DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Status of the Claims
Based on the current set of claims (Claims, 08 June 2026), Claims 1-14 are pending.
Based on the current set of claims (Claims, 08 June 2026), Claims 1-14 are pending.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments regarding the rejection of Claim 1 under 35 U.S.C. § 103 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant argues that “the hyper frame numbering merely corresponds to the H-SFN, and, as such, does not correspond to or indicate the “length of the PTW” (Remarks, 08 June 2026, Rejection Under 35 U.S.C. §103) and further argues that “amended claim 1 specifically recites that the second information indicating the length of a PTW is used for determining an endpoint position of the PTW (Remarks, 08 June 2026, Rejection Under 35 U.S.C. §103).
Examiner respectfully disagrees.
Agiwal explicitly states “SFN=(PTW_start+L*100−1)mod 1024, where L=paging time window length (in seconds) configured by upper layers” where an ending position of the paging hyperframe is “the last radio frame of the PTW” (Agiwal, ¶64-65). Here, the length of the PTW is already indicated because the length of the PTW is “configured by upper layers” (Agiwal, ¶64-65).
Applicant’s arguments regarding the rejection of Claim 1 under 35 U.S.C. § 103 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
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, 6, and 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Agiwal et al. (US 20210314914 A1; hereinafter referred to as “Agiwal”) in view of Shrestha et al. (US 20220078872 A1; hereinafter referred to as “Shrestha”).
Regarding Claim 1, Agiwal discloses a base station comprising:
the first information being used for determining a hyper-system frame number (H- SFN) of a paging hyperframe (PH) (¶59-61, Agiwal discloses that the extended DRX cycle, T.sub.eDRX,H, is used in a formula for determining a hyper-system frame number (H-SFN) of a paging hyperframe (PH)),
the second information being used for determining an ending position of the PTW in the PH (¶64-67, Agiwal discloses that the length of the paging time window, L, is used in a formula for determining a system frame number (SFN) corresponding to an ending position of the PTW in the PH), and
the first information and the second information being used while the terminal is in an RRC inactive state (¶78, Agiwal discloses that the extended DRX cycle is used while the UE is in an RRC INACTIVE state. ¶10, Agiwal discloses that the length of the paging time window, L, is used while the UE is in the RRC_INACTIVE state); and
control circuitry (¶183-185 & Fig. 4, Agiwal discloses a next generation node (gNB) comprising a controller 420) configured to transmit, to the terminal in the RRC inactive state (¶78, Agiwal discloses that the extended DRX cycle is used while the UE is in an RRC INACTIVE state), downlink control information on a physical downlink control channel in a paging occasion in a period of the PTW (¶14, Agiwal discloses transmitting a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) in a PDCCH monitoring occasion of the PTW. ¶78, Agiwal discloses that the UE, or terminal, is in RRC Inactive while monitoring for the PDCCH in the PDCCH monitoring occasion).
However, Agiwal does not disclose transmitting circuitry configured to transmit, to a terminal, a radio resource control (RRC) release message including first information indicating an extended Discontinuous Reception (eDRX) cycle and second information indicating a length of a paging time window (PTW).
Shrestha, a prior art reference in the same field of endeavor, teaches transmitting circuitry (¶200-201 & Fig. 6, Shrestha discloses a base station (BS) comprising a transceiver 615) configured to transmit, to a terminal, a radio resource control (RRC) release message (¶117, Shrestha discloses transmitting, to a user equipment (UE) by the gNB, a radio resource control (RRC) release message) including first information indicating an extended Discontinuous Reception (eDRX) cycle (¶117, Shrestha discloses that the RRC release message includes a length of extended DRX cycle where the extended DRX cycle length signaled by gNB for RRC_INACTIVE) and second information indicating a length of a paging time window (PTW) (¶14 & ¶58 & ¶78, Agiwal discloses that the RRC message includes information on hyper frame numbering where the hyper frame numbering indicates paging time window (PTW) for the RRC_INACTIVE state).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Agiwal by requiring that transmitting circuitry configured to transmit, to a terminal, a radio resource control (RRC) release message including first information indicating an extended Discontinuous Reception (eDRX) cycle and second information indicating a length of a paging time window (PTW) as taught by Shrestha because latency, or delay, associated with downlink data is reduced by allowing the UE to enter a state of Discontinuous Reception Mode (DRX) such that the device may transition from RRC_INACTIVE mode to RRC_CONNECTED mode as opposed to RRC_IDLE mode (Shrestha, ¶229).
