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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on June 18, 2026 has been entered.
Response to Amendment
The Amendment filed June 18, 2026 has been entered. Claims 1-3, 5-13, and 15-22 remain pending in the application.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments filed June 18, 2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Applicant argues, see pages 8-10, that previously presented prior art reference Scott et al. (Patent Publication Number US 2020/0028472), hereafter referred to as Scott, fails to disclose separate bias circuits and controllable current sources for peaking and load modulating amplifiers, with the controllable current sources for the peaking and load modulating amplifiers separately controlled by a saturation detector. Examiner respectfully disagrees.
In response to applicant's argument that the references fail to show certain features of the invention, it is noted that the features upon which applicant relies (i.e., separate bias circuits and controllable current sources for peaking and load modulating amplifiers) are not recited in the rejected claims. Although the claims are interpreted in light of the specification, limitations from the specification are not read into the claims. See In re Van Geuns, 988 F.2d 1181, 26 USPQ2d 1057 (Fed. Cir. 1993).
In this case, the recited claim limitations fail to provide any features distinguishing the bias circuits from the controllable current sources (the bias circuits control a bias of the amplifier inputs, which is also the function of the controllable current sources), so therefore, the bias circuits and controllable current sources may be appropriately mapped to the same feature in Scott.
Furthermore, the control signals provided by Scott to the peaking amplifier are applicable only to a single amplifier (Scott, Fig. 4, see also Paragraphs 49-50), so therefore, combining Scott with previously presented prior art reference Barton et al. (Patent Number US 10,404,224), hereafter referred to as Barton, would result in separate controlling of the peaking and load modulating amplifiers of Barton by the saturation detector of Scott, which would have the benefit of providing an automated system for controlling the activation of all of the amplifiers of Barton (Scott, Page 3, Paragraph 40, lines 15-19). Therefore, all of applicant’s arguments are unconvincing and the rejections of claims 1-3, 5-13, and 15-22 are maintained.
Claim Objections
Claims 1-3, 5-13, 15-17, and 21-22 are objected to because of the following informalities:
On claim 1, line 18 and claim 11, lines 8-9, insert “to” between “bias circuit configured” and “control a bias”. Claims 2-3, 5-10, 12-13, 15-17, and 21-22 are likewise objected to under this logic by virtue of their dependencies on claims 1 and/or 11.
On claim 1, line 22, insert “the” between “input of” and “load modulating amplifier”. Claims 2-3, 5-10, and 21-22 are likewise objected to under this logic by virtue of their dependencies on claim 1.
Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claims 1-4 and 8-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Barton in view of Lyalin (Patent Number US 9,467,115 B2), hereafter referred to as Lyalin, and further in view of Scott.
Regarding claim 1, Barton discloses:
A power amplifier system (Barton, Fig. 6, annotated below) comprising: a combiner including a first terminal, a second terminal, a third terminal, and a fourth terminal (Fig. 6, see 2 boxes in bottom right corner, labeled combiner in annotated figure below), the combiner configured to provide a radio frequency output signal from the fourth terminal (Fig. 6, see arrow on bottom right corner “modulated RF output signal”); and a load modulating amplifier (Fig. 6, see top amplifier labeled class C) an output coupled to the third terminal of the combiner (Fig. 6, see connected between top amplifier and combiner), but fails to disclose the combiner including a first capacitor electrically connected between the first terminal and the third terminal, a second capacitor electrically connected between the second terminal and the fourth terminal, and a third capacitor electrically connected between the third terminal and a ground voltage; a carrier amplifier including an output coupled to the first terminal of the combiner, the carrier amplifier including a saturation detector configured to monitor an amount of saturation of the carrier amplifier; and a peaking amplifier including an input, an output coupled to the second terminal of the combiner, a peaking bias circuit configured to control a bias of the input of the peaking amplifier, and a first controllable bias current source connected to the input of the peaking amplifier and having a first current level controlled by a first output of the saturation detector to adjust the bias of the input of the peaking amplifier; [the load modulating amplifier] including an input, a load modulating bias circuit configured control a bias of the input of the load modulating amplifier, and a second controllable bias current source connected to the input of the load modulating amplifier and having a second current level controlled by a second output of the saturation detector to adjust the bias of the input of load modulating amplifier, the first current level and the second current level separately controlled by the saturation detector.
