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 .
Drawings
Figures 14 and 15 should be designated by a legend such as --Prior Art-- because only that which is old is illustrated. See MPEP § 608.02(g). Corrected drawings in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. The replacement sheet(s) should be labeled “Replacement Sheet” in the page header (as per 37 CFR 1.84(c)) so as not to obstruct any portion of the drawing figures. If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Specification
The lengthy specification has not been checked to the extent necessary to determine the presence of all possible minor errors. Applicant’s cooperation is requested in correcting any errors of which applicant may become aware in the specification.
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.
Claim(s) 8, 17, 18, 24 and 27 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Sanduleanu et al. (20120299632), hereinafter called SANDULEANU.
Regarding claims 8 and 18, SANDULEANU (Fig. 4) discloses a differential amplifier circuit comprising: an amplifier section comprising a differential pair transistor (104 and 114) to which a differential signal is input; and the source of differential pair transistor (104 and 114) is connected to ground via a plurality of transmission lines via source node (124), one of the transmission line is label as transmission line (144) and the other two transmission line are not labeled, wherein these transmission lines read as a tail current circuit made up of a short stub (transmission line(s) that are not labeled) provided between a ground/source terminal of the amplifier section and a ground (146).
Regarding claims 17 and 27, wherein the amplifier section comprises: a source-grounded amplifying circuit comprising the differential pair transistor (104 and 114).
Regarding claim 24, further comprising providing an open stub (144) having a first end connected to the ground/source terminal of the amplifier section and a second end that is opened, wherein an electrical length of the open stub is shorter than a quarter wavelength of an operation frequency of the differential amplifier circuit. Note, transmission line (144) is adjustable, thereby the transmission line (144) can have an electrical length that is smaller than a quarter wavelength.
Claim(s) 8, 9, 17-19 and 27 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Chakraborty et al. (8,786,330), hereinafter called CHAKRABORTY.
Regarding claims 8 and 18, CHAKRABORTY (Fig. 2A) discloses differential amplifier circuit comprising: an amplifier section comprising a differential pair transistor (218 and 220) to which a differential signal (Vp and Vn) is input; and the emitter of differential pair transistor (218 and 220) is connected to ground via a transmission line (214), wherein transmission line read as a tail current circuit made up of a short stub (214) provided between a ground/emitter terminal of the amplifier section and a ground.
Regarding claims 9 and 19, wherein an electrical length of the short stub can be shorter than a quarter wavelength of an operation frequency of the differential amplifier circuit, see column 3, lines 38-40.
Regarding claims 17 and 27, wherein the amplifier section comprises: an emitter-grounded amplifying circuit comprising the differential pair transistor (218 and 220).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 10-16, and 20-23, 25 and 26 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Regarding claims 10, 11, 13, 20, 21, and 23, prior art(s) does not disclose a capacitance provided in parallel with the short stub between the ground terminal of the amplifier section and the ground.
Regarding claims 12, 14-16, 22, 25 and 26, prior art(s) does not disclose an open stub having a first end connected to the ground/source terminal of the amplifier section and a second end that is opened, wherein an electrical length of the open stub is shorter than a quarter wavelength of the operation frequency of the differential amplifier circuit.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. The additional reference(s) cited in PTO-892 show further analogous prior art circuitry.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Khanh V. Nguyen whose telephone number is (571) 272-1767. The examiner can normally be reached from 8:30 AM – 5:00 PM EST.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone 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, LINDGREN BALTZELL ANDREA can be reached on (571) 272-5918. The fax phone numbers for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/KHANH V NGUYEN/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2843
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