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 .
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 the 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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office Action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 dated 25 Dec. 2026 has been entered and is considered herein.
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.
Claims 2-6, 11, 13, and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 112(b) as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
In particular, various limitations of claims 2-6, 11, 13, and 14 are conjoined using the term ”and/or” rendering the claims unclear as to which limitation is claimed subject matter. For the purposes of examination, “and/or” is interpreted as ‘or’. Accordingly, appropriate correction is required.
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 the 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.
Claims 1-3, 7, 9, 12, 13, and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over US 2012/0287879 (hereinafter, “NENTWIG”) in view of US 2013/0121337 (hereinafter, “NGUYEN”), and further in view of US 2015/0207737 (hereinafter, “PUROHIT”).
Regarding claim 1, NENTWIG discloses:
A node (apparatus 100 / node 300) for a radio communication network (first network 302) with dynamic reservation of transmission capacity, the node comprising: (¶ 0128)
a communication unit (transceiver 38) for communicating with at least two neighboring nodes (¶ 0057: Two nodes are neighboring nodes), and
at least one antenna (Fig. 1) coupled to said communication unit,
wherein the communication unit is configured to reserve transmission capacity on the basis of at least one RTS and CTS and nCTS handshake packet, (¶ 0077: A channel reservation message may implicitly indicate reservation of the channel by a device, for example by using the channel for data transmission. Examples of channel reservation messages include . . . a request-to-send message (RTS); a clear-to-send message (CTS); ¶ 0089: receive channel reservation messages from other devices 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6, such as a . . . request-to-send message (RTS), a clear-to-send message (CTS))
wherein the communication unit is further configured to set or limit transmission capacity reservation to a certain number of the at least two neighboring nodes on the basis of certain properties with respect to said certain number of the at least two neighboring nodes, (¶ 0127: [W]ireless apparatus node B determines a reservation limit based on the determined number of wireless communication resources and the determined number of competing wireless communication nodes. Determining the reservation limit may comprise calculating a quotient of the determined number of wireless communication resources and the determined number of competing wireless devices. Determining the reservation limit may further comprise multiplying the quotient with a number of known neighboring nodes belonging to the same network that are served by wireless apparatus node B; ¶ 0057: Two nodes are neighboring nodes, if a radio path loss between the nodes is below a path loss threshold value. The path loss or path attenuation is the reduction in power density of the signal as it propagates through space. It may be estimated for example by determining a received signal strength of a beacon transmissions, or a message such as request to send (RTS) or clear to send (CTS))
. . .
NENTWIG does not explicitly disclose:
wherein the communication unit is configured to transmit the at least one nCTS handshake packet only to the certain number of the at least two neighboring nodes transmitting at least another RTS handshake packet,
wherein the communication unit is configured not to transmit the at least one nCTS handshake packet in the context of transmitting the at least one RTS handshake packet,
wherein the communication unit is configured to evaluate no receipt of the at least one CTS handshake packet as at least one implicit nCTS handshake packet,
In the same field of endeavor, however, NGUYEN teaches:
wherein the communication unit is configured to transmit the at least one nCTS handshake packet only to the certain number of the at least one neighboring node transmitting at least another [previously scheduled] packet, (¶ 0031: If after receiving the RTS, the neighbor node is not or will not be available to receive communications (e.g., the neighbor already has a previously scheduled communication), the neighbor node may send back a not-clear-to-send (NCTS) message) [The Examiner finds that it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before Applicant’s application was filed, by drawing a reasonable inference and/or employing routine steps to conclude that the disclosed previously scheduled packet—implicitly discloses another RTS handshake packet. See MPEP § 2143]
wherein the communication unit is configured not to transmit the at least one nCTS handshake packet in the context of transmitting the at least one RTS handshake packet, and (¶ 0031: If the neighbor node is busy communicating on another channel, the neighbor node may not receive the RTS and, therefore, will not respond)
wherein the communication unit is configured to evaluate no receipt of the at least one CTS handshake packet as at least one implicit nCTS handshake packet. (¶ 0031: If the node receives a NCTS or does not receive any response, the node may wait a period of time and try again and/or may try a different neighbor node)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify NENTWIG’s transmission capacity reservation procedure to provide select transmission of nCTS handshake packets to neighboring nodes as taught by NGUYEN to intelligently route communications between and/or among nodes of a heterogeneous wireless mesh network, so as to account for the so called “missing destination problem”—in which destination nodes may miss transmissions intended for them because they are busy transmitting or receiving on a different channel—and thereby avoid an increased wait time causing unnecessary delay and inefficiency in propagating the transmission to its intended destination. See NGUYEN, at ¶ 0016.
