DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-3, 5, 8, 9, 12, 15-17, 19, and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Ueno et al. (US 20200021023 A1, hereafter Ueno).
Regarding claim 1, Ueno teaches an apparatus comprising:
a capacitive touch system (Figs. 1 and 2, [0028], where there is a capacitive touch panel) including:
a touch controller (130) (Fig. 1, [0031], where there is a control unit 130);
a touch sensor (120) operably coupled to the touch controller (Fig. 1, [0028], where the touch panel 120 outputs position information);
a radio frequency (RF) identification (RFID) antenna (110) operably coupled to the touch controller (Fig. 1, [0032], where the NFC antenna 110 and control unit 131 use touch position information);
the touch controller to:
receive capacitance signals from the touch sensor (Fig. 1, [0028], where the touch panel 120 outputs position information);
determine touch position data based, at least in part, on the capacitance signals (Fig. 1, [0028], where the touch panel 120 outputs position information);
drive an RF signal to the RFID antenna for transmission of the RF signal from the RFID antenna, the RF signal to activate an RFID tag to produce a modulated RF signal modulated according to RFID data of the RFID tag (Fig. 4, [0024], [0032], where the NFC antenna is driven according by position information from the touch controller);
receive a demodulated signal indicating the RFID data, the demodulated signal demodulated from the modulated RF signal received from the RFID antenna (Fig. 1, [0024]-[0025], the RF antenna transmitting back information such as payment processing or other data); and
detect the RFID data from the demodulated signal (Fig. 1, [0024]-[0025], [0032]-[0033], the RF antenna transmitting back information such as payment processing or other data).
Regarding claim 2, Ueno teaches the apparatus of claim 1, comprising: a host controller to control one or more operations of the apparatus, the host controller coupled to the touch controller via a communication bus, wherein the touch controller is to communicate the touch position data to the host controller via the communication bus (Fig. 1, [0031]-[0033], where the control unit 130 receives touch position data from touch panel 120 via communication channel to the touch information processing unit 132), and wherein the touch controller is to communicate the RFID data to the host controller via the communication bus (Fig. 1, [0025], [0031]-[0033], where the control unit 130 receives the RFID information from the NFC antenna via NFC communication control unit 131).
Regarding claim 3, Ueno teaches the apparatus of claim 2, wherein: the touch controller comprises a touch controller integrated circuit (IC), the touch controller IC connected to the communication bus for communication with the host controller (Fig. 1, [0141], where the control blocks for information processing device 10 may be formed using an integrated circuit; [0031]-[0033], where the control unit of the touch information processing unit 132 is connected to a communication bus for relaying control and information).
Regarding claim 5, Ueno teaches the apparatus of claim 2, wherein: the touch controller is to:
determine whether the RFID data meets one or more predetermined criteria ([0024], [0032]-[0033], where based on a position and type of device, the NFC antenna 110is driven to communicate with the NFC terminal 20);
provide a trigger pulse to the host controller responsive to the RFID data meeting the one or more predetermined criteria ([0024], [0032]-[0033], where based on a position and type of device, the NFC antenna 110is driven to communicate with the NFC terminal 20); and
communicate the RFID data to the host controller via the communication bus responsive to providing the trigger pulse (Fig. 1, [0025], [0031]-[0033], where the control unit 130 receives the RFID information from the NFC antenna via NFC communication control unit 131).
Regarding claim 8, Ueno teaches the apparatus of claim 1, wherein: the touch controller includes: a demodulator, the demodulator coupled to the RFID antenna, the demodulator to demodulate the modulated RF signal received from the RFID antenna (Fig. 1, [0024]-[0025], the RF antenna transmitting back information such as payment processing or other data, the control unit necessarily including the ability to demodulate the received RF signal).
Regarding claim 9, Ueno teaches the apparatus of claim 1, wherein: the touch controller is to drive the RF signal to the RFID antenna at least partially responsive to detecting presence, at the touch sensor, of a transaction card that carries the RFID tag (Fig. 4, [0024], [0032], where the NFC antenna is driven according by position information from the touch controller, especially for situations such as payment processing).
Regarding claim 12, Ueno teaches the apparatus of claim 1, wherein the apparatus comprises a point of sales (PoS) device including the capacitive touch system, and the RFID data comprises a unique identifier associated with a transaction card ([0024]-[0025], where the NFC terminal 20 and information processing system 10 are part of a payment processing system, including the use of cards with identifiers).
