Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/688,275

CONTROL DEVICE, CONTROL METHOD, AND RECORDING MEDIUM

Non-Final OA §103
Filed
Feb 29, 2024
Examiner
SIXTO, NANCY
Art Unit
2465
Tech Center
2400 — Computer Networks
Assignee
Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
71%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
2y 1m
To Grant
99%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 71% — above average
71%
Career Allow Rate
5 granted / 7 resolved
+13.4% vs TC avg
Strong +40% interview lift
Without
With
+40.0%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Fast prosecutor
2y 1m
Avg Prosecution
38 currently pending
Career history
45
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.9%
-39.1% vs TC avg
§103
62.8%
+22.8% vs TC avg
§102
27.5%
-12.5% vs TC avg
§112
5.1%
-34.9% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 7 resolved cases

Office Action

§103
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 . Priority Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55. Information Disclosure Statement The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on February 29, 2024, and December 4, 2024, are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statements are being considered by the examiner. Specification The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities: Paragraph [0015]: “an apparatus that is connected to a display divide and displays an image”. The word “divide” appears to be misspelled. It is suggested to the applicant to change “divide” to –device-- Appropriate correction is required. The lengthy specification has not been checked to the extent necessary to determine the presence of all possible minor errors. Applicant’s cooperation is requested in correcting any errors of which applicant may become aware in the specification. Claim Objections Claim 4 is objected to because of the following informalities: Claim 4 discloses “an apparatus that is connected to a display divide and displays an image”. The word “divide” appears to be misspelled. It is suggested to the applicant to change “divide” to –device-- Appropriate correction is required. 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. This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention. Claim(s) 1-3, 8 and 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Inamdar (US 10070289 B1 in view of Choi (US 20230156774 A1). Regarding claim 1, Inamdar teaches a control device (communication device 120 of Fig. 1) comprising: a wireless interface (transceiver electronics 215 of Fig. 2) that (a) performs wireless communication through one channel selected from N channels where N is an integer of 2 or more (Col 9, lines 39-43; At 410, the client 425 transmits a probe request on the channel (one channel). At 412, the DUC 415 receives the probe request on the channel (one channel). Upon receiving the probe request, at 422, the DUC 415 transmits a probe response to the client 425 on the same channel (one channel). Col 9, lines 44-46; Upon receiving the probe response, at 420, the client 425 transmits an association request on the same channel (one channel selected from N channels) to the DUC 415, at 430. Col 10, lines 23-28; At 470, the client 425 transmits connection information on the same channel (one channel selected from N channels) to the DUC 415.), and (b) when not performing the wireless communication, waits for reception of an identification signal to be transmitted by an apparatus while scanning the N channels, and receives the identification signal (Col 8, lines 18-20; When the DUC 315 and the remote 325 are on the same channel and the remote 325 supports passive scanning (waits for reception), the remote 325 can receive the beacons (identification signal) from the DUC 315. Col 8, lines 15-17; The beacons can include a Service Set Identifier (SSID) and/or an information element (IE). Col 8, lines 25-28; When the DUC 315 and the remote 325 are on the same channel and the remote 325 supports active scanning, the DUC 315 can respond to the probe requests from the remote 325. For example, FIG. 3 shows the remote 325 sending a probe request to the DUC 315 at 330 and obtaining a probe response (identification signal) from the DUC 315 at 340 in order to identify the DUC 315 properly. Fig. 3 shows the remote 325 scanning Ch-1 and Ch-n channels (at least two channels total)); and a provider (processor electronics 210) that refers to the identification signal received by the wireless interface, communicably connects to the apparatus (Col 9, lines 44-67 and Col 10 lines 18-22; Upon receiving the probe response, at 420, the client 425 transmits an association request on the same channel to the DUC 415, at 430. At 432, the DUC 415 receives the association request. the DUC 415 can determine that the association request is an indication of a client association for establishing a connection with the client 425. In response to such a determination, at 442, the DUC 415 switches to the AP provisioning mode. In some implementations, the AP provisioning mode is an AP-only provisioning mode. In the AP-only provisioning mode, the client 425 can associate with the AP on the DUC 415 and use the connection to send the provisioning information as well as other configuration information if required. In the AP provisioning mode, the DUC 415 is capable of accepting actual connections from the client 425. Once the DUC 415 has switched to the AP-only provisioning mode, at 452, the DUC 415 transmits an association response to the client 425. At 460, the client 425 receives the association response. The client association goes through.) and provides setting information of the apparatus to the apparatus (Col 10, lines 23-28; At 470, the client 425 transmits connection information on the same channel to the DUC 415. The connection information can be transmitted using RESTful APIs. The connection information including SSID and passphrase for establishing a connection with an external AP to which the client 425 has already been connected.), wherein a transmission channel through which the apparatus transmits the identification signal is predetermined (Col 8, lines 32-35; In some implementations, the DUC 315 may stay on a fixed channel (e.g., channel Ch-1 335) or switch on different channels (e.g., channel Ch-n 345) dynamically based on configurations.), and Inamdar does not teach a proportion of a time or number of times to wait for reception in the transmission channel in a total duration of the scanning by the wireless interface is greater than 1/N. Choi in the same field of endeavor of wireless communications teaches a proportion of a time or number of times to wait for reception in the transmission channel in a total duration of the scanning by the wireless interface is greater than 1/N (Fig. 8 and [0110] According to various embodiments, as indicated by reference numeral 820, the processor 340 may adjust a channel scanning period of the Wi-Fi network when the first mode is executed. The processor may relatively extend a time spent in a currently accessed channel (home channel) (transmission channel) once. According to various embodiments, with respect to all time resources for scanning, a ratio of scanning a currently accessed channel (transmission channel) may be increased compared to a ratio of scanning a different channel.). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include the scanning operation of Choi in the device provisioning method of Inamdar. The motivation to do so would have been to reduce latency of data transmissions in the transmission channel during scanning operations (Choi; [0110]). Regarding claim 2, Inamdar and Choi teaches the control device according to claim 1, and Choi teaches wherein the time to wait for reception in the transmission channel in the scanning by the wireless interface is a longest among times to wait for reception in the N channels (Fig. 8 embodiment 820 shows the length of time spent in the home channel (transmission channel) is longer than the time spent in the other channels. [0110] According to various embodiments, with respect to all time resources for scanning, a ratio of scanning a currently accessed channel may be increased compared to a ratio of scanning a different channel. Therefore, latency of data transmission may be relatively reduced.), or the number of times to wait for reception in the transmission channel in the scanning by the wireless interface is a largest among numbers of times to wait for reception in the N channels (Fig. 8 embodiment 830 shows the number of times the home channel (transmission channel) is scanned is greater than the number of times any other channel is scanned.). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include the scanning operation of Choi in the device provisioning method of Inamdar. The motivation to do so would have been to reduce latency of data transmissions in the transmission channel during scanning operations (Choi; [0110]). Regarding claim 3, Inamdar teaches the control device according to claim 1, wherein in the scanning, the wireless interface alternately waits for reception in the transmission channel and waits for reception in any channel of the N channels excluding the transmission channel (Col 6, lines 1-10; In some instances, unlike standard APs, the micro AP is only visible to the provisioning clients in the simultaneous AP-sniffer provisioning mode, and an attempt of client association may fail as beacons are sent from different channels. For example, in simultaneous AP-sniffer provisioning mode, the device keeps hopping across various channels to sniff packets on all of them. Based on the amount of time spent on each channel, it may so happen that the device misses a probe request that was sent out by the client, which renders the device invisible at times to the client.). Choi in the same field of endeavor of wireless communications also teaches wherein in the scanning, the wireless interface alternately waits for reception in the transmission channel and waits for reception in any channel of the N channels excluding the transmission channel (Fig. 8 embodiment 830 shows the scanning alternates between the home channel (transmission channel) to any channel of the N channels excluding the transmission channel). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include the scanning operation of Choi in the device provisioning method of Inamdar. The motivation to do so would have been to reduce latency of data transmissions in the transmission channel during scanning operations (Choi; [0110]). Regarding claim 8, Inamdar teaches a control method to be executed by a control device including a wireless interface (transceiver electronics 215 of Fig. 2), the control method comprising: (a) performing wireless communication by the wireless interface through one channel selected from N channels where N is an integer of 2 or more (Col 9, lines 39-43; At 410, the client 425 transmits a probe request on the channel (one channel). At 412, the DUC 415 receives the probe request on the channel (one channel). Upon receiving the probe request, at 422, the DUC 415 transmits a probe response to the client 425 on the same channel (one channel). Col 9, lines 44-46; Upon receiving the probe response, at 420, the client 425 transmits an association request on the same channel (one channel selected from N channels) to the DUC 415, at 430. Col 10, lines 23-28; At 470, the client 425 transmits connection information on the same channel (one channel selected from N channels) to the DUC 415.), and (b) when not performing the wireless communication, waiting for reception of an identification signal to be transmitted by an apparatus while scanning the N channels by the wireless interface, and receiving the identification signal by the wireless interface (Col 8, lines 18-20; When the DUC 315 and the remote 325 are on the same channel and the remote 325 supports passive scanning (waits for reception), the remote 325 can receive the beacons (identification signal) from the DUC 315. Col 8, lines 15-17; The beacons can include a Service Set Identifier (SSID) and/or an information element (IE). Col 8, lines 25-28; When the DUC 315 and the remote 325 are on the same channel and the remote 325 supports active