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 .
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.
Claims 1, 19, 20, 22, 27 and 29 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over JIA; Meiyi et al. US PGPUB 20240251265 A1, in view of Liu; Bingchao et al. US PGPUB 20260135609 A1.
Regarding claim 1. Bai teaches An apparatus for wireless communication at a user equipment (UE), comprising: a memory; and one or more processors, coupled to the memory, (Fig. 14, Processor and memory) configured to:
receive a radio link monitoring configuration for a first serving cell, wherein the radio link monitoring configuration indicates: a configuration of a first set of beam-failure-detection reference signals (BFD-RSs) associated with the first serving cell, ([0282] the terminal equipment being configured with at least two BFD-RS sets, or includes at least two PCIs or at least two cell IDs or at least two (sets of) TCI states or SSBs related to at least two cells or at least two control resource pool indices,)
a configuration of a second set of BFD-RSs associated with a second serving cell, (Id.) and
a second serving cell identifier of the second serving cell: (Id. the terminal equipment being configured with at least two BFD-RS sets, or includes at least two PCIs or at least two cell ID )
measure, in accordance with the radio link monitoring configuration, at least one of: one or more BFD-RSs of the first set of BFD-RSs, or one or more BFD-RSs of the second set of BFD-RSs; ([0064] For each BFD-RS set, following beam failure detection criteria are used: the physical layer of the UE evaluates radio link quality of each BFD-RS set, and if hypothetical PDCCH BLERs of all BFD-RSs in a BFD-RS set are higher than a threshold, an index of the BFD-RS set is indicated to the higher layer every X milliseconds, where, X is a larger/largest one in a minimum period of the BFD-RSs in the set and 2 ms. In the MAC procedure, a TRP-specific BFD counter and a TRP-specific BFD timer are supported.) and
Jia does not teach determine at least one of:
a beam failure associated with at least one of the first set of BFD-RSs or the first serving cell based at least in part on measuring the one or more BFD-RSs of the second set of BFD-RSs, or
a beam failure associated with at least one of the second set of BFD-RSs or the second serving cell based at least in part on measuring the one or more BFD-RSs of the first set of BFD-RSs.
However, Liu teaches
determine at least one of:
a beam failure associated with at least one of the first set of BFD-RSs or the first serving cell based at least in part on measuring the one or more BFD-RSs of the second set of BFD-RSs, or
a beam failure associated with at least one of the second set of BFD-RSs or the second serving cell based at least in part on measuring the one or more BFD-RSs of the first set of BFD-RSs.
([0068] Considering a UE staying in SCell1, SCell2, or SCell3, if the UE detects only beam failure in any BFD-RS set, the UE can select any one of the two PUCCH-SR resources for BFRQ transmission to an associated TRP in PCell0. For example, the serving cell is SCell2, the UE detects beam failure event in BFD-RS set 1, then the UE may use PUCCH-SR resource 1 for BFRQ transmission to TRP1 in PCell0, or the UE may use PUCCH-SR resource 2 for BFRQ transmission to TRP 2 in PCell0, or the UE may use both PUCCH-SR resource 1 and PUCCH-SR resource 2 for BFRQ transmission.)
In order to increase reliability in a multi-TRP transmission (0004).
Jia and Liu are analogous art in the same field of endeavor of wireless communication. It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person with ordinary skill in the art to modify the method in Jia with the technique of using one of two BFD-RS set to detect BFD in Liu in order to increase reliability in a multi-TRP transmission.
Regarding claim 19. Jia and Liu teach The apparatus of claim 1, and Jia teaches wherein the UE is in wireless communication with a third serving cell, wherein a bandwidth part (BWP) associated with an active BWP identifier in the second serving cell is a dormant BWP conditioned on a second frequency range associated with the second serving cell being higher than a third frequency range associated with the third serving cell and lower than a first frequency range associated with the first serving cell, and wherein measuring the one or more BFD-RSs of the second set of BFD-RSs includes measuring the one or more BFD-RSs in the dormant BWP. ([0064] In TRP-specific beam failure detection, according to the study of Rel-17 feMIMO, for beam failure detection of multiple TRPs, independent BFD-RS configuration per TRP is supported. Here, each TRP is associated with a BFD-RS set, and each (downlink) BWP supports 2 BFD-RS sets.)
Regarding claim 20. Jia and Liu teach The apparatus of claim 1, Jia teach wherein the one or more processors are further configured to receive a configuration indicating an updated second serving cell identifier. ([0100] In addition, this configuration information may also include other information, such as a reference signal received power threshold rsrp-ThresholdBFR, and a serving cell ID servingCellId, etc., which are configured per NBI-RS, and reference may be made to existing techniques for details, which shall not be repeated herein any further.)