NENTWIG also does not explicitly disclose:
wherein the communication unit is configured to create a full communication table on the basis of the at least two neighboring nodes or the at least two neighboring nodes and corresponding links between the at least two neighboring nodes, and
wherein the communication unit is configured to derive a sparse communication table from the full communication table on the basis of certain properties with respect to the at least two neighboring nodes.
Also, in the same field of endeavor, PUROHIT teaches:
wherein the communication unit is configured to create a full communication table on the basis of the at least two neighboring nodes or the at least two neighboring nodes and corresponding links between the at least two neighboring nodes, and (Fig. 5; ¶ 0051: [N]eighbor table 500 having columns array index 501, MAC address 502, prefix index 503 and host identifier 504. As may be appreciated, the neighbor table indicates each neighbor node (reachable in a single hop) to BR 350 in the corresponding one of rows 511-514. Consistent with FIG. 3B, information corresponding R1 361, R2 362, H1 381 and H2 382 is shown in respective rows 511-514; ¶ 0020: IPv6 having a prefix and a host identifier for each network address, the portion of a network address corresponds to the prefix. The routing information is stored in the form of a prefix table and topology information. The prefix table stores a mapping of each digital code to a corresponding prefix. The topology information indicates a manner in which each host system and router are connected to each other)
wherein the communication unit is configured to derive a sparse communication table from the full communication table on the basis of certain properties with respect to the at least two neighboring nodes. (Abstract: A router in an embodiment associates a corresponding digital code of a set of digital codes to a respective portion of a network address of set of network addresses used in routing information. The routing information is stored in a memory with each digital code substituted for the respective portion of the network address. . . . IPv6 having a prefix and a host identifier for each network address, the portion of a network address corresponds to the prefix. The routing information is stored in the form of a prefix table and topology information. The prefix table stores a mapping of each digital code to a corresponding prefix. The topology information indicates a manner in which each host system and router are connected to each other; Fig. 2; ¶ 0034: In step 230, BR 150 stores routing information with the corresponding code substituted for the respective portion of the network address; ¶ 0019: The routing information is stored in a memory with each digital code substituted for the respective portion of the network address)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify NENTWIG’s transmission capacity reservation procedure to provide neighbor tables storing node relationships as taught by PUROHIT to provide code substitution for the respective portions of the network address, such that the routing information is represented by fewer bits, thereby leading to reduced memory requirement. See PUROHIT, at ¶ 0034.
Regarding claim 2, the combination of NENTWIG, NGUYEN, and PUROHIT, as applied above, renders obvious the node of claim 1. NENTWIG does not explicitly disclose:
wherein the at least one antenna comprises between 3 and 6 antennas or more than 6 antennas,
and/or
wherein the certain number of the at least two neighboring nodes is limited to 1 neighboring node per antenna,
and/or
wherein each neighboring node is reached directly or via at least one hop.
In the same field of endeavor, however, PUROHIT teaches:
wherein each neighboring node is reached directly or via at least one hop. (¶ 0051: [T]he neighbor table indicates each neighbor node (reachable in a single hop))
Regarding claim 3, the combination of NENTWIG, NGUYEN, and PUROHIT, as applied above, renders obvious the node of claim 1. NENTWIG does not explicitly disclose:
wherein the at least one antenna comprises 1 or 2 antennas,
and/or
wherein the certain number of the at least two neighboring nodes is limited to between 1 and 4 neighboring nodes per antenna,
and/or
wherein each neighboring node is reached directly or via at least one hop.