Regarding claim 15, Ueno teaches a method comprising:
at a touch controller,
receiving capacitance signals from a touch sensor (Figs. 1 and 2, [0028], where there is a capacitive touch panel);
determining touch position data based, at least in part, on the capacitance signals (Fig. 1, [0028], where the touch panel 120 outputs position information);
communicating the touch position data to a host controller (Fig. 1, [0031]-[0033], where the control unit 130 receives touch position data from touch panel 120 via communication channel to the touch information processing unit 132);
generating a radio frequency (RF) signal for transmission from an RFID antenna, the RF signal to activate an RFID tag to produce a modulated RF signal modulated according to RFID data of the RFID tag (Fig. 4, [0024], [0032], where the NFC antenna is driven according by position information from the touch controller);
receiving a demodulated signal indicating the RFID data, the demodulated signal demodulated from the modulated RF signal received from the RFID antenna (Fig. 1, [0024]-[0025], the RF antenna transmitting back information such as payment processing or other data); and
detecting the RFID data from the demodulated signal (Fig. 1, [0024]-[0025], [0032]-[0033], the RF antenna transmitting back information such as payment processing or other data); and
communicating the RFID data to the host controller (Fig. 1, [0025], [0031]-[0033], where the control unit 130 receives the RFID information from the NFC antenna via NFC communication control unit 131).
Regarding claim 16, Ueno teaches the method of claim 15, wherein: the touch position data is communicated to the host controller via a communication bus (Fig. 1, [0031]-[0033], where the control unit 130 receives touch position data from touch panel 120 via communication channel to the touch information processing unit 132); and the RFID data is communicated to the host controller via the communication bus (Fig. 1, [0025], [0031]-[0033], where the control unit 130 receives the RFID information from the NFC antenna via NFC communication control unit 131).
Regarding claim 17, Ueno teaches the method of claim 16, wherein: the touch controller comprises a touch controller integrated circuit (IC) (Fig. 1, [0141], where the control blocks for information processing device 10 may be formed using an integrated circuit).
Regarding claim 19, Ueno teaches the method of claim 15, comprising: at the touch controller, receiving the modulated RF signal from the RFID antenna (Fig. 4, [0024], [0032], where the NFC antenna is driven according by position information from the touch controller); and demodulating, in a demodulator within the touch controller, the modulated RF signal to generate the demodulated signal (Fig. 1, [0024]-[0025], the RF antenna transmitting back information such as payment processing or other data).
Regarding claim 20, Ueno teaches the method of claim 15, comprising: at the touch controller, detecting presence, at the touch sensor, of a transaction card that carries the RFID tag, wherein generating the RF signal for transmission from the RFID antenna is at least partially responsive to the detected presence of the card that carries the RFID tag ([0024]-[0025], where the NFC terminal 20 and information processing system 10 are part of a payment processing system, including the use of cards with identifiers).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ueno et al. (US 20200021023 A1, hereafter Ueno) in view of Vetter et al. (EP 3996326 A1, hereafter Vetter).
Regarding claim 4, Ueno would show the apparatus of claim 2. But, Ueno does not explicitly teach the apparatus wherein: the touch controller is to: encrypt the RFID data; and communicate the encrypted RFID data to the host controller via the communication bus. However, this was well known in the art as evidenced by Vetter (Fig. 1, [0031], where the RFID system transmits encrypted data that is decrypted elsewhere). Both Ueno and Vetter teach RFID transmission systems. Ueno is silent with respect to the use of encryption for RFID transmission. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to encrypt RFID transmission as taught by Vetter where more secure communication is required.
Claim 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ueno et al. (US 20200021023 A1, hereafter Ueno) in view of Takakura et al. (US 20220391606 A1, hereafter Takakura).
Regarding claim 6, Ueno would show the apparatus according to claim 2. But, Ueno does not explicitly teach the apparatus wherein the detected RFID data comprises a detected identification number, and wherein: the touch controller is to: receive, from the host controller, a number of identification numbers and store the number of identification numbers in memory; compare the detected identification number and respective ones of the number of identification numbers stored in the memory; and communicate the detected identification number to the host controller at least partially responsive to a match between the detected identification number and one of the number of identification numbers stored in the memory. However, this was well known in the art as evidenced by Takakura ([0061]-[0063], [0095], where the terminal receives the identification number of a credit card and compares this to a list provided by a payment processing server). Both Ueno and Takakura teach touchscreen devices having an antenna. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the payment processing of Ueno using the method of Takakura and such an implementation would have yielded a predictable result.
Claims 7, 11, and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ueno et al. (US 20200021023 A1, hereafter Ueno) in view of Que et al. (US 20160365620 A1, hereafter Que).
