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 .
This Office Action is in response to Applicant’s amendment filed 11/26/2025. Claims 1-5, 9-12, and 14 are currently pending in this application.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
Applicant’s amendments to claims 1-5 and 9-11 overcome the previous rejection under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph. The rejection is hereby withdrawn.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101
Applicant’s amendment to claim 12 overcomes the previous rejection under 35 U.S.C. 101. The claimed invention includes an acquiring step, a determining step, and a switching step. The acquiring and the determining steps are interpreted to be equivalent to the gathering of data, the evaluation of the data, and judgement of data, which are equivalent to an abstract idea. This judicial exception, as currently amended, is integrated into a practical application because claim 12 further recites the step of switching the control mode of a plurality of traffic lights based on the determination step determining a satisfied predetermined switching condition, wherein the control modes of the traffic lights are specifically a normal control mode or a pedestrian-and-vehicle separating type signal control mode. Therefore, the claimed control modes of a traffic light are not well-understood, routine, and conventional activities of a traffic light. The previous rejection is hereby withdrawn.
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.
Claims 1-5, 9-12, and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim (U.S. 2021/0319694 A1) in view of Astigarraga et al. (U.S. 2019/0035270 A1).
Claim 1, Kim teaches:
A signal control system (Kim, Fig. 2) comprising:
a memory having instructions stored therein (Kim, Fig. 1: 120, Paragraph [0043]); and
at least one processor coupled to the memory (Kim, Fig. 1: 110, Paragraph [0043]), wherein the instructions when executed by the at least one processor performing operations (Kim, Paragraph [0043]) that:
acquire determination data for determining whether to switch a control mode of a traffic light at an intersection including a pedestrian light and a vehicle traffic light to a pedestrian-and-vehicle separating type signal control (Kim, Paragraphs [0058-0061], [0074], and [0096], The traffic light controller 100 receives data about the pedestrian, e.g. the walking speed of at least one pedestrian, and data about the vehicle, e.g. the location of a vehicle 300 with respect to the stop line (see Kim, Paragraph [0102]), which are collectively interpreted as determination data. The traffic light controller 100 thus maintains the pedestrian traffic light 410 as green or changes to red, and/or controls the vehicle traffic light 420 based on the received data. The changing of the lights of the pedestrian traffic light 410 and the vehicle traffic light 420 by the traffic light controller 100 is functionally equivalent to a pedestrian-and-vehicle separating type signal control, because the purpose of the light control is to keep the pedestrians and the vehicles separate, i.e. to avoid a collision (see Kim, Paragraph [0079]).); and
switch the control mode of the traffic light at the intersection from a normal control mode to the pedestrian-and-vehicle separating type signal control mode for a predetermined period of time in a case where it is determined that a current situation satisfies a predetermined switching condition based on the determination data (Kim, Paragraph [0102], In the example of a vehicle stopping beyond a stop line, the waiting vehicle cannot recognize the vehicle traffic light, therefore the traffic light controller 100 maintains the pedestrian traffic light 410 for a predetermined amount of time, i.e. for the pedestrian crossing to be completed. Therefore, the current condition is the condition of the pedestrian and the location of vehicle, wherein the current condition matches a situation in which the traffic light controller 100 does not want the vehicle or driver to start the vehicle by predicting that the vehicle traffic light 420 has changed to green (see Kim, Paragraph [0101], i.e. a predetermined switching condition is satisfied.),
Kim does not specifically teach:
A plurality of traffic lights at an intersection including a plurality of pedestrian lights and a plurality of vehicle traffic lights,
switch the control mode of the plurality of traffic lights at the intersection from a normal control mode to the pedestrian-and-vehicle separating type signal control mode for a predetermined period of time,
wherein the normal control mode allows vehicles and pedestrians to move simultaneously where attention is required for conflicts between right-turning and left-turning vehicles and pedestrians,
wherein the pedestrian-and-vehicle separating type signal control mode provides a pedestrian-only phase during which all of the plurality of pedestrian traffic lights in all directions simultaneously display green while all of the plurality of vehicle traffic lights display red, allowing pedestrians to cross freely in any direction including diagonal crossing of the intersection.
