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 .
Priority
The instant application PCT/EP2021/087531, International Filing Date: 12/23/2021.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted, IDS - 06/21/2024. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Response to Amendment
The amendment filed 06/22/2026 has been entered. Claims 43-63 remain pending in the application. Claims 43-45, 50-54, 56-61 and 63 were amended.
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
he 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:
• Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
• Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
• Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
• 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 43-48, 51, 52, 54-59 and 61-63 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Thomas (US-20200092685-A1) hereinafter “Thomas” in view of Dholer et al. (US-20110019608-A1) hereinafter “Dholer”.
Regarding Claim 43,
‘A method at a first communication device for sharing resources with a second communication device, the method comprising:
determining, in response to having determined that the two communication devices are electronically connected to each other, that the two communication devices are capable of sharing at least one physical resource with each other’ (The two communication device, a first and a second are actively connected assigned D2D/SL resources. Send/request to assign physical resource and completed connection [0333].
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In Fig.21 illustrates uplink resource allocation forwarded via a Group Manager [0092] and Fig. 22. SL-control channel assigned resources [0719].);
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And didn’t disclose, ‘physical hardware’,
Dohler in the relevant art discloses, one/group of terminals communicate illustrated in Fig. 3 and uses the communication interface Bluetooth/infrared and wired power line communication [0101, 0111].
Therefore, a person in the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of
the claim invention would have recognized that the disclosure of Thomas and to modify
with that of Dholer to come up with the claim invention,
Thomas motive to increase the reliability of services maximize resource utilization [0626]. Perform proximity V2V communication [0153] request the resources for the UE-to-UE and/or UE-BS based on channel conditions [0178]. Dholer complements the motive uses wire connectivity physical power line communication to improve the channel conditions [0111] that will increase the reliability.
And discloses, ‘initiating, in response to having determined that there is a need to share available resources between the communication devices, an exchange of device specific data relevant for the needed at least one physical resource sharing between the two communication devices’ (the second device configured to receive from the first device and assign channel/resource UE-to-UE [0328, 0333]; the shared channel UE-specific [0412]; uses cell-id and group-member-ID [0163].);
And didn’t disclose, ‘physical hardware’ (disclosed above and motive would be identical.)
And discloses, ‘and sharing,
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And didn’t disclose, ‘physical hardware’ (disclosed above and motive identical).
Regarding Claim 44,
Similar to Claim 43 disclosed above, ‘A method at a second communication device for sharing resources with a first communication device, the method comprising:
determining, in response to having determined that the two communication devices have been electronically connected to each other, that the two communication devices are capable of sharing at least one available physical hardware resource with each other;
exchanging, in response to having been notified that there is a need to share available resources between the communication devices, device specific data relevant for the needed resource sharing between the two communication devices, and sharing at least one physical hardware resource between the communication devices.’ (two communication devices are RRC-group-connected; provide a pre-assigned pool/resources [0719]. )
Regarding Claim 45,
Similar to Claim 43 disclosed above, ‘A first communication device for sharing resources with a second communication device, the first communication device being configured to:
determine, in response to having determined that the two communication devices are electronically connected to each other, that the two communication devices are capable of sharing at least one physical hardware resource with each other’;
‘initiate, in response to having determined that there is a need to share available resources between the communication devices, an exchange of device specific data relevant for the needed at least one physical hardware resource sharing between the two communication devices’;
‘and share, hardware resource between the communication devices.’
Regarding Claim 46,
‘The first communication device according to claim 45’ (disclosed above), Thomas disclose, ‘wherein the first communication device is acting as a master communication device, based on instructions to act as a master communication device, wherein the instructions comprise one of: instructions acquired from a communication device other than the first communication device’ ( A group-manager between UE-to-UE [0041-0042], and a BS configured/assigned to each group [0065]. The BS configured the group-manager that includes the configuration of UE-to-UE communication between the group-members in SL-interface [0068-0069].);
And Thomas discloses, ‘preconfigured instructions accessible to the first communication device, and instructions generated by the first communication device.’ (receive required configuration from the BS [0040, 0065, 0115]. )
Regarding Claim 47,
‘The first communication device according to claim 46’ (disclosed above), Thomas disclose, ‘wherein the instructions are instructing the first communication device to act as a master device based on at least one of:
at least parts of the exchanged device specific data;
hard coded data of the first communication device;
an application executed by the first communication device, and content stored in a data storage accessible to the first communication device.’ (The group-manager UE uses SL communication to assign resources to group-member UEs provided to the group-manager by the BS [0115]. Includes pre-determined configuration data/user data [0117-0118]. Configuration comprises physical-resources-assignment for the UE-to-UE communication between the group-manger and one/more member and between two/more members of the group [0158]; uses cell-identifier and group-member-identifier [0163].Configuration of the group-manager is executed [0666]; UE-specific [0412];)
Regarding Claim 48,
‘The first communication device according to claim 45’ (disclosed above), Thomas disclose, ‘comprising the further step of: the first communication device going into power saving mode, or instructing the second communication device to go into power saving mode.’ (power saving [0706]. Disclosure includes RRC-lightly connected (LTE) and RRC-inactive(NR) to improve power savings [0648-0649].)