Regarding Claim 6, Claim 6 is rejected on the same basis as Claim 1.
Regarding Claim 11, Agiwal discloses a terminal comprising:
the first information and the second information being used while the terminal is in an RRC inactive state (¶78, Agiwal discloses that the extended DRX cycle is used while the UE is in an RRC INACTIVE state. ¶10, Agiwal discloses that the length of the paging time window, L, is used while the UE is in the RRC_INACTIVE state); and
control circuitry (¶177-181 & Fig. 3, Agiwal discloses a user equipment (UE) comprising controller 320), wherein in a case where the terminal is in the RRC inactive state, the control circuitry is configured to:
determine a first hyper-system frame number (H-SFN) of a paging hyperframe (PH) based on the first information (¶14 & ¶58-59, Agiwal discloses determining the hyper system frame number (H-SFN) from information on the hyper frame numbers of the RRC message),
determine an ending position of the PTW in the PH based on the second information (¶14 & ¶58-59, Agiwal discloses determining a starting position of the hyper system frame number (H-SFN) from information on the hyper frame numbers of the RRC message), and
monitor physical downlink control channel candidates in a paging occasion within a period of the PTW (¶14, Agiwal discloses monitoring a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) in a PDCCH monitoring occasion of the PTW),
the control circuitry (¶183-185 & Fig. 4, Agiwal discloses a next generation node (gNB) comprising a controller 420) is configured to determine a second H-SFN of a second PH based on the third information in an RRC idle state (¶14 & ¶58-59, Agiwal discloses determining the hyper system frame number (H-SFN) from information on the hyper frame numbers of the RRC message), determine an ending position of the second PTW in the second PH based on the fourth information (¶14 & ¶58-59, Agiwal discloses determining a ending position of the hyper system frame number (H-SFN) from information on the hyper frame numbers of the RRC message), and monitor physical downlink control channel candidates in a paging occasion in a period of the second PTW (¶14, Agiwal discloses monitoring a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) in a PDCCH monitoring occasion of the PTW).
However, Agiwal does not disclose receiving circuitry configured to receive, from a base station, a radio resource control (RRC) release message including first information indicating an extended Discontinuous Reception (eDRX) cycle for an RRC inactive state and second information indicating a length of a PTW for the RRC inactive state.
Shrestha, a prior art reference in the same field of endeavor, teaches receiving circuitry (¶213-219 & Fig. 7, Shrestha discloses a user equipment (UE) comprising a transceiver 715) configured to receive, from a base station, a radio resource control (RRC) release message (¶117, Shrestha discloses receiving, from a base station (BS), a radio resource control (RRC) release message) including first information indicating an extended Discontinuous Reception (eDRX) cycle for an RRC inactive state (¶117, Shrestha discloses that the RRC release message includes a length of extended DRX cycle where the extended DRX cycle length signaled by gNB for RRC_INACTIVE) and second information indicating a length of a PTW for the RRC inactive state (¶14 & ¶58 & ¶78, Agiwal discloses that the RRC message includes information on hyper frame numbering where the hyper frame numbering indicates paging time window (PTW) for the RRC_INACTIVE state).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Agiwal by requiring that transmitting circuitry configured to transmit, to a terminal, a radio resource control (RRC) release message including first information indicating an extended Discontinuous Reception (eDRX) cycle and second information indicating a length of a paging time window (PTW) as taught by Shrestha because latency, or delay, associated with downlink data is reduced by allowing the UE to enter a state of Discontinuous Reception Mode (DRX) such that the device may transition from RRC_INACTIVE mode to RRC_CONNECTED mode as opposed to RRC_IDLE mode (Shrestha, ¶229).
Claims 2, 5, 7, 10, 12, and 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Agiwal in view of Shrestha in further view of Kim et al. (US 20220053517 A1; hereinafter referred to as “Kim”).
Regarding Claim 2, Agiwal in view of Shrestha discloses the base station according to claim 1.
However, Agiwal in view of Shrestha does not disclose the transmitting circuitry is configured to notify a core network device of the eDRX cycle and the length of the PTW.