Astigarraga teaches:
A plurality of traffic lights at an intersection including a plurality of pedestrian lights and a plurality of vehicle traffic lights (Astigarraga, Paragraph [0054], An example includes a roadway four-way intersection, which includes a traffic signal 104 oriented in each of the four directions of vehicle traffic, and additionally a set of signals oriented in each direction for pedestrian traffic.),
switch the control mode of the plurality of traffic lights at the intersection from a normal control mode to the pedestrian-and-vehicle separating type signal control mode for a predetermined period of time (Astigarraga, Paragraph [0111], When the presence of a pedestrian is detected near a geographic location, the processor can modify one or more traffic signals to visually cue vehicles to stop, wherein one or more traffic signals for vehicles is equivalent to a normal control mode. Alternatively, the processor can modify all signals for vehicles to be stop visual and/or audio cues, wherein all signals to stop vehicles is equivalent to a pedestrian-and-vehicle separating type signal control mode.),
wherein the normal control mode allows vehicles and pedestrians to move simultaneously where attention is required for conflicts between right-turning and left-turning vehicles and pedestrians (Astigarraga, Paragraphs [0110-0111], When one or more signals for one or more vehicles is modified to being a stop cue, not every vehicle would be signaled to stop. One of ordinary skill in the art would recognize that both vehicles and pedestrians would be allowed to move simultaneously, and attention would be required for drivers of the vehicles that are moving, which includes right and left turning vehicles.),
wherein the pedestrian-and-vehicle separating type signal control mode provides a pedestrian-only phase during which all of the plurality of pedestrian traffic lights in all directions simultaneously display green while all of the plurality of vehicle traffic lights display red, allowing pedestrians to cross freely in any direction including diagonal crossing of the intersection (Astigarraga, Paragraphs [0096] and [0110-0111], When all of the signals for one or more vehicles is modified to being a stop cue, every vehicle would be signaled to stop. One of ordinary skill in the art would recognize that because only pedestrians are allowed to move, it is within the scope of Astigarraga for the pedestrians to choose to cross in any direction, and the vehicle signals would not change until no pedestrian is sensed at the given location.).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time of filing, to modify the system in Kim by integrating the teaching of a smart traffic signal system, as taught by Astigarraga.
The motivation would be to further improve the safety of vehicles by actively preventing and/or reducing the number of accidents encountered by vehicles (see Astigarraga, Paragraph [0114]).
Claim 2, Kim in view of Astigarraga further teaches:
The signal control system according to claim 1,
wherein the determination data is data indicating a position of a self-driving vehicle or a passenger-carrying vehicle (Kim, Paragraphs [0100-0104], The vehicle is a vehicle operated by a driver or an autonomous vehicle.), and
wherein the instructions when executed by the at least one processor further comprise operations that:
switch the control mode of the plurality of traffic lights at the intersection to the pedestrian-and-vehicle separating type signal control mode for a predetermined period of time in a case where the self-driving vehicle or the passenger- carrying vehicle approaches the intersection (Kim, Paragraphs [0100-0104], When the vehicle stops beyond the stop line, the vehicle approaches the intersection. In the combination of Kim in view of Astigarraga, a plurality of traffic lights would be controlled (see Astigarraga, Paragraph [0054]).).
Claim 3, Kim in view of Astigarraga further teaches:
The signal control system according to claim 2, wherein
the determination data is either a position notification from the self-driving vehicle or the passenger-carrying vehicle, or data transmitted from a sensor that detects entry of the self-driving vehicle or the passenger-carrying vehicle (Kim, Paragraph [0104], The traffic light controller 100 checks whether the vehicle 300 has crossed a stop line. The ability for the traffic light controller 100 to check the positioning of the vehicle 300, i.e. whether the vehicle 300 has crossed the stop line, is functionally equivalent to sensing the entry of the vehicle past the stop line.).
