Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 04, 2026
Application No. 18/951,671

CONTROL DEVICE AND CONTROL METHOD

Final Rejection §103
Filed
Nov 19, 2024
Priority
Dec 18, 2023 — JP 2023-213082
Examiner
RIOS-AGUIRRE, IZCALLI ANDRE
Art Unit
3666
Tech Center
3600 — Transportation & Electronic Commerce
Assignee
Toyota Motor Corporation
OA Round
2 (Final)
79%
Grant Probability
Favorable
3-4
OA Rounds
8m
Est. Remaining
98%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 79% — above average
79%
Career Allowance Rate
26 granted / 33 resolved
+26.8% vs TC avg
Strong +20% interview lift
Without
With
+19.5%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 6m
Avg Prosecution
13 currently pending
Career history
54
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
20.1%
-19.9% vs TC avg
§103
41.0%
+1.0% vs TC avg
§102
23.4%
-16.6% vs TC avg
§112
15.1%
-24.9% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 33 resolved cases

Office Action

§103
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 . Information Disclosure Statement The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 03 June 2026 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner. Status of Application Claims 1-4 and 6-7 are pending. Claims 1 is independent. Claims 1, 2, and 4 have been amended. Claim 5 has been canceled. Claims 6 and 7 have been added. This FINAL action is in response to communications received 22 June 2026. Response to Amendment/Remarks With respect to Applicant’s remarks filed 22 June 2026, Applicant’s “Amendments and Remarks” have been fully considered and were not wholly persuasive. Applicant’s remarks will be addressed in sequential order as they were presented. With respect to objections to the Specification, Applicant’s “Amendments and Remarks” have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the objections to the Specification have been withdrawn. With respect to claim rejections under 35 U.S.C. 102 and/or 35 U.S.C. 103, Applicant’s “Amendments and Remarks” have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection is withdrawn. However, there is a new ground(s) of rejection in view of newly found prior art. Final Office Action Claim Interpretation During examination, claims are given the broadest reasonable interpretation consistent with the specification and limitations in the specification are not read into the claims. See MPEP §2111, MPEP §2111.01 and In re Yamamoto et al., 222 USPQ 934 10 (Fed. Cir. 1984). Under a broadest reasonable interpretation, words of the claim must be given their plain meaning, unless such meaning is inconsistent with the specification. See MPEP 2111.01 (I). It is further noted it is improper to import claim limitations from the specification, i.e., a particular embodiment appearing in the written description may not be read into a claim when the claim language is broader than the embodiment. See 15 MPEP 2111.01 (II). A first exception to the prohibition of reading limitations from the specification into the claims is when the Applicant for patent has provided a lexicographic definition for the term. See MPEP §2111.01 (IV). Following a review of the claims in view of the specification herein, the Office has found that Applicant has not provided any lexicographic definitions, either expressly or implicitly, for any claim terms or phrases with any reasonable clarity, deliberateness and precision. Accordingly, the Office concludes that Applicant has not acted as his/her own lexicographer. A second exception to the prohibition of reading limitations from the specification into the claims is when the claimed feature is written as a means-plus-function. See 35 U.S.C. §112(f) and MPEP §2181-2183. As noted in MPEP §2181, a three-prong test is used to determine the scope of a means-plus-function limitation in a claim: (A) the claim limitation uses the term "means" or "step" or a term used as a substitute for "means" that is a generic placeholder (also called a nonce term or a non-structural term having no specific structural meaning) for performing the claimed function (B) the term "means" or "step" or the generic placeholder is modified by functional language, typically, but not always linked by the transition word "for" (e.g., "means for") or another linking word or phrase, such as "configured to" or "so that" (C) the term "means" or "step" or the generic placeholder is not modified by sufficient structure, material, or acts for performing the claimed function. The Office has found herein that the claims do not contain limitations of means or means type language that must be analyzed under 35 U.S.C. §112 (f). 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. The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows: 1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art. 2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue. 3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art. 4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness. Claims 1, 4, and 6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lu et al. (US 20240131955 A1), hereinafter Lu, in view of Zhu (US 20180175638 A1), and further in view of Michel et al. (US 20220041186 A1), hereinafter Michel. Regarding claim 1, Lu discloses: A control device that controls an electrified vehicle mounted with a replaceable battery, the control device comprising (Fig. 5, Vehicle Control Unit (VCU); [0006], The vehicle includes a vehicle control unit (VCU), a power battery pack, a vehicle load, and a battery manager. The power battery pack is configured to supply power to the vehicle load): a communication unit that is configured to receive information stored in a storage device ([0043], As shown in FIG. 5, in an embodiment of the present disclosure, the vehicle control unit (VCU) in the above circuit structure can communicate with devices such as the DC-DC converter assembly, the battery manager, the motor control unit, the air conditioner control unit in the air conditioner assembly, and the control unit in the air compressor assembly to realize control of each device); and a processor, wherein ([0117], an embodiment of the present disclosure further