However, Lyalin teaches the combiner including a first capacitor (Lyalin, Fig. 14, see C1 in modified Fig. 14 below) electrically connected between the first terminal and the third terminal (Fig. 14, see connection between C1, T1, and T3 in modified Fig. 14 below), a second capacitor (Fig. 14, see C2 in modified Fig. 14 below) electrically connected between the second terminal and the fourth terminal (Fig. 14, see connection between C2, T2, and T4 in modified Fig. 14 below), and a third capacitor (Fig. 14, see C3 in modified Fig. 14 below) electrically connected between the third terminal and a ground voltage (Fig. 14, see connection between C3, T3, and ground in modified Fig. 14 below); a carrier amplifier (Fig. 14, 611) including an output coupled to the first terminal of the combiner (Fig. 14, see connection between 611 and T1 in modified Fig. 14 below) and a peaking amplifier (Fig. 14, 612) including an output coupled to the second terminal of the combiner (Fig. 14, see connection between 612 and T2 in modified Fig. 14 below), but fails to teach the carrier amplifier including a saturation detector configured to monitor an amount of saturation of the carrier amplifier; [the peaking amplifier including] an input, a peaking bias circuit configured to control a bias of the input of the peaking amplifier, and a first controllable bias current source connected to the input of the peaking amplifier and having a first current level controlled by a first output of the saturation detector to adjust the bias of the input of the peaking amplifier; [the load modulating amplifier] including an input, a load modulating bias circuit configured control a bias of the input of the load modulating amplifier, and a second controllable bias current source connected to the input of the load modulating amplifier and having a second current level controlled by a second output of the saturation detector to adjust the bias of the input of load modulating amplifier, the first current level and the second current level separately controlled by the saturation detector.
However, Scott teaches the carrier amplifier including a saturation detector configured to monitor an amount of saturation of the carrier amplifier (Scott, Fig. 4, Element 24); [the peaking amplifier including] an input (Fig. 4, see bias input of peaking amplifier 18), a peaking bias circuit (Fig. 4, 48) configured to control a bias of the input of the peaking amplifier (Paragraph 49, lines 3-4), and a first controllable bias current source (Fig. 4, Element 48) connected to the input of the peaking amplifier (Fig. 4, see connection between 48 and 18) and having a first current level controlled by a first output of the saturation detector to adjust the bias of the input of the peaking amplifier (Paragraph 49, lines 1-9); [the load modulating amplifier] (Note: teachings of Scott are relevant for the load modulating amplifier because the load modulating amplifier requires activation means, as does the peaking amplifier) including an input (Fig. 4, see bias input of peaking amplifier 18), a load modulating bias circuit (Fig. 4, 48) configured control a bias of the input of the load modulating amplifier (Paragraph 49, lines 3-4), and a second controllable bias current source (Fig. 4, Element 48) connected to the input of the load modulating amplifier (Fig. 4, see connection between 48 and 18) and having a second current level controlled by a second output of the saturation detector to adjust the bias of the input of load modulating amplifier (Paragraph 49, lines 1-9), the first current level and the second current level separately controlled by the saturation detector (Paragraphs 49-50, consider that Scott generates control signals for a single selectively active amplifier, and that an implementation with multiple selectively active amplifiers would require separate control signals).
Barton, Lyalin, and Scott are all considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because they are in the same field of improving power amplifiers used in radio frequency communications. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to have modified Barton to incorporate the teachings of Lyalin and Scott to include the combiner of Lyalin in the amplifier of Barton, which would have the effect of improving impedance adjustments (Lyalin, Col. 6, lines 45-51), to modify the main amplifiers of Barton to be part of a Doherty power amplifier, which would have the effect of enabling different operating modes to optimize performance based on signal properties (Lyalin, Col. 4, lines 47-62 and Col. 5, lines 8-15) and to include a saturation detector to monitor the saturation in the carrier amplifier and activate or deactivate the peaking and load modulating amplifiers by controlling a bias current source of the amplifiers, which would have the effect of providing an automated system for controlling the activation of different amplifiers (Scott, Page 3, Paragraph 40, lines 15-19).
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Regarding claim 2, Barton further discloses:
wherein the load modulating amplifier is configured to activate at a second power threshold greater than the first power threshold (Barton, Col. 5, line 64 – Col. 6, line 2 [both main amplifiers are activated before the load modulating amplifier], but fails to disclose wherein the peaking amplifier is configured to activate at a first power threshold.
However, Lyalin teaches that the peaking amplifier is configured to activate at a first power threshold (Lyalin, Col. 4, lines 47-54).
