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 . 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 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.
Status of Claims
Claims 1-3, 5-8, 10 and 11 are pending and have been examined below.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments with respect to 35 USC 103 have been considered but are moot because the arguments do not apply to any of the references being used in the current rejection.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 USC 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, 2, 3 and 7 are rejected under 35 USC 103 as being unpatentable over US20220368861 (“Watanabe”) in view of US20200394813 (“Theverapperuma”), US20190261007 (“Emmanuel”) and US20210055420 (“Wohlfeld”).
Claim 1
Watanabe discloses a machine (Fig. 2) comprising:
a vehicle body (Fig. 2);
a sensor to sense an environment around the vehicle body to output sensing data (0060 a camera 110 is installed on the moving body 100. The camera 110 images a situation around the moving body 100 to acquire a video showing the situation.); and
a communication device to transmit the sensing data output from the sensor to a remote device (0022 a transmitting-side device configured to transmit a video by a preference transmission method that is any of a first transmission method and a second transmission method;);
wherein the system changes a data amount of the sensing data output to the communication device, depending on a communication rate from the communication device to the remote device (0064 The transmitting side device 10 includes a congestion control unit 12. During the video transmission, the congestion control unit 12 performs a congestion control that reduces an image size (number of pixels) of the video, if necessary. For example, when a communication rate (throughput) of a communication line decreases to a certain level or less, the congestion control unit 12 performs the congestion control with respect to the video.).
Watanabe fails to disclose wherein the machine is an agricultural machine. However, Watanabe does disclose the machine and vehicle body (Fig. 1). Furthermore, Theverapperuma teaches a machine system in which sensor data is conditioned by adjusting resolution (0091 Conditioning of sensor data may involve any number of operations that improve the quality of the sensor data. The conditioning may vary depending on the type of sensor. For example, camera pre-processing may involve image size or resolution adjustments (e.g., to scale down a large image to a smaller size for faster downstream processing)), including:
wherein the machine is an agricultural machine (abstract: An application and a framework is disclosed for volumetric estimation and dimensional estimation of a pile of material or other object using at least one sensor, preferably a plurality of sensors, on an autonomous machine (e.g., robotic machines or autonomous vehicles) in various work-site environments applicable to various industries such as, construction, mining, manufacturing, warehousing, logistics, sorting, packaging, agriculture, etc., 0045 heavy equipment vehicles (e.g. dump trucks, tractors, bull dozers, excavators, forklifts, etc.)).
Watanabe and Theverapperuma both disclose machines with cameras that adjust resolution of sensor data. Thus, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of Applicant's invention and with a reasonable expectation of success to apply the known element(s) of Theverapperuma to the known system of Watanabe, the latter having been ready for improvement. The combination would have done no more than yield the predictable results of wherein the machine is an agricultural machine, such that the machine of Watanabe could be applied to an agricultural environment.
Additionally, Watanabe fails to disclose wherein the sensor is configured to change a data amount of the sensing data output to the communication device, depending on a communication rate from the communication device to the remote device, wherein the sensor includes at least one sensor configured to change the sensing data output when the communication rate is lower than a threshold, compared to when the communication rate is higher than or equal to the threshold. However, Watanabe does disclose wherein the system changes a data amount of the sensing data output to the communication device, depending on a communication rate from the communication device to the remote device (0064 The transmitting side device 10 includes a congestion control unit 12. During the video transmission, the congestion control unit 12 performs a congestion control that reduces an image size (number of pixels) of the video, if necessary. For example, when a communication rate (throughput) of a communication line decreases to a certain level or less, the congestion control unit 12 performs the congestion control with respect to the video.). Furthermore, Emmanuel teaches:
wherein the sensor is configured to change a data amount of the sensing data output to the communication device, depending on a communication rate from the communication device to the remote device (0049 in an event a data rate of the communication network 125 is below a first specified threshold, a packet loss exceeds a second specified threshold, or the encoded video stream 130 is buffering at the user device 165, the base station 105 can instruct the camera 110 to drop the resolution and/or decrease a frame rate in recording the video feed 135. In some embodiments, changing the frame rate or resolution at which the video feed 135 is recorded may require the camera 110 to perform a hardware reset operation.);
wherein the sensor includes at least one sensor configured to change the sensing data output when the communication rate is lower than a threshold, compared to when the communication rate is higher than or equal to the threshold (0049 in an event a data rate of the communication network 125 is below a first specified threshold, a packet loss exceeds a second specified threshold, or the encoded video stream 130 is buffering at the user device 165, the base station 105 can instruct the camera 110 to drop the resolution and/or decrease a frame rate in recording the video feed 135. In some embodiments, changing the frame rate or resolution at which the video feed 135 is recorded may require the camera 110 to perform a hardware reset operation.).
