Prosecution Insights
Last updated: August 17, 2026
Application No. 18/505,422

Bandwidth Part Switching for Cell

Final Rejection §103§112
Filed
Nov 09, 2023
Priority
May 12, 2021 — provisional 63/187,758 +1 more
Examiner
SANTOS, FRANCESCA LIMA
Art Unit
2468
Tech Center
2400 — Computer Networks
Assignee
Ofinno LLC
OA Round
2 (Final)
92%
Grant Probability
Favorable
3-4
OA Rounds
0m
Est. Remaining
99%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 92% — above average
92%
Career Allowance Rate
11 granted / 12 resolved
+33.7% vs TC avg
Moderate +12% lift
Without
With
+12.5%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 8m
Avg Prosecution
18 currently pending
Career history
40
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
1.9%
-38.1% vs TC avg
§103
61.2%
+21.2% vs TC avg
§102
31.1%
-8.9% vs TC avg
§112
5.8%
-34.2% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 12 resolved cases

Office Action

§103 §112
DETAILED ACTION This action is responsive to amendments/remarks filed on 26 May 2026. Claims 1-20 are pending examination. Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . Response to Arguments Applicant’s arguments, see page 6-10, filed 26 May 2026, with respect to the rejection(s) of claims 1-20 under 35 U.S.C. 112, 35 U.S.C 102(a)(2) and 35 U.S.C. 103 have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new grounds of rejection is made in view of Xu et al. (US 2024/0080830 A1) (hereinafter Xu) in view of Shih et al. (US 20220022276 A1) (hereinafter Shi) and further in view of Agiwal et al. (US 20210329689 A1) (hereinafter Agi). Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status. 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 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 1-2, 4-9, 11-16, and 18-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Xu et al. (US 2024/0080830 A1) (hereinafter Xu) in view of Shih et al. (US 20220022276 A1) (hereinafter Shi). In regards to claims 1, 8, and 15, Xu-Shi teaches: A method (Xu, see fig. 4)/An apparatus (Xu, see fig. 1)/ A process (Xu, see fig. 9) for a wireless device comprising: receiving, by a wireless device from a base station, at least one radio resource control (RRC) message comprising (Xu, Fig. 3-5, [0025]-[0074], [0075]-[0101], [0102]-[0143], [0144]-[0155]: [0076] As shown by reference number 405, the UE may receive configuration information (e.g., from the base station, another base station, and/or the like) and/or may determine the configuration information based at least in part on a communication protocol. In some aspects, the UE may receive the configuration information via one or more of RRC signaling, medium access control control elements (MAC CEs), and/or the like. In some aspects, the configuration information may include an indication of one or more configuration parameters (e.g., already known to the UE) for selection by the UE, explicit configuration information for the UE to use to configure the UE, and/or the like.): one or more processors and memory storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the wireless device to (Xu, Fig. 3-5, fig.8, [0025]-[0074], [0075]-[0101], [0102]-[0143], [0144]-[0155]: [0137] may include one or more antennas, a modulator, a transmit MIMO processor, a transmit processor, a controller/processor, a memory, or a combination thereof, of the UE described above in connection with FIG. 2. In some aspects, the transmission component 804 may be co-located with the reception component 802 in a transceiver.): a non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause a wireless device to (Xu, Fig. 3-5, [0025]-[0074], [0075]-[0101], [0102]-[0143], [0144]-[0155]: [0044] may include a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing one or more instructions (e.g., code and/or program code) for wireless communication. In some aspects, executing instructions may include running the instructions, converting the instructions, compiling the instructions, and/or interpreting the instructions, among other examples.): first configuration parameters for a first bandwidth part (BWP) of a first cell, of the base station, that is configured as a serving cell (Xu, Fig. 3-5, [0025]-[0074], [0075]-[0101], [0102]-[0143], [0144]-[0155]: [0079] As shown by reference number 415, the UE may receive, and the base station may transmit, a BWPs configuration. The BWPs configuration may indicate configurations of a set of candidate BWPs. For example, the BWPs configuration may indicate one or more parameters associated with a PDCCH and/or monitoring of a PDCCH for a first BWP and a PDCCH for a second BWP. In some aspects, the BWPs configuration may indicate a number of resource blocks occupied by the first BWP and by the second BWP, a number of resource blocks occupied by the PDCCH of the first BWP and the PDCCH of the second BWP, a monitoring period associated with the PDCCH of the first BWP and the PDCCH of the second BWP, and/or identifications of one or more symbols in each slot that are to be monitored by the UE for PDCCH communications associated with