Regarding Claim 51,
‘The first communication device according to claim 45’ (disclosed above),
Thomas disclose, ‘further configured to terminate the sharing of the at least one physical resource upon determining that said communication devices, are no longer electronically connected.’ (In Fig. 4 illustrates the connection-setup-request that includes SL-configuration and resource allocations. Group-manager informs the NW regarding the status of connectivity, and configuration for the UE regarding the status UE-UE and/or UE-BS, resource request CSI, RSRP measurement, and configuration of discontinuous reception to be used by the group-member-UEs [0274, 0815-0816]. In Fig. 13 illustrates the connection status and connection resume/reconfiguration within a group a member UE can be temporarily inactive/lightly connected [0723] and in Fig. 24. The configuration includes discontinuous reception cycle, disclosure claim 11. To optimize the resource usage [0255]. The UE configured to receive SL synchronization signals i.e. (e.g., PSS/SSS) and/or measurement RSRP/RSRQ and/or decode to connect a group [0329-0329]. The UE receive SL-resource and control message from the group UE and/or group-manager to indicate to the UE to monitor the resources [0558]. The D2D SL communication for a dynamic group communication to enable seamless connectivity [0623, 0625] and save resources [00626]. Table [0720] includes small data transmission in RRC inactive. Disclosure includes larger transmitted data in RRC-connected and change to group-connected when the transmission is completed. Also include inactivity timer/RRC-connection-release (after last packet) [0715].
And didn’t disclose, ‘physical hardware’ (disclosed above and motive identical in Claim 43 method claim of Claim 45.)
Regarding Claim 52,
‘The first communication device according to claim 45’ (disclosed above),
Thomas disclose, ‘further configured to terminate the sharing of the at least one physical hardware resource upon determining that said communication devices are no longer physically connected.’ (In Fig. 13 illustrates the connection status and connection resume/reconfiguration within a group a member UE can be temporarily inactive/lightly connected [0723] and in Fig. 24. The configuration includes discontinuous reception cycle, disclosure claim 11. To optimize the resource usage [0255]. D2D SL dynamic group communication to enable seamless connectivity [0623, 0625] and save resources [00626]. Table [0720] includes small data transmission in RRC inactive. RRC-connection-release and inactivity time [0715].
The UE configured to receive SL synchronization signals i.e. (e.g., PSS/SSS) and/or measurement RSRP/RSRQ and/or decode to connect a group [0329-0329]. The UE receive SL-resource and control message from the group UE and/or group-manager to indicate to the UE to monitor the resources [0558].)
And didn’t disclose, ‘physical hardware’ (disclosed above and motive identical in Claim 43 method claim of Claim 45.)
Regarding Claim 54,
‘The first communication device according to claim 45’ (disclosed above),
Thomas disclose, ‘being further configured to, when determining, to determine that the communication devices are capable of sharing the at least one physical resource based on at least one of:
determined availability of the at least one physical resource;
predicted availability of the at least one physical resource;
type of communication devices to share resources, the result of a capability signaling procedure between the communication devices, and the result of a compatibility signaling procedure between the communication devices.’ (determination of capability/availability-resource sharing. Receive setup request data/signaling and request of physical-resources-SL [0349]; response to request and configured to receive/decode the setup response SL [0351-0352]; assigned SL-resources and connection complete in Fig. 4. SL-capabilities and monitor SL-resources [0267]. Disclosure, the UEs comprises connection parameters includes power control/headroom, rach, TA, channel frequency, identifier, doppler shift, RSSI/RSRP /RSRQ [0747-0757]. In Fig. 18 illustrates inter BS signaling and perform group-measurement and report to the BS [0700] as part of capability to group-connectivity.
