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 Amendment
The amendment filed 02/24/2026 has been entered. Claims 1-30 are pending in the application. Applicant’s amendment overcomes the claim objections from the previously filed Office Action.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 02/24/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Regarding Applicant’s arguments for the USC § 102 rejection of claim 1, Applicant argues on pages 12-13 of the Remarks,
“Starting at [0148], Manolakos describes various ways of truncating the beam report, but the goal of Manolakos is to convey as much information about the beam shape as possible, subject to signaling overhead constraints, e.g.: (paragraphs 0148-0150 of Manolakos are inserted)
A problem that Manolakos did not consider is that even if the signaling overhead problem can be mitigated, the specific beam shape configurations are closely guarded trade secrets that carrier networks refuse to report, e.g.: (paragraph 0164 of Manolakos is inserted)
The inventors of the subject application realized that by signaling the beam ridge information specifically, the beam shape configuration could otherwise be kept hidden, while the beam ridge information by itself is suitable for many of the functionalities required at the LMF (e.g., see [0170] of the published Specification).”
Examiner respectfully disagrees. Examiner believes that Applicant intended to cite published Specification paragraph 0164, not Manolakos paragraph 0164. Examiner believes that Manolakos reads on the claim 1 as written. The “goal” or intended use of the prior art is irrelevant, and Manolakos discloses all the steps of the method of claim 1. Manolakos discloses reporting beam shape information. See Manolakos pg. 15, paragraph 0146,
“At least one aspect of the present disclosure is directed to techniques for reducing the amount of signaling needed for a beam response/shape report containing beam shape assistance information (also referred to as a “beam response report” or “beam shape report” or simply “beam report”).”
Claim 1 discloses a beam report comprising beam ridge information. Applicant’s specification defines beam ridge information in paragraph 0169,
“For each Azimuth (elevation) angle, beam ridge information is referred to the elevation (Azimuth) angle in which the beam gain is maximum.”
See also paragraph 0183,
“In an aspect, the beam ridge information may include, for each elevation (Azimuth) angle, Azimuth (elevation) angle corresponding to the maximum of the beam gain.”
The disclosure of Manolakos teaches reporting elevation angle in which the beam gain is maximum, as well as azimuth angle corresponding to the maximum of the beam gain. Therefore, Manolakos discloses reporting beam ridge information, as “beam ridge information” is understood by the Examiner according to the cited sections of Applicant’s specification. It is reasonable to believe the invention of Manolakos could disclose only the angle information. See Manolakos paragraph 0147,
“Accordingly, at least one aspect of the present disclose is directed to including only the most significant part of the beam response/shape in the beam report. This can significantly reduce the signaling overhead with only a small performance impact. For example, a base station may report only angles of a beam response where the gain is within ‘X’ dB of the main peak of the beam response (e.g., anything above a normalized gain of 0.1 in the example of FIG. 10, or about −3 to −15 degrees). The value of ‘X’ may be configurable.”(emphasis added)
Manolakos discloses that not all aspects of the beam information needs to be reported, only certain information can be reported in order to reduce the signaling overhead. It is reasonable to believe that only one aspect, such as the beam ridge information, could be reported. Therefore, Manolakos reads onto the limitations of claim 1 as written.
