Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 01, 2026
Application No. 19/174,467

TECHNIQUES FOR MANAGING SOLID-STATE STORAGE DEVICES

Non-Final OA §103
Filed
Apr 09, 2025
Priority
May 03, 2024 — provisional 63/642,556
Examiner
MA, WEI
Art Unit
Tech Center
Assignee
Apple Inc.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
73%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
1y 4m
Est. Remaining
79%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 73% — above average
73%
Career Allowance Rate
81 granted / 111 resolved
+13.0% vs TC avg
Moderate +6% lift
Without
With
+6.3%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 10m
Avg Prosecution
12 currently pending
Career history
119
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
4.9%
-35.1% vs TC avg
§103
64.8%
+24.8% vs TC avg
§102
5.8%
-34.2% vs TC avg
§112
22.3%
-17.7% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 111 resolved cases

Office Action

§103
CTNF 19/174,467 CTNF 96556 DETAILED ACTION Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status 07-03-aia AIA 15-10-aia The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA. Priority Applicant’s claim for the benefit of a provisional application 63/642,556 filed on 05/03/2024 is acknowledged. Information Disclosure Statement 06-52 The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 08/15/2025. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner. Specification 07-29 AIA The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities: Paragraph 5 “ The described apsects” looks like a typo for “The described aspects” . Appropriate correction is required. Claim Objections Claims 13 objected to because the Office noticed a difference between the claim and the specification. In the limitation “and the at least one second band logically includes one or more second blocks of the second storage device that complement the one or more first blocks of the at least one first band,”, claim 13 recites “second blocks … complement … first blocks”. In the specification paragraph 7 and 53, “second width … complements … first width”. According to the specification, band width, not blocks, complements one another. Appropriate correction is required. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 07-06 AIA 15-10-15 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. 07-20-aia AIA 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. 07-21-aia AIA Claim (s) 1-5, 7-13, 16, 19-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Gorrle (US 20250199702), in view of Duzly (US 20180129448) . Regarding Claim 1, Gorrle teaches A method for managing write amplification on a storage device, the method comprising, by a computing device that is communicatively coupled to the storage device: receiving a request to write data to the storage device; (Gorrle [0017] FIG. 1. System 100 includes a host 102 and a storage device 104 [0019] Controller 108 may interface with host 102 and process foreground operations including instructions transmitted from host 102… controller 108 may read data from and/or write to memory device 110 based on instructions received from host 102) generating, within the storage device, at least one band having a respective width that corresponds to the particular level of write amplification; and writing the data into the at least one band. (Gorrle [0029] By forming the super block to correspond with the size of the data being stored, controller 108 may fill the appropriately sized super block without padding the data which may postpone the early trigger of garbage collection or other relocation functions due to no or few free blocks on memory device 110. [0018] Storage device 104 may include one or more non-volatile memory devices 110 a -110 n ) (i.e., super block is the claimed band) Gorrle does not teach identifying that the storage device is experiencing a particular level of write amplification among a plurality of levels of write amplification; However, Duzly teaches identifying that the storage device is experiencing a particular level of write amplification among a plurality of levels of write amplification; (Duzly [0014] a method and system for write amplification analysis) Gorrle and Duzly are analogous art because they are from the same field of memory control. Before the effective filing date of the invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art, having the teaching of Gorrle and Duzly to modify the Gorrle‘s system of flexible sized super block to reduce write amplification factor with Duzly’s teaching of write amplification analysis. The motivation for doing so would be that (Duzly [0070]) the write amplification analysis can be used to optimize the storage system for folding, garbage collection, etc. Regarding Claim 2, Gorrle and Duzly teach Gorrle teaches wherein the data is not stored on the storage device and the request is to write the data to a location on the storage device, (Gorrle [0028] Controller 108 may route the installation data to be stored in a TLC super block for better write amplification.) or wherein the data is already stored at a first location of the storage device, and the request is to relocate the data to a second location on the storage device. Regarding Claim 3, Gorrle and Duzly teach The method of claim 2, wherein, when the data is already stored at the first location, (Gorrle [0004] When a workflow being carried out on the storage device does not suit the superblock configuration, a controller on the storage device may perform unnecessary data relocations