Prosecution Insights
Last updated: July 26, 2026
Application No. 18/229,652

BUFFER CIRCUIT

Final Rejection §112
Filed
Aug 02, 2023
Examiner
SHAMIRYAN, NAREH
Art Unit
2843
Tech Center
2800 — Semiconductors & Electrical Systems
Assignee
Analog Devices Inc.
OA Round
2 (Final)
91%
Grant Probability
Favorable
3-4
OA Rounds
2m
Est. Remaining
99%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 91% — above average
91%
Career Allowance Rate
53 granted / 58 resolved
+23.4% vs TC avg
Moderate +11% lift
Without
With
+11.4%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
3y 1m
Avg Prosecution
14 currently pending
Career history
73
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§103
56.1%
+16.1% vs TC avg
§102
3.0%
-37.0% vs TC avg
§112
36.4%
-3.6% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 58 resolved cases

Office Action

§112
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 . Response to Amendment The Amendment filed 04/15/2026 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 01/15/2026. Response to Arguments Applicant’s arguments, see pages 8-10, filed 04/15/2026, with respect to claims 1-8 have been fully considered and are persuasive. The rejection of these claims has been withdrawn due to newly added limitations (current density and feedforward information) that overcome the prior art. Claim Objections Claim 20 is objected to because of the following informalities: The newly amended “a drains” in line 2 should probably just read “drains.” 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. Claims 1-11 and 19 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. Claim 1: the language jumps between “variable load” and “load” throughout the entire claim. This makes it unclear whether these are the same load or different loads. Appropriate correction is required. Claims 2-11, which are dependent on claim 1, inherit this rejection. Claims 5 and 6 also state “load” and due to the indefiniteness of claim 1, it’s also unclear here whether the claimed load is the same as “the variable load” or just “the load” of claim 1. Appropriate correction is required. Claims 7-8, which depend on claim 6, also inherit this rejection. Claim 19 recites the limitation "the source follower" in line 4. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Appropriate correction is required. Allowable Subject Matter Claims 13-18 are allowed. Claim 1 would be allowable if rewritten or amended to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action. Claims 2-11 and 19 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims. Claim 20 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the objection stated above. 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. 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, Andrea Lindgren-Baltzell can be reached at (571) 272-5918. 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. /NAREH SHAMIRYAN/Examiner, Art Unit 2843 /ANDREA LINDGREN BALTZELL/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2843
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Show 1 earlier event
Nov 24, 2025
Examiner Interview (Telephonic)
Nov 24, 2025
Examiner Interview Summary
Dec 09, 2025
Applicant Interview (Telephonic)
Jan 15, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §112
Mar 16, 2026
Response Filed
Mar 16, 2026
Response after Non-Final Action
Apr 15, 2026
Response Filed
Jun 03, 2026
Final Rejection mailed — §112 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

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Patent 12671374
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Patent 12665557
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3y 4m to grant Granted Jun 23, 2026
Patent 12652012
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3y 11m to grant Granted Jun 09, 2026
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Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

3-4
Expected OA Rounds
91%
Grant Probability
99%
With Interview (+11.4%)
3y 1m (~2m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Moderate
PTA Risk
Based on 58 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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