In the same field of endeavor, however, PUROHIT teaches:
wherein each neighboring node is reached directly or via at least one hop. (¶ 0051: [T]he neighbor table indicates each neighbor node (reachable in a single hop))
Regarding claim 7, the combination of NENTWIG, NGUYEN, and PUROHIT, as applied above, renders obvious the node of claim 1. NENTWIG further discloses:
wherein the certain properties comprise at least one of position information, receive level, signal-to-noise ratio, data rate, bit error rate, or any combination thereof. (¶ 0057: Two nodes are neighboring nodes, if a radio path loss between the nodes is below a path loss threshold value. The path loss or path attenuation is the reduction in power density of the signal as it propagates through space. It may be estimated for example by determining a received signal strength of a beacon transmissions, or a message such as request to send (RTS) or clear to send (CTS))
Regarding claim 9, the combination of NENTWIG, NGUYEN, and PUROHIT, as applied above, renders obvious the node of claim 1. NENTWIG further discloses:
wherein the communication unit is configured to use probing for detecting potential interference with respect to the certain number of the at least two neighboring nodes. (¶ 0089: [F]rame receive buffer 102 is connected to the media access control (MAC) 36 to receive channel reservation messages from other devices 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6, such as a beacon frame, a probe frame; ¶ 0056: Secondary devices may be required to defer their transmission, when the presence of primary devices is detected, to prevent causing intolerable interference to the operation of primary devices; ¶ 0057: Interference may result when more than one node in a neighborhood attempts to access a wireless communication resource. . . . It may be estimated for example by determining a received signal strength of a beacon transmissions, or a message such as request to send (RTS) or clear to send (CTS))
Regarding claim 12, the combination of NENTWIG, NGUYEN, and PUROHIT, as applied above, renders obvious the node of claim 1. NENTWIG further discloses:
A radio communication network with dynamic reservation of transmission capacity, the radio communication network comprising at least two nodes according to claim 1. (¶ 0128: FIG. 5 illustrates an example embodiment of a network, where two wireless communication nodes compete for radio resources)
Regarding claim 13, the combination of NENTWIG, NGUYEN, and PUROHIT, as applied above, renders obvious the node of claim 12. NENTWIG does not explicitly disclose:
wherein the radio communication network further comprises at least one central processing node,
wherein the at least one central processing node is configured to create a full communication table on the basis of the at least two nodes or the at least two nodes and corresponding links between the at least two nodes,
and/or
wherein the at least one central processing node is configured to derive a sparse communication table from the full communication table on the basis of certain properties with respect to the at least two nodes.