Disclosure include key mobility procedures to improve signaling efficiency redesigned for dynamic V2V to enable and enhance seamless connectivity while maintain backward and forward compatibility [0625]. Group-mobility connection parameters rach, sync, resource allocation allow more efficient resource allocation than individual-UE provided by the BS illustrated in Fig. 11 therefore, to perform predictive-group-HO [0633-0636].
Uses Mac-CE signaling for SL [0180]. The SL-resources are indicated to monitor the SL-reception-pool between UE-to-UE by a dedicated RRC-signaling [0324-0326].)
And didn’t disclose, ‘physical hardware’ (disclosed above and motive identical in Claim 43.)
Regarding Claim 55,
‘The first communication device according to claim 45’ (disclosed above), Thomas discloses, ‘configured to exchange device specific data comprising at least one of:
information on antenna placement’ (A managing UE in connected/group connected send to the UE group antenna configuration [0723].);
‘instructions appointing one of said communication devices to a master device’ (Act as a master device [0041-0042, 0372, 0379-0380]. );
‘information on CPU resources available for sharing’ ([0785].);
‘time related information on when the one or more available resources can be shared or are estimated to be sharable’ (In Fig. 21 includes timing advance in UE-to-UE resource assignment and UE-to-BS by group-manger UL-resource assignment.);
‘information on the capacity of the one or more available resources that can be shared’ (determination of capability/availability -resource sharing includes receive setup request data/signaling and request of physical-resources-SL [0349]; response to request and configured to receive/decode the setup response SL [0351-0352]. Assigned SL-resources and connection completed in Fig. 4. And, SL-capabilities and monitor SL-resources [0267]);
‘information on further information exchange that need to be executed before a sharing of resources can be initiated’ ([0195]);
‘information on parameter settings that need to be executed before a sharing of resources can be initiated, and information on at least one security related procedure that need to be executed before a sharing of resources can be initiated;’ (perform authorization as security procedures [0386, 0404, 0612] and Group-manager-UE receive configuration from the BS regarding the authorization [0661], and request the BS for the authorization [0676]. And, group-manager request the BS for the group-member UE [0221].
beam forming within the group between UE-to-UE and SL-channel [0410, 0600]. Act as a master device [0041-0042]. The capacity to share resources in the SL includes SL-bandwidth and the SL-shared channel [0189]. UE-specific [0412]; uses cell-specific and group-member-specific-information [0163]. Uses the dedicated RRC-signaling and measures a threshold for SL-RS before sharing the resource [0325-0326].)
Regarding Claim 56,
‘The first communication device according to claim 45’ (disclosed above), Thomas discloses, ‘configured to activate functionality, comprising comprises at least one of:
scheduling resource utilization of the at least one physical resource to be shared between said communication devices, and adaptation of the mode of at least one resource which is dependent on the physical resource to be shared.’ (schedule request for the resources for the SL [0468] and schedule group-resources [0599]. Uses link adaptation for SL-shared channel [0605]. Disclosure Claim 19 and 27 regarding the scheduling request. )
And didn’t disclose, ‘physical hardware’ (disclosed above and motive identical to the method claim of Claim 45 disclosed above.)
Regarding Claim 57,
Similar to Claim 44 disclosed above, ‘A second communication device for sharing resources with a first communication device, the second communication device being configured to:
determine, in response to having determined that the two communication devices have been electronically connected to each other, that the two communication devices are capable of sharing at least one available physical hardware resource with each othe’;
exchange, in response to having been notified that there is a need to share available resources between the communication devices, device specific data relevant for the needed resource sharing between the two communication devices, and share, physical hardware resource between the communication devices.’
Regarding Claim 58,
Similar to Claim 51 disclosed above, ‘The second communication device according to claim 57, further configured to terminate the sharing of the at least one physical hardware resource, upon determining that said communication devices are no longer electronically connected.’
Regarding Claim 59,
Similar to Claim 52 disclosed above, ‘The second communication device according to claim 57, further configured to terminate the sharing of the at least one physical hardware resource, upon determining that said communication devices are no longer physically connected.’
Regarding Claim 61,
Similar to Claim 54 disclosed above, ‘The second communication device according to claim 57, configured to determine that the communication devices are capable of sharing the at least one resource is based on at least one of: determined availability of the at least one physical hardware resource;
predicted availability of the at least one physical hardware resource; type of communication devices to share physical hardware resources, the result of a capability signaling procedure between the communication devices, and the result of a compatibility signaling procedure between the communication devices.’