Barton, Lyalin, and Scott are all considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because they are in the same field of improving power amplifiers used in radio frequency communications. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to have modified Barton to incorporate the teachings of Lyalin to have the peaking amplifier activate at a power threshold lower than the activation of the load modulating amplifier, which would have the effect of enabling high output power when input power is high, while maintaining high efficiency when input power is low (Barton, Col. 6, lines 2-5).
Regarding claim 3, Barton further discloses:
wherein when activated the load modulating amplifier is operable to modulate down a load of the carrier amplifier and of the peaking amplifier (Barton, Col. 6, lines 2-5).
Regarding claim 8, Barton further discloses:
wherein the combiner is a hybrid coupler (Barton, Col. 5, lines 5-6) including a first winding electrically connected between the first terminal and the fourth terminal (Fig. 6, see winding of combiner coupled between carrier amplifier and output in modified Fig. 6 above) and a second winding electrically connected between the second terminal and the third terminal (Fig. 6, see winding of combiner coupled between peaking amplifier and load modulating amplifier in modified Fig. 6 above), the first terminal corresponding to a zero degree port (Col. 5, lines 5-6 [main PAs 90° apart]), the second terminal corresponding to a ninety degree port (Col. 5, lines 5-6 [main PAs 90° apart]), the third terminal corresponding to an isolation port (Col. 3, lines 53-55), and the fourth terminal corresponding to a common port (Fig. 3, “modulated RF output signal” is connected to fourth terminal, making it a common port).
Regarding claim 9, Barton further discloses:
further comprising an input splitter configured to split a radio frequency input signal into a plurality of input signal components (Barton, Fig. 6, see bottom left on modified figure 6 above – box labeled input splitter) including a first input signal component provided to an input of the carrier amplifier (Fig. 6, see wire going from input splitter to carrier amplifier on modified figure 6 above) and a second input signal component provided to the input of the peaking amplifier (Fig. 6, see wire going from input splitter to peaking amplifier on modified figure 6 above).
Regarding claim 10, Barton further discloses:
wherein the plurality of input signal components further include a third input signal component provided to the input of the load modulating amplifier (Barton, Fig. 6, see wire going from input splitter to amplifier labeled “class C” on modified figure 6 above).
Claim 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Barton in view of Lyalin and Scott as applied to claim 2 above, and further in view of Thompson. (Patent Number US 2004/0174213) hereafter referred to as Thompson.
Regarding claim 5, Barton further discloses:
and the load modulating bias circuit including a second class C bias circuit (Barton, Col. 3, lines 44-45), but fails to disclose wherein the carrier amplifier includes a class AB bias circuit configured to bias an input of the carrier amplifier, the peaking bias circuit including a first class C bias circuit.
However, Thompson teaches wherein the carrier amplifier includes a class AB bias circuit configured to bias an input of the carrier amplifier (Thompson, Paragraph 29, lines 1-3), the peaking bias circuit including a first class C bias circuit (Paragraph 29, lines 3-4).
Barton, Lyalin, Scott, and Thompson are all considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because they are in the same field of improving power amplifiers used in radio frequency communications. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to have modified Barton to incorporate the teachings of Thompson to give the carrier amplifier a class AB bias circuit and the peaking amplifier a class C bias circuit, which would have the effect of optimizing efficiency over a wide range of power levels (Thompson, Paragraph 26, lines 1-4).
Claim 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Barton in view of Lyalin and Scott as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Mu et al. (Patent Number US 11,239,802) hereafter referred to as Mu.
Regarding claim 6, Barton, Lyalin, and Scott fail to disclose wherein the load modulating amplifier includes a cascode amplifier stage.
However, Mu teaches wherein the load modulating amplifier includes a cascode amplifier stage (Mu, Col. 11, lines 17-22).
Barton, Lyalin, Scott, and Mu are all considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because they are in the same field of improving power amplifiers used in radio frequency communications. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to have modified Barton to incorporate the teachings of Mu to modify the load modulating amplifier of Barton to include a cascode amplifier stage, which would have the effect of improving the drain-to-gate capacitance response (Mu, Col. 11, lines 26-27).
Claim 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Barton in view of Lyalin, Scott, and Mu as applied to claim 6 above, and further in view of Thompson.
Regarding claim 7, Barton, Lyalin, Scott, and Mu fail to disclose wherein the carrier amplifier includes a first common-emitter amplifier stage, and the peaking amplifier includes a second common-emitter amplifier stage.
However, Thompson teaches wherein the carrier amplifier includes a first common-emitter amplifier stage (Thompson, Fig. 3, Element 210), and the peaking amplifier includes a second common-emitter amplifier stage (Fig. 3, Element 220).