In the same field of endeavor, however, PUROHIT teaches:
wherein the radio communication network further comprises at least one central processing node, (¶¶ 0040-0041: a central router, e.g., BR 150)
wherein the at least one central processing node is configured to create a full communication table on the basis of the at least two nodes or the at least two nodes and corresponding links between the at least two nodes, and/or (Fig. 5; ¶ 0051: [N]eighbor table 500 having columns array index 501, MAC address 502, prefix index 503 and host identifier 504. As may be appreciated, the neighbor table indicates each neighbor node (reachable in a single hop) to BR 350 in the corresponding one of rows 511-514. Consistent with FIG. 3B, information corresponding R1 361, R2 362, H1 381 and H2 382 is shown in respective rows 511-514; ¶ 0020: IPv6 having a prefix and a host identifier for each network address, the portion of a network address corresponds to the prefix. The routing information is stored in the form of a prefix table and topology information. The prefix table stores a mapping of each digital code to a corresponding prefix. The topology information indicates a manner in which each host system and router are connected to each other)
Regarding claim 15, NENTWIG discloses:
A method for dynamic reservation of transmission capacity with respect to a radio communication network (first network 302), the method comprising the steps of: (¶ 0128)
communicating with at least two neighboring nodes (¶ 0057: Two nodes are neighboring nodes) of the radio communication network with the aid of a communication unit (transceiver 38) of a node (apparatus 100 / node 300) of the radio communication network, (¶ 0129: Node 300 intends to allocate more radio resources to exchange data with node 301)
setting or limiting transmission capacity reservation to a certain number of the at least two neighboring nodes on the basis of certain properties with respect to said certain number of the at least two neighboring nodes with the aid of the communication unit, (¶ 0127: [W]ireless apparatus node B determines a reservation limit based on the determined number of wireless communication resources and the determined number of competing wireless communication nodes. Determining the reservation limit may comprise calculating a quotient of the determined number of wireless communication resources and the determined number of competing wireless devices. Determining the reservation limit may further comprise multiplying the quotient with a number of known neighboring nodes belonging to the same network that are served by wireless apparatus node B; ¶ 0057: Two nodes are neighboring nodes, if a radio path loss between the nodes is below a path loss threshold value. The path loss or path attenuation is the reduction in power density of the signal as it propagates through space. It may be estimated for example by determining a received signal strength of a beacon transmissions, or a message such as request to send (RTS) or clear to send (CTS))
reserving transmission capacity on the basis of at least one RTS and CTS and nCTS handshake packet with the aid of the communication unit, (¶ 0077: A channel reservation message may implicitly indicate reservation of the channel by a device, for example by using the channel for data transmission. Examples of channel reservation messages include . . . a request-to-send message (RTS); a clear-to-send message (CTS); ¶ 0089: receive channel reservation messages from other devices 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6, such as a . . . request-to-send message (RTS), a clear-to-send message (CTS))
. . .
NENTWIG does not explicitly disclose:
transmitting the at least one nCTS handshake packet only to the certain number of the at least two neighboring nodes transmitting at least another RTS handshake packet with the aid of the communication unit,
not transmitting the at least one nCTS handshake packet in the context of transmitting the at least one RTS handshake packet with the aid of the communication unit,
evaluating no receipt of the at least one CTS handshake packet as at least one implicit nCTS handshake packet with the aid of the communication unit.
In the same field of endeavor, however, NGUYEN teaches:
transmitting the at least one nCTS handshake packet only to the certain number of the at least one neighboring node transmitting at least another RTS handshake packet with the aid of the communication unit, (¶ 0031: If after receiving the RTS, the neighbor node is not or will not be available to receive communications (e.g., the neighbor already has a previously scheduled communication), the neighbor node may send back a not-clear-to-send (NCTS) message) [The Examiner finds that it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before Applicant’s application was filed, by drawing a reasonable inference and/or employing routine steps to conclude that the disclosed previously scheduled packet—implicitly discloses another RTS handshake packet. See MPEP § 2143]
not transmitting the at least one nCTS handshake packet in the context of transmitting the at least one RTS handshake packet with the aid of the communication unit, and (¶ 0031: If the neighbor node is busy communicating on another channel, the neighbor node may not receive the RTS and, therefore, will not respond)
evaluating no receipt of the at least one CTS handshake packet as at least one implicit nCTS handshake packet with the aid of the communication unit. (¶ 0031: If the node receives a NCTS or does not receive any response, the node may wait a period of time and try again and/or may try a different neighbor node)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify NENTWIG’s transmission capacity reservation procedure to provide select transmission of nCTS handshake packets to neighboring nodes as taught by NGUYEN to intelligently route communications between and/or among nodes of a heterogeneous wireless mesh network, so as to account for the so called “missing destination problem”—in which destination nodes may miss transmissions intended for them because they are busy transmitting or receiving on a different channel—and thereby avoid an increased wait time causing unnecessary delay and inefficiency in propagating the transmission to its intended destination. See NGUYEN, at ¶ 0016.
