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 communications filed on 9/2/2026.
Claims 1-40 are pending.
DETAILED ACTION
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to the use of Carter et al. (US 2005/0034115 A1, hereinafter Carter) for the rejection of claim(s) 1, 11, 21 and 31 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely Carter.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 1-40 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the enablement requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to enable one skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and/or use the invention.
Regarding claim 1, the limitations recite “determining, based on a device type of the second computing device, an update.”
Note ¶[0026] of the specification, as filed, recites “determine, whether the selected device comprises one or more reconfigure modules that are reconfigurable.”
Therefore, in ¶[0026], the first device is looking to see if there are reconfigurable modules. It’s unclear how this could be done based on a type of the second device (e.g., if the second device is a gateway, how does the first device know that it comprises reconfigurable modules? There are potentially hundreds of different gateways in the market and thus it would be impossible to determine reconfigurable modules simply based on determining that the second device is a gateway).
Similarly, ¶[0075] recites “if the type of the device indicates that a physical layer protocol can be updated, then the update can be an update to a physical layer protocol.”
Similar to the problem of ¶[0026], a device type alone cannot indicate whether a physical layer protocol can be updated.
One of ordinary skill in the art would thus not know how to determine that a physical layer protocol can be updated or not based solely on a device type.
Regarding claims 2-10, the limitations invoke, by reference, all of the limitations of claim 1. Therefore, claims 2-10 are rejected for the same reasons as set forth in the rejection of claim 1, above.
Regarding claim 11, the limitations recite features similar in scope to those of claim 1. Therefore, claim 11 is rejected for the same reasons as set forth in the rejection of claim 1, above.
Regarding claims 12-20, the limitations invoke, by reference, all of the limitations of claim 11. Therefore, claims 12-20 are rejected for the same reasons as set forth in the rejection of claim 11, above.
Regarding claim 21, the limitations recite features similar in scope to those of claim 1. Therefore, claim 21 is rejected for the same reasons as set forth in the rejection of claim 1, above.
Regarding claims 22-30, the limitations invoke, by reference, all of the limitations of claim 21. Therefore, claims 22-30 are rejected for the same reasons as set forth in the rejection of claim 21, above.
Regarding claim 31, the limitations recite features similar in scope to those of claim 1. Therefore, claim 31 is rejected for the same reasons as set forth in the rejection of claim 1, above.
Regarding claims 32-40, the limitations invoke, by reference, all of the limitations of claim 31. Therefore, claims 32-40 are rejected for the same reasons as set forth in the rejection of claim 31, above.
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.
Claim(s) 1-40 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ling et al. (US 2012/0128045 A1, hereinafter Ling) in view of Lazar (US 9146730 B2).
Regarding claim 1, Ling discloses a method, comprising:
sending, by a first computing device, a signal to a second computing device of a plurality of second computing devices (¶[0030], "customer premise equipment (CPE) must receive several channels distributed throughout the cable spectrum" (i.e., signals, from a second device; ¶[0036], "customer premises equipment (also referred to generally herein as CPE) may include a cable or satellite data modem, gateway or other device residing in the customer premises" - see also ¶[0035] and Fig. 1); ¶[0057], a signal may be a first signal processed prior to a change in a number of bonded channels; ¶[0063], a first mode may be a DOCSIS 3.0 mode - DOCSIS 3.0 requires transmission of signals according to a device type, see DOCSIS 3.0 specification, pages 45-46, section 5.2.5.1, "CMTS has located the CM in the plant topology (i.e., is aware of what downstream channels and upstream channels physically reach the CM [...] the CMTS [...] reserves or activates MAC layer resources based on the service provisioning information that it received)"),
wherein the second computing device processes a first portion of the signal based on a software module of the second computing device (¶[0046], "analog to digital data converter ADC1/2 […] converts the signal via ADC1 and ADC2"; Fig. 4, the output of ADC 1 or 2 is provided to a Digital Baseband Processor DBB1; Fig. 4, ¶[0039], DBB1 includes a MAC processor (MAC1) operating, as shown, DOCSIS 3.0, (where DOCSIS 3.0 is defined by software (see DOCSIS 3.0 specification, page 3, section 1.2.4, "DOCSIS 3.0 is backward-compatible with equipment built to the previous specifications" (DOCSIS 1.0, 1.1, and 2.0) which is only possible if DOCSIS is defined by software, and, additionally, page 44, section 5.2.3, removing software requirements present in DOCSIS 2.0 (IGMP snooping) from DOCSIS 3.0, page 46, "download a configuration file containing its service provisioning information", and page 457, "software has been upgraded to meet a new version of the specification"); ¶[0030], DOCSIS defines how to process physical signals at the physical layer including performing channel bonding (note ¶[0046] of present application, "update physical layer aspects […]by […] altering a channel bonding scheme" and also Volpe (DOCSIS 3.0 Tutorial - Downstream Channel Bonding - volpefirm.com - 2010), page 1, channel bonding is a physical layer aspect));