to manage the data on the memory device.) (i.e., a workflow being carried out on the storage device means the data is stored on the storage device) the method includes assigning a property to the at least one band, wherein the property indicates a respective number of times that the data stored within the at least one band has been relocated within the storage device by way of garbage collection activities. (Gorrle [0004] Relocating data from one block to another block may affect the overall write amplification factor of the storage device [0005] The controller optimizes the super block configuration based on the data characteristics and aligns the super block size with the data characteristics. The controller then forms the super block with one or more physical block, wherein by aligning the super block size with the data characteristics, data relocation on the super block is reduced and increases to the program erase cycle count associated with a physical block is reduced.) (note: claim limitation “when …” is a contingent limitation and therefore limitations are not required in the rejection) Regarding Claim 4, Gorrle and Duzly teach Gorrle teaches wherein the storage device includes a plurality of dies that include a given die that includes a plurality of planes, wherein a given plane of the plurality of planes includes a plurality of blocks that include a particular block that includes a plurality of pages. (Gorrle [0003] Physical blocks in the memory device may be grouped together into a plane, and a die may include a single plane full of data blocks or multiple planes that have been linked together. The number and configurations of planes within a die may be adaptable.) Regarding Claim 5, Gorrle and Duzly teach Gorrle teaches wherein the at least one band logically includes one or more blocks of the storage device, and wherein a given plurality of blocks is included in a different respective plane of the respective plurality of planes, wherein the different respective plane is included in a corresponding die of the plurality of dies of the storage device. (Gorrle [0003] Physical blocks in the memory device may be grouped together into a plane, and a die may include a single plane full of data blocks or multiple planes that have been linked together. The number and configurations of planes within a die may be adaptable.) Regarding Claim 7, Gorrle and Duzly teach Gorrle teaches wherein the respective width of the at least one band is sized in accordance with a total number of dips included in the storage device. (Gorrle [0003] Physical blocks in the memory device may be grouped together into a plane, and a die may include a single plane full of data blocks or multiple planes that have been linked together. The number and configurations of planes within a die may be adaptable. [0005] The controller optimizes the super block configuration based on the data characteristics and aligns the super block size with the data characteristics.) Regarding Claim 8, Gorrle and Duzly teach Gorrle does not teach but Duzly teaches wherein the particular level of write amplification is determined based on the request to write the data, and other data that was previously written to the storage device. (Duzly [0050] The write amplification factor is defined as the amount of data written to the memory of the storage system divided by the amount of data written by a host) Gorrle and Duzly are analogous art because they are from the same field of memory control. Before the effective filing date of the invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art, having the teaching of Gorrle and Duzly to modify the Gorrle‘s system of flexible sized super block to reduce write amplification factor with Duzly’s teaching of write amplification analysis. The motivation for doing so would be that (Duzly [0070]) the write amplification analysis can be used to optimize the storage system for folding, garbage collection, etc. Regarding Claim 9, Gorrle teaches A method for managing transfers between a first storage device and a second storage device, the method comprising, by a computing device that is communicatively coupled to the first and second storage devices: (Gorrle [0017] FIG. 1. System 100 includes a host 102 and a storage device 104 [0019] Controller 108 may interface with host 102 and process foreground operations including instructions transmitted from host 102…… controller 108 may read data from and/or write to memory device 110 based on instructions received from host 102 [0018] Storage device 104 may include one or more non-volatile memory devices 110 a -110 n ) generating, within the second storage device, at least one first band having a respective first width that is based at least in part on a size of the data; (Gorrle [0029] By forming the super block to correspond with the size of the data being stored, controller 108 may fill the appropriately sized super block without padding the data which may postpone the early trigger of garbage collection or other relocation functions due to no or few free blocks on memory device 110. [0018] Storage device 104 may include one or more non-volatile memory devices 110 a -110 n ) (i.e., super block is the claimed band, size of super block is the claimed width of band) generating, within the second storage device, at least one second band having a respective second width that complements the respective first width of the at least one first band and a hardware characteristic of the second storage device; and writing the data