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 .
Status of Claims
Claims 1-15, and 20 are presently pending.
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group I, which includes claims 1-15 and 20, in the reply filed on 04/23/2026 is acknowledged.
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.
Claim 20 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to nonstatutory subject matter.
The claim 20 is drawn to a “machine-readable storage medium” encoded with instructions. The Specification does not limit the machine-readable storage medium to be only non-transitory. Thus, applying the broadest reasonable interpretation in light of the Specification and taking into account the meaning of the words in their ordinary usage as they would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art (MPEP §2111.01), the claim as a whole covers a transitory signal, as such, does not fall within the definition of a process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter (MPEP §2106.01).
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.
Claims 1-2, 10-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over BULAKCI et al. (US 20230189111, hereinafter, “BULAKCI”) in view of AI based Energy Saving (R3-210918) published on May 2021 (hereinafter, “NPL”, provided in the IDS by the applicant).
Claim 1. BULAKCI teaches A first node in a telecommunications network, the first node comprising: - See Fig. 8, ¶ [0221], (“apparatus may be a cell represented by a base station”)
a processor; - See Fig. 8, ¶ [0222], (“processor”) and
a memory configured to store computer readable instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the first node to: - See Fig. 8, ¶ [0233], (“memory”)
generate metric data for the first node and a set of nodes neighbouring the first node, - in ¶ [0196], (“The slice-aware mobility ranking lists can be generated locally by the gNBs considering the available information at the gNB. The information collected by gNBs, e.g. slice load, local radio conditions”); ¶ [0136], (“An MDAS producer…that provides a slice-based ranking list regarding target base stations or cells for UE mobility may use the following network and UE related measurements: Network and UE history info: Radio Conditions measurements Average/distribution of UE reported RSRP/RSRQ/SINR of each neighboring cell…”) wherein the metric data is derived based on measures of at least one of historical and current signal strengths received at a user equipment (UE) served by the first node, - in ¶ [0136], (“…a slice-based ranking list regarding target base stations or cells for UE mobility may use the following network and UE related measurements: Network and UE history info: Radio Conditions measurements Average/distribution of UE reported RSRP/RSRQ/SINR of each neighboring cell…History for intra-gNB HO…Number of requested/successful/failed handover preparation…”); ¶ [0251], (“MDAS producer correlates and analyzes the ongoing and/or potential handover optimization issues based on the current and historical performance data related to handover”) handover parameter information of the set of nodes neighbouring the first node, - in ¶ [0136], (“…Network and UE history info: Radio Conditions measurements Average/distribution of UE reported RSRP/RSRQ/SINR of each neighboring cell…History for intra-gNB HO…Number of requested/successful/failed handover preparation (also applies for inter-gNB HO)…Slice-based load information Inter-gNB handovers (number of requested/successful/failed HOs”) and historical handover information available at the first node; - in ¶ [0136], (“…History for intra-gNB HO…Number of requested/successful/failed handover preparation (also applies for inter-gNB HO)…”) and
generate, using the metric data, a set of target nodes from the set of nodes neighbouring the first node, wherein the set of target nodes include nodes for handover of the UE served by the first node in the event of deactivation of the first node. - in ¶ [0196], (“The slice-aware mobility ranking lists can be generated locally by the gNBs considering the available information at the gNB. The information collected by gNBs, e.g. slice load, local radio conditions…¶ [0201], (“The slice-aware mobility ranking list may then be utilized for Xn-based HO, e.g., for determining a target cell for a UE or for a group of one or more UEs”); ¶ [0136], (“slice-based ranking list regarding target base stations or cells for UE mobility…”)
BULAKCI does not explicitly teach:
generate, using the metric data, a set of target nodes from the set of nodes neighbouring the first node, wherein the set of target nodes include nodes for handover of the UE served by the first node in the event of deactivation of the first node.