Barton, Lyalin, Scott, Mu, and Thompson are all considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because they are in the same field of improving power amplifiers used in radio frequency communications. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to have modified Barton to incorporate the teachings of Thompson to include common-emitter amplifier stages in the main amplifiers. Barton mentions using transistor amplifiers (Barton, Col. 3, lines 9-11), but does not suggest any details of what transistor amplifiers to use. Therefore, one would look to the prior art to determine a suitable variation, and would have found Thompson, which uses common-emitter amplifiers.
Claims 11-14 and 17-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lyalin in view of Barton and Scott.
Regarding claim 11, Lyalin discloses:
A mobile device (Lyalin, Fig. 18, 900) comprising: an antenna configured to transmit a radio frequency output signal (Fig. 18, Element 916); and a front end system including a power amplifier system including a combiner (Fig. 18, 101 [which itself includes power amplifiers 110a-d, shown in detail in Fig. 14 with Element 620 being a combiner], a carrier amplifier having an output coupled to a first terminal of the combiner (Fig. 14, see connection between carrier amplifier 611 and combiner terminal T1 in modified Fig. 14 above), a peaking amplifier having an output coupled to a second terminal of the combiner (Fig. 14, see connection between peaking amplifier 612 and combiner terminal T2 in modified Fig. 14 above), the combiner including a first capacitor (Lyalin, Fig. 14, see C1 in modified Fig. 14 below) electrically connected between the first terminal and the third terminal (Fig. 14, see connection between C1, T1, and T3 in modified Fig. 14 below), a second capacitor (Fig. 14, see C2 in modified Fig. 14 below) electrically connected between the second terminal and the fourth terminal (Fig. 14, see connection between C2, T2, and T4 in modified Fig. 14 below), and a third capacitor (Fig. 14, see C3 in modified Fig. 14 below) electrically connected between the third terminal and a ground voltage (Fig. 14, see connection between C3, T3, and ground in modified Fig. 14 below); but fails to disclose [the peaking amplifier having] an input, and a peaking bias circuit configured to control a bias of the input of the peaking amplifier, the power amplifier system further including a load modulating amplifier having an input, an output coupled to a third terminal of the combiner, and a load modulating bias circuit configured control a bias of the input of the load modulating amplifier, the combiner configured to provide the radio frequency output signal at a fourth terminal, the carrier amplifier including a saturation detector configured to monitor an amount of saturation of the carrier amplifier, the peaking amplifier further including a first controllable bias current source connected to the input of the peaking amplifier and having a first current level controlled by a first output of the saturation detector to adjust the bias of the input of the peaking amplifier, and the load modulating amplifier further including a second controllable bias current source connected to the input of the load modulating amplifier and having a second current level controlled by a second output of the saturation detector to adjust the bias of the input of the load modulating amplifier, the first current level and the second current level separately controlled by the saturation detector.
However, Barton teaches the power amplifier system further including a load modulating amplifier having an output coupled to a third terminal of the combiner (Barton, Fig. 6, see top amplifier labeled “class C”), the combiner configured to provide the radio frequency output signal at a fourth terminal (Fig. 6, see arrow on bottom right corner “modulated RF output signal” and connection to combiner in modified figure 6 above), but fails to teach [the peaking amplifier having] an input, and a peaking bias circuit configured to control a bias of the input of the peaking amplifier, [the load modulating amplifier having] an input, and a load modulating bias circuit configured control a bias of the input of the load modulating amplifier, the carrier amplifier including a saturation detector configured to monitor an amount of saturation of the carrier amplifier, the peaking amplifier further including a first controllable bias current source connected to the input of the peaking amplifier and having a first current level controlled by a first output of the saturation detector to adjust the bias of the input of the peaking amplifier, and the load modulating amplifier further including a second controllable bias current source connected to the input of the load modulating amplifier and having a second current level controlled by a second output of the saturation detector to adjust the bias of the input of the load modulating amplifier, the first current level and the second current level separately controlled by the saturation detector.