Watanabe and Emmanuel both disclose camera systems that adjust resolution of sensor data based on communication rate, and the features of Emmanuel could have been reasonably applied to the system of Watanabe. Thus, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of Applicant's invention and with a reasonable expectation of success to apply the known element(s) of Emmanuel to the known system of Watanabe, the latter having been ready for improvement. The combination would have done no more than yield the predictable results of wherein the sensor is configured to change a data amount of the sensing data output to the communication device, depending on a communication rate from the communication device to the remote device to enable communication rates to change based on network capabilities (see Emmanuel 0006).
Additionally, Watanabe fails to disclose wherein the sensor includes at least one sensor configured to change the sensing data output includes a camera configured to reduce parallax. However, Watanabe does disclose wherein the system changes a data amount of the sensing data output to the communication device, depending on a communication rate from the communication device to the remote device (0064 The transmitting side device 10 includes a congestion control unit 12. During the video transmission, the congestion control unit 12 performs a congestion control that reduces an image size (number of pixels) of the video, if necessary. For example, when a communication rate (throughput) of a communication line decreases to a certain level or less, the congestion control unit 12 performs the congestion control with respect to the video.). Furthermore, Wohlfeld teaches a traveling sensing system (Fig. 4), including:
wherein the sensor includes at least one sensor configured to change the sensing data output includes a camera configured to reduce parallax (0062 When SLS 20 is scanning the area, an optical axis of SLS 20 intersects pan axis 40 at a first coordinate Z in the first direction. Once the 3D point cloud is captured, controller 50 may control lift mechanism 70 to raise base 30 until an optical axis of cameras 32 intersects the pan axis at the first coordinate Z, at which point controller 50 controls cameras to capture a photographic image. In other words, the photographic images are captured when an optical axis of cameras 32 are at a same vertical height of an optical axis of SLS 20 when the area is scanned. The adjustment of the height of cameras 30 helps to reduce parallax between the captured photographic images and the 3D point cloud.).
Watanabe and Wohlfeld both disclose traveling sensing systems. Thus, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of Applicant's invention to modify the system in Watanabe to include the teaching of Wohlfeld with a reasonable expectation of success in order to achieve a high level of detail of the environment through use of the camera and further improve image quality and accuracy by reducing parallax, thus improving safety of the vehicle system.
Claim 2
Watanabe fails to explicitly disclose wherein the sensor outputs a smaller data amount of sensing data when the communication rate is lower than a threshold than when the communication rate is higher than or equal to the threshold. However, Watanabe does disclose a sensor system in which sensor data is reduced to a smaller data amount when the communication rate is lower than a threshold than when the communication rate is higher than or equal to the threshold (0064 The transmitting side device 10 includes a congestion control unit 12. During the video transmission, the congestion control unit 12 performs a congestion control that reduces an image size (number of pixels) of the video, if necessary. For example, when a communication rate (throughput) of a communication line decreases to a certain level or less, the congestion control unit 12 performs the congestion control with respect to the video.). Furthermore, Emmanuel teaches a sensor system (abstract), including:
wherein the sensor outputs a smaller data amount of sensing data when the communication rate is lower than a threshold than when the communication rate is higher than or equal to the threshold (0049 in an event a data rate of the communication network 125 is below a first specified threshold, a packet loss exceeds a second specified threshold, or the encoded video stream 130 is buffering at the user device 165, the base station 105 can instruct the camera 110 to drop the resolution and/or decrease a frame rate in recording the video feed 135. In some embodiments, changing the frame rate or resolution at which the video feed 135 is recorded may require the camera 110 to perform a hardware reset operation.).