Kim, a prior art reference in the same field of endeavor, teaches the transmitting circuitry is configured to notify a core network device of the eDRX cycle and the length of the PTW (¶86 & Fig. Fig. 1F (1f-40), Kim discloses notifying an access and mobility management function (AMF) by transmitting, to the AMF, a message indicating an enhanced DRX (eDRX) cycle and PTW information. Examiner correlates a core network device to “the AMF”).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Agiwal in view of Shrestha by requiring that the eDRX cycle for the RRC inactive state and the length of the PTW for the RRC inactive state are included in an N2 message as taught by Kim because vehicle communication in a next generation communication system is improved by improving the discontinuous reception cycle (DRX) of a device while in an inactive state (Kim, ¶1-11).
Regarding Claim 5, Agiwal in view of Shrestha in further view of Kim discloses the base station according to claim 2.
Kim, a prior art reference in the same field of endeavor, further teaches wherein the core network device is an access and mobility management function (AMF) (¶86 & Fig. Fig. 1F (1f-40), Kim discloses notifying an access and mobility management function (AMF) by transmitting, to the AMF, a message indicating an enhanced DRX (eDRX) cycle and PTW information. Examiner correlates a core network device to “the AMF”).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Agiwal in view of Shrestha in further view of Kim by requiring that the core network device is an access and mobility management function (AMF) as taught by Kim because vehicle communication in a next generation communication system is improved by improving the discontinuous reception cycle (DRX) of a device while in an inactive state (Kim, ¶1-11).
Regarding Claim 7, Claim 7 is rejected on the same basis as Claim 2.
Regarding Claim 10, Claim 10 is rejected on the same basis as Claim 5.
Regarding Claim 12, Agiwal in view of Shrestha discloses the terminal according to claim 11.
However, Agiwal in view of Shrestha does not disclose the transmitting circuitry is configured to notify a core network device of the eDRX cycle and the length of the PTW.
Kim, a prior art reference in the same field of endeavor, teaches the transmitting circuitry is configured to notify a core network device of the eDRX cycle and the length of the PTW (¶86 & Fig. Fig. 1F (1f-40), Kim discloses notifying an access and mobility management function (AMF) by transmitting, to the AMF, a message indicating an enhanced DRX (eDRX) cycle and PTW information).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Agiwal in view of Shrestha by requiring that the transmitting circuitry is configured to notify a core network device of the eDRX cycle and the length of the PTW as taught by Kim because vehicle communication in a next generation communication system is improved by improving the discontinuous reception cycle (DRX) of a device while in an inactive state (Kim, ¶1-11).
Regarding Claim 13, Agiwal in view of Shrestha in further view of Kim discloses the terminal according to claim 12.
Li, a prior art reference in the same field of endeavor, further teaches wherein the core network device is an access and mobility management function (AMF) (¶35, Li discloses that the core network device, which transmitted the message indicating a terminal specific DRX parameter and a preferred DRX parameter, is a mobility management entity (MME)).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Agiwal in view of Shrestha in further view of Kim by requiring that the core network device is an access and mobility management function (AMF) as taught by Kim because paging monitoring failures are reduced which, in turn, improves power consumption at the terminal when the terminal moves between cells where each cell may or may not support eDRX (Li, ¶4-11).
Claims 2, 5, 7, 10, and 12-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Agiwal in view of Shrestha in further view of Kim et al. (US 20220053517 A1; hereinafter referred to as “Kim”).
Regarding Claim 2, Agiwal in view of Shrestha discloses the base station according to claim 1.
However, Agiwal in view of Shrestha does not disclose the transmitting circuitry is configured to notify a core network device of the eDRX cycle and the length of the PTW.
Kim, a prior art reference in the same field of endeavor, teaches the transmitting circuitry is configured to notify a core network device of the eDRX cycle and the length of the PTW (¶86 & Fig. Fig. 1F (1f-40), Kim discloses notifying an access and mobility management function (AMF) by transmitting, to the AMF, a message indicating an enhanced DRX (eDRX) cycle and PTW information. Examiner correlates a core network device to “the AMF”).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Agiwal in view of Shrestha by requiring that the eDRX cycle for the RRC inactive state and the length of the PTW for the RRC inactive state are included in an N2 message as taught by Kim because vehicle communication in a next generation communication system is improved by improving the discontinuous reception cycle (DRX) of a device while in an inactive state (Kim, ¶1-11).
Regarding Claim 5, Agiwal in view of Shrestha in further view of Kim discloses the base station according to claim 2.