scanning, the DUC 315 can respond to the probe requests from the remote 325. For example, FIG. 3 shows the remote 325 sending a probe request to the DUC 315 at 330 and obtaining a probe response (identification signal) from the DUC 315 at 340 in order to identify the DUC 315 properly. Fig. 3 shows the remote 325 scanning Ch-1 and Ch-n channels (at least two channels total)); and referring to the identification signal received by the wireless interface, communicably connecting to the apparatus (Col 9, lines 44-67 and Col 10 lines 18-22; Upon receiving the probe response, at 420, the client 425 transmits an association request on the same channel to the DUC 415, at 430. At 432, the DUC 415 receives the association request. the DUC 415 can determine that the association request is an indication of a client association for establishing a connection with the client 425. In response to such a determination, at 442, the DUC 415 switches to the AP provisioning mode. In some implementations, the AP provisioning mode is an AP-only provisioning mode. In the AP-only provisioning mode, the client 425 can associate with the AP on the DUC 415 and use the connection to send the provisioning information as well as other configuration information if required. In the AP provisioning mode, the DUC 415 is capable of accepting actual connections from the client 425. Once the DUC 415 has switched to the AP-only provisioning mode, at 452, the DUC 415 transmits an association response to the client 425. At 460, the client 425 receives the association response. The client association goes through.), and providing setting information of the apparatus to the apparatus (Col 10, lines 23-28; At 470, the client 425 transmits connection information on the same channel to the DUC 415. The connection information can be transmitted using RESTful APIs. The connection information including SSID and passphrase for establishing a connection with an external AP to which the client 425 has already been connected.), wherein a transmission channel through which the apparatus transmits the identification signal is predetermined (Col 8, lines 32-35; In some implementations, the DUC 315 may stay on a fixed channel (e.g., channel Ch-1 335) or switch on different channels (e.g., channel Ch-n 345) dynamically based on configurations.), and Inamdar does not teach a proportion of a time or number of times to wait for reception in the transmission channel in a total duration of the scanning by the wireless interface is greater than 1/N. Choi in the same field of endeavor of wireless communications teaches a proportion of a time or number of times to wait for reception in the transmission channel in a total duration of the scanning by the wireless interface is greater than 1/N (Fig. 8 and [0110] According to various embodiments, as indicated by reference numeral 820, the processor 340 may adjust a channel scanning period of the Wi-Fi network when the first mode is executed. The processor may relatively extend a time spent in a currently accessed channel (home channel) (transmission channel) once. According to various embodiments, with respect to all time resources for scanning, a ratio of scanning a currently accessed channel (transmission channel) may be increased compared to a ratio of scanning a different channel.). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include the scanning operation of Choi in the device provisioning method of Inamdar. The motivation to do so would have been to reduce latency of data transmissions in the transmission channel during scanning operations (Choi; [0110]). Regarding claim 9, A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium having recorded thereon a program for causing a computer to execute the control method according to claim 8 (Col 7, lines 47-51; The device 200 can include one or more memories 225 configured to store information such as data and/or instructions (e.g., computer-readable instructions that cause the device 200 to implement methods effecting the techniques presented in this disclosure.). Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 Claim(s) 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Inamdar (US 10070289 B1 in view of Choi (US 20230156774 A1); further in view of Roman (WO 2018194695 A1). Regarding claim 4, Inamdar and Choi teach the control device according to claim 1, but do not teach wherein the identification signal includes type information indicating a type of the apparatus, the provider provides the setting information to the apparatus when the type information included in the identification signal indicates that the apparatus is a display-control apparatus and the display-control apparatus is an apparatus including a display device or an apparatus that is connected to a display divide and displays an image on a display screen included in the display device. Roman in the same field of endeavor of wireless communications teaches wherein the identification signal includes type information indicating a type of the apparatus ([0030] Upon receiving the request for loT device information in at least one embodiment, the one or more devices send a response 402 to the assistant device (control device) with identifying information such as MAC address, Android ID, Android Advertising ID, Google Advertising ID, UDID, IDFV, IDFA, IMEI, ICCID, MEID, Windows Advertising ID, beacon type, and/or other identifying information. [0031] Once provided with the identifying information, the assistant device can determine the loT device information, including device type 403 (type information indicating a type of the apparatus), and the setup process for the device so that it can interact with the user to set up the device.), the provider provides the setting information to the apparatus when the type information included in the identification signal indicates that the apparatus is a display-control apparatus and the display-control apparatus is an apparatus including a display device or an apparatus that is connected to a display divide and displays an image on a display screen included in the display device ([0031] For example, the assistant device can determine whether the loT device is an Android phone (type information included in the identification signal indicates that the apparatus is a display-control apparatus) by using the identifying information in the response. [0038] the assistant device (control device) can guide the user through the setup of the mobile phone (apparatus of display type) including instructing the user to input the authentication credentials of the wireless network (setting information) provided by the router.) It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include the device type in the information signal of Roman in the device provisioning method of Inamdar and Choi. The motivation to do so would have been to provide a voice- driven assistant device setup process to enable users to set up and manage a variety of disparate IoT devices in a network. (Roman; [0004]). Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 Claim(s) 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Inamdar (US 10070289 B1 in view of Choi (US 20230156774 A1); further in view of Arling (US 20230059126 A1). Regarding claim 5, Inamdar and Choi teach the control device according to claim 1, but do not teach wherein the wireless interface further receives an identification signal including type information indicating a type of the apparatus, the identification signal being transmitted by a non- display-control apparatus in waiting for reception in the N channels, the non-display-control apparatus is an apparatus that is neither an apparatus including a display device nor an apparatus that is connected to a display device and displays an image on a display screen included in the display device, and the control device further comprises: an information obtainer that refers to the identification signal received by the wireless interface when the type information indicates that the apparatus is the non-display-control apparatus, and obtains information indicating that software that manages the apparatus and operates on a terminal can be installed on the terminal; and a display controller that controls display of an image indicating the information obtained by the information obtainer when the type information indicates that the apparatus is the non-display-control apparatus. Arling in the same field of endeavor of wireless communications teaches wherein the wireless interface further receives an identification signal including type information indicating a type of the apparatus ([0080] With reference now to the flowchart of FIG. 20, at step 2400 the setup agent 2344 may periodically initiate a scan 2402 of its current wired or wireless, network environment (e.g., “WIFI,” “BLUETOOTH,”, etc. or any combination thereof) in order to ascertain the presence of one or more networked appliances. [0070] as illustrated in FIG. 16, a host device, e.g., a device 100 having some or all of the functionalities described above, can use an appliance discovery process, which may entail using a multi-cast discovery schema, to obtain information about one more appliances 106, 108, 110, etc. For example, the host device may, through use of the appliance discovery process of a setup application, such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 8,812,629, receive from an appliance through use of an interconnection with the appliance, e.g., a wired or wireless coupling between the appliance and the host device, first appliance related data, e.g., appliance ID, brand name, model number, name, parameters associated with a communication methodology supported by the appliance, etc. (type information indicating a type of the apparatus)), the identification signal being transmitted by a non- display-control apparatus in waiting for reception in the N channels ([0075] Fig. 17 shows different appliances for which these procedures apply, some of which are non-display control apparatuses, such as a thermostat 2106, a solar power array controller 2108, a clothes washer and/or drier 2110), the non-display-control apparatus is an apparatus that is neither an apparatus including a display device nor an apparatus that is connected to a display device and displays an image on a display screen included in the display device (Some of the appliances of Fig. 17 such as a thermostat 2106, a solar power array controller 2108, a clothes washer and/or drier 2110 are apparatuses that do not include a display device nor connect to a display device) and the control device further comprises: an information obtainer (setup agent software 2344 (information obtainer) is also provisioned to smart device 2100 in order to facilitate detection, installation, and operation of manufacturer-supplied appliance interface apps) that refers to the identification signal received by the wireless interface when the type information indicates that the apparatus is the non-display-control apparatus, and obtains information indicating that software that manages the apparatus and operates on a terminal can be installed on the terminal ([0081] If it is determined that a newly-responsive appliance has been detected, then at steps 2408 and 2410 the setup agent may next determine if an app is available for that appliance. Such a determination may be made, for example, by using vendor information, a third party compatibility database, or by a social network database which may contain related appliance information updated by other users or by searching a database that functions to cross-reference appliance identifying data as would be received from the appliances (e.g., data indicative of a manufacturer and model number) to available apps and locations from which such apps may be download, such as appropriate “app stores.”); and a display controller that controls display of an image indicating the information obtained by the information obtainer when the type information indicates that the apparatus is the non-display-control apparatus ([0064] At step 1508 the setup app may also determine if the appliances have any associated icon information (for example stored as metadata on the appliance, available from a remote server, or the like) as well as information related to interface connection types, e.g., “WIFI,” “HDMI” input/output, for use in the creation of supported macros. If the icon information is available, the icon information may be sent to the smart device by the appliance and/or retrieved by the smart device using other information provided by the appliance as appropriate as shown in step 1526. An icon corresponding to the icon information may then be automatically added to the user interface of the smart device whereupon an activation of the added icon may be used to provide access to command and control functionalities associated with the corresponding controllable device. Fig. 18A shows command and control functionalities for a washing machine, a non-display-control apparatus.). 