Regarding claim 7, Ueno would show the apparatus of claim 1. But, Ueno does not explicitly teach the apparatus wherein the capacitive touch system includes: a demodulator external to the touch controller, the demodulator coupled to the RFID antenna and the touch controller, the demodulator to demodulate the modulated RF signal received from the RFID antenna. However, this was well known in the art as evidenced by Que (Figs. 4A-4B, [0032]-[0037], where there is a demodulation unit 2241 coupled to the antenna 12 and the terminal main controller 30). Both Ueno and Que teach devices with RFID antennae and touch sensing. Ueno is silent with respect a separate external component for performing demodulation of a modulated RF signal. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate a different modulation element as taught by Que in the device of Ueno so as to enable design choices around component selection.
Regarding claim 11, Ueno would show the apparatus of claim 1. But, Ueno does not explicitly teach the apparatus wherein the RFID antenna comprises conductive material on one or more layers of the touch sensor. However, this was well known in the art as evidenced by Que (Fig. 1, [0026]-[0028], where a wire of the touchscreen is used as a NFC antenna). Both Ueno and Que teach touchscreen devices including an antenna. Ueno is silent with respect to the material comprising the NFC antenna. It would have been obvious to one ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use wiring as taught by Que to form the antenna in Ueno so as to reduce needed materials.
Regarding claim 18, Ueno would show the method of claim 15. But, Ueno does not explicitly teach the method comprising: at the touch controller, receiving the demodulated signal from a demodulator external to the touch controller. However, this was well known in the art as evidenced by Que (Figs. 4A-4B, [0032]-[0037], where there is a demodulation unit 2241 coupled to the antenna 12 and the terminal main controller 30). Both Ueno and Que teach devices with RFID antennae and touch sensing. Ueno is silent with respect a separate external component for performing demodulation of a modulated RF signal. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate a different modulation element as taught by Que in the device of Ueno so as to enable design choices around component selection.
Claims 10 and 21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ueno et al. (US 20200021023 A1, hereafter Ueno) in view of Peng et al. (US 20140145982 A1, hereafter Peng).
Regarding claim 10, Ueno would show the apparatus of claim 1. But, Ueno does not explicitly teach the apparatus wherein: the touch controller is to: prior to driving the RF signal to the RFID antenna, pause one or more scanning operations used to receive the capacitance signals from the touch sensor. However, this was well known in the art as evidenced by Peng (Fig. 1, [0021], where touch scanning operations are paused before operation of the antenna). Both Ueno and Peng teach touch devices with antennae. Ueno is silent with respect to pausing operation of the touch device during antenna transmissions. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to operate the apparatus of Ueno according to the method of Peng so as to prevent communication interference (Peng [0031]).
Regarding claim 21, Ueno would show the method of claim 15. But, Ueno does not explicitly teach the method comprising: at the touch controller, prior to generating the RF signal for transmission from the RFID antenna in an RFID scan, pausing one or more scanning operations used to receive the capacitance signals from the touch sensor; and after completion of the RFID scan, resuming the one or more scanning operations used to receive the capacitance signals from the touch sensor. However, this was well known in the art as evidenced by Peng (Fig. 1, [0021], where touch scanning operations are paused before operation of the antenna). Both Ueno and Peng teach touch devices with antennae. Ueno is silent with respect to pausing operation of the touch device during antenna transmissions. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to operate the apparatus of Ueno according to the method of Peng so as to prevent communication interference (Peng [0031]).
Claims 13, 14, 22, 23, 25, and 26 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ueno et al. (US 20200021023 A1, hereafter Ueno) in view of Taylor (US 20240039150 A1).
Regarding claim 13, Ueno teaches the apparatus of claim 1, where the touch controller comprises a touch controller integrated circuit (IC) (Fig. 1, [0141], where the control blocks for information processing device 10 may be formed using an integrated circuit), the touch controller IC including:
an input/output (I/O) interface circuitry coupled to the central processor, the I/O interface circuitry connected to the communication bus for communication of the touch position data and the RFID data to the host controller ([0024], [0032]-[0033], where the control unit 130 includes functionality for communicating touch position data and RFID data).
But, Ueno does not explicitly teach the apparatus wherein the touch controller further includes:
a digital signal processor (DSP) circuitry;
a central processor operably coupled to the DSP circuitry;
a number of transmit lines for coupling to the touch sensor;
a drive circuitry, the drive circuitry coupled to the number of transmit lines, the drive circuitry to drive modulated signals to respective ones of the number of transmit lines;
a number of receive lines for coupling to the touch sensor;
a sense circuitry, the sense circuitry coupled to the number of receive lines, the sense circuitry to detect the capacitance signals of the touch sensor from respective ones of the number of receive lines.