For at least these reasons, Examiner is unpersuaded and maintains previous rejections corresponding to the USC § 102 rejection. Therefore, the Examiner asserts that Manolakos et al. (US 20240061069 A1) discloses each and every limitation of independent claim 1 based on the broadest reasonable interpretation of claim 1.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-30 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Manolakos et al. (US 20240061069 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Manolakos discloses
A method of operating a first wireless node (see pg. 1, paragraph 006, “method of operating a user equipment (UE)”), comprising:
determining beam ridge information associated with at least one reference signal for positioning (RS-P) (see pg. 17, paragraph 0171, the invention obtains reference signal measurements; pg. 2, paragraph 0018, “In some aspects, the one or more reference signals comprise a reference signal for positioning (RS-P)”), the beam ridge information comprising:
transmit (Tx) beam ridge information that is based on an Azimuth angle associated with a highest beam gain for a first RS-P (see pg. 15, paragraph 0148, “The truncated (or reduced) beam response/shape may be signaled/reported in different ways…as a set (e.g., a table) of tuples representing the gain value at each azimuth angle and elevation angle having a gain value greater than or equal to ‘X.’”) as transmitted to a second wireless node over a set of Tx beams at each of a plurality of boresight elevation angles (see Fig. 4, various transmitted reference signals 402 transmitted over various angles; pg. 12, paragraph 0124, “To perform a DL-AoD positioning procedure, the base station 402 may transmit reference signals (e.g., PRS, CRS, TRS, CSI-RS, PSS, SSS, etc.) to the UE 404 on one or more of beams 402a-402h, with each beam having a different transmit angle”), or
receive (Rx) beam ridge information that is based on a boresight elevation angle associated with a highest beam gain for a second RS-P (see pg. 15, paragraph 0148, “The truncated (or reduced) beam response/shape may be signaled/reported in different ways…as a set (e.g., a table) of tuples representing the gain value at each azimuth angle and elevation angle having a gain value greater than or equal to ‘X.’”) as received from the second wireless node over a set of Rx beams at each of a plurality of Azimuth angles (see Fig. 4, beams are received by the UE and the base station from various angles; pg. 12, paragraph 0124, “To perform a DL-AoD positioning procedure, the base station 402 may transmit reference signals (e.g., PRS, CRS, TRS, CSI-RS, PSS, SSS, etc.) to the UE 404 on one or more of beams 402a-402h, with each beam having a different transmit angle”); and
transmitting a beam report comprising the beam ridge information to a position estimation entity (see Fig. 15, step 1550, transmits reference signal measurements to a position estimation entity),
wherein the beam ridge information is the only information characterizing beam shape information associated with the set of Tx beams, the set of Rx beams, or both, in the beam report (see pg. 15, paragraph 0147, only the most significant part of the beam response may be included in the beam report).
Regarding claim 2, Manolakos further discloses
The method of claim 1, wherein the beam ridge information comprises the Tx beam ridge information (see pg. 15, paragraph 0146, beam information can include transmit signal angles).
Regarding claim 3, Manolakos further discloses
The method of claim 2, wherein the first wireless node corresponds to a user equipment (UE) and the second wireless node corresponds to a wireless network component, and the first RS-P corresponds to an uplink positioning reference signal (UL-PRS), or
wherein the first wireless node corresponds to the UE and the second wireless node corresponds to another UE, and the first RS-P corresponds to a sidelink positioning reference signal (SL-PRS), or
wherein the first wireless node corresponds to the wireless network component and the second wireless node corresponds to the UE, and the first RS-P corresponds to a downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS) (see Fig. 4, base station and UE; pg. 2, paragraph 0019, “the one or more reference signals comprise a downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS)”).
Regarding claim 4, Manolakos further discloses
The method of claim 2,
wherein the boresight elevation angle per highest beam gain is defined in degrees or radians, or
wherein the highest beam gains are defined in a decibel or other linear scale across the plurality of Azimuth angles (see pg. 15, paragraph 0147, “For example, a base station may report only angles of a beam response where the gain is within ‘X’ dB of the main peak of the beam response (e.g., anything above a normalized gain of 0.1 in the example of FIG. 10, or about −3 to −15 degrees).”), or
wherein a resolution associated with the Tx beam ridge information is defined as an integer degree or a first number of digits after decimal or a Azimuth angle step-size or interval, or
wherein the Tx beam ridge information is associated with Azimuth angles that are non-uniformly spaced, or
wherein, for at least one boresight elevation angle, a corresponding Azimuth angle is reported differentially relative to another Azimuth angle associated with the same Tx beam or a different Tx beam, or
any combination thereof.