NENTWIG also does not explicitly disclose:
creating a full communication table on the basis of the at least two neighboring nodes or the at least two neighboring nodes and corresponding links between the at least two neighboring nodes with the aid of the communication unit, and
deriving a sparse communication table from the full communication table on the basis of certain properties with respect to the at least two neighboring nodes with the aid of the communication unit.
Also, in the same field of endeavor, PUROHIT teaches:
creating a full communication table on the basis of the at least two neighboring nodes or the at least two neighboring nodes and (Fig. 5; ¶ 0051: [N]eighbor table 500 having columns array index 501, MAC address 502, prefix index 503 and host identifier 504. As may be appreciated, the neighbor table indicates each neighbor node (reachable in a single hop) to BR 350 in the corresponding one of rows 511-514. Consistent with FIG. 3B, information corresponding R1 361, R2 362, H1 381 and H2 382 is shown in respective rows 511-514; ¶ 0020: IPv6 having a prefix and a host identifier for each network address, the portion of a network address corresponds to the prefix. The routing information is stored in the form of a prefix table and topology information. The prefix table stores a mapping of each digital code to a corresponding prefix. The topology information indicates a manner in which each host system and router are connected to each other)corresponding links between the at least two neighboring nodes with the aid of the communication unit, and
deriving a sparse communication table from the full communication table on the basis of certain properties with respect to the at least two neighboring nodes with the aid of the communication unit. (Abstract: A router in an embodiment associates a corresponding digital code of a set of digital codes to a respective portion of a network address of set of network addresses used in routing information. The routing information is stored in a memory with each digital code substituted for the respective portion of the network address. . . . IPv6 having a prefix and a host identifier for each network address, the portion of a network address corresponds to the prefix. The routing information is stored in the form of a prefix table and topology information. The prefix table stores a mapping of each digital code to a corresponding prefix. The topology information indicates a manner in which each host system and router are connected to each other; Fig. 2; ¶ 0034: In step 230, BR 150 stores routing information with the corresponding code substituted for the respective portion of the network address; ¶ 0019: The routing information is stored in a memory with each digital code substituted for the respective portion of the network address)
Claims 4-6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over NENTWIG in view of NGUYEN and PUROHIT, and further in view of US 2019/0320465 (hereinafter, “WU”).
Regarding claim 4, the combination of NENTWIG, NGUYEN, and PUROHIT, as applied above, renders obvious the node of claim 1. NENTWIG does not explicitly disclose:
wherein at least one of the at least one antenna comprises or is an antenna with directivity or directional characteristics,
and/or
wherein at least a part of the at least one antenna is configured to cover corresponding communication needs in all spatial directions.
In the same field of endeavor, however, WU teaches:
wherein at least one of the at least one antenna comprises or is an antenna with directivity or directional characteristics, (¶ 0054: With directional communications (e.g., using a directional antenna), both range and spatial reuse may be increased (as compared to omnidirectional communications) by having wireless nodes focus transmitted energy in the direction of the receiving node. At the receiving node, directional antennas may selectively receive signals from a desired direction, thereby increasing the signal to interference to noise ratio (SINK))
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify NENTWIG’s wireless communications resource reservation procedure to provide directional communications as taught by WU such that both range and spatial re-use are increased by having wireless nodes focus transmitted energy in the direction of the receiving node, so as to compensate for the extremely high path loss and short range of communications using the mmW frequency spectrum. See WU, at ¶ 0054.
Regarding claim 5, the combination of NENTWIG, NGUYEN, and PUROHIT, as applied above, renders obvious the node of claim 1. NENTWIG does not explicitly disclose:
wherein the communication unit is configured to transmit and/or receive at least one payload data packet.