Regarding claim 22. Jia teaches An apparatus for wireless communication at a network entity, comprising: a memory; and one or more processors, coupled to the memory, (Fig. 13, Processor and Memory) configured to:
transmit, to a user equipment (UE), a radio link monitoring configuration for a first serving cell, wherein the radio link monitoring configuration indicates: a configuration of a first set of beam-failure-detection reference signals (BFD-RSs) associated with the first serving cell, ([0282] the terminal equipment being configured with at least two BFD-RS sets, or includes at least two PCIs or at least two cell IDs or at least two (sets of) TCI states or SSBs related to at least two cells or at least two control resource pool indices,)
a configuration of a second set of BFD-RSs associated with a second serving cell, (Id.) and a second serving cell identifier of the second serving cell; (Id. the terminal equipment being configured with at least two BFD-RS sets, or includes at least two PCIs or at least two cell ID) and
Jia does not teach receive, from the UE, a beam failure recovery request (BFRQ), wherein the BFRQ is based at least in part on a determination of at least one of: a beam failure associated with at least one of the first set of BFD-RSs or the first serving cell based at least in part on a measurement of one or more BFD-RSs of the second set of BFD-RSs, or a beam failure associated with at least one of the second set of BFD-RSs or the second serving cell based at least in part on a measurement of one or more BFD-RSs of the first set of BFD-RSs.
However, Liu teaches
receive, from the UE, a beam failure recovery request (BFRQ), wherein the BFRQ is based at least in part on a determination of at least one of: a beam failure associated with at least one of the first set of BFD-RSs or the first serving cell based at least in part on a measurement of one or more BFD-RSs of the second set of BFD-RSs, or a beam failure associated with at least one of the second set of BFD-RSs or the second serving cell based at least in part on a measurement of one or more BFD-RSs of the first set of BFD-RSs. ([0068] Considering a UE staying in SCell1, SCell2, or SCell3, if the UE detects only beam failure in any BFD-RS set, the UE can select any one of the two PUCCH-SR resources for BFRQ transmission to an associated TRP in PCell0. For example, the serving cell is SCell2, the UE detects beam failure event in BFD-RS set 1, then the UE may use PUCCH-SR resource 1 for BFRQ transmission to TRP1 in PCell0, or the UE may use PUCCH-SR resource 2 for BFRQ transmission to TRP 2 in PCell0, or the UE may use both PUCCH-SR resource 1 and PUCCH-SR resource 2 for BFRQ transmission.)
In order to increase reliability in a multi-TRP transmission (0004).
Jia and Liu are analogous art in the same field of endeavor of wireless communication. It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person with ordinary skill in the art to modify the method in Jia with the technique of using one of two BFD-RS set to detect BFD in Liu in order to increase reliability in a multi-TRP transmission.
Regarding claim 27. Jia and Zhou teach A method of wireless communication performed by a user equipment (UE), comprising steps recited in claim 1. It is rejected for the same reasons.
Regarding claim 29. Jia and Zhou teach A method of wireless communication performed by a network entity, comprising steps recited in claim 20, they are rejected for the same reasons.
Claims 2-4, 23, 28 and 30 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jia and Liu as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of ZHOU; Shanyu et al. US PGPUB 20230041404 A1.
Regarding claim 2. Jia and Liu teach The apparatus of claim 1, but it does not teach wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: receive a configuration of a machine learning model; and determine, based at least in part on the machine learning model, the at least one of the beam failure associated with at least one of the first set of BFD-RSs or the first serving cell, or the beam failure associated with the at least one of the second set of BFD-RSs or the second serving cell.
However, Zhou teaches
receive a configuration of a machine learning model; ([0069] In some aspects, the UE may transmit, to the base station via a MAC-CE or UCI, UE capability information that indicates the machine learning features of the UE, the processing power and capacity of the UE, a memory configuration of the UE, and/or the computation resources of the UE. The UE may receive, from the base station via a MAC-CE or DCI and based at least in part on the UE capability information, a configuration that activates UE autonomy, deactivates UE autonomy, or changes a UE autonomy level)
determine, based at least in part on the machine learning model, the at least one of the beam failure associated with at least one of the first set of BFD-RSs or the first serving cell, or the beam failure associated with the at least one of the second set of BFD-RSs or the second serving cell. ([0075] As further shown in FIG. 4, in some aspects, process 400 may include detecting a beam failure based at least in part on the BFI count satisfying a threshold (block 430). For example, the UE (e.g., using communication manager 140 and/or detection component 510, depicted in FIG. 5) may detect a beam failure based at least in part on the BFI count satisfying a threshold, as described above.)
in order to improve beam failure detection accuracy ([0051])
Jia and Zhou are analogous art in the same field of endeavor of wireless communication. It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person with ordinary skill in the art to modify the method in Jia with the technique of machine learning beam failure detection in Zhou in order to improve beam failure detection accuracy.