Regarding claim 5, Manolakos further discloses
The method of claim 2, further comprising:
transmitting, to the position estimation entity, an indication that the beam ridge information corresponds to the Tx beam ridge information (see pg. 18, paragraph 0177, “the transmission at 1550 may include indication(s) of the AoD(s) to which the measurement(s) are mapped.”).
Regarding claim 6, Manolakos further discloses
The method of claim 1, wherein the beam ridge information comprises the Rx beam ridge information (see pg. 11, paragraph 0114, “For UL-AoA positioning, a base station measures the angle and other channel properties (e.g., gain level) of the uplink receive beam used to communicate with a UE to estimate the location of the UE”; pg. 13, paragraph 0129, “The base station 402 determines the angle of the best receive beams 402a-402h used to receive the one or more reference signals from the UE 404 as the AoA from itself to the UE 404.”; pg. 17, paragraph 0165, “the UE [can] report the angle that is really associated with the earliest path”).
Regarding claim 7, Manolakos further discloses
The method of claim 6, wherein the first wireless node corresponds to a user equipment (UE) and the second wireless node corresponds to a wireless network component, and the second RS-P corresponds to a downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS), or
wherein the first wireless node corresponds to the UE and the second wireless node corresponds to another UE, and the second RS-P corresponds to a sidelink positioning reference signal (SL-PRS), or
wherein the first wireless node corresponds to the wireless network component and the second wireless node corresponds to the UE, and the second RS-P corresponds to an uplink positioning reference signal (UL-PRS) (see Fig. 4, base station 402 and UE 404; pg. 13, paragraph 0129, “To perform an UL-AoA positioning procedure, the UE 404 transmits uplink reference signals (e.g., UL-PRS, SRS, DMRS, etc.) to the base station 402 on one or more of uplink transmit beams”).
Regarding claim 8, Manolakos further discloses
The method of claim 6,
wherein the Azimuth angle per highest beam gain is defined in degrees or radians, or
wherein the highest beam gains are defined in a decibel or other linear scale across the plurality of boresight elevation angles (see pg. 15, paragraph 0147, “For example, a base station may report only angles of a beam response where the gain is within ‘X’ dB of the main peak of the beam response (e.g., anything above a normalized gain of 0.1 in the example of FIG. 10, or about −3 to −15 degrees).”), or
wherein a resolution associated with the Rx beam ridge information is defined as an integer degree or a first number of digits after decimal or a boresight elevation angle step-size or interval, or
wherein the Rx beam ridge information is associated with boresight elevation angles that are non-uniformly spaced, or
wherein, for at least one Azimuth angle, a corresponding boresight elevation angle is reported differentially relative to another boresight elevation angle associated with the same Rx beam or a different Rx beam, or
any combination thereof.
Regarding claim 9, Manolakos further discloses
The method of claim 6, further comprising: transmitting, to the position estimation entity, an indication that the beam ridge information corresponds to the Rx beam ridge information (see pg. 18, paragraph 0177, “At 1550, UE 302 (e.g., transmitter 314 or 324, data bus 334, etc.) transmits an indication of the mapping to a position estimation entity”).
Regarding claim 10, Manolakos further discloses
The method of claim 1, wherein the determination of the beam ridge information comprises measuring reference signal received power (RSRP) or reference signal received path power (RSRPP) to determine the highest beam gains associated with the Tx beam ridge information or the Rx beam ridge information (see pg. 19, paragraph 0203, the reference signal determination “may be associated with RSRP (e.g., maximization of RSRP)”).
Regarding claim 11, the same cited sections and rationale from claim 1 are applied. Manolakos further discloses
A method of operating a position estimation entity (see pg. 2, paragraph 0023, “a method of operating a position estimation entity”), comprising:
receiving, from a first wireless node, beam ridge information associated with at least one reference signal for positioning (RS-P) (see pg. 2, paragraph 0023, the entity can receive reference signal measurements and angles of departures (AoDs) from a UE), the beam ridge information comprising:
determining a position estimate of a user equipment (UE) based on the beam ridge information in accordance with a position estimation scheme (see pg. 2, paragraph 0023, the entity can determine a positioning estimate of the UE based in part on AoDs).