However, Scott teaches [the peaking amplifier having] an input (Scott, Fig. 4, see bias input of peaking amplifier 18), and a peaking bias circuit (Fig. 4, 48) configured to control a bias of the input of the peaking amplifier (Paragraph 49, lines 3-4), [the load modulating amplifier having] (Note: teachings of Scott are relevant for the load modulating amplifier because the load modulating amplifier requires activation means, as does the peaking amplifier) an input (Fig. 4, see bias input of peaking amplifier 18), and a load modulating bias circuit (Fig. 4, 48) configured control a bias of the input of the load modulating amplifier (Paragraph 49, lines 3-4), the carrier amplifier including a saturation detector configured to monitor an amount of saturation of the carrier amplifier (Fig. 4, Element 24), the peaking amplifier further including a first controllable bias current source (Fig. 4, Element 48) connected to the input of the peaking amplifier (Fig. 4, see connection between 48 and 18) and having a first current level controlled by a first output of the saturation detector to adjust the bias of the input of the peaking amplifier (Paragraph 49, lines 1-9), and the load modulating amplifier further including a second controllable bias current source (Fig. 4, Element 48) connected to the input of the load modulating amplifier (Fig. 4, see connection between 48 and 18) and having a second current level controlled by a second output of the saturation detector to adjust the bias of the input of the load modulating amplifier (Paragraph 49, lines 1-9), the first current level and the second current level separately controlled by the saturation detector (Paragraphs 49-50, consider that Scott generates control signals for a single selectively active amplifier, and that an implementation with multiple selectively active amplifiers would require separate control signals).
Lyalin, Barton, and Scott are all considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because they are in the same field of improving power amplifiers used in radio frequency communications. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to have modified Lyalin to incorporate the teachings of Barton and Scott to include an additional load modulating amplifier (and modify the combiner to be the combiner taught by Barton to be able to connect the load modulating amplifier in the circuit), which would have the effect of allowing for dynamic load modulation, which improves efficiency (Barton, Col. 3, lines 9-13) and to include a saturation detector to monitor the saturation in the carrier amplifier and activate or deactivate the peaking and load modulating amplifiers by controlling a bias current source of the amplifiers, which would have the effect of providing an automated system for controlling the activation of different amplifiers (Scott, Page 3, Paragraph 40, lines 15-19).
Regarding claim 12, Lyalin discloses:
wherein the peaking amplifier is configured to activate at a first power threshold (Lyalin, Col. 4, lines 47-54), but fails to disclose and the load modulating amplifier is configured to activate at a second power threshold greater than the first power threshold.
However, Barton teaches and the load modulating amplifier is configured to activate at a second power threshold greater than the first power threshold (Barton Col. 5, line 64 – Col. 6, line 2 [both main amplifiers are activated before the load modulating amplifier]).
Lyalin, Barton, and Scott are both considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because they are in the same field of improving power amplifiers used in radio frequency communications. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to have modified Lyalin to incorporate the teachings of Barton to activate the load modulating amplifier at a threshold greater than the threshold for activating the peaking amplifier, which would have the effect of enabling high output power when input power is high, while maintaining high efficiency when input power is low (Barton, Col. 6, lines 2-5).
Regarding claim 13, Lyalin fails to disclose:
wherein when activated the load modulating amplifier is operable to modulate down a load of the carrier amplifier and of the peaking amplifier.
However, Barton teaches wherein when activated the load modulating amplifier is operable to modulate down a load of the carrier amplifier and of the peaking amplifier (Barton, Col. 6, lines 2-5).
Lyalin, Barton, and Scott are all considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because they are in the same field of improving power amplifiers used in radio frequency communications. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to have modified Lyalin to incorporate the teachings of Barton to have the load modulating amplifier modulate the loads of the carrier and peaking amplifiers when it is activated, which would have the effect of allowing for high output power (Barton, Col. 6, lines 2-5).
Regarding claim 17, Lyalin further discloses wherein the combiner is a hybrid coupler (Lyalin, Col. 7, lines 20-23) including a first winding electrically connected between the first terminal and the fourth terminal (Fig. 14, see winding connected between T1 and T4 in modified Fig. 14 above) and a second winding electrically connected between the second terminal and the third terminal (Fig. 14, see winding connection between T2 and T3 in modified Fig. 14 above), the first terminal corresponding to a zero degree port (Col. 5, lines 52-56), the second terminal corresponding to a ninety degree port (Col. 5, lines 52-56), the third terminal corresponding to an isolation port (Fig. 14, see VISO at T3 in modified Fig. 14 above), and the fourth terminal corresponding to a common port (Fig. 14, see output at T4 in modified Fig. 14 above).