See prior art rejection of claim 1 for obviousness and reasons to combine.
Claim 3
Watanabe discloses:
wherein the sensor includes a camera (0049 camera).
Watanabe fails to disclose when the communication rate is lower than a threshold, the camera reduces at least one of resolution, color information amount, parallax, or image size during capturing compared to when the communication rate is higher than or equal to the threshold. However, Watanabe does disclose a sensor system in which sensor data is reduced to a smaller data amount when the communication rate is lower than a threshold than when the communication rate is higher than or equal to the threshold (0064 The transmitting side device 10 includes a congestion control unit 12. During the video transmission, the congestion control unit 12 performs a congestion control that reduces an image size (number of pixels) of the video, if necessary. For example, when a communication rate (throughput) of a communication line decreases to a certain level or less, the congestion control unit 12 performs the congestion control with respect to the video.). Furthermore, Emmanuel teaches a sensor system (abstract), including:
when the communication rate is lower than a threshold, the camera reduces at least one of resolution, color information amount, parallax, or image size during capturing compared to when the communication rate is higher than or equal to the threshold (0049 in an event a data rate of the communication network 125 is below a first specified threshold, a packet loss exceeds a second specified threshold, or the encoded video stream 130 is buffering at the user device 165, the base station 105 can instruct the camera 110 to drop the resolution and/or decrease a frame rate in recording the video feed 135. In some embodiments, changing the frame rate or resolution at which the video feed 135 is recorded may require the camera 110 to perform a hardware reset operation.).
See prior art rejection of claim 1 for obviousness and reasons to combine.
Claim 7
Watanabe discloses:
a controller configured or programmed to control travel of the vehicle body based on a signal transmitted from the remote device (0125 It should be noted that in the case where the remote support is requested, the processor 151 receives the operator instruction from the remote support device 200. When receiving the operator instruction, the processor 151 executes the travel control in accordance with the operator instruction, 0122 the processor 151 controls travel of the moving body 100. The travel control includes steering control, acceleration control, and deceleration control. The processor 151 executes the travel control by controlling the travel device 140. The processor 151 may perform automated driving control. When performing the automated driving control, the processor 151 generates a target trajectory of the moving body 100 based on the moving body information 160. The target trajectory includes a target position and a target velocity. Then, the processor 151 executes the travel control such that the moving body 100 follows the target trajectory.).
Claim 5 is rejected under 35 USC 103 as being unpatentable over Watanabe in view of Theverapperuma, Emmanuel and Wohlfeld, in further view of US20190146060 (“Qiu”).
Claim 5
Watanabe discloses:
wherein the sensor includes an obstacle sensor to sense an obstacle existing in the environment around the vehicle body (0121 Furthermore, the moving body information 160 includes object information regarding an object recognized (detected) by the recognition sensor. The object information indicates a relative position and a relative velocity of the object with respect to the moving body 100.).
However, Watanabe fails to disclose wherein the obstacle sensor outputs a smaller data amount of sensing data when the obstacle is not detected than when the obstacle is detected. Furthermore, Qiu teaches an obstacle sensor for a vehicle (0004 A LiDAR device can also be affected by internal light noises generated by reflective surfaces of optical equipment, e.g., lenses, prisms, beam splitters, etc., that is inside the LiDAR device. Such interference and noises reduce the sensitivity of a LiDAR device and make it more error prone. In the case of autonomous driving vehicles, accurate, reliable, and real-time obstacle detection and avoidance is crucial in ensuring road safety.), including:
wherein the obstacle sensor outputs a smaller data amount of sensing data when the obstacle is not detected than when the obstacle is detected (claim 17, 0021 the control method comprises dividing the scanning region into multiple sub-areas based on the analyzing results. One or more of the multiple sub-areas are selected for enhanced scanning, for example, with increased resolution. In one embodiment, the analyzing results may indicate that an object is inside the scanning region. The control method comprises selecting a priority zone that covers the detected object and scanning the priority zone with increased resolution compared to the resolution used outside the priority zone. In one embodiment, the control method may comprise determining an error zone in which no object is detected.).
