tracker….”), translating the first image data from the first CO2 thermal depth imaging camera into a first 3D density-flow representation( Page 701- Col. 1- “…substantially higher CO2 density (3.7%) than the ambient air (0.04%) [1]. The high density cluster of CO2 molecules absorb monochromatic radiation at 4.3 μm emitted from the background (e.g., wall) and boost the thermal power of the breath in this band even further. The end result is increased contrast in the thermal imagery between weakened background and boosted breath intensities. This discriminating feature provides the basis for the development of our method….”);processing the first 3D density-flow representation with at least the stationary object and the moving object to produce a predicted contagion flow pattern ( Page 701- Fig. 2( c) and Fig. 3 AND Col. 2- “…We choose the nasal tip as the Tracking Region of Interest (TROI) (see Fig. 3). This area marks the beginning of the stream of expired air and at the same time provides excellent contrast (tissue versus background) for tracking purposes. Our tracking method is based on the iterative image registration technique….”) .
Jin Fei et al. does not explicitly teach receiving first image data from a first CO2 filtered thermal camera, the image data corresponding to a first field of view within a modeling area,
However, within analogous art, MAN teaches receiving first image data from a first CO2 filtered thermal camera, the image data corresponding to a first field of view within a modeling area ( FIG. 1- 180a( thermal imager) AND Paragraph [0008]- “… depth thermal imaging module comprises a thermal imager array, which comprises a plurality of at least two thermal imagers that capture thermal radiation of wavelength of a scene from different viewpoints…” AND FIG. 7 – 710 AND Paragraphs [0020-0022]- “…field of view of each thermal imager encompasses a scene including a foreground object and a background object. Since some of the plurality of thermal imagers are aimed in different directions, the field of view differs between some of the thermal imagers…. measuring depth using a depth thermal imaging module with a plurality of thermal imagers aimed in a plurality of directions begins by capturing thermal image data by the thermal imaging array of the depth thermal imaging module….”) ,
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to combine the teaching of MAN within the modified teaching of the Imaging Breathing Rate in the CO2 Absorption Band mentioned by Jin Fei et al. because the System and method for depth thermal imaging module mentioned by MAN provides a method and system for implementation of thermal imaging cameras for analyzing object within field of view.
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one in the ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the System and method for depth thermal imaging module mentioned by MAN within the modified teaching of the Imaging Breathing Rate in the CO2 Absorption Band mentioned by Jin Fei et al. for implementing a system and method for thermal imaging cameras for analyzing object within field of view.
As per claim 8, Combination of Jin Fei et al. and MAN teaches claim 7,
Jin Fei et al. teaches wherein the first CO2 filtered thermal depth imaging camera comprises a first CO2 filtered thermal camera and a first depth camera, both configured to capture the first field of view ( Page 700- Col. 1- “…optical filter tuned to the CO2 absorption band (4.3 μm). This is a new acquisition method meant to boost the relative power of the breathing signal in the thermal imagery….” AND Page 703- Col. 1- “…A narrow band-pass optical filter from Spectrogon [19] is attached between the camera’s FPA and lens. The center wavelength of the filter is 2343.5 cm−1 or 4269 nm, which is close to the absorption wavelength of the fundamental vibration of CO2 molecules….”) .
As per claim 10, Combination of Jin Fei et al. and MAN teaches claim 7,
Jin Fei et al. teaches wherein the first image data is a set of progressive time-based image data ( Page 701- Col. 2- “…We compute the mean temperature within the MROI in each frame. Along the timeline, this produces a quasi-periodic temperature signal, which is indicative of the breathing function….”).
6. Claim 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C 103(a) as being unpatentable over Jin Fei et al. ( NPL Doc: "Imaging Breathing Rate in the CO2 Absorption Band," 10th April 2006, Proceedings of the 2005 IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology 27th Annual Conference, Shanghai, China, September 1-4, 2005,Pages 700-704.) in view of MAN ( USPUB 20210270677) in further view of Fatema-Tuz-Zohra Khanam et al. ( NPL Doc: "Noncontact Sensing of Contagion," 5th February 2021,Journal of Imaging,2021, 7,28,Pages 1-24.).
As per claim 9, Combination of Jin Fei et al. and MAN teaches claim 7,
Combination of Jin Fei et al. and MAN does not explicitly teach wherein the first density-flow representation corresponds, at least in part, to the first contagion source.
Within analogous art, Fatema-Tuz-Zohra Khanam et al. teaches wherein the first density-flow representation corresponds, at least in part, to the first contagion source ( Page 14- “…The thermal imaging system was the most notable feature of their solution. They used this feature to capture the images of people and implement social distancing measurements
and for density-based thermal imaging. The drone was tested for COVID-19 operations…” And Page 27 – “…A more useful outcome would be new methods for control and response to contagion in human populations through surveillance and mapping….”) .
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to combine the teaching of Fatema-Tuz-Zohra Khanam et al. within the combined modified teaching of the Imaging Breathing Rate in the CO2 Absorption Band mentioned by Jin Fei et al. and the System and method for depth thermal imaging module mentioned by MAN because the Noncontact Sensing of Contagion mentioned by Fatema-Tuz-Zohra Khanam et al. provides a method and system for implementation of sensing of contagion with thermal imaging .
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one in the ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the Noncontact Sensing of Contagion mentioned by Fatema-Tuz-Zohra Khanam et al. within the combined modified teaching of the Imaging Breathing Rate in the CO2 Absorption Band mentioned by Jin Fei et al. and the System and method for depth thermal imaging module mentioned by MAN for implementing a system and method for sensing of contagion with thermal imaging .
It is noted that any citations to specific, pages, columns, lines, or figures in the prior art references and any interpretation of the reference 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. See MPEP 2123.
Conclusion
7. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to OMAR S ISMAIL whose telephone number is (571)272-9799 and Fax # is (571)273-9799. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F 9:00am-6:00pm.
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, David C. Payne can be reached on (571) 272-3024. 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.
/OMAR S ISMAIL/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2635