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 .
This non-final office action is responsive to Applicants' application filed on 01/03/24. Claims 1-20 are presented for examination and are pending for the reasons indicated herein below.
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 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.
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 1 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 pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention. The claims use the term “commonly” and thus, renders the limitation indefinite since the claim does not positively recite the limitation. For the sake of examining each limitation has been interpreted as an electrical ON/OFF connection.
Claims 2-20 depend directly or indirectly from a rejected claim and are, therefore, rejected for the reasons set above.
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.
Claim 1 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Lee et al. (US 9882480 B2)
Regarding claim 1. Lee teaches a multi-port driving [fig 3, multi output controller to control multiple switches] and sensing circuit [100] comprising: a power unit [PS] having a driving voltage terminal [VIN] and a reference voltage terminal [ground terminal];
a plurality of bridge switching units [see p1-2/n1-2], each of the bridge switching units has a first upper switch[p1], a second upper switch [p2], a first lower switch [n2] and a second lower switch [n1], wherein the first and second lower switches are respectively connected to the first and second upper switches [i.e. connected through LX];
wherein each of the bridge switching units further has a first sensing terminal [VDDM] and a second sensing terminal [VSSM];
wherein the first and second upper switches are commonly connected to the driving voltage terminal and the first and second lower switches are commonly connected to the reference voltage terminal [i.e. connected through LX];
a signal reading unit [110] connected to the first and second sensing terminals;
and a controlling unit [170] connected to the bridge switching units and the signal reading unit, wherein the controlling unit has a driving procedure [T1 period] and a sensing procedure [T3 period];
wherein when the controlling unit executes the driving procedure, the controlling unit switches one of the first and second upper switches of the bridge switching unit to turn on for supplying a driving voltage to a load [during this period P1 is ON and P2 is ON];
and when the controlling unit executes the sensing procedure, the controlling unit switches the first and second upper switches of the bridge switching unit to turn off to disconnect to the driving voltage terminal [during this period P1 is OFF and P2 is OFF], and reads a sensing voltage signal [110 is operating in both periods, thus this interpretation follows limitation] of the load connected to the bridge switching unit through the signal reading unit.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-20 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, and if the claim objections stated above were overcome.
Examiner Note
The examiner cites particular columns and lines numbers in the references as applied to the claims above for the convenience of the applicant. Although the specified citations are representative of the teachings in the art and are applied to the specific limitations within the individual claim, other passages and figures may apply as well. It is respectfully requested that, in preparing responses, the applicant fully consider the references in their entirety as potentially teaching all or part of the claimed invention, as well as the context of the passage as taught by the prior art or disclosed by the examiner.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Bryan Perez whose telephone number is (571)272-8837. The examiner can normally be reached on Mon.-Fri. (7:30 – 5:00).
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner's supervisor, Monica Lewis, can be reached on (571) 272-1838. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/BRYAN R PEREZ/Examiner, Art Unit 2838