Regarding Claim 62,
Similar to Claim 55 disclosed above, ‘The second communication device according to claim 57, configured to exchange device specific data comprising at least one of: information on antenna placement; instructions appointing one of said communication devices to a master device; information on CPU resources available for sharing;
time related information on when the one or more available resources can be shared or are estimated to be sharable; information on the capacity of the one or more available resources that can be shared; information on further information exchange that need to be executed before a sharing of resources can be initiated;
information on parameter settings that need to be executed before a sharing of resources can be initiated, and information on at least one security related procedure that need to be executed before a sharing of resources can be initiated;’
Regarding Claim 63,
Similar to Claim 56 disclosed above, ‘The second communication device according to claim 57, configured to activate functionality comprising as least one of:
scheduling resource utilization of the at least one physical hardware resource to be shared between said communication devices, and adaptation of the mode of at least one physical hardware resource which is dependent on the resource to be shared.’
Claims 49, 50, 53 and 60 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Thomas et al. in view of Dholer and further in view of Chae et al. (US-20240224234-A1) hereinafter “Chae”.
Regarding Claim 49,
‘The first communication device according to claim 45’ (disclosed above),
Thomas disclose, ‘and in response to determining from the exchanged device specific data’ (disclosed above in Claim 43),
And didn’t disclose,
‘further configured to repeat the mentioned steps in response to the first communication device interacting with a third communication device,
relevant for the needed resource sharing, that the resources available for sharing between the first communication device
and the second communication devices are insufficient for meeting with the determined need of resource sharing.’
Chae in the relevant art discloses, for outside coverage, SL resource pool/slot format configuration preconfigured for a wireless device or configured from another wireless device [0252]. The scaling for resource reservation period for the resource pool configuration preconfigured for outside coverage and the scaling value of the resource pool Table in Fig. 24 and [0243]. And, preconfigured/NW assigned resource pool shared in SL-operation among wireless devices in SL-shared-channel [0226, 0229-0231].
Therefore, a person in the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of
the claim invention would have recognized that the disclosure of Thomas and Dholer further to include with that of Chae to come up with the claim invention,
Thomas motive to provide SL-bandwidth and high bandwidth transmission [0189, 0208]. And, uses SL-resource pool configuration [0388, 0588]. And, Chae includes SL-resource pool configuration and scaling per resource pool/BWP/carrier per UE. That increase the resource availability and reliability.
Regarding Claim 50,
‘The first communication device according to claim 45’ (disclosed above),
Chae disclose, ‘further being configured to activate functionality of at least one of the communication devices which is required for sharing the at least one physical resource between the communication devices.’ (Mac-CE activation [0081] and the Mac-CE for the SL-resource pool configuration and the wireless device transmits a TB via the selected one or more resources [0252]. Motive would be identical disclosed above in Claim 49. In addition, Chae motive to adaptively adjust resource reservation period to adapt the resource-pool or slot format and TDD configuration when there are changes to address excessive delay [0250].
And didn’t disclose, ‘physical hardware’ (disclosed above and motive identical in Claim 43 method claim of Claim 45.)
Regarding Claim 53,
‘The first communication device according to claim 45’ (disclosed above),
Thomas didn’t disclose, ‘further configured to repeat the mentioned executions, in response to determining that an attempt to share the at least one physical resource between at least the first communication device and the second communication device has failed.’
Chae in the relevant art discloses, resource pool configuration and reservation time duration more than one. Uses scaling [0311]. The wireless determine a number SL-resources; determination of the second reservation period when some UL-resources not configured for the SL-resources [0239-0240]; SL-control channel converted to a second reservation period uses scaling factor [0252]. Attempt to sharing resource is determined based on the threshold within the reservation period and switch from a first to a second reservation period [0264].
And, motive would be identical to Claim 49 and 50 disclosed as part of SL-resource pool configuration. Thomas discloses the threshold to identify the size of packets required can switch group-connected to RRC-connected when require to transmit larger packet for efficient link adaptation [0422-0424].
And didn’t disclose, ‘physical hardware’ (disclosed above and motive identical in Claim 43 method claim of Claim 45.)
Regarding Claim 60,
Similar to Claim 53 disclosed above, ‘The second communication device according to claim 57, configured to repeat the mentioned executions, in response to determining that an attempt to share the at least one hardware resource between at least the first communication device and the second communication device has failed.’
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 06/22/2026 have been fully considered but they are
not persuasive.