Kim, a prior art reference in the same field of endeavor, further teaches wherein the core network device is an access and mobility management function (AMF) (¶86 & Fig. Fig. 1F (1f-40), Kim discloses notifying an access and mobility management function (AMF) by transmitting, to the AMF, a message indicating an enhanced DRX (eDRX) cycle and PTW information. Examiner correlates a core network device to “the AMF”).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Agiwal in view of Shrestha in further view of Kim by requiring that the core network device is an access and mobility management function (AMF) as taught by Kim because vehicle communication in a next generation communication system is improved by improving the discontinuous reception cycle (DRX) of a device while in an inactive state (Kim, ¶1-11).
Regarding Claim 7, Claim 7 is rejected on the same basis as Claim 2.
Regarding Claim 10, Claim 10 is rejected on the same basis as Claim 5.
Regarding Claim 12, Agiwal in view of Shrestha discloses the terminal according to claim 11.
However, Agiwal in view of Shrestha does not disclose the transmitting circuitry is configured to notify a core network device of the eDRX cycle and the length of the PTW.
Kim, a prior art reference in the same field of endeavor, teaches the transmitting circuitry is configured to notify a core network device of the eDRX cycle and the length of the PTW (¶86 & Fig. Fig. 1F (1f-40), Kim discloses notifying an access and mobility management function (AMF) by transmitting, to the AMF, a message indicating an enhanced DRX (eDRX) cycle and PTW information).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Agiwal in view of Shrestha by requiring that the transmitting circuitry is configured to notify a core network device of the eDRX cycle and the length of the PTW as taught by Kim because vehicle communication in a next generation communication system is improved by improving the discontinuous reception cycle (DRX) of a device while in an inactive state (Kim, ¶1-11).
Regarding Claim 13, Agiwal in view of Shrestha in further view of Kim discloses the terminal according to claim 12.
Kim, a prior art reference in the same field of endeavor, further teaches wherein the core network device is an access and mobility management function (AMF) (¶86 & Fig. Fig. 1F (1f-40), Kim discloses notifying an access and mobility management function (AMF) by transmitting, to the AMF, a message indicating an enhanced DRX (eDRX) cycle and PTW information. Examiner correlates a core network device to “the AMF”).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Agiwal in view of Shrestha in further view of Kim by requiring that the core network device is an access and mobility management function (AMF) as taught by Kim because vehicle communication in a next generation communication system is improved by improving the discontinuous reception cycle (DRX) of a device while in an inactive state (Kim, ¶1-11).
Claims 3-4, 8-9, and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Agiwal in view of Shrestha in further view of Li et al. (US 20250008485 A1; hereinafter referred to as “Li”).
Regarding Claim 3, Agiwal in view of Shrestha discloses the base station according to claim 1.
However, Agiwal in view of Shrestha does not disclose the transmitting circuitry is configured to notify another base station of the eDRX cycle and the length of the PTW.
Li, a prior art reference in the same field of endeavor, further teaches wherein the transmitting circuitry is configured to notify another base station of the eDRX cycle and the length of the PTW (¶45 & ¶103 & Fig. 3 (step c), Li discloses notifying, by the core network to the terminal via the BS, a message indicating a terminal specific DRX parameter and a preferred DRX parameter when the terminal has just performed a handover).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Agiwal in view of Shrestha by requiring that the transmitting circuitry is configured to notify another base station of the eDRX cycle and the length of the PTW as taught by Li because paging monitoring failures are reduced which, in turn, improves power consumption at the terminal when the terminal moves between cells where each cell may or may not support eDRX (Li, ¶4-11).
Regarding Claim 4, Agiwal in view of Shrestha discloses the base station according to claim 1.
Agiwal further discloses the control circuitry (¶183-185 & Fig. 4, Agiwal discloses a next generation node (gNB) comprising a controller 420) is configured to transmit, to the terminal in the RRC idle state, downlink control information on a physical downlink control channel in a paging occasion in a period of a second PTW determined based on the third information and the fourth information (¶45 & ¶14, Agiwal discloses transmitting, to the UE, downlink control information (DCI) in a PDCCH monitoring occasion of the PTW of the PTW indicated by the received DCI).
However, Agiwal in view of Shrestha does not disclose the PTW is a first PTW, a Non Access Stratum (NAS) message including third information indicating the eDRX cycle and fourth information indicating the length of the PTW is transmitted from the core network device.