the PDCCH of the first BWP and the PDCCH of the second BWP, among other examples.); second configuration parameters of resources of a second cell that is configured as resources of the first BWP of the first cell (Xu, Fig. 3-5, [0025]-[0074], [0075]-[0101], [0102]-[0143], [0144]-[0155]: [0091] As shown by reference number 450, the base station may determine whether the one or more BSRs satisfy the BSR threshold and/or whether to activate the first BWP. In some aspects, the base station may determine that the one or more BSRs have an average BSR index that is greater than the BSR threshold and may determine to activate the first BWP based at least in part on the first BWP having a bandwidth size that is larger than a bandwidth size of the second BWP. In some aspects, the base station may determine that the one or more BSRs have an average BSR index that is less than the BSR threshold and may determine to activate the first BWP based at least in part on the first BWP having a bandwidth size that is smaller than a bandwidth size of the second BWP.); and Thus, the system of Xu does not explicitly teach a first time value of a first inactivity timer for the first BWP of the first cell; and restarting the first inactivity timer for the first BWP of the first cell, in response to communicating a transport block via a configured grant resource of the second cell. Similar to the system of Xu, Shi teaches maintaining a BWP inactivity timer associated with an active downlink BWP, where the timer is started or restarted as part of BWP operation, which can be seen as, a first time value of a first inactivity timer for the first BWP of the first cell (Shi, Fig. 5-10, fig. 15-20, [0030]-[0102], [0103]-[0164], [0165]-[0229], [0230]-[0332], [0333]-[0399], [0400]-[0448], [0449]-[0528], [0529]-[0652]: [0386] 4> start or restart the bwp-InactivityTimer associated with the active DL BWP. [0387] 2> if the bwp-InactivityTimer associated with the active DL BWP expires: [0388] 3> if the defaultDownlinkBWP-Id is configured: [0389] 4> perform BWP switching to a BWP indicated by the defaultDownlinkBWP-Id. [0390] 3> else: [0391] 4> perform BWP switching to the initialDownlinkBWP. [0392] NOTE: If a Random Access procedure is initiated on an SCell, both this SCell and the SpCell are associated with this Random Access procedure. [0393] 1> if a PDCCH for BWP switching is received, and the MAC entity switches the active DL BWP: [0394] 2> if the defaultDownlinkBWP-Id is configured, and the MAC entity switches to the DL BWP which is not indicated by the defaultDownlinkBWP-Id and is not indicated by the dormantDownlinkBWP-Id if configured; or [0395] 2> if the defaultDownlinkBWP-Id is not configured, and the MAC entity switches to the DL BWP which is not the initialDownlinkBWP and is not indicated by the dormantDownlinkBWP-Id if configured: [0396] 3> start or restart the bwp-InactivityTimer associated with the active DL BWP.); and Similar to the system of Xu, Shi teaches reinitiating the BWP inactivity timer after transmission on configured grant type 1 resources, which reasonably corresponds to, restarting the first inactivity timer for the first BWP of the first cell, in response to communicating a transport block via a configured grant resource of the second cell (Shi, Fig. 5-10, fig. 15-20, [0030]-[0102], [0103]-[0164], [0165]-[0229], [0230]-[0332], [0333]-[0399], [0400]-[0448], [0449]-[0528], [0529]-[0652]: [0052] NOTE: User Data can also be sent in step 5 if the grant allows. [0328] Transmission of UL data on pre-configured PUSCH resources (i.e. reusing the configured grant type 1)—when TA is valid [0329] General procedure for small data transmission over configured grant type 1 resources from INACTIVE state [RAN2] [0330] Configuration of the configured grant type1 resources for small data transmission in UL for INACTIVE state [RAN2]. [0385] 3> if the ongoing Random Access procedure associated with this Serving Cell is successfully completed upon reception of this PDCCH addressed to C-RNTI (as specified in clauses 5.1.4, 5.1.4a and 5.1.5): [0386] 4> start or restart the bwp-InactivityTimer associated with the active DL BWP. [0387] 2> if the bwp-InactivityTimer associated with the active DL BWP expires: [0388] 3> if the defaultDownlinkBWP-Id is configured: [0396] 3> start or restart the bwp-InactivityTimer associated with the active DL BWP. [0476] each UL BWP among the set of UL BWPs for SDT may be associated with a Transport Block size (TBS) (e.g., the Transport Block size may be configurable). In an example, a first UL BWP of the set of UL BWPs for SDT may be associated with a first Transport Block size, a second UL BWP of the set of UL BWPs for SDT may be associated with a second Transport Block size, etc. The UE may select a UL BWP based on the UL data size (e.g., the amount of UL data to be transmitted). [0399] The CellGroupConfig IE is used to configure a master cell group (MCG) or secondary cell group (SCG). A cell group comprises of one MAC entity, a set of logical channels with associated RLC entities and of a primary cell (SpCell) and one or more secondary cells (SCells).). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the system of Xu with Shi to allow the bandwidth parts to shrink during periods of low activity to save power, move within the frequency domain to increase scheduling flexibility, and use different subcarrier spacing to support different services (Shi, [0332]). In regards to claims 2, 9, and 16 Xu-Shi teaches: A method (Xu, see fig. 4)/An apparatus (Xu, see fig. 1)/ A process (Xu, see fig. 9) for a wireless device comprising: wherein the restarting is further in response to receiving a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) comprising … or a downlink assignment indicating a resource of a second cell (Xu, Fig. 3-5, [0025]-[0074], [0075]-[0101], [0102]-[0143], [0144]-[0155]: [0065] As shown by reference number 305, the UE may receive, and the base station may transmit, a configuration of a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), associated with a BWP, for the UE to monitor. The configuration may indicate one or more parameters associated with the PDCCH and/or monitoring of the PDCCH. For example, the configuration may include an indication (e.g., locationAndBandwidth) of a number of resource blocks occupied by a BWP associated with the PDCCH. The configuration may include an indication (e.g., frequencyDomainResources) of a number of resource blocks occupied by the PDCCH. Additionally, or alternatively, the configuration may include an indication (e.g., monitoringSlotPeriodicityAndOffset) of a monitoring period associated with the PDCCH. The configuration may further include an indication (e.g., monitoringSymbolsWithinSlot) of one or more symbols in each slot that are to be monitored by the UE for PDCCH communications.). Thus, the system of Xu does not explicitly teach an uplink grant. Similar to the system of Xu, Shi teaches transmission of uplink data using configured grant Type 1 on pre-configured PUSCH resources, which can be seen as, an uplink grant (Shi, Fig. 5-10, fig. 15-20, [0030]-[0102], [0103]-[0164], [0165]-[0229], [0230]-[0332], [0333]-[0399], [0400]-[0448], [0449]-[0528], [0529]-[0652]: [0052] NOTE: User Data can also be sent in step 5 if the grant allows. [0053] 6. If loss of DL user data buffered in the last serving gNB shall be prevented, the gNB provides forwarding addresses. [0054] 7/8. The gNB performs path switch. [0055] 9. The gNB triggers the release of the UE resources at the last serving gNB. [0320] The key enablers for small data transmission in NR, namely the INACTIVE state, 2-step, 4-step RACH and configured grant type-1 have already been specified as part of Rel-15 and Rel-16. So, this work builds on these building blocks to enable small data transmission in INACTIVE state for NR. [0328] Transmission of UL data on pre-configured PUSCH resources (i.e. reusing the configured grant type 1)—when TA is valid [0329] General procedure for small data transmission over configured grant type 1 resources from INACTIVE state [RAN2] [0330] Configuration of the configured grant type1 resources for small data transmission in UL for INACTIVE state [RAN2].) Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the system of Xu with Shi to allow the bandwidth parts to shrink during periods of low activity to save power, move within the frequency domain to increase scheduling flexibility, and use different subcarrier spacing to support different services (Shi, [0332]). In regards to claims 4, 11, and 18 Xu teaches: A method (Xu, see fig. 4)/An apparatus (Xu, see fig. 1)/ A process (Xu, see fig. 9) for a wireless device comprising: wherein the first configuration parameters of the first BWP of the first cell comprise the second configuration parameters of the resources of the second cell (Xu, Fig. 3-5, [0025]-[0074], [0075]-[0101], [0102]-[0143], [0144]-[0155]: [0039] A channel processor may determine a reference signal received power (RSRP) parameter, a received signal strength indicator (RSSI) parameter, a reference signal received quality (RSRQ) parameter, and/or a channel quality indicator (CQI) parameter, among other examples. In some aspects, one or more components of UE 120 may be included in a housing 284. [0065] As shown by reference number 305, the UE may receive, and the base station may transmit, a configuration of a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), associated with a BWP, for the UE to monitor. The configuration may indicate one or more parameters associated with the PDCCH and/or monitoring of the PDCCH. For example, the configuration may include an indication (e.g., locationAndBandwidth) of a number of resource blocks occupied by a BWP associated with the PDCCH. [0086] In some aspects, the base station may determine one or more parameters of the BSR threshold based at least in part on one or more conditions. In some aspects, the base station may determine the BSR threshold based at least in part on traffic conditions of a cell associated with the base station. [0088] activation of the second BWP may be