DETAILED ACTION
Final
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 .
Response to Amendment
The amendment filed on 04/07/2026 is entered and acknowledged by the Examiner. Claims 19-21, 27, and 32-33 have been amended. Claims 1-18 and 26 have been canceled. Claims 34-38 were previously allowed. Claims 19-25 and 27-33 are currently pending in the instant application.
The nonstatutory double patenting rejection of claims 19-25 and 27-32 over US’420 (US 12,046,420 B2) is maintained.
The nonstatutory double patenting rejection of claims 19-25, 27-30, 33, 34, and 36-38 over US’099 (US 11,515,099 B2) is maintained.
The rejection of claims 19-25 and 27 under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by an article to Jouikov is withdrawn in view of Applicant’s amendment.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed on 04/07/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
At page 6 of the remark, Applicant stated that a Terminal Disclaimer over parent patents 11,515,099 and 12,046,420 were filed. However, no Terminal Disclaimer has been entered into the system. Therefore, the nonstatutory double patenting rejection over parent patents 11,515,099 and 12,046,420 are maintained for the reasons of record.
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 KHANH TUAN NGUYEN whose telephone number is (571)272-8082. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM EST.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Angela Brown-Pettigrew can be reached at (571) 272-2817. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/KHANH T NGUYEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1761
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