Claim 4, Kim in view of Astigarraga further teaches:
The signal control system according to claim 1,
wherein the determination data is an image of an area within a predetermined distance from the intersection (Kim, Paragraph [0064], The traffic light controller 100 photographs a surrounding area of the crosswalk, which is an area within a predetermined distance from the intersection.), and
wherein the instructions when executed by the at least one processor further comprise operations that:
switch the control mode of the plurality of traffic lights at the intersection to the pedestrian-and-vehicle separating type signal control mode for a predetermined period of time based on the number or attributes of pedestrians appearing in the image (Kim, Paragraph [0065-0067], The traffic light controller 100 controls the timing of the pedestrian traffic light 410 based on the number of pedestrians present and the walking speeds of the pedestrians. In the combination of Kim in view of Astigarraga, a plurality of traffic lights would be controlled (see Astigarraga, Paragraph [0054]).).
Claim 5, Kim in view of Astigarraga further teaches:
The signal control system according to claim 1, wherein the instructions when executed by the at least one processor further comprise operations that:
acquire an operation schedule of the passenger-carrying vehicle at a station or a stop within a predetermined distance from the intersection (Kim, Paragraphs [0100-0104], When the vehicle stops at a given stop line, the sensing of the presence/location of the vehicle is equivalent to an operation schedule, because it is indicative of the intended direction of travel of the vehicle, i.e. through the intersection.), and
switch the control mode of the plurality of traffic lights at the intersection to the pedestrian-and-vehicle separating type signal control mode for a predetermined period of time based on time information acquired as the determination data and the operation schedule information of the passenger-carrying vehicle (Kim, Paragraphs [0100-0104], When the vehicle stops beyond the stop line at a given time, the vehicle approaches the intersection and the pedestrian traffic light 410 and vehicle traffic light 420 are controlled accordingly. In the combination of Kim in view of Astigarraga, a plurality of traffic lights would be controlled (see Astigarraga, Paragraph [0054]).).
Claim 9, Kim in view of Astigarraga further teaches:
The signal control system according to claim 1, wherein the at least one processor further performs operation to:
notify, to a vehicle within a predetermined distance from the intersection, the control mode being executed in the plurality of traffic lights at the intersection (Kim, Paragraph [0103], When the vehicle 300 supports vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) function, the traffic light controller 100 notifies the vehicle 300 that the vehicle traffic light 420 is maintained as the “red light”. In the combination of Kim in view of Astigarraga, a plurality of traffic lights would be controlled (see Astigarraga, Paragraph [0054]).).
Claim 10, Kim in view of Astigarraga further teaches:
The signal control system according to claim 9, wherein the instructions when executed by the at least one processor further comprise operations that:
notify, to the vehicle, a counter or a figure indicating a waiting time until the next phase in the currently executed control mode (Kim, Paragraph [0073], The traffic light controller 100 transmits information about a change in the lighting maintenance time of the green light, information about the remaining lighting time, and the like to the vehicle 300.).
Claim 11, Kim in view of Astigarraga further teaches:
The signal control system according to claim 1, wherein the instructions when executed by the at least one processor further comprise operations that:
after switching the control mode from a signal control mode other than the pedestrian-and-vehicle separating type signal control to the pedestrian-and-vehicle separating type signal control mode, extend an all-red-light period of the plurality of vehicle traffic lights in one cycle for a predetermined time (Kim, Paragraphs [0100-0104], When the traffic light controller 100 operates the red light to the vehicle traffic light 420 and a green light to the pedestrian traffic light 410, the traffic light controller 100 effectively switches from a signal control other than the pedestrian-and-vehicle separating type signal to the pedestrian-and-vehicle separating type signal control. During this control, the red light of the vehicle traffic light 420 are extended and represent an “all-red-light” period for the vehicles over a period of time in order to allow for the pedestrians to complete the crossing. Additionally, all stop-light, i.e. red-light, may be extended if the presence of pedestrians are still detected (see Astigarraga, Paragraph [0096]).).