Regarding claim 3. Jia, Liu and Zhou teach The apparatus of claim 2, Jia and Liu does not teach wherein an input to the machine learning model is based at least in part on at least one of a reference signal received power (RSRP) measurement associated with the one or more BFD-RSs of the second set of BFD-RSs, a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) hypothesis block error rate (BLER) associated with the one or more BFD-RSs of the second set of BFD-RSs, a channel estimation associated with the one or more BFD-RSs of the second set of BFD-RSs, or a number of beam failure instances (BFIs) associated with the one or more BFD-RSs of the second set of BFD-RSs.
However, Zhou teaches
wherein an input to the machine learning model is based at least in part on at least one of a reference signal received power (RSRP) measurement associated with the one or more BFD-RSs of the second set of BFD-RSs,
a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) hypothesis block error rate (BLER) associated with the one or more BFD-RSs of the second set of BFD-RSs,
a channel estimation associated with the one or more BFD-RSs of the second set of BFD-RSs, or
a number of beam failure instances (BFIs) associated with the one or more BFD-RSs of the second set of BFD-RSs. ([0075] As further shown in FIG. 4, in some aspects, process 400 may include detecting a beam failure based at least in part on the BFI count satisfying a threshold (block 430). For example, the UE (e.g., using communication manager 140 and/or detection component 510, depicted in FIG. 5) may detect a beam failure based at least in part on the BFI count satisfying a threshold, as described above.)
in order to improve beam failure detection accuracy ([0051])
Jia and Zhou are analogous art in the same field of endeavor of wireless communication. It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person with ordinary skill in the art to modify the method in Jia with the technique of machine learning beam failure detection in Zhou in order to improve beam failure detection accuracy.
Regarding claim 4. Jia, Liu and Zhou teach The apparatus of claim 2, Jia and Liu do not teach wherein an input to the machine learning model is based at least in part on at least one of a reference signal received power (RSRP) measurement associated with the one or more BFD-RSs of the first set of BFD-RSs, a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) hypothesis block error rate (BLER) associated with the one or more BFD-RSs of the first set of BFD-RSs, a channel estimation associated with the one or more BFD-RSs of the first set of BFD-RSs, or a number of beam failure instances (BFIs) associated with the one or more BFD-RSs of the first set of BFD-RSs.
However, Zhou teaches
wherein an input to the machine learning model is based at least in part on at least one of a reference signal received power (RSRP) measurement associated with the one or more BFD-RSs of the first set of BFD-RSs, a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) hypothesis block error rate (BLER) associated with the one or more BFD-RSs of the first set of BFD-RSs, a channel estimation associated with the one or more BFD-RSs of the first set of BFD-RSs, or a number of beam failure instances (BFIs) associated with the one or more BFD-RSs of the first set of BFD-RSs. . ([0075] As further shown in FIG. 4, in some aspects, process 400 may include detecting a beam failure based at least in part on the BFI count satisfying a threshold (block 430). For example, the UE (e.g., using communication manager 140 and/or detection component 510, depicted in FIG. 5) may detect a beam failure based at least in part on the BFI count satisfying a threshold, as described above.)
in order to improve beam failure detection accuracy ([0051])
Jia and Zhou are analogous art in the same field of endeavor of wireless communication. It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person with ordinary skill in the art to modify the method in Jia with the technique of machine learning beam failure detection in Zhou in order to improve beam failure detection accuracy.
Regarding claim 23. Jia and Liu teach The apparatus of claim 22, but they don’t teach wherein the one or more processors are further configured to transmit, to the UE, a configuration of a machine learning model, wherein the determination o f the at least one of the beam failure associated with the at least one of the first set of BFD-RSs or the first serving cell or the beam failure associated with the at least one of the second set of BFD-RSs or the second serving cell is based at least in part on the machine learning model.