However, this was well known in the art as evidenced by Taylor, where Taylor teaches the touch controller including:
a digital signal processor (DSP) circuitry (Fig. 2, [0072], where the touch controller includes a digital signal processor);
a central processor operably coupled to the DSP circuitry (Fig. 2, [0072], where the touch controller includes a CPU);
a number of transmit lines for coupling to the touch sensor (Fig. 2, [0071]-[0073], where one set of electrodes is driven, the wires connected to the electrodes being transmit lines);
a drive circuitry, the drive circuitry coupled to the number of transmit lines, the drive circuitry to drive modulated signals to respective ones of the number of transmit lines (Fig. 2, [0071]-[0073], where one set of electrodes is driven, the wires connected to the electrodes being transmit lines);
a number of receive lines for coupling to the touch sensor (Fig. 2, [0071]-[0073], where one set of electrodes is sensed, the wires connected to the electrodes being receive lines); and
a sense circuitry, the sense circuitry coupled to the number of receive lines, the sense circuitry to detect the capacitance signals of the touch sensor from respective ones of the number of receive lines (Fig. 2, [0071]-[0073], where one set of electrodes is sensed, the wires connected to the electrodes being receive lines).
Both Ueno and Taylor teach touchscreen devices including an antenna. Ueno is silent with respect to the implementation of the capacitive touch sensor. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the capacitive touch panel of Ueno according to the teachings of Taylor and that such an implementation would have yielded a predictable result.
Regarding claim 14, the combination of Ueno and Taylor would show the apparatus of claim 13. Ueno in the combination further teaches the apparatus wherein:
the touch controller IC includes:
an RFID antenna transmit line coupled to the RFID antenna (Fig. 1, [0026]-[0025], [0031]-[0033], where there is a line transmitting data from NFC communication control unit to the NFC antenna 110);
an RFID antenna driver circuit coupled to the RFID antenna transmit line, the DSP circuitry and the RFID antenna driver circuit to drive the RF signal to the RFID antenna for transmission of the RF signal from the RFID antenna (Fig. 1, [0026]-[0027], [0031]-[0033], where the NFC antenna is driven to communication with the NFC terminal);
an RFID antenna receive line coupled to the RFID antenna (Fig. 1, [0026]-[0025], [0031]-[0033], where there is a line receiving data from NFC communication control unit to the NFC antenna 110, the line serving to both transmit and receive data); and
an RFID antenna sense circuit coupled to the RFID antenna receive line, the RFID antenna sense circuit to detect the RFID data from the demodulated signal (Fig. 1, [0024]-[0025], [0032]-[0033], the RF antenna transmitting back information such as payment processing or other data).
Regarding claim 22, Ueno teaches an apparatus, comprising: a touch controller integrated circuit (IC) ((Fig. 1, [0141], where the control blocks for information processing device 10 may be formed using an integrated circuit), the touch controller IC including:
a radio frequency (RF) identification (RFID) antenna transmit line for coupling to an RFID antenna (Fig. 1, [0026]-[0025], [0031]-[0033], where there is a line transmitting data from NFC communication control unit to the NFC antenna 110); and an RFID antenna driver circuit coupled to the RFID antenna transmit line, the DSP circuitry and the RFID antenna driver circuit to generate an RF signal for transmission from the RFID antenna (Fig. 1, [0026]-[0027], [0031]-[0033], where the NFC antenna is driven to communication with the NFC terminal).
But, Ueno does not explicitly teach the touch controller further comprising: a digital signal processor (DSP) circuitry; a central processor coupled to the DSP circuitry; a number of transmit lines for coupling to a touch sensor; a number of receive lines for coupling to the touch sensor; a drive circuitry coupled to the number of transmit lines, the DSP circuitry and the drive circuitry to drive modulated signals to respective ones of the number of transmit lines; and a sense circuitry coupled to the number of receive lines, the sense circuitry to sense capacitance signals of the touch sensor from respective ones of the number of receive lines.
