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 § 102
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 the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1, 4-5, and 9-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Talebi Fard et al. (US 2021/0410059 A1)(hereinafter “Fard’).
Regarding claim 1, Fard discloses one or more non-transitory, computer-readable media having instructions that, when executed, cause processing circuitry to (Fig. 14, [¶0322]: the memory 1412 may comprise one or more computer-readable media, for example, one or more non-transitory computer readable media. The memory 1412 may include instructions 1413. The processing system 1411 may process and/or execute the instructions 1413. Processing and/or execution of the instructions 1413 may cause the processing system 1411 to perform one or more functions or activities.):
determine that a universal subscriber identity module (USIM) of a user equipment (UE) indicates that the UE is configured for priority access ([¶0340]: when a UE with MPS subscription is used, the UE may be a device (e.g., IoT device) having a Universal Subscriber Identity Module (USIM) that is preconfigured with MPS settings. The MPS settings may comprise pre-configuration of the UE to access the network using a specific access identity (e.g., access identity 1).); and
generate a notify payload that indicates prioritization of the UE for transmission ([¶0340]: the MPS settings may allow the UE to perform RRC procedures, such as an RRC connection establishment, RRC connection setup request, RRC resume request, and/or the like with an RRC establishment cause of mps-priorityAccess.).
Regarding claim 4, Fard discloses all features of claim 1 as outlined above.
Fard also discloses wherein the USIM indicates that the UE is configured for priority access based at least in part on multimedia priority service (MPS) subscription information stored in the USIM ([¶0340]: when a UE with MPS subscription is used, the UE may be a device (e.g., IoT device) having a Universal Subscriber Identity Module (USIM) that is preconfigured with MPS settings.).
Regarding claim 5, Fard discloses all features of claim 4 as outlined above.
Fard also discloses wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the processing circuitry to: generate an indication of an establishment cause based on the MPS subscription information for transmission ([¶0340]: when a UE is configured with access identity 1 or when an RRC establishment cause of mps-priorityAccess is used during an initial access request (e.g., an RRC request), the network (e.g., RAN or base station) may treat the access request with high priority.).
Regarding claim 9, Fard discloses a method comprising:
identify a notify payload received from a user equipment (UE), the notify payload indicating prioritization of the UE ([¶0340]: The MPS settings may allow the UE to perform RRC procedures, such as an RRC connection establishment, RRC connection setup request, RRC resume request, and/or the like with an RRC establishment cause of mps-priorityAccess. When a UE is configured with access identity 1 or when an RRC establishment cause of mps-priorityAccess is used during an initial access request (e.g., an RRC request), the network (e.g., RAN or base station) may treat the access request with high priority.); and
handle the UE with priority based at least in part on the prioritization ([¶0340]: when a UE is configured with access identity 1 or when an RRC establishment cause of mps-priorityAccess is used during an initial access request (e.g., an RRC request), the network (e.g., RAN or base station) may treat the access request with high priority. The network may admit or accept an RRC request from a UE with an RRC establishment cause mps-priorityAccess when the network is overloaded or congested. When the network is overloaded or congested, the AMF may send an overload start message to a RAN node. The RAN node may determine to reject access requests or RRC requests from UEs until the RAN node receives an overload stop message indicating the overload or congestion is alleviated. When an overload start message is received by the RAN node, the RAN node may reject RRC requests except those associated with emergency services, MPS (e.g., RRC establishment cause mps-priorityAccess), and/or the like. When the UE performs a registration procedure, the RAN node may notify the AMF that the UE has used RRC establishment cause mps-priorityAccess.).
Regarding claim 10, Fard discloses all features of claim 9 as outlined above.
Fard also discloses wherein the UE is handled with priority after the UE is authenticated ([¶0359]: in an example, a UE in CM IDLE state may initiate a service request procedure in order to send uplink signalling messages, user data, to request MPS priority treatment, to request emergency services fallback, or as a response to a network paging request. After receiving the service request message, the AMF may perform authentication. After the establishment of the signalling connection to an AMF, the UE or network may send signalling messages, e.g., PDU session establishment from the UE to a SMF, via the AMF. The service request procedure may be employed by a UE in CM-CONNECTED to request invocation or activation of MPS priority treatment for one or more PDU sessions of the UE.).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 2-3, 7-8, and 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Fard in view of Youn et al. (WO 2024/147623 A1)(hereinafter “Youn”)(claims priority to US. Provisional Application No. 63/457,148 which also discloses the subject matter relied upon.).