into the at least one first band. (Gorrle [0021] The super block size may vary according to the number of physical blocks from one or more dies used to form the super block.) Gorrle does not teach receiving a request to write data from the first storage device to the second storage device; However, Duzly teaches receiving a request to write data from the first storage device to the second storage device; (Duzly [0052] Relocating data can take the form of folding or garbage collection…folding refers to moving data from a block of single-level cells (SLC) to a block of multi-level or triple-level cells (MLC or TLC).) Gorrle and Duzly are analogous art because they are from the same field of memory control. Before the effective filing date of the invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art, having the teaching of Gorrle and Duzly to modify the Gorrle‘s system of flexible sized super block to reduce write amplification factor with Duzly’s teaching of write amplification analysis. The motivation for doing so would be that (Duzly [0070]) the write amplification analysis can be used to optimize the storage system for folding, garbage collection, etc. Regarding Claim 10, Gorrle and Duzly teach Gorrle does not teach but Duzly teaches wherein the first storage device comprises a single-level cell (SLC) storage device, and wherein the second storage device comprises a triple-level sell (TLC) storage device. (Duzly [0052] folding refers to moving data from a block of single-level cells (SLC) to a block of multi-level or triple-level cells (MLC or TLC)) Gorrle and Duzly are analogous art because they are from the same field of memory control. Before the effective filing date of the invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art, having the teaching of Gorrle and Duzly to modify the Gorrle‘s system of flexible sized super block to reduce write amplification factor with Duzly’s teaching of write amplification analysis. The motivation for doing so would be that (Duzly [0070]) the write amplification analysis can be used to optimize the storage system for folding, garbage collection, etc. Regarding Claim 11, Gorrle and Duzly teach The method of claim 9, further comprising: assigning a first property to the at least one first band, wherein the first property indicates a first number of times that data stored within the at least one first band has been relocated by way of garbage collection activities; (Gorrle [0004] Relocating data from one block to another block may affect the overall write amplification factor of the storage device [0005] The controller optimizes the super block configuration based on the data characteristics and aligns the super block size with the data characteristics. The controller then forms the super block with one or more physical block, wherein by aligning the super block size with the data characteristics, data relocation on the super block is reduced and increases to the program erase cycle count associated with a physical block is reduced.) and assigning a second property to the at least one second band, wherein the second property indicates a second number of times that data stored within the at least one second band has been relocated as a result of the garbage collection activities. (Gorrle [0004] Relocating data from one block to another block may affect the overall write amplification factor of the storage device [0005] The controller optimizes the super block configuration based on the data characteristics and aligns the super block size with the data characteristics. The controller then forms the super block with one or more physical block, wherein by aligning the super block size with the data characteristics, data relocation on the super block is reduced and increases to the program erase cycle count associated with a physical block is reduced.) Regarding Claim 12, Gorrle and Duzly teach Gorrle teaches wherein the storage device includes a plurality of dies that include a given die that includes a plurality of planes, wherein a given plane of the plurality of planes includes a plurality of blocks that include a particular block that includes a plurality of pages. (Gorrle [0003] Physical blocks in the memory device may be grouped together into a plane, and a die may include a single plane full of data blocks or multiple planes that have been linked together. The number and configurations of planes within a die may be adaptable.) Regarding Claim 13, Gorrle and Duzly teach Gorrle teaches wherein: the at least one first band logically includes one or more first blocks of the second storage device, and each first block of the one or more first blocks is included in a different respective plane of the respective plurality of planes, wherein the different respective plane is included in a respective die of the plurality of dies of the second storage device; (Gorrle [0003] Physical blocks in the memory device may be grouped together into a plane, and a die may include a single plane full of data blocks or multiple planes that have been linked together. The number and configurations of planes within a die may be adaptable.) and the at least one second band logically includes one or more second blocks of the second storage device that complement the one or more first blocks of the at least one first band, wherein each second block of the one or more second blocks is included in a corresponding respective plane of the respective plurality of planes, and the corresponding respective plane is included in a corresponding