However, this was well known in the art as evidenced by Taylor, where Taylor teaches the touch controller IC including:
a digital signal processor (DSP) circuitry (Fig. 2, [0072], where the touch controller includes a digital signal processor); a central processor coupled to the DSP circuitry (Fig. 2, [0072], where the touch controller includes a CPU); a number of transmit lines for coupling to the touch sensor (Fig. 2, [0071]-[0073], where one set of electrodes is driven, the wires connected to the electrodes being transmit lines); a number of receive lines for coupling to the touch sensor (Fig. 2, [0071]-[0073], where one set of electrodes is sensed, the wires connected to the electrodes being receive lines); a drive circuitry, the drive circuitry coupled to the number of transmit lines, the drive circuitry to drive modulated signals to respective ones of the number of transmit lines (Fig. 2, [0071]-[0073], where one set of electrodes is driven, the wires connected to the electrodes being transmit lines); and a sense circuitry, the sense circuitry coupled to the number of receive lines, the sense circuitry to detect the capacitance signals of the touch sensor from respective ones of the number of receive lines (Fig. 2, [0071]-[0073], where one set of electrodes is sensed, the wires connected to the electrodes being receive lines).
Both Ueno and Taylor teach touchscreen devices including an antenna. Ueno is silent with respect to the implementation of the capacitive touch sensor. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the capacitive touch panel of Ueno according to the teachings of Taylor and that such an implementation would have yielded a predictable result.
Regarding claim 23, the combination of Ueno and Taylor would show the apparatus of claim 22. Ueno further teaches the apparatus wherein the RF signal is to activate an RFID tag to produce a modulated RF signal modulated according to RFID data of the RFID tag (Fig. 4, [0024], [0032], where the NFC antenna is driven according by position information from the touch controller), and wherein the touch controller IC includes: an RFID antenna receive line for coupling to the RFID antenna (Fig. 1, [0026]-[0025], [0031]-[0033], where there is a line receiving data from NFC communication control unit to the NFC antenna 110, the line serving to both transmit and receive data); and an RFID antenna sense circuit coupled to the RFID antenna receive line, the RFID antenna sense circuit to detect the RFID data from a demodulated signal, the demodulated signal demodulated from the modulated RF signal received from the RFID antenna.
Regarding claim 25, the combination of Ueno and Taylor would show the apparatus of claim 23. Ueno further teaches the apparatus comprising: a demodulator, the demodulator coupled to the RFID antenna sense circuit via the RFID antenna receive line of the touch controller IC, the demodulator to demodulate the modulated RF signal received from the RFID antenna (Fig. 1, [0024]-[0025], the RF antenna transmitting back information such as payment processing or other data, the control unit necessarily including the ability to demodulate the received RF signal).
Regarding claim 26, the combination of Ueno and Taylor would show the apparatus of claim 23. Ueno further teaches the apparatus wherein: the DSP circuitry is to determine touch position data based, at least in part, on the capacitance signals (Fig. 1, [0028], where the touch panel 120 outputs position information); and the touch controller IC includes an input/output (I/O) interface circuitry, the I/O interface circuitry coupled to the central processor, the I/O interface circuitry connected to a communication bus for communication of the touch position data and the RFID data to a host controller ([0024], [0032]-[0033], where the control unit 130 includes functionality for communicating touch position data and RFID data).
Claim 24 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ueno et al. (US 20200021023 A1, hereafter Ueno) in view of Taylor (US 20240039150 A1) and Que et al. (US 20160365620 A1, hereafter Que).
Regarding claim 24, the combination of Ueno and Taylor would show the apparatus controller of claim 23. But, the combination does not explicitly teach the apparatus wherein the RFID antenna sense circuit is for coupling to a demodulator external to the touch controller, the demodulator to demodulate the modulated RF signal received from the RFID antenna. However, this was well known in the art as evidenced by Que (Figs. 4A-4B, [0032]-[0037], where there is a demodulation unit 2241 coupled to the antenna 12 and the terminal main controller 30). Both Ueno and Que teach devices with RFID antennae and touch sensing. Ueno is silent with respect a separate external component for performing demodulation of a modulated RF signal. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate a different modulation element as taught by Que in the device of Ueno so as to enable design choices around component selection.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 10/31/2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
On pages 12-17 of Applicant’s arguments/remarks, Applicant alleges that Ueno fails to teach or suggest features of a “touch controller” that performs both capacitive touch processing and the RFID process recited in each independent claim. However, Ueno teaches clearly that its control blocks may be implemented as integrated circuits (Ueno [0141]). Furthermore, even if it were successfully argued that a single IC was not performing both some amount of capacitive touch processing and some amount of RFID processing, it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine or separate blocks of processing as needed (see MPEP 2144.04(V)).
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 PETER D MCLOONE whose telephone number is (571)272-4631. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9 AM - 5 PM.
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/PETER D MCLOONE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2621