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 .
Priority
Foreign priority is not claimed for this application.
Response to Amendment
The Amendment filed 10/22/2025 has been entered. Applicant’s amendments to the Specification, Drawings, and Claims have overcome each and every objection and most of the 112(b) rejections previously set forth in the Non-Final Office Action mailed 05/22/2025.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 10/22/2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Bias control circuits being associated with each of the plurality of sensing circuits are well known in the art as shown below in the rejections. A further rejection by US 6480061 by Dolman et al. also shows multiple bias control circuits associated with each sensing circuit and amplifier/transistor in an array.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 7 and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
The applicant’s response and amendment to these claims is not satisfactory and has created more ambiguity regarding what exactly the predictive component is. Previously stated as a “pattern,” which is an abstract concept, the newly amended “component” is known to those having ordinary skill in the art as either an active or passive electronic component. This wording makes the claim very unclear and indefinite. No description was given as to why claims 7 and 14 were amended this way. Appropriate correction is required.
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1 and 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and (a)(2) as being anticipated by US 6480061 by Dolman et al.
Regarding claim 1, Dolman teaches a power amplification system comprising:
a power amplifier including an array of transistors, the array configured to receive an input signal and provide an amplified signal (Fig. 1 and 2);
a monitoring system including a plurality of sensing circuits implemented at respective locations of the array (Fig. 1 temperature sensors 1, 2, and 3 and Fig. 2 PD, OD, and OP temperature sensors); and
a control system configured to obtain sensed information from the plurality of sensing circuits (Fig. 1 and 2 Microcontroller, ADC, DAC, and bias circuits), and based on the sensed information, generate a pattern of one or more transistor properties over the array to allow operation of the array in a desired manner based on the pattern (Col. 2 lines 61 -67 and Col. 3 lines 1-17, Col. 5 lines 33-56), the control system including a local bias control circuit associated with each of the plurality of sensing circuits (Fig. 2 PD, OD, and OP bias circuits).
Regarding claim 11, Dolman teaches a method for operating a power amplification system, the method comprising:
providing an input signal to an array of transistors of a power amplifier (Fig. 1 and 2);
amplifying the input signal with the array to generate an amplified signal (Fig. 1 and 2);
sensing one or more conditions associated with the transistors at a plurality of locations of the array (Fig. 1 temperature sensors 1,2, and 3; Fig. 2 PD, OD, and OP temperature sensors); and
generating a pattern of one or more transistor properties based on information from the sensing to allow operation of the array in a desired manner based on the pattern (Col. 2 lines 61 -67 and Col. 3 lines 1-17, Col. 5 lines 33-56), the operation of the array including providing a local bias control for each of the plurality of locations of the array (Fig. 2 PD, OD, and OP bias circuits).
Claim(s) 1, 11, and 16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and (a)(2) as being anticipated by US 20040085131 by Glaser et al.
Regarding claim 1, Glaser teaches a power amplification system comprising:
a power amplifier including an array of transistors, the array configured to receive an input signal and provide an amplified signal (Abstract; Fig. 2);
a monitoring system including a plurality of sensing circuits implemented at respective locations of the array (Abstract; Fig. 2 #46); and
a control system configured to obtain sensed information from the plurality of sensing circuits (Fig. 2 #48), and based on the sensed information, generate a pattern of one or more transistor properties over the array to allow operation of the array in a desired manner based on the pattern (Par. 5, 14), the control system including a local bias control circuit associated with each of the plurality of sensing circuits (Par. 5, the controller controls a temperature modifying device coupled to each transistor in the array and this temperature modifying device can control drive current and supply voltage for each transistor. Transistor drive current is based on the bias. Since each device of the array has respective drive current, it’s essential that each one has its own bias circuit).
Regarding claim 11, Glaser teaches a method for operating a power amplification system, the method comprising:
providing an input signal to an array of transistors of a power amplifier (Abstract; Fig. 2);
amplifying the input signal with the array to generate an amplified signal (Abstract; Fig. 2);
sensing one or more conditions associated with the transistors at a plurality of locations of the array (Abstract; Fig. 2 #46); and
generating a pattern of one or more transistor properties based on information from the sensing to allow operation of the array in a desired manner based on the pattern (Fig. 2 #48, Par. 5, 14), the operation of the array including providing a local bias control for each of the plurality of locations of the array (Par. 5, the controller controls a temperature modifying device coupled to each transistor in the array and this temperature modifying device can control drive current and supply voltage for each transistor. Transistor drive current is based on the bias. Since each device of the array has respective drive current, it’s essential that each one has its own bias circuit).