Arguments and Examiners response:
With respect to applicant’s arguments/remarks, examiner provided relevant disclosures specific to the applicant’s arguments/remarks,
Regarding the applicant’s argument page-9, “Independent claim 43 recites, inter alia, "determining, in response to having determined that the two communication devices are electronically connected to each other, that the two communication devices are capable of sharing at least one physical hardware resource with each other" and "sharing the at least one physical hardware resource between the communication devices.” Thomas discloses, two devices are electronically connected by the physical channel resources in D2D/SL communication illustrated in Fig. 4, a group member connected to group-manger that is the D2D/SL communication. And group of UE connected illustrated in Fig. 22, SL-control channel assigned resources [0719]. Regarding the physically h/w, disclosure Dholer connectivity between the terminals such as wireless, Bluetooth, infrared and also power line communication [0101, 0111, 0173] and in Fig. 3.
Regarding the applicant argument page-10, “The distinction is further highlighted by dependent claims 55 and 62, which recite that the "device specific data" exchanged between devices comprises "information on antenna placement" and "information on CPU resources available for sharing...” examiner respectfully request the disclosure provided in Claim 55 and 62 to this OA in page-13 and page-16 above.
Regarding the applicant argument page-11, “upon determining that said communication devices are no longer electronically connected" (claim 51) or "no longer physically connected" (claim 52)”,
Disclosure Thomas provided to page-9 to page-11. Disclosure, group-manager informs the NW regarding the status of connectivity, and configuration for the UE regarding the status UE-to- UE and/or UE-BS, resource request CSI, RSRP measurement, and configuration of discontinuous reception to be used by the group-member-UEs [0274, 0815-0816]. In Fig. 13 illustrates the connection status and connection resume/reconfiguration within a group a member UE can be temporarily inactive/lightly connected [0723] and in Fig. 24. The D2D SL communication dynamic group communication to enable seamless connectivity [0623, 0625] and save resources [00626]. Table [0720] includes small data transmission in RRC inactive.
Disclosure, RRC-connection-release and also include inactivity timer. For larger transmitted data in RRC-connected and after completion of transmitted data changes to RRC-group-connected [0715].
The UE configured to receive SL synchronization signals i.e. (e.g., PSS/SSS) and/or measurement RSRP/RSRQ and/or decode to connect a group [0329-0329]. The UE receive SL-resource and control message from the group UE and/or group-manager to indicate to the UE to monitor the resources [0558].
Examiner thanks applicant and attorney for their time and effort.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to
applicant's disclosure:
Lin, Xingqin, Dongsheng Yu, and Henning Wiemann. "A primer on bandwidth parts in 5G new radio." 5G and beyond: Fundamentals and Standards. Cham: Springer International Publishing, 2021. 357-370. (Year: 2021); An activation of the BWP and the connected-mode the BWP/resource used for scheduled transmission/any data available for transmission. The active BWP time used for wide bandwidth when a large amount of data is scheduled and being active and remaining time used narrow-bandwidth, page-1, Col. 2 [0005], page 3 Col. 12 [0005] and in Fig. 2. The NW configure the UE with a BWP inactivity timer to indicate whether there is any scheduled transmission. If no scheduled then switch to default-BWP, page-3, Col. 1 [0008-0011]. The resource shared BWP for connectivity includes parameters UE-specific page-3, Col. 2 [0024] and in Fig. 3.
The BWP configuration and UE-specific parameter for the shared-resource, page-4, Col. 1 [0008], page 4 Col. 1 [0023]; The NW sets the large DL/UL BWP #1 as the first active BWP, and the small BWP #2 as the default BWP, page-3. Col. 2 [0001-0002]. the UE can switch to power saving active to default-BWP when there is no scheduled data and inactivity time page. 3 Col. 1 [0013] and in Fig. 2. And, the BWP adaptation from idle to connected-mode dedicated signaling the NW configures resources BWP#1 and BWP#2 RBs used for scheduled data, page-3, Col. 1 [0030], Col. 2 [0005]. The NW configure a UE with additional BWPs #2, #3, and #4 consecutively in Fig. 3. The NW support up to four RRC-configured BWPs page-4, Col. 2 [0015-0016]. In Fig. 4. Interpretation of BWP-indicator-field in DCI-based activation. In Fig. 2 BWP adaptation from idle to connected-mode dedicated signaling the NW configures resources BWP#1 and BWP#2 RBs used for scheduled data, page-3, Col. 1 [0030], Col. 2 [0005]. )
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 extension
fee 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 date of this final action.
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/S.A./Examiner, Art Unit 2466
/CHRISTOPHER M CRUTCHFIELD/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2466
Prosecution Insights