Regarding claim 18, Lyalin discloses:
A method of amplification in a mobile phone (Lyalin, Fig. 18 and Fig. 14), the method comprising: providing a first radio frequency signal from an output of a carrier amplifier to a first terminal of a combiner (Fig. 14, see connection between carrier amplifier 611 and combiner terminal T1 in modified Fig. 14 above); providing a first radio frequency signal from an output of a peaking amplifier to a second terminal of the combiner (Fig. 14, see connection between peaking amplifier 612 and combiner terminal T2 in modified Fig. 14 above), the combiner including a first capacitor (Lyalin, Fig. 14, see C1 in modified Fig. 14 below) electrically connected between the first terminal and the third terminal (Fig. 14, see connection between C1, T1, and T3 in modified Fig. 14 below), a second capacitor (Fig. 14, see C2 in modified Fig. 14 below) electrically connected between the second terminal and the fourth terminal (Fig. 14, see connection between C2, T2, and T4 in modified Fig. 14 below), and a third capacitor (Fig. 14, see C3 in modified Fig. 14 below) electrically connected between the third terminal and a ground voltage (Fig. 14, see connection between C3, T3, and ground in modified Fig. 14 below), but fails to disclose monitoring an amount of saturation of the carrier amplifier using a saturation detector of the carrier amplifier; providing a first radio frequency signal from an output of a load modulating amplifier to a third terminal of the combiner; biasing an input of the peaking amplifier using a peaking amplifier bias circuit; controlling a first current level of a first controllable bias current source of the peaking amplifier to adjust the bias of the input of the peaking amplifier using a first output of the saturation detector; the first controllable bias current source connected to the input of the peaking amplifier; biasing an input of the load modulating amplifier using a load modulating bias circuit; controlling a second current level of a second controllable bias current source of the load modulating amplifier to adjust the bias of the input of the load modulating amplifier using a second output of the saturation detector, the second controllable bias current source connected to the input of the load modulating amplifier, the first current level and the second current level separately controlled by the saturation detector; and combining the first radio frequency signal, the second radio frequency signal, and the third radio frequency signal to generate a radio frequency output signal using the combiner, and providing the radio frequency output signal at a fourth terminal of the combiner.
However, Barton teaches providing a first radio frequency signal from an output of a load modulating amplifier to a third terminal of the combiner (Barton, Fig. 6, see top amplifier labeled “class C”; and combining the first radio frequency signal, the second radio frequency signal, and the third radio frequency signal to generate a radio frequency output signal using the combiner (Fig. 6, see 2 boxes in bottom right corner [labeled combiner in modified figure 6 above]), and providing the radio frequency output signal at a fourth terminal of the combiner (Fig. 6, see arrow on bottom right corner “modulated RF output signal” and connection to combiner in modified figure 6 above), but fails to teach monitoring an amount of saturation of the carrier amplifier using a saturation detector of the carrier amplifier; biasing an input of the peaking amplifier using a peaking amplifier bias circuit; controlling a first current level of a first controllable bias current source of the peaking amplifier to adjust the bias of the input of the peaking amplifier using a first output of the saturation detector; the first controllable bias current source connected to the input of the peaking amplifier; biasing an input of the load modulating amplifier using a load modulating bias circuit; controlling a second current level of a second controllable bias current source of the load modulating amplifier to adjust the bias of the input of the load modulating amplifier using a second output of the saturation detector, the second controllable bias current source connected to the input of the load modulating amplifier, the first current level and the second current level separately controlled by the saturation detector.
However, Scott teaches monitoring an amount of saturation of the carrier amplifier using a saturation detector of the carrier amplifier (Scott, Fig. 4, Element 24); biasing an input of the peaking amplifier using a peaking amplifier bias circuit (Fig. 4, Element 48, see also Paragraph 49, lines 3-4); controlling a first current level of a first controllable bias current source of the peaking amplifier (Fig. 4, Element 48) to adjust the bias of the input of the peaking amplifier using a first output of the saturation detector (Paragraph 49, lines 1-9); the first controllable bias current source connected to the input of the peaking amplifier (Fig. 4, see connection between 48 and 18); biasing an input of the load modulating amplifier using a load modulating bias circuit (Fig. 4, Element 48, see also Paragraph 49, lines 3-4); controlling a second current level of a second controllable bias current source of the load modulating amplifier (Fig. 4, Element 48) to adjust the bias of the input of the load modulating amplifier using a second output of the saturation detector (Paragraph 49, lines 1-9), the second controllable bias current source connected to the input of the load modulating amplifier (Fig. 4, see connection between 48 and 18), the first current level and the second current level separately controlled by the saturation detector (Paragraphs 49-50, consider that Scott generates control signals for a single selectively active amplifier, and that an implementation with multiple selectively active amplifiers would require separate control signals).