determining, based on a device type of the second computing device, an update for the software module of the second computing device (¶[0063], "For example, in one implementation a single threshold, below which the modem signals to the head end that it wishes to change transmission modes, such as switching from DOCSIS 3 (which bonds 4 channels) to DOCSIS 2 (which only occupies a single channel)" - updating from DOCSIS 3 to DOCSIS 2 is clearly based on the premise that the CPE is "a cable or satellite data modem" (¶[0036]) that can switch between DOCSIS versions (¶[0063]).); and
wherein the update causes the software module to process a second portion of the signal (¶[0057], data is processed after update (second digital stream is data generated after bandwidth adjustment request); ¶[0063], after adjustment, signals are processed according to the second version; Fig. 4, the signal is split into two portions (after LNA1) and each portion is converted to a digital stream at ADC1 and ADC2, each digital stream being passed to the DBB1 for processing, where each may further include portions, a first portion prior to updating to the second version, and a second portion after updating to the second version (see ¶[0057]); furthermore, while ¶[0050]-[0051] discuss possibly changing filter frequencies, that is an optional step (e.g. "may", "alternatively", etc., filter changes unrelated to change in bonded channel (DOCSIS) processing) but also, adjusting BW may still encompass a prior frequency).
Ling does not disclose sending the update for the software module to the second computing device.
Lazar discloses sending the update for the software module to the second computing device (col. 4, lines 56-58, discloses a coaxial cable input of a network device connected to a cable modem termination system that provides data signals to the network device (see col. 1, lines 34-48); col. 7, lines 21-25 discloses that updates to the modem may be transmitted over the same coaxial cable - see also col. 3, lines 22-23; col. 8, lines 19-24, network device may be a gateway; col. 8, lines 8-15, an update may comprise new firmware (computer executable instructions); col. 5, lines 45-48, discloses that the update is to reconfigure operation of a DOCSIS firmware ).
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 Ling in view of Lazar for sending the update for the software module to the second computing device.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated because it would allow for the automation of software updates in devices (such as gateways) that do not typically include memories large enough to maintain multiple versions of software locally (Lazar, col. 1, line 63 to col. 2, line 9).
Regarding claim 2, the combined system of Ling and Lazar discloses the invention substantially as applied to claim 1, above, wherein the software module is configured for physical layer processing according to a first version of a physical layer protocol of the second computing device based on machine-executable instructions (Ling, ¶[0057], and [0063], DOCSIS is updated from a first version, which may be DOCSIS 3.0, to a second version; ¶[0030], DOCSIS 3.0 defines how to process physical signals at the physical layer including performing channel bonding (note ¶[0046] of present application, "update physical layer aspects […]by […] altering a channel bonding scheme" and also Volpe (DOCSIS 3.0 Tutorial - Downstream Channel Bonding - volpefirm.com - 2010), page 1, channel bonding is a physical layer aspect) (note ¶[0046] of present application, "update physical layer aspects […]by […] altering a channel bonding scheme" and also Volpe (DOCSIS 3.0 Tutorial - Downstream Channel Bonding - volpefirm.com - 2010), page 1, channel bonding is a physical layer aspect))).
Regarding claim 3, the combined system of Ling and Lazar discloses the invention substantially as applied to claim 1, above, wherein the device type of the second computing device indicates that a physical layer protocol of the second computing device is capable of being updated (Ling, ¶[0063], what's being updated is a protocol for physical layer processing (DOCSIS version), see also ¶[0030]).
Regarding claim 4, the combined system of Ling and Lazar discloses the invention substantially as applied to claim 3, above, wherein the physical layer protocol comprises at least one of a Data Over Cable Service Interface Specification (DOCSIS) protocol, a multimedia over coax alliance (MoCA) protocol, or a protocol for processing quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) based content streams (Ling, ¶[0063], DOCSIS).
Regarding claim 5, the combined system of Ling and Lazar discloses the invention substantially as applied to claim 1, above, wherein the update comprises machine-executable instructions for implementing physical layer processing according to a second version of a physical layer protocol of the second computing device (Ling, ¶[0063], the update may change configuration from a first DOCSIS version (e.g. DOCSIS 3) to a second DOCSIS version (e.g. DOCSIS 2, inherently including software, see DOCSIS 2.0 specification, page 78)).