Claim 12, Kim teaches:
A signal control method (Kim, Fig. 2) performed by a signal control system having a memory (Kim, Fig. 1: 120, Paragraph [0043]) and at least one processor coupled to the memory (Kim, Fig. 1: 110, Paragraph [0043]), the method comprising:
acquiring, by the at least one processor, determination data for determining whether to switch a control mode of a traffic light at an intersection including a pedestrian light and a vehicle traffic light to a pedestrian-and-vehicle separating type signal control (Kim, Paragraphs [0058-0061], [0074], and [0096], The traffic light controller 100 receives data about the pedestrian, e.g. the walking speed of at least one pedestrian, and data about the vehicle, e.g. the location of a vehicle 300 with respect to the stop line (see Kim, Paragraph [0102]), which are collectively interpreted as determination data. The traffic light controller 100 thus maintains the pedestrian traffic light 410 as green or changes to red, and/or controls the vehicle traffic light 420 based on the received data. The changing of the lights of the pedestrian traffic light 410 and the vehicle traffic light 420 by the traffic light controller 100 is functionally equivalent to a pedestrian-and-vehicle separating type signal control, because the purpose of the light control is to keep the pedestrians and the vehicles separate, i.e. to avoid a collision (see Kim, Paragraph [0079]).);
determining, by the at least one processor, whether a current situation satisfies a predetermined switching condition based on the determination data (Kim, Paragraph [0102], In the example of a vehicle stopping beyond a stop line, the waiting vehicle cannot recognize the vehicle traffic light, therefore the traffic light controller 100 maintains the pedestrian traffic light 410 for a predetermined amount of time, i.e. for the pedestrian crossing to be completed. Therefore, the current condition is the condition of the pedestrian and the location of vehicle, wherein the current condition matches a situation in which the traffic light controller 100 does not want the vehicle or driver to start the vehicle by predicting that the vehicle traffic light 420 has changed to green (see Kim, Paragraph [0101], i.e. a predetermined switching condition is satisfied.); and
switching, by the at least one processor, the control mode of the traffic light at the intersection from a normal control mode to the pedestrian- and-vehicle separating type signal control mode for a predetermined period of time in a case where it is determined that the determination data satisfies the predetermined switching condition (Kim, Paragraph [0102], In the example of a vehicle stopping beyond a stop line, the waiting vehicle cannot recognize the vehicle traffic light, therefore the traffic light controller 100 maintains the pedestrian traffic light 410 for a predetermined amount of time, i.e. for the pedestrian crossing to be completed. Therefore, the current condition is the condition of the pedestrian and the location of vehicle, wherein the current condition matches a situation in which the traffic light controller 100 does not want the vehicle or driver to start the vehicle by predicting that the vehicle traffic light 420 has changed to green (see Kim, Paragraph [0101], i.e. a predetermined switching condition is satisfied.).
Kim does not specifically teach:
A plurality of traffic lights at an intersection including a plurality of pedestrian lights and a plurality of vehicle traffic lights,
switching, by the at least one processor, the control mode of the plurality of traffic lights at the intersection from a normal control mode to the pedestrian- and-vehicle separating type signal control mode,
wherein the normal control mode allows vehicles and pedestrians to move simultaneously where attention is required for conflicts between right-turning and left-turning vehicles and pedestrians, and
wherein the pedestrian-and-vehicle separating type signal control mode provides a pedestrian-only phase during which all of the plurality of pedestrian traffic lights in all directions simultaneously display green while all of the plurality of vehicle traffic lights display red, allowing pedestrians to cross freely in any direction including diagonal crossing of the intersection.