Regarding claim 2, Fard discloses all features of claim 1 as outlined above.
Fard does not disclose wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the processing circuitry to: generate an internet key exchange authentication (IKE_AUTH) request for transmission, wherein the IKE_AUTH request includes the notify payload. However, Youn discloses wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the processing circuitry to: generate an internet key exchange authentication (IKE_AUTH) request for transmission, wherein the IKE_AUTH request includes the notify payload ([¶546] and pg. 41 of English translation: for WLAN access, if the UE has an MPS subscription, the UE may include an advertisement payload in the IKE_AUTH request indicating the MPS subscription.).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include the prioritization payload, as taught by Fard, within an internet key exchange authentication (IKE_AUTH) request, as taught by Youn. Doing so provides for improved security for the transmission of the prioritization information within the communication system.
Regarding claim 3, Fard in view of Youn discloses all features of claim 2 as outlined above.
Fard does not disclose wherein the IKE_AUTH request is to be transmitted to an untrusted wireless local area network (WLAN) access point, and wherein the notify payload is included in the IKE_AUTH request based at least in part on transmission of the IKE_AUTH request to the untrusted WLAN access point. However, Youn discloses wherein the IKE_AUTH request is to be transmitted to an untrusted wireless local area network (WLAN) access point, and wherein the notify payload is included in the IKE_AUTH request based at least in part on transmission of the IKE_AUTH request to the untrusted WLAN access point ([¶543] and pg. 40 of English translation : the UE can connect to an untrusted non-3GPP access network and be assigned an IP address through an appropriate authentication procedure. For example, an authentication method other than 3GPP may be used. EAP with no authentication (for free WLAN), pre-shared key, username/password, etc.). [¶543]: the UE can initiate an IKE_AUTH exchange by sending an IKE_AUTH request message. …For WLAN access, if the UE has an MPS subscription, the UE may include an advertisement payload in the IKE_AUTH request indicating the MPS subscription.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to transmit the prioritization payload, as taught by Fard, within an internet key exchange authentication (IKE_AUTH) request to an untrusted WLAN access point, as taught by Youn. Doing so provides for improved security for the transmission of the prioritization information within an untrusted WLAN environment.
Regarding claim 7, Fard discloses all features of claim 1 as outlined above.
Fard does not disclose wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the processing circuitry to: generate a network access identifier (NAI) for transmission, wherein the NAI includes an indication of prioritization of the UE. However, Youn discloses wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the processing circuitry to: generate a network access identifier (NAI) for transmission, wherein the NAI includes an indication of prioritization of the UE ([¶0589] and page 44 of English translation: for WLAN access, if the UE has an MPS subscription, the UE may also need to include an MPS subscription indication in the username part of the NAI.).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include the prioritization payload, as taught by Fard, within an NAI, as taught by Youn. Doing so provides for the transmission of prioritization information within the communication system in compliance with existing IEEE standards (See Youn [¶0589]).
Regarding claim 8, Fard in view of Youn discloses all features of claim 7 as outlined above.
Fard does not disclose wherein the indication of prioritization of the UE is included in a username part of the NAI. However, Youn discloses wherein the indication of prioritization of the UE is included in a username part of the NAI (([¶0589] and page 44 of English translation: for WLAN access, if the UE has an MPS subscription, the UE may also need to include an MPS subscription indication in the username part of the NAI.)).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include the prioritization payload, as taught by Fard, within a username part of an NAI, as taught by Youn. Doing so provides for the transmission of prioritization information within the communication system in compliance with existing IEEE standards (See Youn [¶0589]).
Regarding claim 11, Fard discloses all features of claim 9 as outlined above.
Fard does not disclose wherein the notify payload is received in an internet key exchange authentication (IKE_AUTH) request. However, Youn discloses wherein the notify payload is received in an internet key exchange authentication (IKE_AUTH) request ([¶546] and pg. 41 of English translation: for WLAN access, if the UE has an MPS subscription, the UE may include an advertisement payload in the IKE_AUTH request indicating the MPS subscription.).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to transmit the prioritization payload, as taught by Fard, within an internet key exchange authentication (IKE_AUTH) request to an untrusted WLAN access point, as taught by Youn. Doing so provides for improved security for the transmission of the prioritization information within the communication system.