Watanabe and Qiu both disclose obstacles sensors for a vehicle. Thus, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of Applicant's invention and with a reasonable expectation of success to apply the known element(s) of Qiu to the known system of Watanabe, the latter having been ready for improvement. The combination would have done no more than yield the predictable results of wherein the obstacle sensor outputs a smaller data amount of sensing data when the obstacle is not detected than when the obstacle is detected.
Claim 6 is rejected under 35 USC 103 as being unpatentable over Watanabe in view of Theverapperuma, Emmanuel and Wohlfeld, in further view of KR101701909 (“Lee”).
Claim 6
Watanabe discloses:
wherein based on time-series images generated based on the sensing data to visualize the environment around the vehicle body, the communication device reduces the data amount of the sensing data before transmitting the sensing data to the remote device (0064 The transmitting side device 10 includes a congestion control unit 12. During the video transmission, the congestion control unit 12 performs a congestion control that reduces an image size (number of pixels) of the video, if necessary. For example, when a communication rate (throughput) of a communication line decreases to a certain level or less, the congestion control unit 12 performs the congestion control with respect to the video.).
Watanabe fails to disclose the reduction in the data amount corresponding to a region in which there are a predetermined number of changes in the time-series images. Furthermore, Lee teaches a system of capturing time-series images generated based on the sensing data to visualize the environment around the vehicle body (0044, 0050), including:
the reduction in the data amount corresponding to a region in which there are a predetermined number of changes in the time-series images (0039 Here's how to have the computational unit automatically determine which sections are unimportant: Analyze the change pattern of coordinate values corresponding to the movement path from the starting point to the destination. If the change in the coordinate value is small, it is considered an unimportant section, and if the change in the coordinate value is large, it is considered an important section. Therefore, the section with little change in coordinate values is judged as an unimportant section and the resolution of all images in that section is reduced. You can reduce the file size when converting to a video by keeping the resolution of the images in important sections as is and lowering the resolution of the images in unimportant sections., 0034 In step S130, the computing device determines a significant point among the received still images based on a change pattern of coordinate values within the movement path or preset coordinate values. Here, the important point refers to a point in a still image that needs to maintain the original image quality and capacity as much as possible during the subsequent video creation process. It is possible to automatically select the important point from the change pattern of the coordinate value or to identify the corresponding location by inputting the important point in advance.).
Watanabe and Lee both disclose systems of reducing the data amount of sensing data. Thus, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of Applicant's invention and with a reasonable expectation of success to apply the known element(s) of Lee to the known system of Watanabe, the latter having been ready for improvement. The combination would have done no more than yield the predictable results of the reduction in the data amount corresponding to a region in which there are a predetermined number of changes in the time-series images.
Claims 8, 10 and 11 are rejected under 35 USC 103 as being unpatentable over US20220368861 (“Watanabe”) in view of US20200394813 (“Theverapperuma”), US20190261007 (“Emmanuel”) and US20200400788 (“Van Lierop”).
Claim 8
Watanabe discloses a sensing system (0060 a camera 110 is installed on the moving body 100. The camera 110 images a situation around the moving body 100 to acquire a video showing the situation.) comprising:
a sensor to sense an environment around a vehicle body to output sensing data (0060 a camera 110 is installed on the moving body 100. The camera 110 images a situation around the moving body 100 to acquire a video showing the situation.); and
a communication device to transmit the sensing data output from the sensor to a remote device (0022 a transmitting-side device configured to transmit a video by a preference transmission method that is any of a first transmission method and a second transmission method); wherein
the system is configured to change a data amount of the sensing data output to the communication device, depending on a communication rate from the communication device to the remote device (0064 The transmitting side device 10 includes a congestion control unit 12. During the video transmission, the congestion control unit 12 performs a congestion control that reduces an image size (number of pixels) of the video, if necessary. For example, when a communication rate (throughput) of a communication line decreases to a certain level or less, the congestion control unit 12 performs the congestion control with respect to the video.).
