DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 and 2 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Bennett et al (USP 6,348,920).
Regarding claim 1, Bennett’s Fig. 5 shows an integrated circuit comprising:
a transistor (254); and
a driver (252) coupled to a gate of the transistor, wherein the driver controls an operation of the transistor, wherein the driver is operable in a first configuration as a low- side gate driver (see abstract, lines 1-8) for a voltage regulator (when the load is a battery, a voltage regulator is inherent), wherein the transistor is operable in the first configuration as a low-side switch for the voltage regulator, wherein the driver is operable in a second configuration as a high-side gate driver for the voltage regulator, and wherein the transistor is operable in the second configuration as a high-side switch (see abstract, lines 1-8) for the voltage regulator.
As to claim 2, Bennett’s Fig. 5 shows the integrated circuit of claim 1, wherein the transistor comprises Ga and N (Power FET 254 can be replaced by any power transistor including a GaN power transistor without affecting the overall functionality of the circuit).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-8 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
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to WILLIAM HERNANDEZ whose telephone number is (571)272-8979. The examiner can normally be reached Mon to Fri; 10am to 6pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Menatoallah M Youssef can be reached at (571) 270-3684. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/WILLIAM HERNANDEZ/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2849
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