Regarding claim 12, the same cited sections and rationale from claim 2 are applied.
Regarding claim 13, Manolakos further discloses
The method of claim 12, further comprising:
receiving, from the second wireless node, receive (Rx) beam ridge information that is based on a boresight elevation angle associated with a highest beam gain for the first RS-P as received from the first wireless node over a set of Rx beams at each of a plurality of Azimuth angles (see pg. 15, paragraph 0148, “The truncated (or reduced) beam response/shape may be signaled/reported in different ways…as a set (e.g., a table) of tuples representing the gain value at each azimuth angle and elevation angle having a gain value greater than or equal to ‘X.’”; Fig. 4, beams are received and transmitted by the UE and the base station from various angles),
wherein the determination is further based on the Rx beam ridge information (see pg. 2, paragraph 0023, the entity can determine a positioning estimate of the UE based on received signal measurements).
Regarding claim 14, Manolakos further discloses
The method of claim 12, wherein receive (Rx) beam ridge information associated with the first RS-P is not received by the position estimation entity (see pg. 12, paragraph 0125, “Note that the reference signals transmitted on some beams (e.g., beams 402c and/or 4020 may not reach the UE 404”; pg. 13, paragraph 0129, “Note that as with DL-AoD-based positioning, the AoA of the receive beam 402a-402h resulting in the highest received signal strength (and strongest channel impulse response if measured) does not necessarily lie along the LOS path 410”).
Regarding claim 15, the same cited sections and rationale from claim 6 are applied.
Regarding claim 16, Manolakos further discloses
The method of claim 15, further comprising:
receiving, from the second wireless node, transmit (Tx) beam ridge information that is based on an Azimuth angle associated with a highest beam gain for the second RS-P as transmitted to first wireless node over a set of Tx beams at each of a plurality of boresight elevation angles (see pg. 15, paragraph 0148, “The truncated (or reduced) beam response/shape may be signaled/reported in different ways…as a set (e.g., a table) of tuples representing the gain value at each azimuth angle and elevation angle having a gain value greater than or equal to ‘X.’”; Fig. 4, beams are received and transmitted by the UE and the base station from various angles),
wherein the determination is further based on the Tx beam ridge information (see pg. 2, paragraph 0023, the entity can determine a positioning estimate of the UE based on received signal measurements).
Regarding claim 17, Manolakos further discloses
The method of claim 15, wherein transmit (Tx) beam ridge information associated with the second RS-P is not received by the position estimation entity (see pg. 12, paragraph 0125, “Note that the reference signals transmitted on some beams (e.g., beams 402c and/or 4020 may not reach the UE 404”; pg. 13, paragraph 0129, “Note that as with DL-AoD-based positioning, the AoA of the receive beam 402a-402h resulting in the highest received signal strength (and strongest channel impulse response if measured) does not necessarily lie along the LOS path 410”).
Regarding claim 18, Manolakos further discloses
The method of claim 11, wherein the position estimation scheme comprises:
an Azimuth angle of arrival (AoA) position estimation scheme, or
an Azimuth angle of departure (AoD) position estimation scheme (see pg. 11, paragraph 0113, “For DL-AoD positioning, a base station measures the angle and other channel properties (e.g., signal strength) of the downlink transmit beam used to communicate with a UE to estimate the location of the UE.”; pg. 1, paragraph 0013, “In some aspects, the one or more AoDs comprise: a single Azimuth AoD or a single range of Azimuth AoDs, or multiple Azimuth AoDs or multiple ranges of Azimuth AoDs, or a single Zenith AoD or a single range of Zenith AoDs, or multiple Zenith AoDs or multiple ranges of Zenith AoDs, or a single Zenith and Azimuth AoD or a single range of Zenith and Azimuth AoDs, or multiple Zenith and Azimuth AoDs or multiple ranges of Zenith and Azimuth AoDs, or a combination thereof”), or
a Zenith angle of arrival (ZoA) position estimation scheme, or
a Zenith angle of departure (ZoD) position estimation scheme.