Regarding claim 15, Fard discloses an apparatus (Fig. 14: base station 1420) comprising:
processing circuitry (Fig. 14: processing system 1421) to:
identify a multimedia priority service (MPS) indication … received from a user equipment (UE) ([¶0340]: The MPS settings may allow the UE to perform RRC procedures, such as an RRC connection establishment, RRC connection setup request, RRC resume request, and/or the like with an RRC establishment cause of mps-priorityAccess. When a UE is configured with access identity 1 or when an RRC establishment cause of mps-priorityAccess is used during an initial access request (e.g., an RRC request), the network (e.g., RAN or base station) may treat the access request with high priority.); and
handle the UE with priority based at least in part on the MPS indication ([¶0340]: when a UE is configured with access identity 1 or when an RRC establishment cause of mps-priorityAccess is used during an initial access request (e.g., an RRC request), the network (e.g., RAN or base station) may treat the access request with high priority. The network may admit or accept an RRC request from a UE with an RRC establishment cause mps-priorityAccess when the network is overloaded or congested. When the network is overloaded or congested, the AMF may send an overload start message to a RAN node. The RAN node may determine to reject access requests or RRC requests from UEs until the RAN node receives an overload stop message indicating the overload or congestion is alleviated. When an overload start message is received by the RAN node, the RAN node may reject RRC requests except those associated with emergency services, MPS (e.g., RRC establishment cause mps-priorityAccess), and/or the like. When the UE performs a registration procedure, the RAN node may notify the AMF that the UE has used RRC establishment cause mps-priorityAccess.); and
interface circuitry (Fig. 14: interface system 1427) coupled with the processing circuitry, the interface circuitry to communicatively couple the processing circuitry with a component of a device.
Fard fails to disclose that the MPS indication is included in a network access identifier (NAI). However, Youn discloses that the MPS indication is included in a network access identifier (NAI) ([¶0589] and page 44 of English translation: for WLAN access, if the UE has an MPS subscription, the UE may also need to include an MPS subscription indication in the username part of the NAI.).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include the MPS indication, as taught by Fard, in an NAI, as taught by Youn. Doing so provides for the transmission of prioritization information within the communication system in compliance with existing IEEE standards (See Youn [¶0589]).
Regarding claim 16, Fard in view of Youn discloses all features of claim 15 as outlined above.
Fard also discloses wherein the UE is handled with priority after the UE is authenticated ([¶0359]: in an example, a UE in CM IDLE state may initiate a service request procedure in order to send uplink signalling messages, user data, to request MPS priority treatment, to request emergency services fallback, or as a response to a network paging request. After receiving the service request message, the AMF may perform authentication. After the establishment of the signalling connection to an AMF, the UE or network may send signalling messages, e.g., PDU session establishment from the UE to a SMF, via the AMF. The service request procedure may be employed by a UE in CM-CONNECTED to request invocation or activation of MPS priority treatment for one or more PDU sessions of the UE.).
Regarding claim 17, Fard in view of Youn discloses all features of claim 15 as outlined above.
Fard does not disclose wherein the MPS indication is included in a username part of the NAI. However, Youn discloses wherein the MPS indication is included in a username part of the NAI (([¶0589] and page 44 of English translation: for WLAN access, if the UE has an MPS subscription, the UE may also need to include an MPS subscription indication in the username part of the NAI.)).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include the prioritization payload, as taught by Fard, within a username part of an NAI, as taught by Youn. Doing so provides for the transmission of prioritization information within the communication system in compliance with existing IEEE standards (See Youn [¶0589]).
Claims 6 and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Fard in view of Canpolat et al. (US 2021/0329499 A1)(hereinafter “Canpolat”).
Regarding claim 6, Fard discloses all features of claim 1 as outlined above.