die of the plurality of dies of the second storage device. (Gorrle [0003] Physical blocks in the memory device may be grouped together into a plane, and a die may include a single plane full of data blocks or multiple planes that have been linked together. The number and configurations of planes within a die may be adaptable.) Regarding Claim 16, Gorrle teaches A method for managing storage space availability in a storage device, the method comprising, by a computing device that is communicatively coupled to the storage device: receiving a request to write data to the storage device; (Gorrle [0017] FIG. 1. System 100 includes a host 102 and a storage device 104 [0019] Controller 108 may interface with host 102 and process foreground operations including instructions transmitted from host 102…… controller 108 may read data from and/or write to memory device 110 based on instructions received from host 102) determining a number of available bands in the storage device; (Gorrle [0029] By forming the super block to correspond with the size of the data being stored, controller 108 may fill the appropriately sized super block without padding the data which may postpone the early trigger of garbage collection or other relocation functions due to no or few free blocks on memory device 110. [0031] Flexibly sized super blocks may also allow controller 108 to efficiently utilize all available “good” blocks on memory device 110.) (i.e., reducing early trigger of garbage collection can reduce level of write amplification, super block is the claimed band) Gorrle does not teach determining that the number of available bands is unsatisfactory for enabling the write data to be written to the storage device; determining a number of a plurality of garbage collection operations needed to cause the number of available bands to be satisfactory for enabling the write data to be written to the storage device; establishing a ratio based on the number of available bands and the number of the plurality of garbage collection operations; and causing write operations associated with the write data to be performed in conjunction with the plurality of garbage collection operations, wherein the write operations are performed at a reduced rate that is based on the ratio. However, Duzly teaches determining that [available memory storage space] is unsatisfactory for enabling the write data to be written to the storage device; (Duzly [0052] If there were no spare blocks available in this scenario, the old data would need to be evacuated from the target block before the incoming host data could be written.) determining a number of a plurality of garbage collection operations needed to cause [available memory storage space] to be satisfactory for enabling the write data to be written to the storage device; (Duzly [0052] garbage collection can depend on overprovisioning (e.g., availability of free TLC/SLC blocks beyond the exported capacity of the memory). Overprovisioning can be determined by the amount of spare blocks at production time and also by the amount of blocks unmapped by the host and refers to how many spare blocks the system has for writing new incoming data.) establishing a ratio based on [available memory storage space] and the number of the plurality of garbage collection operations; (Duzly [0052] garbage collection can depend on overprovisioning. Overprovisioning can be determined by the amount of spare blocks at production time and also by the amount of blocks unmapped by the host and refers to how many spare blocks the system has for writing new incoming data.) and causing write operations associated with the write data to be performed in conjunction with the plurality of garbage collection operations, wherein the write operations are performed at a reduced rate that is based on the ratio. (Duzly [0058] the amount of data for control or relocation can be taken from NAND bus recorder 111, which occurs in parallel and is synchronized to the host activity [0052] If there were no spare blocks available in this scenario, the old data would need to be evacuated from the target block before the incoming host data could be written. This could lead to performance issues.) (i.e., garbage collection and host activity occurs in parallel lead to performance issue that host activity - write operation - performed at a reduced rate based on garbage collection activity) Gorrle and Duzly are analogous art because they are from the same field of memory control. Before the effective filing date of the invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art, having the teaching of Gorrle and Duzly to modify the Gorrle‘s system of flexible sized super block to reduce write amplification factor with Duzly’s teaching of write amplification analysis. The motivation for doing so would be that (Duzly [0070]) the write amplification analysis can be used to optimize the storage system for folding, garbage collection, etc. Regarding Claim 19, Gorrle and Duzly teach Gorrle teaches wherein the storage device includes a plurality of dies that include a given die that includes a plurality of planes, wherein a given plane of the plurality of planes includes a plurality of blocks that include a particular block that includes a plurality of pages. (Gorrle [0003] Physical blocks in the memory device may be grouped together into a plane, and a die may include a single plane full of data blocks or multiple planes that have been linked together. The number and configurations of planes within a die may be adaptable.) Regarding Claim 20, Gorrle and Duzly teach Gorrle teaches wherein a given band logically includes one or more blocks of the storage device, and wherein a particular block of the one or more blocks is included in a respective plane of the respective plurality of planes, wherein the respective plane is included in a corresponding die of the plurality of dies of the storage device. (Gorrle [0003] Physical blocks in the memory device may be grouped together into a plane, and a die may include a single plane full of data blocks or multiple planes that have been linked together. The number and configurations of planes within a die may be adaptable.) 