Regarding claim 16, Glaser teaches a wireless system (Par. 1) comprising:
a baseband sub-system (Par. 1);
a power amplifier configured to receive an analog signal representative of a digital signal and provide an amplified signal, the power amplifier including an array of transistors (Abstract; Fig. 2);
an antenna in communication with an output of the power amplifier and configured to support transmission of the amplified signal (Par. 1, communications systems require an antenna); and
a monitor and adapt system including a plurality of sensing circuits implemented at respective locations of the array (Fig. 2 #46), and a control system configured to obtain sensed information from the plurality of sensing circuits, and based on the sensed information, generate a pattern of one or more transistor properties over the array to allow operation of the array in a desired manner based on the pattern (Fig. 2 #48, par. 5, 14), the control system including a local bias control circuit associated with each of the plurality of sensing circuits (Par. 5, the controller controls a temperature modifying device coupled to each transistor in the array and this temperature modifying device can control drive current and supply voltage for each transistor. Transistor drive current is based on the bias. Since each device of the array has respective drive current, it’s essential that each one has its own bias circuit).
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(s) 17-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 20040085131 by Glaser et al.
Regarding claim 17, Glaser teaches the wireless system of claim 16, as stated above. While Glaser doesn’t explicitly teach that the wireless system is implemented in a base station, this is simply a design parameter that is known in this art (Teaching reference: US 20230268942 by Ghannouchi et al. Fig. 1a, Par. 1).
Regarding claim 18, while not explicitly stated, Glaser teaches the wireless system of claim 17, wherein the base station includes a cellular base station functionality. This is simply a design parameter that is known in the art (Teaching reference: US 20230268942 by Ghannouchi et al. Fig. 1a, Par. 1).
Regarding claim 19, Glaser teaches the wireless system of claim 16, wherein the wireless system is implemented in a mobile device. This is simply a design parameter that is known in the art (Teaching reference: US 20230268942 by Ghannouchi et al. Fig. 1a, Par. 1).
Regarding claim 20, while not explicitly stated, Glaser teaches the wireless system of claim 19, wherein the mobile device includes a cellular functionality. This is simply a design parameter that is known in the art (Teaching reference: US 20230268942 by Ghannouchi et al. Fig. 1a, Par. 1).
Claim(s) 1-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 20230268942 by Ghannouchi et al.
Regarding claim 1, Ghannouchi teaches a power amplification system (Fig. 3a and 3b) comprising:
a power amplifier (Fig. 3a and 3b #305) including an array of transistors (Fig. 6 array #610-#610-N with power amplifiers #612 and their respective transistors), the array configured to receive an input signal and provide an amplified signal (Par. 2);
a monitoring system including a plurality of sensing circuits implemented at respective locations of the array (Fig. 3a and 3b #304 and #309; Fig. 6 #619); and
a control system configured to obtain sensed information from the plurality of sensing circuits, and based on the sensed information, generate a pattern of one or more transistor properties over the array to allow operation of the array in a desired manner based on the pattern (Fig. 3a #302 and #316; Fig. 6 #624 and #630 par. 82), the control system including a local bias control circuit associated with each of the plurality of sensing circuits (Par. 71, 107, Claim 8; Fig. 6, there are a plurality of transceiver arrays 610-N each with an amplifier cell/array. Each subarray has its own bias circuit. For preconditioning the predistorter you have to monitor biasing values which are different for the different blocks. It’s obvious that each cell has its own bias control for precision control).
Regarding claim 2, Ghannouchi teaches the power amplification system of claim 1 wherein the control system is further configured to generate a signal for providing digital predistortion to a digital signal corresponding to the input signal provided to the power amplifier (Fig. 3a and 3b #302).
Regarding claim 3, Ghannouchi teaches the power amplification system of claim 1, wherein the control system includes either or both of an artificial intelligence capability and a neural network capability (Par. 52).
Regarding claim 4, Ghannouchi teaches the power amplification system of claim 3 wherein the control system includes a processor configured to provide either or both of the artificial intelligence capability and the neural network capability (Fig. 6 #630).
Regarding claim 5, Ghannouchi teaches the power amplification system of claim 4 wherein both of the processor and the power amplifier are implemented within same location or device (Fig. 6).
Regarding claim 6, Ghannouchi teaches the power amplification system of claim 4, and while Ghannouchi doesn’t explicitly teach that the processor and power amplifier are implemented at different locations or devices, this is merely a design/engineering parameter that is known in the art (Teaching reference US 20160277045 by Langer par. 21, 23).
Regarding claim 7, Ghannouchi teaches the power amplification system of claim 3 wherein the pattern generated by the control system includes a predictive component (Par. 74).