Fard does not disclose wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the processing circuitry to: apply, via a wireless local area network (WLAN) station (STA) of the UE to signaling for the UE, a differentiated services codepoint (DSCP) to a WLAN protocol mapping to prioritize the signaling between the UE and a WLAN access point. However, Canpolat disclose wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the processing circuitry to: apply, via a wireless local area network (WLAN) station (STA) of the UE to signaling for the UE, a differentiated services codepoint (DSCP) to a WLAN protocol mapping to prioritize the signaling between the UE and a WLAN access point ([¶0025]: the 3GPP specification for 5G enables gateway functions N3IWF & TNGF and UE to set differentiated services code point (DSCP) markings for Internet Protocol (IP) packets exchanged over wireless local area network (WLAN) networks integrated in 5G systems. These in-band DSCP markings are used within the WLAN network to map DSCP to IEEE 802.11 User Priority and Wi-Fi multimedia (WMM) Access Category to provide QoS differentiation for DSCP-marked IP packets. [¶0075] in one or more embodiments, first the WLAN STA maps the DSCP value to 802.11 User Priority which gets mapped to 802.11 Access Categories as defined in IEEE 802.11-2016 specification.).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the prioritization notification payload procedure, as taught by Fard, to include applying a mapping of a DSCP to a WLAN protocol to prioritize signaling, as taught by Canpolat. Doing so allows for providing QoS characteristics and parameters to a WLAN AP that can be beneficial for the WLAN AP to perform resource allocation/reservation (see Canpolat [¶0025]).
Regarding claim 14, Fard discloses all features of claim 9 as outlined above.
Fard does not disclose generating a differentiated services codepoint (DSCP) to a wireless local area network (WLAN) protocol mapping for subsequent signaling of the UE based at least in part on the notify payload indicating prioritization; and applying, via a WLAN access point to the subsequent signaling, the DSCP to the WLAN protocol mapping to prioritize the subsequent signaling between the WLAN access point and the UE. However, Canpolat discloses generating a differentiated services codepoint (DSCP) to a wireless local area network (WLAN) protocol mapping for subsequent signaling of the UE based at least in part on the notify payload indicating prioritization ([¶0025]: the 3GPP specification for 5G enables gateway functions N3IWF & TNGF and UE to set differentiated services code point (DSCP) markings for Internet Protocol (IP) packets exchanged over wireless local area network (WLAN) networks integrated in 5G systems. These in-band DSCP markings are used within the WLAN network to map DSCP to IEEE 802.11 User Priority and Wi-Fi multimedia (WMM) Access Category to provide QoS differentiation for DSCP-marked IP packets. [¶0075] in one or more embodiments, first the WLAN STA maps the DSCP value to 802.11 User Priority which gets mapped to 802.11 Access Categories as defined in IEEE 802.11-2016 specification.); and applying, via a WLAN access point to the subsequent signaling, the DSCP to the WLAN protocol mapping to prioritize the subsequent signaling between the WLAN access point and the UE ([¶0074]: in one or more embodiments, during the signaling IPsec SA establishment, a DSCP value can be sent to the UE using a Notify Payload over IKE_AUTH messaging to mark NAS signaling data packets with that DSCP value in the IP header. …After UE registration is completed, the UE triggers QoS negotiation with the WLAN AP for the Signaling IPsec SA.).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the prioritization notification payload procedure, as taught by Fard, to include applying a mapping of a DSCP to a WLAN protocol to prioritize signaling, as taught by Canpolat. Doing so allows for providing QoS characteristics and parameters to a WLAN AP that can be beneficial for the WLAN AP to perform resource allocation/reservation (see Canpolat [¶0025]).
Claim 12 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Fard in view of Liu et al. (US 20250039956 A1)(hereinafter “Liu”).
Regarding claim 12, Fard discloses all features of claim 9 as outlined above.
Fard also discloses identifying an indication of an establishment cause received from the UE (([¶0340]: the MPS settings may allow the UE to perform RRC procedures, such as an RRC connection establishment, RRC connection setup request, RRC resume request, and/or the like with an RRC establishment cause of mps-priorityAccess. The network may admit or accept an RRC request from a UE with an RRC establishment cause mps-priorityAccess when the network is overloaded or congested.).
Fard fails to disclose determining a differentiated services codepoint (DSCP) value for subsequent signaling of the UE based at least in part on the establishment cause. However, Liu discloses determining a differentiated services codepoint (DSCP) value for subsequent signaling of the UE based at least in part on the establishment cause ([¶0144]: in yet other aspects, the 3GPP traffic characteristic may be an establishment cause. When a UE 115 is to establish an RRC connection over WLAN, an RRC layer may perform the mapping from an establishment cause to an access category, user priority, DSCP, and the RRC layer may forward the mapped access category, user priority, DSCP to a UE entity.).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the prioritization notification payload procedure, as taught by Fard, to include determining a DSCP value for subsequent signaling of the UE based at least in part on an establishment clause, as taught by Liu. Doing so allows for providing prioritization of UE traffic during MPS conditions to improve resource allocation in the communication network.