provides processing device. The processing device includes a memory, a processor, and a computer program stored on the memory and running on the processor. The processor is configured to realize the method for controlling battery swapping of a vehicle described in the above embodiment when performing the program; [0118], The processing device may be an integrated circuit configured in the VCU, the battery manager, or the DC charger assembly) and in a case where the battery is replaced, the processor is configured to (Fig. 10; [0117], an embodiment of the present disclosure further provides processing device. The processing device includes a memory, a processor, and a computer program stored on the memory and running on the processor. The processor is configured to realize the method for controlling battery swapping of a vehicle described in the above embodiment when performing the program; [0118], The processing device may be an integrated circuit configured in the VCU, the battery manager, or the DC charger assembly) However, Lu does not specifically state: the storage device stores battery characteristic information that shows a characteristic of the battery at a time of driving of the electrified vehicle in association with battery specific information unique to the battery, acquire the battery characteristic information corresponding to the battery specific information of the battery after a replacement from the storage device through the communication unit, and change following control parameters or thresholds in a vehicle control in the electrified vehicle based on the battery characteristic information obtained from the storage device: an upper limit or a lower limit of output power of the battery, an upper limit or a lower limit of regenerative power of the battery, an upper limit or a lower limit of a state of charge of the battery, a charge duration of the battery, a cruising distance of the electrified vehicle, and a power cost associated with the battery. Zhu teaches: the storage device stores battery characteristic information that shows a characteristic of the battery at a time of driving of the electrified vehicle in association with battery specific information unique to the battery ([0069], Based on information from the module status monitor 320, the module metering unit 310, the application configuration 300, and the usage configuration 350, the self-initiating module service requester 230 determines, based on service conditions 360, whether the battery module needs to be serviced (e.g., whether the power level of the battery is too low or whether the battery module is mal-functioning), what type of service is needed (replacement of a fully charged battery module or a well-functioned battery module), and what kind of service should be requested (drive-through service at a service center or house service). The service conditions 360 may store various conditions under which the battery module needs corresponding types of services and may be set at the time of deploying the battery module based on, e.g., the application and usage of the battery module. For example, if an application requires a minimum level of battery power to operate, then a threshold level of battery power may be set accordingly in the service conditions 360, which specifies that when the power level drops to the set threshold level, the battery module requires a replacement service; [0008], The disclosed battery module is associated with a battery module identifier (BMID) that uniquely identifies the battery module; [0075], In some embodiments, in certain applications such as moving vehicles, such derived battery status data may further be used to estimate how the battery status may impact the performance of the moving vehicle. For instance, the battery status data may be used to predict the distance that the vehicle can drive given the status of the battery), acquire the battery characteristic information corresponding to the battery specific information of the battery after a replacement from the storage device through the communication unit ([0092], The service request at the pack level may also include specific information about individual module service requests, specifying, e.g., which module(s) in the pack needs what service. For example, in a pack, there may be two modules, e.g., module i and module j, that need service. In this case, the module service requests include descriptions of two module service requests, one for module i and one for module j, as shown in FIG. 11A. For each module request, the module service request may include a BMID uniquely identifying the battery module. For each BMID, the service request may include a service ID, indicating the service needed for that module, and some status data related to that module. Such status data may be used by the service center to determine, e.g., how to maintain the battery module after it is replaced), It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the teachings of Zhu into the invention of Lu to include acquiring battery information as Zhu discloses with a reasonable expectation of success. One would be motivated to incorporate aspects of the cited prior art to create a more robust system that monitors battery status, usage, and battery identifiers. Additionally, the claimed invention is merely a combination of old, well-known elements of replacing a battery of an electric vehicle as disclosed by Lu and monitoring battery modules as taught by Zhu. The combination each element merely would have performed the same function as it did separately, and one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have recognized that the results of the combination would have been predictable. However, Lu in view of Zhu does not specifically state: and change following control parameters or thresholds in a vehicle control in the electrified vehicle based on the battery characteristic information obtained from the storage device: an upper limit or a lower limit of output power of the battery, an upper limit or a lower limit of regenerative power of the battery, an upper limit or a lower limit of a state of charge of the battery, a