DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claim Objections
Claim 18 is objected to because of the following informalities:
In claim 18, line 13, “signal” should read --a signal--.
Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claim 10 is 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.
Claim 10 recites the limitation "the current sense circuitry" in line 1. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1, 2, 10, 13, and 15-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Takahashi et al (USPAP 2008/0258787).
Regarding claim 1, Takahashi’s Fig. 1 shows a system, comprising:
a charge pump (5) having a control input and a charge pump output;
a transistor (2) having a control terminal (G) coupled to the charge pump output; and
a controller (4) having an input (SC, OC) and a control output (S7), in which the control output is coupled to the control input (clearly shown), and the controller is configurable to provide a control signal (S7) responsive to a signal at the input indicative of a current conducted by the transistor (element 7 indicates an overcurrent condition of transistor 2), and the charge pump is configurable to set a voltage at the charge pump output responsive to the control signal (clearly shown).
As to claim 2, Takahashi’s Fig. 1 shows 2 the system of claim 1, wherein the transistor (2) is an n-channel field-effect transistor (clearly shown).
As to claim 10, Takahashi’s Fig. 1 shows the system of claim 1, wherein the current sense circuitry (7) is coupled to a current terminal of the transistor (the source terminal of transistor 2).
Regarding claim 13, Takahashi’s Fig. 1 shows a method, comprising:
receiving a signal (SC, OC) indicative of a current conducted by a transistor (2); and
responsive to receiving the signal, setting a voltage of a control terminal (G) of the transistor using a charge pump (5).
As to claim 15, Takahashi’s Fig. 1 shows the method of claim 13, further comprising measuring the current through a sense resistor (not shown but implied; current sensors/detectors typically employ sensing resistors) and generating the signal responsive to the measuring.
As to claim 16, Takahashi’s Fig. 1 shows the method of claim 13, wherein increasing the voltage increases a gate-to-source voltage of the transistor (clearly shown).
As to claim 17, Takahashi’s Fig. 1 shows the method of claim 13, wherein decreasing the voltage decreases a gate-to-source voltage of the transistor (clearly shown).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 18-20 are presently allowed.
Claims 3-9, 11, 12, and 14 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
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/WILLIAM HERNANDEZ/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2849