07-21-aia AIA Claim (s) 6, 14-15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Gorrle (US 20250199702), in view of Duzly (US 20180129448), further in view of Liu (US 20220261354) . Regarding Claim 6, Gorrle and Duzly teach Gorrle teaches wherein the given plurality of blocks corresponds respective dip numbers of a plurality of dip numbers associated with the storage device, and wherein a respective dip number that corresponds to a first block of the given plurality of blocks (Gorrle [0003] Physical blocks in the memory device may be grouped together into a plane, and a die may include a single plane full of data blocks or multiple planes that have been linked together. The number and configurations of planes within a die may be adaptable.) (i.e., the plane is the claimed dip) is a starting dip number of the plurality of dip numbers, or divisible by the respective width of the at least one band without producing a remainder. (Gorrle [0031] Flexibly sized super blocks may also allow controller 108 to efficiently utilize all available “good” blocks on memory device 110.) Gorrle-Duzly does not teach is a starting dip number of the plurality of dip numbers, or divisible by the respective width of the at least one band without producing a remainder. However, Liu teaches [size of logical space] is divisible by [erase block] without producing a remainder. (Liu [0044] To avoid write amplification in a garbage collection process … a size of the physical space allocated by the target hard disk to the created hard disk logical space is an integer multiple of a size of one erase block.) (i.e., A is an integer multiple of B means A is divisible by B without producing a remainer) Gorrle, Duzly and Liu are analogous art because they are from the same field of memory control. Before the effective filing date of the invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art, having the teaching of Gorrle, Duzly and Liu to modify the Gorrle Duzly‘s system with Liu’s teaching. The motivation for doing so would be (Liu [0044]) to avoid write amplification. Regarding Claim 14, Gorrle and Duzly teach Gorrle teaches wherein respective first blocks of the one or more first blocks corresponds to a respective dip number of a first plurality of dip numbers associated with the second storage device, wherein respective second blocks of the one or more second blocks corresponds to a respective dip number of a second plurality of dip numbers associated with the second storage device, wherein the respective dip number that corresponds to a first respective first block of the one or more first blocks or a second respective first block of the one or more second blocks (Gorrle [0003] Physical blocks in the memory device may be grouped together into a plane, and a die may include a single plane full of data blocks or multiple planes that have been linked together. The number and configurations of planes within a die may be adaptable.) (i.e., the plane is the claimed dip) is a starting dip number of the first or second plurality of dip numbers, respectively, or divisible by the respective first width or second width, respectively, of the at least one first band or the at least one second band, respectively, without producing a remainder. (Gorrle [0031] Flexibly sized super blocks may also allow controller 108 to efficiently utilize all available “good” blocks on memory device 110.) Gorrle-Duzly does not teach is a starting dip number of the first or second plurality of dip numbers, respectively, or divisible by the respective first width or second width, respectively, of the at least one first band or the at least one second band, respectively, without producing a remainder. However, Liu teaches [size of logical space] is divisible by [erase block] without producing a remainder. (Liu [0044] To avoid write amplification in a garbage collection process … a size of the physical space allocated by the target hard disk to the created hard disk logical space is an integer multiple of a size of one erase block.) (i.e., A is an integer multiple of B means A is divisible by B without producing a remainer) Gorrle, Duzly and Liu are analogous art because they are from the same field of memory control. Before the effective filing date of the invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art, having the teaching of Gorrle, Duzly and Liu to modify the Gorrle Duzly‘s system with Liu’s teaching. The motivation for doing so would be (Liu [0044]) to avoid write amplification. Regarding Claim 15, Gorrle, Duzly and Liu teach Gorrle teaches wherein the respective first width of the at least one first band is sized in accordance with a total number of dips included in the storage device. (Gorrle [0003] Physical blocks in the memory device may be grouped together into a plane, and a die may include a single plane full of data blocks or multiple planes that have been linked together. The number and configurations of planes within a die may be adaptable. [0005] The controller optimizes the super block configuration based on the data characteristics and aligns the super block size with the data characteristics.) 