Regarding claim 6, the combined system of Ling and Lazar discloses the invention substantially as applied to claim 1, above, wherein the updated software module is configured for physical layer processing according to a second version of a physical layer protocol of the second computing device based on machine-executable instructions (Ling, ¶[0063], the update may change configuration from a first DOCSIS version (e.g. DOCSIS 3) to a second DOCSIS version (e.g. DOCSIS 2)).
Regarding claim 7, the combined system of Ling and Lazar discloses the invention substantially as applied to claim 1, above, further comprising sending the update for the software module via the signal (Lazar, col. 4, lines 56-58, discloses a coaxial cable input of a gateway device connected to a cable gateway termination system that provides data signals to the gateway (see col. 1, lines 34-48); col. 7, lines 21-25 discloses that updates to the gateway may be transmitted over the same coaxial cable - applied to Ling, when the system of Ling is on a power saving mode (i.e. using a single channel), data and an update would be received from the same channel).
Regarding claim 8, the combined system of Ling and Lazar discloses the invention substantially as applied to claim 1, above, wherein the update is configured to modify a spectrum range upon which the second computing device operates (Ling, ¶[0071]-[0072], to implement power saving techniques, the number of channels received by a front end of the gateway may be reduced (going from wideband to narrowband, see ¶[0069]) - one of ordinary skill in the art would recognize that in order to achieve high performance, the opposite would be done: the number of channels would be increased and if RF2 was receiving only frf11, after the update it would receive frf11 and frf12, which are different signals - ¶[0056] enables the method of going from narrowband to wideband).
Regarding claim 9, the combined system of Ling and Lazar discloses the invention substantially as applied to claim 1, above, wherein the update is configured to modify a radio frequency bonding procedure of the software module (Ling, ¶[0032], modifying the number of bonded channels; ¶[0063], the modification to the bonded channels is done by updating the DOCSIS version).
Regarding claim 10, the combined system of Ling and Lazar discloses the invention substantially as applied to claim 1, above, wherein the update is configured to modify a procedure for generating, based on a first digital stream, a plurality of packets (Ling, Fig. 4, the processing generates packets (right hand of Fig. 4) from a bit stream (analog data signal received and processed at RF1 and passed as a digital signal to DBB1, which is configured to further process the data according to the used standard, see ¶[0039] and ¶[0073]-[0074])) and
a procedure for generating, based on the plurality of packets, a second digital stream (Ling, Fig. 4, the processing generates a bit stream (left hand of Fig. 4) from a plurality of packets (left hand of Fig. 4) (packets received and processed at DBB1, which is configured to further process data according to the used standard, see ¶[0039] and ¶[0073]-[0074], and passed as an analog signal to TX1)).
Regarding claims 11-20, Ling discloses an apparatus comprising: one or more processors; and a memory storing processor-executable instructions (Fig. 1, a user device (CPE 130); ¶[0006], user device may be a gateway (a gateway is a computing device, and computing devices are known in the art to include at least one processor, and at least one memory for storing instructions to be executed by the processor); see also ¶[0040], processors and instructions for the processors stored in memory).
The remaining limitations of claims 11-20 are similar in scope to those of claims 1-10. Therefore, claims 11-20 are rejected for the same reasons as set forth in the rejection of claims 1-10, above.
Regarding claims 21-30, Ling discloses one or more non-transitory computer-readable media storing processor-executable instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform operations (Fig. 1, a user device (CPE 130); ¶[0006], user device may be a gateway (a gateway is a computing device, and computing devices are known in the art to include at least one processor, and at least one memory for storing instructions to be executed by the processor); see also ¶[0040], processors and instructions for the processors stored in memory).
The remaining limitations of claims 21-30 are similar in scope to those of claims 1-10. Therefore, claims 21-30 are rejected for the same reasons as set forth in the rejection of claims 1-10, above.