associated with a configuration of the base station to use resources of the second BWP to transmit a control message. Additionally, activation of the second BWP may be associated with a configuration of the UE to monitor resources of the second BWP for a control message and/or to cease monitoring resources of the first BWP (e.g., a portion of the first BWP that does not overlap with the first BWP) for a control message.). In regards to claims 5, 12, and 19 Xu teaches: A method (Xu, see fig. 4)/An apparatus (Xu, see fig. 1)/ A process (Xu, see fig. 9) for a wireless device comprising: wherein the second configuration parameters of the resources of the second cell comprise a physical cell identifier (PCI) of the second cell (Xu, Fig. 3-5, [0025]-[0074], [0075]-[0101], [0102]-[0143], [0144]-[0155]: [0079] As shown by reference number 415, the UE may receive, and the base station may transmit, a BWPs configuration. The BWPs configuration may indicate configurations of a set of candidate BWPs. For example, the BWPs configuration may indicate one or more parameters associated with a PDCCH and/or monitoring of a PDCCH for a first BWP and a PDCCH for a second BWP. In some aspects, the BWPs configuration may indicate a number of resource blocks occupied by the first BWP and by the second BWP, a number of resource blocks occupied by the PDCCH of the first BWP and the PDCCH of the second BWP, a monitoring period associated with the PDCCH of the first BWP and the PDCCH of the second BWP, and/or identifications of one or more symbols in each slot that are to be monitored by the UE for PDCCH communications associated with the PDCCH of the first BWP and the PDCCH of the second BWP, among other examples.). In regards to claims 6, 13, and 20 Xu teaches: A method (Xu, see fig. 4)/An apparatus (Xu, see fig. 1)/ A process (Xu, see fig. 9) for a wireless device comprising: wherein the second cell comprises at least one of (Xu, Fig. 3-5, [0025]-[0074], [0075]-[0101], [0102]-[0143], [0144]-[0155]): a transmission reception point (TRP) with a different physical cell identifier (PCI) than the first cell (Xu, Fig. 3-5, [0025]-[0074], [0075]-[0101], [0102]-[0143], [0144]-[0155]: [0025] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a wireless network 100, in accordance with the present disclosure. The wireless network 100 may be or may include elements of a 5G (NR) network and/or an LTE network, among other examples. The wireless network 100 may include a number of base stations 110 (shown as BS 110a, BS 110b, BS 110c, and BS 110d) and other network entities. A base station (BS) is an entity that communicates with user equipment (UEs) and may also be referred to as an NR BS, a Node B, a gNB, a 5G node B (NB), an access point, a transmit receive point (TRP), or the like. Each BS may provide communication coverage for a particular geographic area. In 3GPP, the term “cell” can refer to a coverage area of a BS and/or a BS subsystem serving this coverage area, depending on the context in which the term is used.); or a neighbor cell of the first cell. In regards to claims 7 and 14, Xu-Shi teaches: A method (Xu, see fig. 4)/An apparatus (Xu, see fig. 1)/ A process (Xu, see fig. 9) for a wireless device comprising: Thus, the system of Xu does not explicitly teach further comprising, in response to expiration of the first inactivity timer for the first BWP of the first cell: switching, by the wireless device, from the first BWP to a default BWP of the first; or switching, by the wireless device, from the resources of the second cell to second resources of the second cell, wherein the second resources of the second cell are associated with the default BWP of the first cell. Similar to the system of Xu, Shi teaches that the BWP-inactivity timer controls BWP switching, including performing BWP switching to the defaultdownlinkbwp-ID, which can be seen as, further comprising, in response to expiration of the first inactivity timer for the first BWP of the first cell: switching, by the wireless device, from the first BWP to a default BWP of the first (Shi, Fig. 5-10, fig. 15-20, [0030]-[0102], [0103]-[0164], [0165]-[0229], [0230]-[0332], [0333]-[0399], [0400]-[0448], [0449]-[0528], [0529]-[0652]: [0338] The BWP switching for a Serving Cell is used to activate an inactive BWP and deactivate an active BWP at a time. The BWP switching is controlled by the PDCCH indicating a downlink assignment or an uplink grant, by the bwp-InactivityTimer, by RRC signalling, or by the MAC entity itself upon initiation of Random Access procedure or upon detection of consistent LBT failure on SpCell. For unpaired spectrum, a DL BWP is paired with a UL BWP, and BWP switching is common for both UL and DL. Entering or leaving dormant BWP is done by BWP switching. [0364] 2> switch the active UL BWP to BWP indicated by initialUplinkBWP; [0365] 2> if the Serving Cell is an SpCell: [0366] 3> switch the active DL BWP to BWP indicated by initialDownlinkBWP. [0389] 4> perform BWP switching to a BWP indicated by the defaultDownlinkBWP-Id. [0390] 3> else: [0391] 4> perform BWP switching to the initialDownlinkBWP.) Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the system of Xu with Shi to allow the bandwidth parts to shrink during periods of low activity to save power, move within the frequency domain to increase scheduling flexibility, and use different subcarrier spacing to support different services (Shi, [0332]). Claims 3, 10, and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Xu et al. (US 2024/0080830 A1) (hereinafter Xu) as applied to claims 1/8/15 above, and further in view of Agiwal et al. (US 20210329689 A1) (hereinafter Agi). In regards to claims 3, 10, and 17 Xu-Agi teaches: A method (Xu, see fig. 4)/An apparatus (Xu, see fig. 1)/ A process (Xu, see fig. 9) for a wireless device comprising: wherein the at least one RRC message comprises periodic resource configuration parameters indicating that the configured … is configured to use a second … associated with at least one downlink reference signal of the second cell (Xu, Fig. 3-5, [0025]-[0074], [0075]-[0101], [0102]-[0143], [0144]-[0155]: [0038 Each modulator 232 may process a respective output symbol stream (e.g., for OFDM) to obtain an output sample stream. Each modulator 232 may further process (e.g., convert to analog, amplify, filter, and upconvert) the output sample stream to obtain a downlink signal. T downlink signals from modulators 232a through 232t may be transmitted via T antennas 234a through 234t, respectively. [0065] Additionally, or alternatively, the configuration may include an indication (e.g., monitoringSlotPeriodicityAndOffset) of a monitoring period associated with the PDCCH. The configuration may further include an indication (e.g., monitoringSymbolsWithinSlot) of one or more symbols in each slot that are to be monitored by the UE for PDCCH communications. [0081] The UE may receive the indication to activate the first BWP in the configuration information, the BWPs configuration, or another communication (e.g., a DCI communication, MAC layer signaling, or RRC signaling).). Thus, the system of Xu does not explicitly teach TCI state and grant resource. Similar to the system of Xu, Agi teaches that a TCI state is activated and indicated to the UE, and that BWP switching is controlled by a PDCCH indicating a downlink assignment or an uplink grant, which can be seen as TCI state and grant resource (Agi, fig.2-7, [0047]-[0123], [0124]-[0219], [0220]-[0225]: [0041] Each coreset configuration is associated with a list of Transmission configuration indicator (TCI) states. One downlink (DL) reference signal (RS) identity (ID) (synchronization signal block (SSB) or channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS)) is configured per TCI state. The list of TCI states corresponding to a coreset configuration is signaled by the gNB via radio resource control (RRC) signaling. One of the TCI state in TCI state list is activated and indicated to the UE by the gNB. TCI state indicates the DL TX beam (DL TX beam is quasi-collocated (QCLed) with SSB/CSI-RS of TCI state) used by the gNB for transmission of PDCCH in the PDCCH monitoring occasions of a search space. [0042] The BWP switching for a Serving Cell is used to activate an inactive BWP and deactivate an active BWP at a time. The BWP switching is controlled by the PDCCH indicating a downlink assignment or an uplink grant, by the bwp-InactivityTimer, by RRC signaling, or by the MAC entity itself upon initiation of Random Access procedure. Upon addition of SpCell or activation of an SCell, the DL BWP and UL BWP indicated by firstActiveDownlinkBWP-Id and firstActiveUplinkBWP-Id respectively is active without receiving PDCCH indicating a downlink assignment or an uplink grant. ). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Xu with the system of Agi to provide TCI state configuration and BWP switching based on a downlink assignment or uplink grant (Agi, [0041]-[0042]) Conclusion Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a). A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Francesca Lima Santos whose telephone number is (571)272-6521. The examiner can normally be reached Monday thru Friday 7:30am-5pm, 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, Marcus R Smith can be reached at (571) 270-1096. 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. /FRANCESCA LIMA SANTOS/Examiner, Art Unit 2468 /MARCUS SMITH/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2468
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Prosecution Timeline

Nov 09, 2023
Application Filed
Nov 26, 2025
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §103, §112
May 26, 2026
Response Filed
Aug 07, 2026
Final Rejection mailed — §103, §112 (current)

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Prosecution Projections

3-4
Expected OA Rounds
92%
Grant Probability
99%
With Interview (+12.5%)
2y 8m (~0m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Moderate
PTA Risk
Based on 12 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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