Lyalin, Barton, and Scott are all considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because they are in the same field of improving power amplifiers used in radio frequency communications. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to have modified Lyalin to incorporate the teachings of Barton to include providing a signal to an additional load modulating amplifier (and modify the combiner to be the combiner taught by Barton to be able to connect the load modulating amplifier in the circuit), which would have the effect of allowing for dynamic load modulation, which improves efficiency (Barton, Col. 3, lines 9-13) and to include a saturation detector to monitor the saturation in the carrier amplifier and activate or deactivate the peaking and load modulating amplifiers by controlling a bias current source of the amplifiers, which would have the effect of providing an automated system for controlling the activation of different amplifiers (Scott, Page 3, Paragraph 40, lines 15-19).
Regarding claim 19, Lyalin further discloses:
further comprising activating the peaking amplifier at a first power threshold (Lyalin, Col. 4, lines 47-54), but fails to disclose and activating the load modulating amplifier at a second power threshold greater than the first power threshold.
However, Barton teaches and activating the load modulating amplifier at a second power threshold greater than the first power threshold (Barton Col. 5, line 64 – Col. 6, line 2 [both main amplifiers are activated before the load modulating amplifier]).
Lyalin, Barton, and Scott are all considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because they are in the same field of improving power amplifiers used in radio frequency communications. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to have modified Lyalin to incorporate the teachings of Barton to activate the load modulating amplifier at a threshold greater than the threshold for activating the peaking amplifier, which would have the effect of enabling high output power when input power is high, while maintaining high efficiency when input power is low (Barton, Col. 6, lines 2-5).
Regarding claim 20, Lyalin fails to disclose:
wherein activating the load modulating amplifier includes modulating down a load of the carrier amplifier and of the peaking amplifier.
However, Barton teaches wherein activating the load modulating amplifier includes modulating down a load of the carrier amplifier and of the peaking amplifier (Barton, Col. 6, lines 2-5).
Lyalin, Barton, and Scott are all considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because they are in the same field of improving power amplifiers used in radio frequency communications. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to have modified Lyalin to incorporate the teachings of Barton to have the load modulating amplifier modulate the loads of the carrier and peaking amplifiers when it is activated, which would have the effect of allowing for high output power (Barton, Col. 6, lines 2-5).
Claim 15 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lyalin in view of Barton and Scott as applied to claim 12 above, and further in view of Thompson.
Regarding claim 15, Lyalin fails to disclose:
wherein the carrier amplifier includes a class AB bias circuit configured to bias an input of the carrier amplifier, the peaking bias circuit including a first class C bias circuit, and the load modulating bias circuit including a second class C bias circuit.
However, Barton teaches and the load modulating bias circuit including a second class C bias circuit (Barton, Col. 3, lines 44-45), but fails to disclose wherein the carrier amplifier includes a class AB bias circuit configured to bias an input of the carrier amplifier, the peaking bias circuit including a first class C bias circuit.
However, Thompson teaches wherein the carrier amplifier includes a class AB bias circuit configured to bias an input of the carrier amplifier (Thompson, Paragraph 29, lines 1-3), the peaking bias circuit including a first class C bias circuit (Paragraph 29, lines 3-4).
Lyalin, Barton, Scott, and Thompson are all considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because they are in the same field of improving power amplifiers used in radio frequency communications. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to have modified Lyalin to incorporate the teachings of Barton and Thompson to have the load modulating amplifier include a class C bias circuit, which would have the effect of making the load modulating amplifier activate only for high powers, increasing efficiency (Barton, Col. 3, lines 58-61) and to give the carrier amplifier a class AB bias circuit and the peaking amplifier a class C bias circuit, which would have the effect of optimizing efficiency over a wide range of power levels (Thompson, Paragraph 26, lines 1-4).
Claim 16 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lyalin in view of Barton and Scott as applied to claim 11 above, and further in view of Mu.
Regarding claim 16, Lyalin, Barton, and Scott fail to disclose wherein the load modulating amplifier includes a cascode amplifier stage.
However, Mu teaches wherein the load modulating amplifier includes a cascode amplifier stage (Mu, Col. 11, lines 17-22).
Lyalin, Barton, Scott, and Mu are all considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because they are in the same field of improving power amplifiers used in radio frequency communications. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to have modified Barton to incorporate the teachings of Mu to modify the load modulating amplifier of Barton to include a cascode amplifier stage, which would have the effect of improving the drain-to-gate capacitance response (Mu, Col. 11, lines 26-27).