Regarding claim 31, Ling discloses a system comprising:
a first computing device configured to: send a signal to a second computing device of a plurality of second computing devices (¶[0030]-[0031], "several end users" using a CPE (e.g. gateway, see ¶[0036]) to receive signals from a content provider (see Fig. 1, 110 and ¶[0035]); Fig. 4, ¶[0046], a CPE may include a radio front end (RF1, or RF2, see Fig. 5) including a splitter (e.g. after amplifier LNA1) and "converts BW1 to baseband" (i.e. a range of frequencies close to or around a single frequency, at filters F1 or F2) and then converts the baseband signal into a digital signal (at ADC1 or ADC2). Since F1 and F2 are different, different portions of the signal are converted at ADC1 or ADC2, ADC1 or ADC2 being the signal converters; additionally, ¶[0036], the CPE may be one of multiple devices, or alternatively, Fig. 5, ¶[0047], "multiple RF front ends" such as RF1, RF2),
determine, based on a device type of the second computing device, an update for a software module of the second computing device (¶[0063], "For example, in one implementation a single threshold, below which the modem signals to the head end that it wishes to change transmission modes, such as switching from DOCSIS 3 (which bonds 4 channels) to DOCSIS 2 (which only occupies a single channel)"), and
the second computing device configured to: receive the signal (¶[0030]-[0031], a CPE (e.g. gateway, see ¶[0036]) configured to receive signals),
process, based on the software module of the second computing device, a first portion of the signal (¶[0046], "analog to digital data converter ADC1/2 […] converts the signal via ADC1 and ADC2"; Fig. 4, the output of ADC 1 or 2 is provided to a Digital Baseband Processor DBB1; Fig. 4, ¶[0039], DBB1 includes a MAC processor (MAC1) operating, as shown, DOCSIS 3.0, (where DOCSIS 3.0 is defined by software (see DOCSIS 3.0 specification, page 3, section 1.2.4, "DOCSIS 3.0 is backward-compatible with equipment built to the previous specifications" (DOCSIS 1.0, 1.1, and 2.0) which is only possible if DOCSIS is defined by software, and, additionally, page 44, section 5.2.3, removing software requirements present in DOCSIS 2.0 (IGMP snooping) from DOCSIS 3.0, page 46, "download a configuration file containing its service provisioning information", and page 457, "software has been upgraded to meet a new version of the specification"); ¶[0030], DOCSIS defines how to process physical signals at the physical layer including performing channel bonding (note ¶[0046] of present application, "update physical layer aspects […]by […] altering a channel bonding scheme" and also Volpe (DOCSIS 3.0 Tutorial - Downstream Channel Bonding - volpefirm.com - 2010), page 1, channel bonding is a physical layer aspect)), and
process, based on the update to the software module, a second portion of the signal (¶[0057], data is processed after update (second digital stream is data generated after bandwidth adjustment request); ¶[0063], after adjustment, signals are processed according to the second version; Fig. 4, the signal is split into two portions (after LNA1) and each portion is converted to a digital stream at ADC1 and ADC2, each digital stream being passed to the DBB1 for processing, where each may further include portions, a first portion prior to updating to the second version, and a second portion after updating to the second version (see ¶[0057]); furthermore, while ¶[0050]-[0051] discuss possibly changing filter frequencies, that is an optional step (e.g. "may", "alternatively", etc., filter changes unrelated to change in bonded channel (DOCSIS) processing) but also, adjusting BW may still encompass a prior frequency).
Ling does not disclose send the update for the software module to the second computing device.
Lazar discloses sending the update for the software module to the second computing device (col. 4, lines 56-58, discloses a coaxial cable input of a network device connected to a cable modem termination system that provides data signals to the network device (see col. 1, lines 34-48); col. 7, lines 21-25 discloses that updates to the modem may be transmitted over the same coaxial cable - see also col. 3, lines 22-23; col. 8, lines 19-24, network device may be a gateway; col. 8, lines 8-15, an update may comprise new firmware (computer executable instructions); col. 5, lines 45-48, discloses that the update is to reconfigure operation of a DOCSIS firmware ).
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 Ling in view of Lazar for sending the update for the software module to the second computing device.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated because it would allow for the automation of software updates in devices (such as gateways) that do not typically include memories large enough to maintain multiple versions of software locally (Lazar, col. 1, line 63 to col. 2, line 9).
Regarding claim 32, the combined system of Ling and Lazar discloses the invention substantially as applied to claim 31, above, wherein the device type of the second computing device indicates that a physical layer protocol of the second computing device is capable of being updated (Ling, ¶[0063], what's being updated is a protocol for physical layer processing (DOCSIS version), see also ¶[0030]).
Regarding claim 33, the combined system of Ling and Lazar discloses the invention substantially as applied to claim 32, above, wherein the physical layer protocol comprises at least one of a Data Over Cable Service Interface Specification (DOCSIS) protocol, a multimedia over coax alliance (MoCA) protocol, or a protocol for processing quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) based content streams (Ling, ¶[0063], DOCSIS).