However, NPL teaches:
generate, using the metric data, a set of target nodes from the set of nodes neighbouring the first node, wherein the set of target nodes include nodes for handover of the UE served by the first node - See pg. 2, (“…The output data may include…Recommended candidate cells for taking over the traffic of the energy saving cell”) in the event of deactivation of the first node. - See pg. 2, (“The data may include:- The basic information of the cell and gNB…UE measurements, e.g., cell level and beam level RSRP/RSRQ/SINR of serving cell and neighbouring cells”); See pg. 2, (“Step 3. Model inference. This function could be located in OAM or gNB…After obtaining the AI model…the model inference could derive the analytics report or output data by analysing the above information comprehensively. Step 4. Output data. OAM or gNB forwards the output data to related neighbouring gNBs…The output data may include…Energy saving solution for above Energy saving cell, e.g., subframe shutdown, channel shutdown, carrier shutdown, deep sleep, device shutdown, - Recommended candidate cells for taking over the traffic of the energy saving cell”)
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified BULAKCI with NPL to include the set of target nodes include nodes for handover of the UE served by the first node in the event of deactivation of the first node, as taught by NPL. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification to reduce energy consumption, as suggested by NPL, Energy saving can be achieved…the capacity booster can be switched off when its capacity is no longer needed and to be re-activated on a need basis. – See Section 2.1
Claim 2. Combination of BULAKCI and NPL teaches The first node of claim 1, - refer to the indicated claim for reference(s).
BULAKCI teaches:
wherein the first node is further caused to trigger determination of the measure of the current signal strengths received at the UE served by the first node, - in ¶ [0059], (“the UE is configured with the measurement events considering the signal quality levels of the source and neighbor cells. When a measurement event is triggered, the source cell (gNB1 in FIG. 3) may determine the target cell (gNB2 in FIG. 3) considering current radio conditions”) and the handover parameter information of the set of nodes neighbouring the first node. – in ¶ [0130], (“Some example embodiments are described with respect to handover…may be applied to other scenarios where a radio resource is to be reserved for a UE served by a slice, e.g.: [0131] Conditional HO (CHO): The slice-aware mobility ranking list is utilized for determining the prepared cells for the CHO and for configuring the HO parameters of CHO execution condition, i.e., UE executes the HO to a target cell when its corresponding CHO execution condition, that is evaluated by the UE, is fulfilled.”)
Claims 10, 20 are rejected under the same rationale as Claim 1 since they recite nearly identical limitations.
Claims 3-4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over BULAKCI et al. (US 20230189111, hereinafter, “BULAKCI”) in view of AI based Energy Saving (R3-210918) published on May 2021 (hereinafter, “NPL”, provided in the IDS by the applicant), and further in view of ZINGLER et al. (US 20180279187, hereinafter, “ZINGLER”).
Claim 3. Combination of BULAKCI and NPL teaches The first node of claim 1, - refer to the indicated claim for reference(s).
Combination of BULAKCI and NPL does not explicitly teach:
wherein the first node is further caused to: increment a counter representing a likelihood of handover of the UE served by the first node to a node in the set of target nodes.
However, ZINGLER teaches:
wherein the first node is further caused to: increment a counter representing a likelihood of handover of the UE served by the first node to a node in the set of target nodes. – in ¶ [0105], (“in a scenario of applying the value of the element of handover likelihood information related to a given pair of radio cells in a coverage area element 150 corresponding to a unit value…(RSRP thresholds) are fulfilled), and the counter is increased by one unit value for each coverage area element”)
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified BULAKCI and NPL with ZINGLER to include increment a counter, as taught by ZINGLER. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification to improve SON operations, as suggested by ZINGLER, self-organized network (SON), ANR (Automatic Neighbor Relationship) functionalities are conducted…especially based on measurement results received from user equipments. – ¶ [0014]
Claim 4. Combination of BULAKCI, NPL, and ZINGLER teaches The first node of claim 3, - refer to the indicated claim for reference(s).
ZINGLER further teaches:
wherein the counter is incremented for the node, in the set of target nodes, meeting a set of received signal strength and handover entry conditions. - in ¶ [0105], (“in a scenario of applying the value of the element of handover likelihood information related to a given pair of radio cells in a coverage area element…(the counter counts the coverage area elements 150 where the above-mentioned field strength values (RSRP thresholds) are fulfilled), and the counter is increased by one unit value for each coverage area element 150 (or geo-tile) where this condition is fulfilled (for the considered pair of radio cells).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified BULAKCI and NPL with ZINGLER to include increment a counter meeting a set of received signal strength and handover entry conditions, as taught by ZINGLER. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification to improve SON operations, as suggested by ZINGLER, self-organized network (SON), ANR (Automatic Neighbor Relationship) functionalities are conducted…especially based on measurement results received from user equipments. – ¶ [0014]
Claims 5-7, 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over BULAKCI et al. (US 20230189111, hereinafter, “BULAKCI”) in view of AI based Energy Saving (R3-210918) published on May 2021 (hereinafter, “NPL”, provided in the IDS by the applicant) in view of MOOSAVI et al. (US 20180249430, hereinafter, “MOOSAVI”).