Astigarraga teaches:
A plurality of traffic lights at an intersection including a plurality of pedestrian lights and a plurality of vehicle traffic lights (Astigarraga, Paragraph [0054], An example includes a roadway four-way intersection, which includes a traffic signal 104 oriented in each of the four directions of vehicle traffic, and additionally a set of signals oriented in each direction for pedestrian traffic.),
switching the control mode of the plurality of traffic lights at the intersection from a normal control mode to the pedestrian- and-vehicle separating type signal control mode (Astigarraga, Paragraph [0111], When the presence of a pedestrian is detected near a geographic location, the processor can modify one or more traffic signals to visually cue vehicles to stop, wherein one or more traffic signals for vehicles is equivalent to a normal control mode. Alternatively, the processor can modify all signals for vehicles to be stop visual and/or audio cues, wherein all signals to stop vehicles is equivalent to a pedestrian-and-vehicle separating type signal control mode.),
wherein the normal control mode allows vehicles and pedestrians to move simultaneously where attention is required for conflicts between right-turning and left-turning vehicles and pedestrians (Astigarraga, Paragraphs [0110-0111], When one or more signals for one or more vehicles is modified to being a stop cue, not every vehicle would be signaled to stop. One of ordinary skill in the art would recognize that both vehicles and pedestrians would be allowed to move simultaneously, and attention would be required for drivers of the vehicles that are moving, which includes right and left turning vehicles.),
wherein the pedestrian-and-vehicle separating type signal control mode provides a pedestrian-only phase during which all of the plurality of pedestrian traffic lights in all directions simultaneously display green while all of the plurality of vehicle traffic lights display red, allowing pedestrians to cross freely in any direction including diagonal crossing of the intersection (Astigarraga, Paragraphs [0096] and [0110-0111], When all of the signals for one or more vehicles is modified to being a stop cue, every vehicle would be signaled to stop. One of ordinary skill in the art would recognize that because only pedestrians are allowed to move, it is within the scope of Astigarraga for the pedestrians to choose to cross in any direction, and the vehicle signals would not change until no pedestrian is sensed at the given location.).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time of filing, to modify the system in Kim by integrating the teaching of a smart traffic signal system, as taught by Astigarraga.
The motivation would be to further improve the safety of vehicles by actively preventing and/or reducing the number of accidents encountered by vehicles (see Astigarraga, Paragraph [0114]).
Claim 14, Kim teaches:
A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium storing a program for causing a computer to execute a process (Kim, Fig. 1: 120, Paragraph [0043]) comprising:
acquiring determination data for determining whether to switch a control mode of a traffic light at an intersection including a pedestrian light and a vehicle traffic light to a pedestrian-and-vehicle separating type signal control (Kim, Paragraphs [0058-0061], [0074], and [0096], The traffic light controller 100 receives data about the pedestrian, e.g. the walking speed of at least one pedestrian, and data about the vehicle, e.g. the location of a vehicle 300 with respect to the stop line (see Kim, Paragraph [0102]), which are collectively interpreted as determination data. The traffic light controller 100 thus maintains the pedestrian traffic light 410 as green or changes to red, and/or controls the vehicle traffic light 420 based on the received data. The changing of the lights of the pedestrian traffic light 410 and the vehicle traffic light 420 by the traffic light controller 100 is functionally equivalent to a pedestrian-and-vehicle separating type signal control, because the purpose of the light control is to keep the pedestrians and the vehicles separate, i.e. to avoid a collision (see Kim, Paragraph [0079]).);
determining whether a current situation satisfies a predetermined switching condition based on the determination data (Kim, Paragraph [0102], In the example of a vehicle stopping beyond a stop line, the waiting vehicle cannot recognize the vehicle traffic light, therefore the traffic light controller 100 maintains the pedestrian traffic light 410 for a predetermined amount of time, i.e. for the pedestrian crossing to be completed. Therefore, the current condition is the condition of the pedestrian and the location of vehicle, wherein the current condition matches a situation in which the traffic light controller 100 does not want the vehicle or driver to start the vehicle by predicting that the vehicle traffic light 420 has changed to green (see Kim, Paragraph [0101], i.e. a predetermined switching condition is satisfied.); and
switching the control mode of the traffic light at the intersection from a normal control mode to the pedestrian- and-vehicle separating type signal control mode for a predetermined period of time in a case where it is determined that the determination data satisfies the predetermined switching condition (Kim, Paragraph [0102], In the example of a vehicle stopping beyond a stop line, the waiting vehicle cannot recognize the vehicle traffic light, therefore the traffic light controller 100 maintains the pedestrian traffic light 410 for a predetermined amount of time, i.e. for the pedestrian crossing to be completed. Therefore, the current condition is the condition of the pedestrian and the location of vehicle, wherein the current condition matches a situation in which the traffic light controller 100 does not want the vehicle or driver to start the vehicle by predicting that the vehicle traffic light 420 has changed to green (see Kim, Paragraph [0101], i.e. a predetermined switching condition is satisfied.).