Claims 21-22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Barton in view of Lyalin and Scott as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Osawa et al. (Patent Publication Number JP S58,202,605 A), hereafter referred to as Osawa, and Pehlivanoglu (Patent Publication Number US 2018/0054171 A1), hereafter referred to as Pehlivanoglu.
Regarding claim 21, Barton, Lyalin, and Scott fail to disclose:
wherein the peaking amplifier further includes a bias resistor, a common emitter bipolar transistor having an emitter connected to a ground voltage and a collector connected to the second terminal of the combiner, the first controllable bias current source directly connected between a base of the common emitter bipolar transistor and the ground voltage, and the peaking bias circuit connected to the base of the common emitter bipolar transistor through the bias resistor.
However, Osawa teaches wherein the peaking amplifier further includes a common emitter bipolar transistor (Osawa, Fig. 2, 4) having an emitter connected to a ground voltage (Fig. 2, see connection between emitter of 4 and ground) and a collector connected to the second terminal of the combiner (Fig. 2, see connection between collector of 4 and output terminal of amplifier of Fig. 2), the first controllable bias current source directly connected between a base of the common emitter bipolar transistor and the ground voltage (Fig. 2, see connection between base of 4 and ground via bias current source 6), but fails to teach [the peaking amplifier includes] a bias resistor, and the peaking bias circuit connected to the base of the common emitter bipolar transistor through the bias resistor.
However, Pehlivanoglu teaches [the peaking amplifier includes] a bias resistor (Pehlivanoglu, Fig. 5A, 131), and the peaking bias circuit connected to the base of the common emitter bipolar transistor through the bias resistor (Fig. 5A, see connection between bias voltage V1 and base of transistor 111 via bias resistor 131).
Barton, Lyalin, Scott, Osawa, and Pehlivanoglu are all considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because they are in the same field of improving power amplifiers used in radio frequency communications. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to have modified Barton to incorporate the teachings of Osawa and Pehlivanoglu to include the peaking amplifier design of Osawa in the circuit of Barton, which would have the effect of providing an improved quality output signal (Osawa, Page 1, Section “Detailed Description of the Invention”, lines 1-2), and to include the bias resistor of Pehlivanoglu in the circuit of Barton, which would have the effect of providing an appropriate biasing signal to the amplifier of Barton (Pehlivanoglu, Paragraph 133, lines 1-7).
Regarding claim 22, Barton, Lyalin, and Scott fail to disclose:
wherein the load modulating amplifier includes a cascode bipolar transistor, and a gain bipolar transistor having an emitter connected to the ground voltage and a collector connected to the third terminal of the combiner through the cascode bipolar transistor, the second controllable bias current source connected between a base of the gain bipolar transistor and the ground voltage.
However, Osawa further teaches wherein the load modulating amplifier includes a cascode bipolar transistor (Osawa, Fig. 2, 3), and a gain bipolar transistor (Fig. 2, 4) having an emitter connected to the ground voltage (Fig. 2, see connection between emitter of 4 and ground) and a collector connected to the third terminal of the combiner through the cascode bipolar transistor (Fig. 2, see connection between collector of 4 and output terminal of amplifier of Fig. 2 via transistor 3), the second controllable bias current source connected between a base of the gain bipolar transistor and the ground voltage (Fig. 2, see connection between base of 4 and ground via bias current source 6).
Barton, Lyalin, Scott, Osawa, and Pehlivanoglu are all considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because they are in the same field of improving power amplifiers used in radio frequency communications. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to have modified Barton to incorporate the teachings of Osawa to include the peaking amplifier design of Osawa in the circuit of Barton, which would have the effect of providing an improved quality output signal (Osawa, Page 1, Section “Detailed Description of the Invention”, lines 1-2).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Haynes et al. (Patent Publication Number US 2017/0359031) is similar to Barton, discloses two balanced amplifiers and a load modulating amplifier.
Chan et al. (Patent Number US 11,043,920) uses a deep class C bias circuit for one of its amplifiers.
Chen et al. (Patent Publication Number US 2022/0255506) discloses an AB biased load modulating amplifier being combined with two separately controllable peaking amplifiers.
Nakatani (Patent Number US 9,136,580) discloses (Fig. 18B) a hybrid coupler comprising inductors and capacitors coupled across terminals.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Lance T Bartol whose telephone number is (703)756-1267. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Thursday 6:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. CT, Alternating Fridays 6:30 - 3:00.
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/LANCE TORBJORN BARTOL/Examiner, Art Unit 2843
/ANDREA LINDGREN BALTZELL/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2843
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