Regarding claim 19, the same cited sections and rationale from claim 1 are applied. Manolakos further discloses
A first wireless node (see Figs. 3A-3C; pg. 8, paragraph 0093, “FIGS. 3A, 3B, and 3C illustrate several example components (represented by corresponding blocks) that may be incorporated into a UE 302…, a base station 304…, and a network entity 306”), comprising:
one or more memories (see Figs. 3A-3C, memories 340, 386, and 396);
one or more transceivers (see Figs. 3A and 3B, transceivers 310, 320, 350, and 360); and
one or more processors communicatively coupled to the one or more memories and the one or more transceivers (see Figs. 3A-3C, processors 332, 384, and 394), the one or more processors, either alone or in combination, configured to:
determine beam ridge information associated with at least one reference signal for positioning (RS-P), the beam ridge information comprising (see pg. 9, paragraph 0100, “The positioning components 342, 388, and 398 may be hardware circuits that are part of or coupled to the processing systems 332, 384, and 394, respectively, that, when executed, cause the UE 302, the base station 304, and the network entity 306 to perform the functionality described herein”):
transmit, via the one or more transceivers, the beam ridge information to a position estimation entity (see pg. 8, paragraph 0094, “The WWAN transceivers 310 and 350 may be connected to one or more antennas 316 and 356, respectively, for communicating with other network nodes, such as other UEs, access points, base stations (e.g., eNBs, gNBs), etc”; pg. 8, paragraph 0095, “The short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360 may be connected to one or more antennas 326 and 366, respectively, and provide means for communicating (e.g., means for transmitting, means for receiving, means for measuring, means for tuning, means for refraining from transmitting, etc.) with other network nodes”).
Regarding claims 20-28, the same cited sections and rationale for claims 2-10 are applied. The only difference between claims 2-10 and claims 20-28 is that claims 2-10 refer to a method while claims 20-28 refer to an apparatus. The examiner considers Manolakos pg. 8, paragraph 0093, (“FIGS. 3A, 3B, and 3C illustrate several example components…that may be incorporated into a UE 302…, a base station 304…, and a network entity 306… to support the file transmission operations as taught herein.”) to show that the radar apparatus performs the radar method of claims 2-10.
Regarding claim 29, the same cited sections and rationale from claim 1 are applied. Manolakos further discloses
A position estimation entity (see pg. 1, paragraph 0008, “In some aspects, the position estimation entity corresponds to the UE, another UE, a base station, a location management function (LMF), or a combination thereof”; Figs. 3A-3C; pg. 8, paragraph 0093, “FIGS. 3A, 3B, and 3C illustrate several example components (represented by corresponding blocks) that may be incorporated into a UE 302…, a base station 304…, and a network entity 306”), comprising:
one or more memories (see Figs. 3A-3C, memories 340, 386, and 396);
one or more transceivers (see Figs. 3A and 3B, transceivers 310, 320, 350, and 360); and
one or more processors communicatively coupled to the one or more memories and the one or more transceivers (see Figs. 3A-3C, processors 332, 384, and 394), the one or more processors, either alone or in combination, configured to:
receive, via the one or more transceivers, from a first wireless node, beam ridge information associated with at least one reference signal for positioning (RS-P) (see pg. 8, paragraph 0094, “The WWAN transceivers 310 and 350 may be connected to one or more antennas 316 and 356, respectively, for communicating with other network nodes, such as other UEs, access points, base stations (e.g., eNBs, gNBs), etc”; pg. 8, paragraph 0095, “The short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360 may be connected to one or more antennas 326 and 366, respectively, and provide means for communicating (e.g., means for transmitting, means for receiving, means for measuring, means for tuning, means for refraining from transmitting, etc.) with other network nodes”), the beam ridge information comprising:
determine a position estimate of a user equipment (UE) based on the beam ridge information in accordance with a position estimation scheme (see pg. 9, paragraph 0100, “The positioning components 342, 388, and 398 may be hardware circuits that are part of or coupled to the processing systems 332, 384, and 394, respectively, that, when executed, cause the UE 302, the base station 304, and the network entity 306 to perform the functionality described herein”).