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 method for app discovery of Arling with the device provisioning method of Inamdar and Choi. The motivation to do so would have been to discover an appliance and create a finger print for the appliance, e.g., manufacturer information, brand information, device type information, device model information, firmware version information, supported control interface information, information about a supported app running on the device, information about a supported app running on the smart device 2100 for use with the device, and/or the like information usable to uniquely identify an appliance, to retrieve one or more apps for providing voice control capabilities to the system (Arling; [0089]). Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 Claim(s) 6 and 7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Inamdar (US 10070289 B1 in view of Choi (US 20230156774 A1); further in view of Seol (US 20230177133 A1). Regarding claim 6, Inamdar and Choi teach the control device according to claim 1, but do not teach wherein when the control device is a display device including a display screen and connected to the apparatus, the provider displays information needed for authentication of the apparatus on the display screen as on-screen display (OSD), and the apparatus displays an input field for information needed for the authentication in a position of the display screen excluding a predetermined position where the OSD is displayed. Seol in the same field of endeavor of wireless communications teaches wherein when the control device is a display device including a display screen and connected to the apparatus, the provider displays information needed for authentication of the apparatus on the display screen as on-screen display (OSD) ([0197] Alternatively, referring to FIG. 8, the image display device 10 (control device) may output an authentication code (information needed for authentication of the apparatus) composed of a six-digit number through the display 180.), and the apparatus displays an input field for information needed for the authentication in a position of the display screen excluding a predetermined position where the OSD is displayed ([0197] At this time, a user may directly input the authentication code (into the input field shown in Fig. 8) through the user input unit 530 of the first external device 30 (apparatus)). 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 device authentication method of Seol with the device provisioning method of Inamdar and Choi. The motivation to do so would have been to provide an image display device and a system that can add an image display device as a master device by completing authentication between the image display device and other devices (Seol; [0008]). Regarding claim 7, Inamdar and Choi teach the control device according to claim 6, but do not teach wherein the provider displays an authentication code as information needed for authentication of the apparatus, and the apparatus displays an input field for the authentication code as information needed for authentication of the apparatus. Seol in the same field of endeavor of wireless communications teaches wherein the provider displays an authentication code as information needed for authentication of the apparatus ([0197] Alternatively, referring to FIG. 8, the image display device 10 (control device) may output an authentication code (information needed for authentication of the apparatus) composed of a six-digit number through the display 180.), and the apparatus displays an input field for the authentication code as information needed for authentication of the apparatus ([0197] At this time, a user may directly input the authentication code (into the input field shown in Fig. 8) through the user input unit 530 of the first external device 30 (apparatus)). 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 device authentication method of Seol with the device provisioning method of Inamdar and Choi. The motivation to do so would have been to provide an image display device and a system that can add an image display device as a master device by completing authentication between the image display device and other devices (Seol; [0008]). Conclusion The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Yu (US 20230318916 A1) discloses a network configuration method and apparatus for an intelligent device. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to NANCY SIXTO whose telephone number is (571)272-3295. The examiner can normally be reached Mon - Friday 9AM-5PM EST. 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, Gary Mui can be reached at 571-270-1420. 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. /NANCY SIXTO/Examiner, Art Unit 2465 /GARY MUI/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2465
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Feb 29, 2024
Application Filed
Mar 19, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §103 (current)

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Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 2 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
71%
Grant Probability
99%
With Interview (+40.0%)
2y 1m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 7 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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