Claim 5. Combination of BULAKCI and NPL teaches The first node of claim 1, - refer to the indicated claim for reference(s).
Combination of BULAKCI and NPL does not explicitly teach:
wherein the first node is further caused to establish a cooperation context with a selected node from the set of target nodes.
However, MOOSAVI teaches:
wherein the first node is further caused to establish a cooperation context with a selected node from the set of target nodes. - in ¶ [0148], (“by establishing a neighbour relation with the second network node 106 is meant that the first network node 104 possibly sets up a communications link 112 with the at least one of the second network node 106 and the one or more further second network nodes 106′, and updates neighbour information with information relating to the at least one of the second network node 106 and the one or more further second network nodes 106′…a Neighbour Relation Table (NRT) may be updated with information relating to the second network node 106.”); ¶ [0206], (“hybrid AMM procedure is used and assume that the second network node 106 is the target node for a HO procedure.”)
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified BULAKCI and NPL with MOOSAVI to include establish a cooperation context with a selected node, as taught by MOOSAVI. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification to improve energy efficiency, as suggested by MOOSAVI, Some examples of benefits from such design principle is expected to be a significantly lower network energy consumption. – ¶ [0009]
Claim 6. Combination of BULAKCI, NPL, and MOOSAVI teaches The first node of claim 5, - refer to the indicated claim for reference(s).
MOOSAVI further teaches:
wherein the first node is further caused to: transmit a request for cooperation to the selected node; - in ¶ [0142], (“the first network node 104 receives, from the second network node 106 or the third network node 108, a request to establish the neighbour relation with at least one of the second network node 106 and the one or more second network nodes 106′ based on the neighbour node determination performed based on the first information by the third network node 108.”) and generate the cooperation context on receipt of an acceptance to the request for cooperation from the selected node. – in ¶ [0144], (“the first network node 104 receives a notification that a neighbouring node, e.g. the second network node 106, has been identified…the first network node 104 may decide to establish a neighbour relation with the identified neighbouring node, e.g. the second network node 106. The notification may be received from the third network node 108. Thus, in some embodiments, the first network node 104 receives the notification from the second network node 106 or the third network node”)
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified BULAKCI and NPL with MOOSAVI to include transmit a request for cooperation and generate the cooperation context, as taught by MOOSAVI. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification to improve energy efficiency, as suggested by MOOSAVI, Some examples of benefits from such design principle is expected to be a significantly lower network energy consumption. – ¶ [0009]
Claim 7. Combination of BULAKCI, NPL, and MOOSAVI teaches The first node of claim 5, - refer to the indicated claim for reference(s).
MOOSAVI further teaches:
wherein the first node is further caused to: determine whether the selected node is part of an existing cooperation context for the first node. – in ¶ [0148], (“a Neighbour Relation Table (NRT) may be updated with information relating to the second network node 106. Further, the first network node 104 may set up the communication link 112 if a communication link is not already set up with the second network node 106.”)
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified BULAKCI and NPL with MOOSAVI to include determine whether the selected node is part of an existing cooperation context for the first node, as taught by MOOSAVI. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification to improve energy efficiency, as suggested by MOOSAVI, Some examples of benefits from such design principle is expected to be a significantly lower network energy consumption. – ¶ [0009]
Claim 11 is rejected under the same rationale as Claim 5 since they recite nearly identical limitations.
Claim 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over BULAKCI et al. (US 20230189111, hereinafter, “BULAKCI”) in view of AI based Energy Saving (R3-210918) published on May 2021 (hereinafter, “NPL”, provided in the IDS by the applicant), and further in view of MOOSAVI et al. (US 20180249430, hereinafter, “MOOSAVI”) and MCLAUGHLIN et al. (US 20150208300, hereinafter, “MCLAUGHLIN”).
Claim 8. Combination of BULAKCI, NPL, and MOOSAVI teaches The first node of claim 5, - refer to the indicated claim for reference(s).
Combination of BULAKCI, NPL, and MOOSAVI does not explicitly teach:
wherein the first node is further caused to: remove the cooperation context with the selected node from the set of target nodes.