Regarding claim 34, the combined system of Ling and Lazar discloses the invention substantially as applied to claim 31, above, wherein the software module is configured for physical layer processing according to a first version of a physical layer protocol of the second computing device based on machine-executable instructions (Ling, ¶[0057], and [0063], DOCSIS is updated from a first version, which may be DOCSIS 3.0, to a second version; ¶[0030], DOCSIS 3.0 defines how to process physical signals at the physical layer including performing channel bonding (note ¶[0046] of present application, "update physical layer aspects […]by […] altering a channel bonding scheme" and also Volpe (DOCSIS 3.0 Tutorial - Downstream Channel Bonding - volpefirm.com - 2010), page 1, channel bonding is a physical layer aspect) (note ¶[0046] of present application, "update physical layer aspects […]by […] altering a channel bonding scheme" and also Volpe (DOCSIS 3.0 Tutorial - Downstream Channel Bonding - volpefirm.com - 2010), page 1, channel bonding is a physical layer aspect))).
Regarding claim 35, the combined system of Ling and Lazar discloses the invention substantially as applied to claim 31, above, wherein the update comprises machine-executable instructions for implementing physical layer processing according to a second version of a physical layer protocol of the second computing device (Ling, ¶[0063], the update may change configuration from a first DOCSIS version (e.g. DOCSIS 3) to a second DOCSIS version (e.g. DOCSIS 2, inherently including software, see DOCSIS 2.0 specification, page 78)).
Regarding claim 36, the combined system of Ling and Lazar discloses the invention substantially as applied to claim 31, above, wherein the updated software module is configured for physical layer processing according to a second version of a physical layer protocol of the second computing device based on machine-executable instructions (Ling, ¶[0063], the update may change configuration from a first DOCSIS version (e.g. DOCSIS 3) to a second DOCSIS version (e.g. DOCSIS 2)).
Regarding claim 37, the combined system of Ling and Lazar discloses the invention substantially as applied to claim 31, above, wherein the first computing device is further configured to send the update for the software module via the signal (Lazar, col. 4, lines 56-58, discloses a coaxial cable input of a gateway device connected to a cable gateway termination system that provides data signals to the gateway (see col. 1, lines 34-48); col. 7, lines 21-25 discloses that updates to the gateway may be transmitted over the same coaxial cable - applied to Ling, when the system of Ling is on a power saving mode (i.e. using a single channel), data and an update would be received from the same channel).
Regarding claim 38, the combined system of Ling and Lazar discloses the invention substantially as applied to claim 31, above, wherein the update is configured to modify a spectrum range upon which the second computing device operates (Ling, ¶[0071]-[0072], to implement power saving techniques, the number of channels received by a front end of the gateway may be reduced (going from wideband to narrowband, see ¶[0069]) - one of ordinary skill in the art would recognize that in order to achieve high performance, the opposite would be done: the number of channels would be increased and if RF2 was receiving only frf11, after the update it would receive frf11 and frf12, which are different signals - ¶[0056] enables the method of going from narrowband to wideband).
Regarding claim 39, the combined system of Ling and Lazar discloses the invention substantially as applied to claim 31, above, wherein the update is configured to modify a radio frequency bonding procedure of the software module (Ling, ¶[0032], modifying the number of bonded channels; ¶[0063], the modification to the bonded channels is done by updating the DOCSIS version).
Regarding claim 40, the combined system of Ling and Lazar discloses the invention substantially as applied to claim 31, above, wherein the update is configured to modify a procedure for generating, based on a first digital stream, a plurality of packets (Ling, Fig. 4, the processing generates packets (right hand of Fig. 4) from a bit stream (analog data signal received and processed at RF1 and passed as a digital signal to DBB1, which is configured to further process the data according to the used standard, see ¶[0039] and ¶[0073]-[0074])) and
a procedure for generating, based on the plurality of packets, a second digital stream (Ling, Fig. 4, the processing generates a bit stream (left hand of Fig. 4) from a plurality of packets (left hand of Fig. 4) (packets received and processed at DBB1, which is configured to further process data according to the used standard, see ¶[0039] and ¶[0073]-[0074], and passed as an analog signal to TX1)).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
US 20100167733 A1, which discloses "When new versions of applications are released, the update component 408 makes notations in the device configuration database component 404 and the updates are delivered to the WWAN device component 104 on a schedule determined by the configuration of the specific device type" (¶[0048]).
US 20130074061 A1, which discloses "firmware management component 270 could be configured to determine the interval at which to check for firmware updates for a particular device based on a type of the device" (¶[0055]).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BORIS D GRIJALVA LOBOS whose telephone number is (571)272-0767. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 10:30AM to 6:30PM EST.
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/BORIS D GRIJALVA LOBOS/ Primary Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2496