Regarding claim 30, the same cited sections and rationale from claim 18 are applied.
Additional Relevant Art
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant’s disclosure and may be found on the accompanying PTO-892 Notice of References Cited:
US 20200088869 A1 (Pefkianakis); This disclosure provides systems through which a wireless access point (AP) can determine the location of a client device with a high degree of accuracy. The AP uses CIR measurements for a plurality of directional beams used to communicate with the client device to determine a respective amplitude of a Line-of-Sight (LOS) path between the AP and the client device for each beam. The AP identifies a high-LOS-amplitude subset of the beams and, based on predefined radiation patterns associated with the beams included in the high-LOS-amplitude subset, determines a direction of the LOS path between the AP and the client device. The AP also determines a Time-of-Flight (ToF) for radio frames exchanged between the AP and the client device via the plurality of directional beams and uses the ToF to determine a distance between the AP and the client device.
US 20210270926 A1 (Kenington); A spatial location system capable of spatially locating a device in three dimensions is described comprising at least three of: a transmitter and a receiver, together with an antenna array operably connected to each, wherein each antenna array is capable of varying a pointing angle of at least one antenna lobe independently without the need to move either the antenna array or its constituent parts physically and wherein at least three antenna lobes are arranged such that they may partially intersect at one or more pointing angles under electronic control. The antenna array may, for example, comprise at least a first sub-array and at least a second sub-array wherein the second sub-array is oriented substantially orthogonally to the first sub-array and at least a third sub-array wherein third sub-array is positioned at a location which is not coincident with the location at which the at least a first sub-array is positioned.
US 20230319772 A1 (Alawieh); A position of a first entity of a wireless communication network is determined on the basis of one or more measurements between the first entity and a second entity. For one of the measurements, a reference signal is transmitted between the first and the second entities. The first and the second entities use respective antenna patterns for transmitting or receiving the reference signal. The position of the first entity is determined using antenna pattern information about the antenna pattern used by the first entity and/or antenna pattern information about the antenna pattern used by the second entity.
US 20210048502 A1 (Gummadi); The angle of departure (AOD) of directed beams, e.g., beamformed beams, transmitted by one or more base stations, such as a gNB, and the angle of arrival (AOA) of the directed beams received by a UE may be used to improve positioning accuracy by identifying Line Of Sight (LOS) beams and multi-path beams. The differential AOA (DAOA) of a directed beam pair may compared to the differential AOD (DAOD) of the directed beam pair. Matching DAOA and DAOD may be used as an indication that the directed beams in the beam pair are LOS with the UE, whereas a mis-match indicates one or both of the directed beams are multi-path. The location of the UE may be estimated using the measurement information, e.g., AOA, RTT, RSTD, etc., obtained from LOS directed beams.
US 20240241212 A1 (Mitsui); The estimation apparatus includes an antenna device that receives beams of a transmission signal transmitted from a base station antenna, as a reception signal at measurement points in a measurement area, a position and azimuth acquisition device that acquires a position and an azimuth of the measurement points at which the antenna device is disposed, a data recording device that records data of the reception signal received by the antenna device disposed at the measurement points, and data of the position and the azimuth of the measurement points acquired by the position and azimuth acquisition device, and a signal processing device that estimates a beam direction and a beam width of the beams from the data of the reception signal and the data of the position and the azimuth of the measurement points, which have been recorded in the data recording device.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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 ISABELLA A EDRADA whose telephone number is (571)272-4859. The examiner can normally be reached Mon - Fri 9am-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, William Kelleher can be reached at (571) 272-7753. 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.
/ISABELLA A EDRADA/Examiner, Art Unit 3648
/William Kelleher/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3648