Regarding claim 8, Ghannouchi teaches the power amplification system of claim 3 wherein the plurality of sensing circuits are configured such that the monitored information includes some or all of temperature, gain and bias condition of respective transistors in the array (Par. 71, 72, 124, claim 8).
Regarding claim 9, Ghannouchi teaches the power amplification system of claim 8 and while Ghannouchi doesn’t explicitly state that the transistors are implemented as gallium nitride (GaN) transistors having memory properties, this is simply a design/engineering parameter that are known in the art, leading to improved efficiency, decreased size, and reduced weight (Teaching reference: Stull 2020).
Regarding claim 10, Ghannouchi teaches the power amplification system of claim 8 wherein the controller is configured such that the pattern generated by the control system includes a statistical analysis of some or all of the sensed information (Par. 73-74, the controller uses statistical data (temperature, etc.) from the operating condition parameters #309).
Regarding claim 11, Ghannouchi teaches a method for operating a power amplification system, the method comprising:
providing an input signal to an array of transistors of a power amplifier (Fig. 6);
amplifying the input signal with the array to generate an amplified signal;
sensing one or more conditions associated with the transistors at a plurality of locations of the array (Fig. 3 #304 and #309; Fig. 6 #619); and
generating a pattern of one or more transistor properties based on information from the sensing to allow operation of the array in a desired manner based on the pattern (Fig. 3a #302 and #316; Fig. 6 #624 and #630 par. 82), the operation of the array including providing a local bias control for each of the plurality of locations of the array (Par. 71, 107, Claim 8; Fig. 6, there are a plurality of transceiver arrays 610-N each with an amplifier cell/array. Each subarray has its own bias circuit. For preconditioning the predistorter you have to monitor biasing values which are different for the different blocks. It’s obvious that each cell has its own bias control for precision control).
Regarding claim 12, Ghannouchi teaches the method of claim 11 further comprising performing a digital predistortion operation to a digital signal corresponding to the input signal provided to the power amplifier based on the pattern (Fig. 3a and 3b #302).
Regarding claim 13, Ghannouchi teaches the method of claim 11 wherein the generating of the pattern includes either or both of an artificial intelligence operation and a neural network operation (Par. 52).
Regarding claim 14, Ghannouchi teaches the method of claim 11 wherein the generating of the pattern includes a predictive pattern component (Par. 74).
Regarding claim 15, Ghannouchi teaches the method of claim 11 wherein the sensing of the one or more conditions includes sensing of some or all of temperature, gain and bias condition of respective transistors in the array (Par. 71, 72, 124, claim 8).
Regarding claim 16, Ghannouchi teaches a wireless system comprising:
a baseband sub-system (Par. 2);
a power amplifier configured to receive an analog signal representative of a digital signal and provide an amplified signal, the power amplifier including an array of transistors (Fig. 6);
an antenna in communication with an output of the power amplifier and configured to support transmission of the amplified signal (Par. 2); and
a monitor and adapt system including a plurality of sensing circuits implemented at respective locations of the array (Fig. 3 #304 and #309; Fig. 6 #619), and a control system configured to obtain sensed information from the plurality of sensing circuits, and based on the sensed information, generate a pattern of one or more transistor properties over the array to allow operation of the array in a desired manner based on the pattern (Fig. 3a #302 and #316; Fig. 6 #624 and #630 par. 82), the control system including a local bias control circuit associated with each of the plurality of sensing circuits (Par. 71, 107, Claim 8; Fig. 6, there are a plurality of transceiver arrays 610-N each with an amplifier cell/array. Each subarray has its own bias circuit. For preconditioning the predistorter you have to monitor biasing values which are different for the different blocks. It’s obvious that each cell has its own bias control for precision control).
Regarding claim 17, Ghannouchi teaches the wireless system of claim 16 wherein the wireless system is implemented in a base station (Fig. 1a, Par. 1).
Regarding claim 18, Ghannouchi teaches the wireless system of claim 17 wherein the base station includes a cellular base station functionality (Fig. 1a, Par. 1).
Regarding claim 19, Ghannouchi teaches the wireless system of claim 16 wherein the wireless system is implemented in a mobile device (Fig. 1a, Par. 1).
Regarding claim 20, Ghannouchi teaches the wireless system of claim 19 wherein the mobile device includes a cellular functionality (Fig. 1a, Par. 1).
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 NAREH SHAMIRYAN whose telephone number is (703)756-4616. The examiner can normally be reached M-F: 7:00AM-4:00PM PT.
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/NAREH SHAMIRYAN/Examiner, Art Unit 2843
/ANDREA LINDGREN BALTZELL/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2843