However, MCLAUGHLIN teaches:
wherein the first node is further caused to: remove the cooperation context with the selected node from the set of target nodes. – in ¶ [0040], (“The base station 200 may further include…parameters identifying hierarchical relationships (e.g., between the base station and neighboring cells)…one or more neighbor lists (e.g., Neighbor Relation Tables)”); ¶ [0052], (“list modification module 430 is configured…to modify a neighbor list…may remove one or more neighbor cells from the neighbor list of the target cell”); ¶ [0009], (“remove the neighbor cell from a neighbor list of the source cell based on the determined geoscore”)
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified BULAKCI, NPL, and MOOSAVI with MCLAUGHLIN to include remove the cooperation context with the selected node from the set of target nodes, as taught by MCLAUGHLIN. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification to improve mobility, as suggested by MCLAUGHLIN, Tables, that define, for any given base station within the network, nearby network base stations that are likely or desired candidates for mobility handover. – ¶ [0003]
Claim 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over BULAKCI et al. (US 20230189111, hereinafter, “BULAKCI”) in view of AI based Energy Saving (R3-210918) published on May 2021 (hereinafter, “NPL”, provided in the IDS by the applicant), and further in view of MOOSAVI et al. (US 20180249430, hereinafter, “MOOSAVI”), MCLAUGHLIN et al. (US 20150208300, hereinafter, “MCLAUGHLIN”), and ZINGLER et al. (US 20180279187, hereinafter, “ZINGLER”).
Claim 9. Combination of BULAKCI, NPL, MOOSAVI, and MCLAUGHLIN teaches The first node of claim 8, - refer to the indicated claim for reference(s).
Combination of BULAKCI, NPL, MOOSAVI, and MCLAUGHLIN does not explicitly teach:
wherein the first node is further caused to: determine whether a likelihood of handover of the UE served by the first node to the selected node is below a threshold value.
However, ZINGLER teaches:
wherein the first node is further caused to: determine whether a likelihood of handover of the UE served by the first node to the selected node is below a threshold value. – in ¶ [0054], (“at least one element of handover likelihood information related to a possible source radio cell of the plurality of radio cells if at least one of the following conditions are fulfilled: [0055] the difference between the estimated value of radio signal quality related to the possible source radio cell of the plurality of radio cells compared to the highest estimated value of radio signal quality of a radio cell within the same frequency band is less than a predetermined threshold of radio signal quality”)
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified BULAKCI, NPL, MOOSAVI, and MCLAUGHLIN with ZINGLER to include determine whether a likelihood of handover is below a threshold value, as taught by ZINGLER. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification to improve SON operations, as suggested by ZINGLER, self-organized network (SON), ANR (Automatic Neighbor Relationship) functionalities are conducted…especially based on measurement results received from user equipments. – ¶ [0014]
Claims 12-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over BULAKCI et al. (US 20230189111, hereinafter, “BULAKCI”) in view of AI based Energy Saving (R3-210918) published on May 2021 (hereinafter, “NPL”, provided in the IDS by the applicant), and further in view of Lunardi et al. (US 20230403606, hereinafter, “Lunardi”).
Claim 12. Combination of BULAKCI and NPL teaches The apparatus of claim 10, - refer to the indicated claim for reference(s).
Combination of BULAKCI and NPL does not explicitly teach:
wherein the apparatus is further caused to: receive, from at least some nodes in the set of target nodes, information representing traffic requests from the UE served by the at least some nodes.
However, Lunardi teaches:
wherein the apparatus is further caused to: receive, from at least some nodes in the set of target nodes, – in ¶ [0140], (“Providing, to the first node, resource status information…”) information representing traffic requests from the UE served by the at least some nodes. – in ¶ [0140], (“Providing, to the first node, resource status information for actual values based on the above measurements…¶ [0143] Sending to the first RAN node a request to accept predictions of resource utilization generated from the second node, the request may for example be triggered by an event in the second RAN node such ; as the start of traffic to/from a UE served by the second RAN node;”); ¶ [0102], (“The predicted resource status information may comprise…¶ [0112] Predicted traffic for each UE”)
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified BULAKCI and NPL with Lunardi to include receive information representing traffic requests, as taught by Lunardi. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification to achieve energy saving, as suggested by Lunardi, identify the benefits of AI enabled NG-RAN through possible use cases e.g. energy saving, load balancing. – ¶ [0425]
Claim 13. Combination of BULAKCI and NPL teaches The apparatus of claim 10, - refer to the indicated claim for reference(s).