Li, a prior art reference in the same field of endeavor, teaches the PTW is a first PTW (¶48 & ¶45 & Fig. 3 (step c), Li discloses a paging time window defined by the PTW information), a Non Access Stratum (NAS) message including third information indicating an eDRX cycle and fourth information indicating a length of a PTW is transmitted from a core network device (¶47 & ¶39 & ¶45 & Fig. 3 (step c), Li discloses the ATTACH ACCEPT message includes a eDRX cycle and PTW information transmitted from a core network device. Examiner correlates the ATTACH ACCEPT message to "a NAS message"), the third information and the fourth information being used while the terminal is in an RRC idle state (¶49, Li discloses that the eDRX cycle and the PTW parameter are used while the UE is in the RRC inactive state).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Agiwal in view of Shrestha by requiring that the PTW is a first PTW, a Non Access Stratum (NAS) message including third information indicating the eDRX cycle and fourth information indicating a length of a PTW is transmitted from a core network device and the third information and the fourth information being used while the terminal is in an RRC idle state as taught by Li because paging monitoring failures are reduced which, in turn, improves power consumption at the terminal when the terminal moves between cells where each cell may or may not support eDRX (Li, ¶4-11).
Regarding Claim 8, Claim 8 is rejected on the same basis as Claim 3.
Regarding Claim 9, Claim 9 is rejected on the same basis as Claim 4.
Regarding Claim 14, Agiwal in view of Shrestha discloses the terminal according to claim 11.
However, Agiwal in view of Shrestha wherein the PTW is a first PTW, the receiving circuitry is configured to receive, from a core network device, a Non Access Stratum (NAS) message including third information indicating an eDRX cycle and fourth information indicating a length of a PTW, the third information and the fourth information being used while the terminal is in an RRC idle state; and in a case where the terminal is in the RRC idle state, the control circuitry is configured to monitor physical downlink control channel candidates in a paging occasion within a period of a second PTW determined based on the third information and the fourth information.
Li, a prior art reference in the same field of endeavor, teaches wherein the PTW is a first PTW (¶48 & ¶45 & Fig. 3 (step c), Li discloses a paging time window defined by the PTW information), the receiving circuitry is configured to receive, from a core network device, a Non Access Stratum (NAS) message including third information indicating an eDRX cycle and fourth information indicating a length of a PTW (¶47 & ¶39 & ¶45 & Fig. 3 (step d), Li discloses receiving an ATTACH ACCEPT message includes a eDRX cycle and PTW information transmitted from a core network device. Examiner correlates the ATTACH ACCEPT message to "a NAS message"), the third information and the fourth information being used while the terminal is in an RRC idle state (¶49, Li discloses that the eDRX cycle and the PTW parameter are used while the UE is in the RRC inactive state); and
in a case where the terminal is in the RRC idle state, the control circuitry is configured to monitor physical downlink control channel candidates in a paging occasion within a period of a second PTW determined based on the third information and the fourth information (¶47 & ¶39 & ¶46 & Fig. 3 (step d), Li discloses monitoring, by a terminal, for a paging message according to an eDRX cycle and PTW information transmitted from a core network device. ¶49, Li discloses that the eDRX cycle and PTW information may be configured for RRC Idle state).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Agiwal in view of Shrestha by requiring that the PTW is a first PTW, the receiving circuitry is configured to receive, from a core network device, a Non Access Stratum (NAS) message including third information indicating an eDRX cycle and fourth information indicating a length of a PTW, the third information and the fourth information being used while the terminal is in an RRC idle state; and in a case where the terminal is in the RRC idle state, the control circuitry is configured to monitor physical downlink control channel candidates in a paging occasion within a period of a second PTW determined based on the third information and the fourth information as taught by Li because paging monitoring failures are reduced which, in turn, improves power consumption at the terminal when the terminal moves between cells where each cell may or may not support eDRX (Li, ¶4-11).
Internet Communications
Applicant is encouraged to submit a written authorization for Internet communications (PTO/SB/439, http://www.uspto.gov/sites/default/files/documents/sb0439.pdf) in the instant patent application to authorize the examiner to communicate with the applicant via email. The authorization will allow the examiner to better practice compact prosecution. The written authorization can be submitted via one of the following methods only: (1) Central Fax which can be found in the Conclusion section of this Office action; (2) regular postal mail; (3) EFS WEB; or (4) the service window on the Alexandria campus. EFS web is the recommended way to submit the form since this allows the form to be entered into the file wrapper within the same day (system dependent). Written authorization submitted via other methods, such as direct fax to the examiner or email, will not be accepted. See MPEP § 502.03.
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 ERIC NOWLIN whose telephone number is (313)446-6544. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 12:00PM-10:00PM.
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/ERIC NOWLIN/Examiner, Art Unit 2474
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