However, Zhou teaches
Transmit, to the UE a configuration of a machine learning model; ([0069] In some aspects, the UE may transmit, to the base station via a MAC-CE or UCI, UE capability information that indicates the machine learning features of the UE, the processing power and capacity of the UE, a memory configuration of the UE, and/or the computation resources of the UE. The UE may receive, from the base station via a MAC-CE or DCI and based at least in part on the UE capability information, a configuration that activates UE autonomy, deactivates UE autonomy, or changes a UE autonomy level)
Wherein the determination of the at least one of the beam failure associated with the at least one of the first set of BFD-RSs or the first serving cell or the beam failure associated with the at least one of the second set of BFD-RSs or the second serving cell is based at least in part on the machine learning model. ([0075] As further shown in FIG. 4, in some aspects, process 400 may include detecting a beam failure based at least in part on the BFI count satisfying a threshold (block 430). For example, the UE (e.g., using communication manager 140 and/or detection component 510, depicted in FIG. 5) may detect a beam failure based at least in part on the BFI count satisfying a threshold, as described above.)
in order to improve beam failure detection accuracy ([0051])
Jia and Zhou are analogous art in the same field of endeavor of wireless communication. It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person with ordinary skill in the art to modify the method in Jia with the technique of machine learning beam failure detection in Zhou in order to improve beam failure detection accuracy.
Regarding claim 28. Jia, Liu and Zhou teach The method of claim 27, further comprising steps recited in claim 2. They are rejected for the same reasons.
Regarding claim 30. Jia, Liu and Zhou teach The method of claim 29, further comprising steps recited in claim 23. They are rejected for the same reasons.
Claims 9-11, 18, 21 and 25 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jia and Liu as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Zhou; Yan et al. US PGPUB 20200351674 A1.
Regarding claim 9. Jia and Liu teach The apparatus of claim 1, but it does not teach wherein at least one of the first set of BFD-RSs or the second set of BFD-RSs is associated with one of aperiodic channel state information reference signal (AP-CSI-RS) resources or semipersistent channel state information reference signal (SP-CSI-RS) resources.
However, Zhou teaches
wherein at least one of the first set of BFD-RSs or the second set of BFD-RSs is associated with one of aperiodic channel state information reference signal (AP-CSI-RS) resources or semipersistent channel state information reference signal (SP-CSI-RS) resources. ([0023] In another example, a semi-persistent CSI-RS or aperiodic CSI-RS may act as a BFD-RS, and if the semi-persistent CSI-RS or aperiodic CSI-RS are explicitly configured as BFD-RS, their QCL may be quickly updated by MAC-CE or DCI.) in order to reduce latency by increasing opportunities in reconfiguring reference signals ([0004])
Jia and Zhou are analogous art in the same field of endeavor of wireless communication. It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person with ordinary skill in the art to modify the method in Jia with the technique of using AP/SP CSI-RS for BFD in order to reduce latency.
Regarding claim 10. Jia and Liu and Zhou teach The apparatus of claim 9, and Zhou teaches wherein the one or more processors are further configured to at least one of:
based at least in part on receiving an activation message associated with the one of the AP-CSI-RS resources or the SP-CSI-RS resources, measuring the at least one of the first set of BFD-RSs or the second set of BFD-RSs, ([0023] the QCL of the original BFD-RS may be quickly updated without a large number of periodic CSI-RS. In another example, a semi-persistent CSI-RS or aperiodic CSI-RS may act as a BFD-RS, and if the semi-persistent CSI-RS or aperiodic CSI-RS are explicitly configured as BFD-RS, their QCL may be quickly updated by MAC-CE or DCI. ) or
prior to receiving the activation message, determining at least one of: the beam failure associated with the at least one of the first set of BFD-RS or the first serving cell based only on measuring one or more BFD-RSs of the first set of BFD-RSs, or the beam failure associated with the at least one of the second set of BFD-RS or the second serving cell based only on measuring one or more BFD-RSs of the second set of BFD-RSs.
in order to reduce latency by increasing opportunities in reconfiguring reference signals ([0004])
Jia and Zhou are analogous art in the same field of endeavor of wireless communication. It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person with ordinary skill in the art to modify the method in Jia with the technique of using AP/SP CSI-RS for BFD in order to reduce latency.