Kim does not specifically teach:
A plurality of traffic lights at an intersection including a plurality of pedestrian lights and a plurality of vehicle traffic lights,
switching the control mode of the plurality of traffic lights at the intersection from a normal control mode to the pedestrian- and-vehicle separating type signal control mode,
wherein the normal control mode allows vehicles and pedestrians to move simultaneously where attention is required for conflicts between right-turning and left-turning vehicles and pedestrians, and
wherein the pedestrian-and-vehicle separating type signal control mode provides a pedestrian-only phase during which all of the plurality of pedestrian traffic lights in all directions simultaneously display green while all of the plurality of vehicle traffic lights display red, allowing pedestrians to cross freely in any direction including diagonal crossing of the intersection.
Astigarraga teaches:
A plurality of traffic lights at an intersection including a plurality of pedestrian lights and a plurality of vehicle traffic lights (Astigarraga, Paragraph [0054], An example includes a roadway four-way intersection, which includes a traffic signal 104 oriented in each of the four directions of vehicle traffic, and additionally a set of signals oriented in each direction for pedestrian traffic.),
switching the control mode of the plurality of traffic lights at the intersection from a normal control mode to the pedestrian- and-vehicle separating type signal control mode (Astigarraga, Paragraph [0111], When the presence of a pedestrian is detected near a geographic location, the processor can modify one or more traffic signals to visually cue vehicles to stop, wherein one or more traffic signals for vehicles is equivalent to a normal control mode. Alternatively, the processor can modify all signals for vehicles to be stop visual and/or audio cues, wherein all signals to stop vehicles is equivalent to a pedestrian-and-vehicle separating type signal control mode.),
wherein the normal control mode allows vehicles and pedestrians to move simultaneously where attention is required for conflicts between right-turning and left-turning vehicles and pedestrians (Astigarraga, Paragraphs [0110-0111], When one or more signals for one or more vehicles is modified to being a stop cue, not every vehicle would be signaled to stop. One of ordinary skill in the art would recognize that both vehicles and pedestrians would be allowed to move simultaneously, and attention would be required for drivers of the vehicles that are moving, which includes right and left turning vehicles.),
wherein the pedestrian-and-vehicle separating type signal control mode provides a pedestrian-only phase during which all of the plurality of pedestrian traffic lights in all directions simultaneously display green while all of the plurality of vehicle traffic lights display red, allowing pedestrians to cross freely in any direction including diagonal crossing of the intersection (Astigarraga, Paragraphs [0096] and [0110-0111], When all of the signals for one or more vehicles is modified to being a stop cue, every vehicle would be signaled to stop. One of ordinary skill in the art would recognize that because only pedestrians are allowed to move, it is within the scope of Astigarraga for the pedestrians to choose to cross in any direction, and the vehicle signals would not change until no pedestrian is sensed at the given location.).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time of filing, to modify the system in Kim by integrating the teaching of a smart traffic signal system, as taught by Astigarraga.
The motivation would be to further improve the safety of vehicles by actively preventing and/or reducing the number of accidents encountered by vehicles (see Astigarraga, Paragraph [0114]).
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 11/26/2025 have been fully considered but they are moot in view of the new grounds of rejection, necessitated by the Applicant’s amendment.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JAMES J YANG whose telephone number is (571)270-5170. The examiner can normally be reached 9:30am-6:00p M-F.
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/JAMES J YANG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2686