In the same field of endeavor, however, WU teaches:
wherein the communication unit is configured to transmit and/or receive at least one payload data packet. (¶ 0066: Each slot 514 may include . . . a second set of symbols 522 used to carry data . . . for data transmission(s) for a UE)
Regarding claim 6, the combination of NENTWIG, NGYUEN, PUROHIT, and WU, as applied above, renders obvious the node of claim 5. NENTWIG does not explicitly disclose:
wherein the communication unit is configured to interleave at least one RTS and/or CTS slot with at least one slot for the at least one payload data packet.
In the same field of endeavor, however, WU teaches:
wherein the communication unit is configured to interleave at least one RTS and/or CTS slot with at least one slot for the at least one payload data packet. (¶ 0066: Each slot 514 may include, e.g., a first set of reservation symbols 516, a second set of symbols 522 used to carry data, and a third set of symbols 524 used to carry an ACK/NACK. In certain implementations, the first set of reservation symbols 516 may be used to obtain the entire TxOP 512 for data transmission(s) for a UE. The first set of reservation symbols 516 may include one or more RTS symbols 518 that may be used to carry an RTS signal, and one or more CTS symbols 520 that may be used to carry a CTS signal. . . . Although the first set of reservation symbols 516 is depicted with two symbols in FIG. 5C, more . . . than two reservation symbols may be included in each slot 514 without departing from the scope of the present disclosure)
Claims 11 and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over NENTWIG in view of NGUYEN, PUROHIT, and GREEL, and further in view of US 2017/0272329 (hereinafter, “BENNETT”).
Regarding claim 11, the combination of NENTWIG, NGUYEN, PUROHIT, and GREEL, as applied above, renders obvious the node of claim 10. NENTWIG does not explicitly disclose:
wherein the communication unit is configured to determine a checksum with respect to at least the part of the sparse communication table,
and/or
wherein the communication unit is configured to transmit at least the part of the sparse communication table and/or the checksum to the certain number of the at least two neighboring nodes.
In the same field of endeavor, however, BENNETT teaches:
wherein the communication unit is configured to transmit at least the part of the sparse communication table
and/or
the checksum to the certain number of the at least two neighboring nodes. (Abstract: [E]ach network node instead transmits an indicator, such as a routing table checksum . . . that can be used by a neighbor node to determine the routing table is unchanged; ¶ 0032: [T]ransmitting to each neighbor node a hash of the routing table. Once the routing table is initially transmitted to the neighbor nodes, the process transmits hashes (or other suitable digests or checksums) of the routing table rather than the table itself)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify NENTWIG’s wireless communications resource reservation procedure as taught by BENNETT to provide transmission of a routing table checksum to provide a function for determining message integrity, so as to generate the required hash or other indicator that is transmitted between nodes when the routing table is unchanged. See BENNETT, ¶ 0021.
Regarding claim 14, the combination of NENTWIG, NGUYEN, PUROHIT, and GREEL, as applied above, renders obvious the node of claim 13. NENTWIG does not explicitly disclose:
wherein the at least one central processing node is configured to determine a checksum with respect to the sparse communication table,
and/or
wherein the at least one central processing node is configured to transmit the sparse communication table and/or the checksum to the at least two nodes.
In the same field of endeavor, however, BENNETT teaches:
wherein the at least one central processing node is configured to transmit the sparse communication table and/or the checksum to the at least two nodes. (Abstract: [E]ach network node instead transmits an indicator, such as a routing table checksum . . . that can be used by a neighbor node to determine the routing table is unchanged; ¶ 0032: [T]ransmitting to each neighbor node a hash of the routing table. Once the routing table is initially transmitted to the neighbor nodes, the process transmits hashes (or other suitable digests or checksums) of the routing table rather than the table itself)
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the Examiner should be directed to Garth D Richmond whose telephone number is (703)756-4559. The Examiner can normally be reached M-F 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. ET.
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, Kathy Wang-Hurst can be reached at 571-270-5371. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/GARTH D RICHMOND/Examiner, Art Unit 2644
/KATHY W WANG-HURST/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2644