Watanabe fails to disclose wherein the machine is an agricultural machine. However, Watanabe does disclose the machine and vehicle body (Fig. 1). Furthermore, Theverapperuma teaches a machine system in which sensor data is conditioned by adjusting resolution (0091 Conditioning of sensor data may involve any number of operations that improve the quality of the sensor data. The conditioning may vary depending on the type of sensor. For example, camera pre-processing may involve image size or resolution adjustments (e.g., to scale down a large image to a smaller size for faster downstream processing)), including:
wherein the machine is an agricultural machine (abstract: An application and a framework is disclosed for volumetric estimation and dimensional estimation of a pile of material or other object using at least one sensor, preferably a plurality of sensors, on an autonomous machine (e.g., robotic machines or autonomous vehicles) in various work-site environments applicable to various industries such as, construction, mining, manufacturing, warehousing, logistics, sorting, packaging, agriculture, etc., 0045 heavy equipment vehicles (e.g. dump trucks, tractors, bull dozers, excavators, forklifts, etc.)).
Watanabe and Theverapperuma both disclose machines with cameras that adjust resolution of sensor data. Thus, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of Applicant's invention and with a reasonable expectation of success to apply the known element(s) of Theverapperuma to the known system of Watanabe, the latter having been ready for improvement. The combination would have done no more than yield the predictable results of wherein the machine is an agricultural machine, such that the machine of Watanabe could be applied to an agricultural environment.
Additionally, Watanabe fails to disclose wherein the sensor is configured to change a data amount of the sensing data output to the communication device, depending on a communication rate from the communication device to the remote device, wherein the sensor includes at least one sensor configured to change a data amount of the sensing data output when the communication rate is lower than a first threshold, compared to when the communication rate is higher than or equal to the first threshold, or a one sensor configured to change a data amount of the sensing data output when the communication rate is lower than a second threshold, compared to when the communication rate is higher than or equal to the second threshold. However, Watanabe does disclose wherein the system changes a data amount of the sensing data output to the communication device, depending on a communication rate from the communication device to the remote device (0064 The transmitting side device 10 includes a congestion control unit 12. During the video transmission, the congestion control unit 12 performs a congestion control that reduces an image size (number of pixels) of the video, if necessary. For example, when a communication rate (throughput) of a communication line decreases to a certain level or less, the congestion control unit 12 performs the congestion control with respect to the video.). Furthermore, Emmanuel teaches:
wherein the sensor is configured to change a data amount of the sensing data output to the communication device, depending on a communication rate from the communication device to the remote device (0049 in an event a data rate of the communication network 125 is below a first specified threshold, a packet loss exceeds a second specified threshold, or the encoded video stream 130 is buffering at the user device 165, the base station 105 can instruct the camera 110 to drop the resolution and/or decrease a frame rate in recording the video feed 135. In some embodiments, changing the frame rate or resolution at which the video feed 135 is recorded may require the camera 110 to perform a hardware reset operation.);
wherein the sensor includes at least one sensor configured to change a data amount of the sensing data output when the communication rate is lower than a first threshold, compared to when the communication rate is higher than or equal to the first threshold, or a one sensor configured to change a data amount of the sensing data output when the communication rate is lower than a second threshold, compared to when the communication rate is higher than or equal to the second threshold (0049 in an event a data rate of the communication network 125 is below a first specified threshold, a packet loss exceeds a second specified threshold, or the encoded video stream 130 is buffering at the user device 165, the base station 105 can instruct the camera 110 to drop the resolution and/or decrease a frame rate in recording the video feed 135. In some embodiments, changing the frame rate or resolution at which the video feed 135 is recorded may require the camera 110 to perform a hardware reset operation.).
Watanabe and Emmanuel both disclose camera systems that adjust resolution of sensor data based on communication rate, and the features of Emmanuel could have been reasonably applied to the system of Watanabe. Thus, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of Applicant's invention and with a reasonable expectation of success to apply the known element(s) of Emmanuel to the known system of Watanabe, the latter having been ready for improvement. The combination would have done no more than yield the predictable results of wherein the sensor is configured to change a data amount of the sensing data output to the communication device, depending on a communication rate from the communication device to the remote device to enable communication rates to change based on network capabilities (see Emmanuel 0006).