charge duration of the battery, a cruising distance of the electrified vehicle, and a power cost associated with the battery. Michel teaches: and change following control parameters or thresholds in a vehicle control in the electrified vehicle based on the battery characteristic information obtained from the storage device: an upper limit or a lower limit of output power of the battery, an upper limit or a lower limit of regenerative power of the battery, an upper limit or a lower limit of a state of charge of the battery, a charge duration of the battery, a cruising distance of the electrified vehicle, and a power cost associated with the battery ([0038], The electronic control unit 206 tracks state of charge of the high voltage 202 and low voltage 204 batteries. In some examples, the electronic control unit 206 tracks one or more of the current usage, voltage, and temperature of each of the batteries 202, 204, to determine the state of charge of each battery, and in particular, to determine the amount of energy left in each battery 202, 204. In some examples, the electronic control unit 206 also tracks state of health of the high voltage 202 and low voltage 204 batteries. The state of health tracks how the battery is aging over time. In some examples, the electronic control unit 206 is part of the onboard computer of the autonomous vehicle; [0071], the central computing system 702 stores additional battery-related information for each vehicle in the battery databases. For example, the battery databases may include data regarding, battery age for batteries in each of the vehicles, cost of battery replacement for each of the batteries, effects on hardware of each of the vehicles, hardware arrangements of the vehicles (such as sensors of the vehicles, control systems of the vehicles, and/or software implemented on the vehicles), or some combination thereof. The central computing system 702 may utilize the vehicle-specific information to determine vehicle-specific current draw from the battery and/or the cost of replacing the battery; [002], In some embodiments, the battery databases may further include data indicating the effects of the environmental factors on current draw and/or charging due to regenerative braking for the routing assignments; [0073], The central computing system 702 can generate or update one or more state-of-charge profiles for each of the batteries based on a determined degradation level and the data from the battery databases. Each state-of-charge profile of the state-of-charge profiles may include an upper bound value that indicates a maximum optimal charge for the battery and a lower bound value that indicates a minimum optimal charge for the battery. Each state of charge profile also includes a low threshold state of charge for triggering an automatic shut down event). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the teachings of Michel into the invention of Lu in view of Zhu to include acquiring battery information such as health, state of charge, current output, cost, etc. as Michel discloses with a reasonable expectation of success. One would be motivated to incorporate aspects of the cited prior art to create a more robust system that monitors battery status, usage, and history, and stores battery characteristics in a database to update battery capability. Additionally, the claimed invention is merely a combination of old, well-known elements of replacing a battery of an electric vehicle as disclosed by Lu in view of Zhu and monitoring battery usage and storing information in a database as taught by Michel. The combination each element merely would have performed the same function as it did separately, and one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have recognized that the results of the combination would have been predictable. Regarding claim 4, Lu in view of Zhu and Michel teaches: in a case where the battery characteristic information corresponding to the battery after the replacement is stored in the storage device, the processor is configured to (Fig. 10; [0102], As shown in FIG. 10, it is determined by the VCU whether the vehicle is in the high-voltage power-on state. When the vehicle is in the high-voltage power-on state, the battery swapping instruction inputted by the user is acquired, and after the battery swapping instruction is acquired, the VCU blocks the traction of the vehicle; [0103], Further, the VCU can transmit the battery swapping instruction to the battery manager. The battery manager acquires the current total voltage of the power battery pack. The enable instruction and the current total voltage of the battery pack are transmitted to the DC charger assembly through Wi-Fi; [0113], Finally, after the confirmation message transmitted by the battery manager is received, the VCU may release the traction blockade in response to the confirmation message, and the method ends) determine whether or not it is necessary to change the vehicle control based on the battery characteristic information corresponding to the battery after the replacement stored in the storage device (Fig. 10; [0102], As shown in FIG. 10, it is determined by the VCU whether the vehicle is in the high-voltage power-on state. When the vehicle is in the high-voltage power-on state, the battery swapping instruction inputted by the user is acquired, and after the battery swapping instruction is acquired, the VCU blocks the traction of the vehicle; [0103], Further, the VCU can transmit the battery swapping instruction to the battery manager. The battery manager acquires the current total voltage of the power battery pack. The enable instruction and the current total voltage of the battery pack are transmitted to the DC charger assembly through Wi-Fi; [0113], Finally, after the confirmation message transmitted by the battery manager is received, the VCU may release the traction blockade in response to the confirmation message, and the method ends), change the vehicle control in a case where it is determined that it is necessary to change the vehicle control, and maintain a current vehicle control in a case where it is determined that it is not necessary