Regarding claim 11. Jia and Liu and Zhou teach The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to:
receive a reactivation message associated with the one of the AP-CSI-RS resources or the SP-CSI-RS resources, wherein the reactivation message indicates updated transmission configuration indicator (TCI) states associated with the one of the AP-CSI-RS resources or the SP-CSI-RS resources; ([0023] the QCL of the original BFD-RS may be quickly updated without a large number of periodic CSI-RS. In another example, a semi-persistent CSI-RS or aperiodic CSI-RS may act as a BFD-RS, and if the semi-persistent CSI-RS or aperiodic CSI-RS are explicitly configured as BFD-RS, their QCL may be quickly updated by MAC-CE or DCI. ) and
determine, based at least in part on the updated TCI states, the at least one of: the beam failure associated with the at least one of the first set of BFD-RSs or the first serving cell, or the beam failure associated with the at least one of the second set of BFD-RSs or the second serving cell. ([0185] At 1715, the UE may monitor the spatial relation reference signal for path loss estimation based on a determination that the path loss reference signal is not configured. The operations of 1715 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1715 may be performed by a monitoring component as described with reference to FIGS. 7 through 10.)
in order to reduce latency by increasing opportunities in reconfiguring reference signals ([0004])
Jia and Zhou are analogous art in the same field of endeavor of wireless communication. It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person with ordinary skill in the art to modify the method in Jia with the technique of using AP/SP CSI-RS for BFD in order to reduce latency.
Regarding claim 18. Jia, Liu and Zhou teach The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the one of the AP-CSI-RS resources or the SP-CSI-RS resources is activated during a configured time period. ([0023] As described herein, a particular MAC-CE or DCI format that is associated with updating reference signal configuration may be used to update the BFD-RS to avoid reconfiguration latency and reduce signaling overhead in the system. For example, the QCL of periodic CSI-RS may be dynamically updated by the MAC-CE or DCI, at least when the periodic CSI-RS is for BFD-RS. Thus, the QCL of the original BFD-RS may be quickly updated without a large number of periodic CSI-RS. In another example, a semi-persistent CSI-RS or aperiodic CSI-RS may act as a BFD-RS, and if the semi-persistent CSI-RS or aperiodic CSI-RS are explicitly configured as BFD-RS, their QCL may be quickly updated by MAC-CE or DCI.)
in order to reduce latency by increasing opportunities in reconfiguring reference signals ([0004])
Jia and Zhou are analogous art in the same field of endeavor of wireless communication. It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person with ordinary skill in the art to modify the method in Jia with the technique of using AP/SP CSI-RS for BFD in order to reduce latency.
Regarding claim 21. Jia and Liu teach The apparatus of claim 20, but it does not teach wherein the configuration indicating the updated second serving cell identifier is received via one of a medium access control (MAC) control element (MAC-CE) message or a downlink control information (DCI) message.
However, Zhou teaches wherein the configuration indicating the updated second serving cell identifier is received via one of a medium access control (MAC) control element (MAC-CE) message or a downlink control information (DCI) message. ([0005] a particular MAC-CE or DCI format for updating reference signal configurations may be used to quickly update a configuration of a reference signal,)
in order to reduce latency by increasing opportunities in reconfiguring reference signals ([0004])
Jia and Zhou are analogous art in the same field of endeavor of wireless communication. It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person with ordinary skill in the art to modify the method in Jia with the technique of using AP/SP CSI-RS for BFD in order to reduce latency.
Regarding claim 25. Jia and Liu teach The apparatus of claim 22, but it does not teach wherein at least one of the first set of BFD-RSs or the second set of BFD-RSs is associated with one of aperiodic channel state information reference signal (AP-CSI-RS) resources or semipersistent channel state information reference signal (SP-CSI-RS) resources.
However, Zhou teaches
wherein at least one of the first set of BFD-RSs or the second set of BFD-RSs is associated with one of aperiodic channel state information reference signal (AP-CSI-RS) resources or semipersistent channel state information reference signal (SP-CSI-RS) resources. ([0023] In another example, a semi-persistent CSI-RS or aperiodic CSI-RS may act as a BFD-RS, and if the semi-persistent CSI-RS or aperiodic CSI-RS are explicitly configured as BFD-RS, their QCL may be quickly updated by MAC-CE or DCI.) in order to reduce latency by increasing opportunities in reconfiguring reference signals ([0004])
Jia and Zhou are analogous art in the same field of endeavor of wireless communication. It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person with ordinary skill in the art to modify the method in Jia with the technique of using AP/SP CSI-RS for BFD in order to reduce latency.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5-8, 12-17, 24, 26 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ZHAOHUI YANG whose telephone number is (571)270-7527. The examiner can normally be reached 9 AM to 5 PM M-F.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Marcus Smith can be reached at 571 270-1096. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/ZHAOHUI YANG/Examiner, Art Unit 2468
/MARCUS SMITH/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2468
Prosecution Insights