Additionally, Watanabe fails to disclose wherein the sensor including at least one sensor configured to change a data amount of the sensing data output is a at least one of a camera configured to reduce parallax, or a LiDAR sensor configured to reduce an angular range of sensing in a horizontal direction and a vertical direction. However, Watanabe does disclose changing a data amount of the sensing data output to the communication device, depending on a communication rate from the communication device to the remote device (0064 The transmitting side device 10 includes a congestion control unit 12. During the video transmission, the congestion control unit 12 performs a congestion control that reduces an image size (number of pixels) of the video, if necessary. For example, when a communication rate (throughput) of a communication line decreases to a certain level or less, the congestion control unit 12 performs the congestion control with respect to the video.). Furthermore, Van Lierop teaches a sensing system for a vehicle (0046 In an example, the controller may be further connected to and controlled by an external controller, e.g., a supervisory controller of a vehicle, a navigation system, or by a user interface., abstract), including:
wherein the sensor including at least one sensor configured to change a data amount of the sensing data output is a at least one of a camera configured to reduce parallax, or a LiDAR sensor configured to reduce an angular range of sensing in a horizontal direction and a vertical direction (0069 The field of view 1030 shown in FIG. 10 is reduced relative to the full field of view of the LIDAR system 300. According to the example of FIG. 10, the vertical field of view is reduced to ¼ of the full vertical field of view and the horizontal field of view is reduced to ½ of the full horizontal field of view, which results in a size of the field of view 1030 being ⅛ of the size of the full field of view of the LIDAR system 300. Also, only ⅛ of the pixels of the detector array 365, namely the pixels 1065 corresponding to the laser beam 335b and the reduced scan angle of the mirror 350 are read out and used in further processing.).
Watanabe and Van Lierop both disclose sensing systems for vehicles that change an output sensing amount. Thus, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of Applicant's invention to modify the system in Watanabe to include the teaching of Van Lierop with a reasonable expectation of success in order to improve flexibility and adaptability of the sensing by allowing for dynamic change of the field of view of the LIDAR sensing (Van Lierop: 0006).
Claim(s) 10
Claim(s) 10 recite(s) subject matter similar to that/those of claim(s) 8 and is/are rejected under the same grounds.
Claim 11
Watanabe discloses:
wherein when the communication rate is lower than the threshold, the sensor reduces an amount of data output (0064 The transmitting side device 10 includes a congestion control unit 12. During the video transmission, the congestion control unit 12 performs a congestion control that reduces an image size (number of pixels) of the video, if necessary. For example, when a communication rate (throughput) of a communication line decreases to a certain level or less, the congestion control unit 12 performs the congestion control with respect to the video.).
Watanabe fails to disclose wherein the sensor data amount output reduction is based on wherein a LiDAR sensor further reduces an amount of point cloud data output per unit time compared to when the communication rate is higher than or equal to the threshold. Furthermore, Van Lierop teaches:
wherein the sensor data amount output reduction is based on wherein a LiDAR sensor further reduces an amount of point cloud data output per unit time compared to when the communication rate is higher than or equal to the threshold (0069 The field of view 1030 shown in FIG. 10 is reduced relative to the full field of view of the LIDAR system 300. According to the example of FIG. 10, the vertical field of view is reduced to ¼ of the full vertical field of view and the horizontal field of view is reduced to ½ of the full horizontal field of view, which results in a size of the field of view 1030 being ⅛ of the size of the full field of view of the LIDAR system 300. Also, only ⅛ of the pixels of the detector array 365, namely the pixels 1065 corresponding to the laser beam 335b and the reduced scan angle of the mirror 350 are read out and used in further processing.).
See prior art rejection of claim 8 for obviousness and reasons to combine.
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 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 mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Examiner Krishnan Ramesh, whose telephone number is (571)272-6407. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8:30am-5:00pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Abby Flynn, can be reached at (571)272-9855. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/KRISHNAN RAMESH/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3663