to change the vehicle control (Fig. 10; [0102], As shown in FIG. 10, it is determined by the VCU whether the vehicle is in the high-voltage power-on state. When the vehicle is in the high-voltage power-on state, the battery swapping instruction inputted by the user is acquired, and after the battery swapping instruction is acquired, the VCU blocks the traction of the vehicle; [0103], Further, the VCU can transmit the battery swapping instruction to the battery manager. The battery manager acquires the current total voltage of the power battery pack. The enable instruction and the current total voltage of the battery pack are transmitted to the DC charger assembly through Wi-Fi; [0113], Finally, after the confirmation message transmitted by the battery manager is received, the VCU may release the traction blockade in response to the confirmation message, and the method ends); and in a case where the battery characteristic information corresponding to the battery after the replacement is not stored in the storage device, the processor is configured to maintain the current vehicle control (Fig. 10; [0102], As shown in FIG. 10, it is determined by the VCU whether the vehicle is in the high-voltage power-on state. When the vehicle is in the high-voltage power-on state, the battery swapping instruction inputted by the user is acquired, and after the battery swapping instruction is acquired, the VCU blocks the traction of the vehicle; [0103], Further, the VCU can transmit the battery swapping instruction to the battery manager. The battery manager acquires the current total voltage of the power battery pack. The enable instruction and the current total voltage of the battery pack are transmitted to the DC charger assembly through Wi-Fi; [0113], Finally, after the confirmation message transmitted by the battery manager is received, the VCU may release the traction blockade in response to the confirmation message, and the method ends). Regarding claim 6, Lu in view of Zhu and Michel teaches: wherein the storage device is a server located outside the electrified vehicle, and the processor is further configured to transmit data including battery power, battery voltage, and a battery temperature of the battery obtained during traveling of the electrified vehicle to the server through the communication unit to update the battery characteristic information corresponding to the battery (Michel: [0067], The central computing system 702 may include one or more battery data databases to store state of charge for each vehicle 710a-710c. The battery data databases may be communicatively coupled to the central computing system 702 and the battery data databases may be stored on one or more servers and/or other memory devices. The battery data databases may store data related to charging and/or discharging of batteries, such as charging curves of the batteries and/or discharging curves of the batteries; [0029], the computer determines a state-of-charge of the batteries 106 based on a voltage of the batteries 106, a current drawn from the batteries 106, temperature of the batteries 106, other data related to the batteries 106, and/or a combination thereof). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the additional teachings of Michel into the invention of Lu in view of Zhu and Michel to include storing battery information on a server to update battery performance as Michel discloses with a reasonable expectation of success. One would be motivated to incorporate aspects of the cited prior art to create a more robust system that monitors battery status, usage, and history, and stores battery characteristics in a database to update battery capability. Additionally, the claimed invention is merely a combination of old, well-known elements of replacing a battery of an electric vehicle as disclosed by Lu in view of Zhu and Michel and monitoring battery usage and storing information in a database as taught by Michel. The combination each element merely would have performed the same function as it did separately, and one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have recognized that the results of the combination would have been predictable. Claims 2 and 3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lu in view of Zhu and Michel, and further in view of Saito et al. (US 20240116392 A1), hereinafter Saito. Regarding claim 2, Lu in view of Zhu and Michel does not specifically state: wherein the processor notifies information related to a change of the vehicle control to a user of the electrified vehicle in a case where the vehicle control is changed by using the battery characteristic information corresponding to the battery after the replacement. Saito teaches: wherein the processor notifies information related to a change of the vehicle control to a user of the electrified vehicle in a case where the vehicle control is changed by using the battery characteristic information corresponding to the battery after the replacement ([0010], information on the user's needs regarding battery replacement; and when a specific event associated with battery replacement occurs, generate a notification screen for notification of the specific event based on the setting information, and cause the terminal device to display the notification screen). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the teachings of Saito into the invention of Lu in view of Zhu and Michel to include notifying a user of vehicle status after a battery replacement as Saito discloses with a reasonable expectation of success. One would be motivated to incorporate aspects of the cited prior art to create a more robust system that notifies a user of vehicle status. Additionally, the claimed invention is merely a combination of old, well-known elements of replacing a battery of an electric vehicle as disclosed by Lu in view of Zhu and Michel and notifying a user as taught by Saito. The combination each element merely would have performed the same function as it did separately, and one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have recognized that the results of the combination would have been predictable. Regarding claim 3, Lu in view of Zhu, Michel and Saito teaches: wherein the processor notifies information related to the change to the user by transmitting information related to the change to at least one of a display device mounted on the electrified vehicle and a user terminal possessed by the user (Saito: [0010], information on the user's needs regarding battery replacement; and when a specific event associated with battery replacement occurs, generate a notification screen for notification of the specific event based on the setting information, and cause the terminal device to display the notification screen). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the additional teachings of Saito into the invention of Lu in view of Zhu, Michel and Saito to include notifying a user of vehicle status through a display after a battery replacement as Saito discloses with a reasonable expectation of success. One would be motivated to incorporate aspects of the cited prior art to create a more robust system that notifies a user of vehicle status. Additionally, the claimed invention is merely a combination of old, well-known elements of replacing a battery of an electric vehicle as disclosed by Lu in view of Zhu, Michel, and Saito and notifying a user as taught by Saito. The combination each element merely would have performed the same function as it did separately, and one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have recognized that the results of the combination would have been predictable. Claim 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lu in view of Zhu and Michel, and further in view of Hussain et al. (US 20130096747 A1), hereinafter Hussain. Regarding claim 7, Lu in view of Zhu and Michel does not specifically state: wherein the storage device is provided in the electrified vehicle, and the processor is further configured to accumulate data including battery power, battery voltage, and battery temperature of the battery obtained from the electrified vehicle to update the battery characteristic information in the storage device. Hussain teaches: wherein the storage device is provided in the electrified vehicle, and the processor is further configured to accumulate data including battery power, battery voltage, and battery temperature of the battery obtained from the electrified vehicle to update the battery characteristic information in the storage device ([0047] To control these two main systems, the VCU must have information about the vehicle, the driver inputs, and other supplemental information that is used to operate at optimum efficiency. This information includes: [0048] The state of charge (SOC) of the batteries used as the main power source for the drive motor(s). This state of charge data includes: [0049] Voltage [0050] Percent charged/discharged [0051] Recent history of charge/discharge [0052] Long term history such as number of deep discharge cycles [0053] Temperature [0054] Drive motor information [0055] Position of the shaft and speed of rotation (if it is moving) [0056] Temperature [0057] Voltage/Current profile [0058] Motor type information (number of phases, etc.) [0059] Engine status [0060] Running or stopped [0061] Speed (RPM) [0062] Temperature/Oil Pressure/other critical operating indicators [0063] Fuel pump/injection system operational parameters (if used) [0064] Generator status [0065] Shaft position and speed of rotation (if it is moving) [0066] Coupled with the Engine or not (for tandem motor design) [0067] Coupled with the Drive Motor or not (for tandem motor design) [0068] Voltage/Current output [0069] Temperature [0070] Power Electronics status [0071] Error conditions [0072] Temperature [0073] Driver inputs [0074] Status of the vehicle--on or off [0075] Emergency brake/"Park" engaged or not [0076] Forward/Reverse direction selection and operating mode (economy/performance/electric only) [0077] Accelerator pedal position/pressure [0078] Brake pedal position/pressure [0079] Destination [0080] Vehicle operational information to provide additional efficiency information; [0163], any operational parameters are updated and vehicle operation continues). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the teachings of Hussain into the invention of Lu in view of Zhu and Michel to include storing battery information on a vehicle to monitor and update performance as Hussain discloses with a reasonable expectation of success. One would be motivated to incorporate aspects of the cited prior art to create a more robust system that monitors battery status, usage, and history, and stores battery characteristics locally to update battery capability. Additionally, the claimed invention is merely a combination of old, well-known elements of replacing a battery of an electric vehicle as disclosed by Lu in view of Zhu and Michel and monitoring battery usage and storing information in a database as taught by Hussain. The combination each element merely would have performed the same function as it did separately, and one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have recognized that the results of the combination would have been predictable. Conclusion THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a). A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to IZCALLI ANDRE RIOS-AGUIRRE whose telephone number is (571)272-0790. The examiner can normally be reached Monday through Friday 9:00 - 17:00 EST. Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Scott A. Browne can be reached at (571) 270-0151. 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. /I.A.R./Examiner, Art Unit 3666 /SCOTT A BROWNE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3666
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Prosecution Timeline

Nov 19, 2024
Application Filed
Mar 25, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §103
Jun 22, 2026
Response Filed
Aug 19, 2026
Final Rejection mailed — §103 (current)

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3-4
Expected OA Rounds
79%
Grant Probability
98%
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2y 6m (~8m remaining)
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