07-21-aia AIA Claim (s) 17-18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Gorrle (US 20250199702), in view of Duzly (US 20180129448), further in view of Law (US 20150347025) . Regarding Claim 17, Gorrle and Duzly teach Gorrle-Duzly does not teach wherein the reduced rate is less than a normal rate at which write operations are typically performed by the computing device when a sufficient number of bands are available for writing given data to the storage device. However, Law teaches wherein the reduced rate is less than a normal rate at which write operations are typically performed by the computing device when a sufficient number of bands are available for writing given data to the storage device. (Law [0017] When drive controller 210 determines that the number of erased memory blocks 243 is less than minimum erased block threshold 211, drive controller 120 initiates generation of additional available memory blocks in flash memory device 240, i.e., drive controller 120 performs a garbage collection process to generate additional erased memory blocks 243. [0031] initiating garbage collection while host 110 is writing to SSD 140, which significantly reduces write performance.) Gorrle, Duzly and Law are analogous art because they are from the same field of memory control. Before the effective filing date of the invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art, having the teaching of Gorrle, Duzly and Law to modify the Gorrle Duzly‘s system with Law’s teaching. The motivation for doing so would be adjust garbage collection in relation to write performance (Law [0031]) Regarding Claim 18, Gorrle, Duzly and Law teach Gorrle-Duzly does not teach but Law teaches further comprising: determining, subsequent to performing the garbage collection operations, that the number of available bands is satisfactory for enabling second data to be written to the storage device; and causing second write operations associated with second data to be performed at the normal rate. (Law [0017] drive controller 120 performs a garbage collection process to generate additional erased memory blocks 243. When drive controller 120 determines that the number of erased memory blocks 243 is greater than or equal to maximum erased block threshold 212, drive controller 120 halts generation of additional available memory blocks in flash memory device 240. [0031] initiating garbage collection while host 110 is writing to SSD 140, which significantly reduces write performance.) (i.e., halting garbage collection process to generate additional available block can stop the reducing write performance, therefore, write operation can be performed at the normal rate) Gorrle, Duzly and Law are analogous art because they are from the same field of memory control. Before the effective filing date of the invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art, having the teaching of Gorrle, Duzly and Law to modify the Gorrle Duzly‘s system with Law’s teaching. The motivation for doing so would be adjust garbage collection in relation to write performance (Law [0031]) Relevant Prior Art 07-96 AIA The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant’s disclosure. Camp (US 20170242592) teaches adjusting provisioning space to achieve target write amplification . Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to WEI MA whose telephone number is (571)272-2468. The examiner can normally be reached Monday through Friday from 8am to 5pm. 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, JARED RUTZ can be reached at 571-272-5535. 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. /WEI MA/Examiner, Art Unit 2135 /JARED I RUTZ/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2135 Application/Control Number: 19/174,467 Page 2 Art Unit: 2135 Application/Control Number: 19/174,467 Page 3 Art Unit: 2135 Application/Control Number: 19/174,467 Page 4 Art Unit: 2135 Application/Control Number: 19/174,467 Page 5 Art Unit: 2135 Application/Control Number: 19/174,467 Page 6 Art Unit: 2135 Application/Control Number: 19/174,467 Page 7 Art Unit: 2135 Application/Control Number: 19/174,467 Page 8 Art Unit: 2135 Application/Control Number: 19/174,467 Page 9 Art Unit: 2135 Application/Control Number: 19/174,467 Page 10 Art Unit: 2135 Application/Control Number: 19/174,467 Page 11 Art Unit: 2135 Application/Control Number: 19/174,467 Page 12 Art Unit: 2135 Application/Control Number: 19/174,467 Page 13 Art Unit: 2135 Application/Control Number: 19/174,467 Page 14 Art Unit: 2135 Application/Control Number: 19/174,467 Page 15 Art Unit: 2135 Application/Control Number: 19/174,467 Page 16 Art Unit: 2135 Application/Control Number: 19/174,467 Page 17 Art Unit: 2135 Application/Control Number: 19/174,467 Page 18 Art Unit: 2135 Application/Control Number: 19/174,467 Page 19 Art Unit: 2135
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Prosecution Timeline

Apr 09, 2025
Application Filed
May 12, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §103 (current)

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Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
73%
Grant Probability
79%
With Interview (+6.3%)
2y 10m (~1y 4m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
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