Claim 18 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Fard in view of Youn and further in view of Liu.
Regarding claim 18, Fard in view of Youn discloses all features of claim 15 as outlined above.
Fard also discloses identifying an indication of an establishment cause received from the UE (([¶0340]: the MPS settings may allow the UE to perform RRC procedures, such as an RRC connection establishment, RRC connection setup request, RRC resume request, and/or the like with an RRC establishment cause of mps-priorityAccess. The network may admit or accept an RRC request from a UE with an RRC establishment cause mps-priorityAccess when the network is overloaded or congested.).
Fard in view of Youn fails to disclose determining a differentiated services codepoint (DSCP) value for subsequent signaling of the UE based at least in part on the establishment cause. However, Liu discloses determining a differentiated services codepoint (DSCP) value for subsequent signaling of the UE based at least in part on the establishment cause ([¶0144]: in yet other aspects, the 3GPP traffic characteristic may be an establishment cause. When a UE 115 is to establish an RRC connection over WLAN, an RRC layer may perform the mapping from an establishment cause to an access category, user priority, DSCP, and the RRC layer may forward the mapped access category, user priority, DSCP to a UE entity.).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the prioritization notification payload procedure, as taught by Fard, to include determining a DSCP value for subsequent signaling of the UE based at least in part on an establishment clause, as taught by Liu. Doing so allows for providing prioritization of UE traffic during MPS conditions to improve resource allocation in the communication network.
Claim 20 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Fard in view of Youn and in further view of Canpolat.
Regarding claim 20, Fard in view of Youn discloses all features of claim 15 as outlined above.
Fard in view of Youn does not disclose processing circuitry to generate a differentiated services codepoint (DSCP) to a wireless local area network (WLAN) protocol mapping for subsequent signaling of the UE based at least in part on the MPS indication; and apply, via a WLAN access point to the subsequent signaling, the DSCP to the WLAN protocol mapping to prioritize the subsequent signaling between the WLAN access point and the UE. However, Canpolat discloses processing circuitry to generate a differentiated services codepoint (DSCP) to a wireless local area network (WLAN) protocol mapping for subsequent signaling of the UE based at least in part on the MPS indication ([¶0025]: the 3GPP specification for 5G enables gateway functions N3IWF & TNGF and UE to set differentiated services code point (DSCP) markings for Internet Protocol (IP) packets exchanged over wireless local area network (WLAN) networks integrated in 5G systems. These in-band DSCP markings are used within the WLAN network to map DSCP to IEEE 802.11 User Priority and Wi-Fi multimedia (WMM) Access Category to provide QoS differentiation for DSCP-marked IP packets. [¶0075] in one or more embodiments, first the WLAN STA maps the DSCP value to 802.11 User Priority which gets mapped to 802.11 Access Categories as defined in IEEE 802.11-2016 specification.); and apply, via a WLAN access point to the subsequent signaling, the DSCP to the WLAN protocol mapping to prioritize the subsequent signaling between the WLAN access point and the UE ([¶0074]: in one or more embodiments, during the signaling IPsec SA establishment, a DSCP value can be sent to the UE using a Notify Payload over IKE_AUTH messaging to mark NAS signaling data packets with that DSCP value in the IP header. …After UE registration is completed, the UE triggers QoS negotiation with the WLAN AP for the Signaling IPsec SA.).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the MPS notification procedure, as taught by Fard, to include applying a mapping of a DSCP to a WLAN protocol to prioritize signaling, as taught by Canpolat. Doing so allows for providing QoS characteristics and parameters to a WLAN AP that can be beneficial for the WLAN AP to perform resource allocation/reservation (see Canpolat [¶0025]).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 13 and 19 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
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Garcia Morchon et al. (US 2025/0280295 A1) – A Method of Joining A Communication Network.
Palanigounder et al. (US 2024/0155412 A1) – Enhanced Privacy For Priority Access In Wireless Systems.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MICHAEL W MADDOX whose telephone number is (571)272-5834. The examiner can normally be reached M-Th 7:30am-5:00pm, 1st F 7:30am-4:00pm, 2nd F off.
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, Asad M Nawaz can be reached at 571-272-3988. 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.
/MICHAEL WAYNE MADDOX/Examiner, Art Unit 2463
/CHI TANG P CHENG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2463
Prosecution Insights