Lunardi further teaches:
wherein the apparatus is further caused to: receive, from at least some nodes in the set of target nodes, information representing cell load for the at least some nodes. - in ¶ [0158], (“A first node gNB1 keeps track of the load in cell 1…and receives load information concerning cell 2 controlled by a second node gNB2. A similar process is performed in gNB2. The predicted load information is exchanged between gNB1 and gNB2.”)
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified BULAKCI and NPL with Lunardi to include receive information representing cell load, as taught by Lunardi. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification to achieve energy saving, as suggested by Lunardi, identify the benefits of AI enabled NG-RAN through possible use cases e.g. energy saving, load balancing. – ¶ [0425]
Claim 14. Combination of BULAKCI and NPL teaches The apparatus of claim 10, - refer to the indicated claim for reference(s).
Lunardi further teaches:
wherein the apparatus is further caused to: transmit, to one or more nodes in the set of target nodes, information representing at least one of information representing traffic requests from the UE served by the first node – in ¶ [0090], (“Sending to the second RAN node an authorization request, indicating that the first RAN node wants to send predicted resource status information of resources controlled by the first RAN node to the second RAN node, the request triggered for example by an event in the first RAN node such as the start of traffic to/from a UE served by the first RAN node”); ¶ [0102], (“The predicted resource status information may comprise…¶ [0112] Predicted traffic for each UE”) and information representing cell load for the first node. - in ¶ [0158], (“A first node gNB1 keeps track of the load in cell 1…and receives load information concerning cell 2 controlled by a second node gNB2. A similar process is performed in gNB2. The predicted load information is exchanged between gNB1 and gNB2.”)
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified BULAKCI and NPL with Lunardi to include transmit information representing at least one of information representing traffic and cell load, as taught by Lunardi. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification to achieve energy saving, as suggested by Lunardi, identify the benefits of AI enabled NG-RAN through possible use cases e.g. energy saving, load balancing. – ¶ [0425]
Claim 15 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over BULAKCI et al. (US 20230189111, hereinafter, “BULAKCI”) in view of AI based Energy Saving (R3-210918) published on May 2021 (hereinafter, “NPL”, provided in the IDS by the applicant), and further in view of MOOSAVI et al. (US 20180249430, hereinafter, “MOOSAVI”) and Voltolina et al. (US 20110044284, hereinafter, “Voltolina”).
Claim 15. Combination of BULAKCI, NPL, and MOOSAVI teaches The apparatus of claim 11, - refer to the indicated claim for reference(s).
Combination of BULAKCI, NPL, and MOOSAVI does not explicitly teach:
wherein the apparatus is further caused to: wake up a node, in the set of target nodes, in which a cooperation context exists; and handover a UE from the first node to the node in the set of target nodes.
However, Voltolina teaches:
wherein the apparatus is further caused to: wake up a node, in the set of target nodes, in which a cooperation context exists; - See Fig.3, ¶ [0121], (“The neighbour cell relation unit 120 is configured to manage neighbour cell relation(s) including a neighbour cell relation between the basic cell and an associated capacity enhancing cell served by another base station.”); ¶ [0057], (“Based on information about the load conditions of the basic cell and/or load balancing actions, the basic cell may wake up the associated capacity enhancing cell(s)…the cell providing basic coverage counts how many users/how much traffic it serves at the point when it starts to trigger load balancing handover requests towards the capacity boosting cell,”) and handover a UE from the first node to the node in the set of target nodes. – in ¶ [0056], (“first type of cell is for providing basic radio coverage…second type of cell is associated to the basic cell (via a "neighbour" cell relation) as a capacity enhancing cell, i.e. a capacity booster…¶ [0057] a capacity boosting cell that can be switched on and off…base station (e.g. eNB) controlling a cell providing basic coverage…may wake up the `neighbour` to enhance the capacity…the cell providing basic coverage counts how many users/how much traffic it serves at the point when it starts to trigger load balancing handover requests towards the capacity boosting cell”)
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified BULAKCI, NPL, and MOOSAVI with Voltolina to include wake up a node in which a cooperation context exists and handover a UE from the first node to the node in the set of target nodes, as taught by Voltolina. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification to achieve energy saving, as suggested by Voltolina, energy-saving mechanisms in a heterogeneous network having at least two different types of cells. – ¶ [0002]
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Shima Wasel whose telephone number is (703)756-4725. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 8:00 am - 5:00 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, Khaled Kassim can be reached at (571) 270-3770. 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.
/SHIMA WASEL/Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2475
/KHALED M KASSIM/supervisory patent examiner, Art Unit 2475
Prosecution Insights