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 .
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the shunt inductor is coupled between the output of the main amplifier and a voltage supply rail recited in claim 4 must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). 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.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claim(s) 1-8, 15-17 and 20-24 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over [Pengelly ((Fig. 5); 8,749,306] in view of [Cabrera et al (Fig. 8); 10,270,396].
Regarding claim 1, Pengelly comprising a Doherty amplifier comprising a main amplifier (36), an auxiliary amplifier (46), a power splitting and phase shifting circuit (32), a shunt inductor (L6) coupled to an output (output terminal of 36) of the main amplifier (36), and a shunt capacitor (C4) coupled to an output (output terminal of 46) of the auxiliary amplifier (46). As described above, Pengelly discloses all the limitations in claim 1 except for that transformer comprising a first inductor coupled between the output of the main amplifier and the output of the auxiliary amplifier and a second inductor magnetically coupled with the first inductor. Cabrera et al comprising a Doherty amplifier comprising a transformer (T3) comprising a first inductor (primary winding of T3) coupled between the output (drain terminal of QMAIN) of the main amplifier (QMAIN) and the output (drain terminal of QPEAK) of the auxiliary amplifier (QPEAK) and a second inductor (secondary winding of T3) magnetically coupled with the first inductor (primary winding of T3). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made would have found it obvious to have employed the transformer at the output terminal (40 in Fig. 5 of Pengelly) of Pengelly (Fig. 5), such as taught by Cabrera et al (Fig. 8) in order to provide the advantageous benefit of stabilizing the variation of the gain of the amplifier.
Regarding claims 2, 15, 17 and 21-23 the limitations recited in the claims are obvious based on the intend use of the invention.
Regarding claim 3, wherein the second inductor (secondary winding of T3) is coupled between an antenna (ROUT) and a ground (ground).
Regarding claim 4, wherein the shunt inductor (L6) is coupled between the output (output terminal of 36) of the main amplifier (36) and a voltage supply rail (ground voltage rail).
Regarding claim 5, wherein the shunt capacitor (C4) is coupled between the output (output terminal of 46) of the auxiliary amplifier (46) and a ground (ground).
Regarding claim 6, wherein the first inductor (primary winding of T3) includes a tap (upper left black tap) coupled to a voltage supply rail (rail of the VDD).
Regarding claim 7, Pengelly in view of Cabrera et al further comprising a coupling capacitor (C3) and wherein the coupling capacitor (C3) is coupled between the shunt inductor (L3) and a ground (ground), and the shunt inductor (L3) is coupled between the output (drain terminal of QMAIN) of the main amplifier (QMAIN) and the coupling capacitor (C3).
Regarding claim 8, wherein the shunt capacitor (C4) is coupled between the output (output terminal of 46) of the auxiliary amplifier (46) and the ground (ground).
Regarding claim 16, Pengelly comprising a Doherty amplifier comprising a main amplifier (36), an auxiliary amplifier (46), a power splitting and phase shifting circuit (32), a shunt inductor (L6) coupled to an output (output terminal of 36) of the main amplifier (36), and a shunt capacitor (C4) coupled to an output (output terminal of 46) of the auxiliary amplifier (46). As described above, Pengelly discloses all the limitations in claim 1 except for that transformer comprising a first inductor coupled between the output of the main amplifier and the output of the auxiliary amplifier and a second inductor magnetically coupled with the first inductor. Cabrera et al comprising a Doherty amplifier comprising a transformer (T3) comprising a first inductor (primary winding of T3) coupled between the output (drain terminal of QMAIN) of the main amplifier (QMAIN) and the output (drain terminal of QPEAK) of the auxiliary amplifier (QPEAK) and a second inductor (secondary winding of T3) magnetically coupled with the first inductor (primary winding of T3) and coupled to the antenna (ROUT). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made would have found it obvious to have employed the transformer at the output terminal (40 in Fig. 5 of Pengelly) of Pengelly (Fig. 5), such as taught by Cabrera et al (Fig. 8) in order to provide the advantageous benefit of stabilizing the variation of the gain of the amplifier.
Regarding claim 20, Pengelly comprising a Doherty amplifier comprising a main amplifier (36), an auxiliary amplifier (46), a power splitting and phase shifting circuit (32), a shunt inductor (L6) coupled to an output (output terminal of 36) of the main amplifier (36), and a shunt capacitor (C4) coupled to an output (output terminal of 46) of the auxiliary amplifier (46). As described above, Pengelly discloses all the limitations in claim 20 except for that a differential load coupled between the output of the main amplifier and the output of the auxiliary amplifier. Cabrera et al comprising a Doherty amplifier comprising a differential load (T3, 208, ROUT) coupled between the output (drain terminal of QMAIN) of the main amplifier (QMAIN) and the output (drain terminal of QPEAK) of the auxiliary amplifier (QPEAK). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made would have found it obvious to have employed the differential load at the output terminal (40 in Fig. 5 of Pengelly) of Pengelly (Fig. 5), such as taught by Cabrera et al (Fig. 8) in order to provide the advantageous benefit of stabilizing the variation of the gain of the amplifier.
Regarding claim 24, wherein the auxiliary amplifier (46) is configured to modulate (42) an impedance at the output (output terminal of 36) of the main amplifier (36).
Claim(s) 12 and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over [Pengelly (Fig. 5); 8,749,306] in view of [Cabrera et al (Fig. 8); 10,270,396] in further view of [Yang et al (Fig. 1); 12,088,255].
Pengelly in view of Cabrera et al discloses all the limitations in the claims except for that the main amplifier and the auxiliary amplifier and the shunt capacitor are integrated on a die. Yang et al discloses a Doherty Amplifier circuit comprising a main amplifier (132) and an auxiliary amplifier (152) and the shunt capacitor (147) which are integrated on the die (110). It is well known to integrate the semiconductor components such as the main amplifier and auxiliary amplifier and the shunt capacitor in the die in order to form of small sized Integrated Circuit. Therefore, it would have been obvious to have integrated the main amplifier and auxiliary amplifier and the shunt capacitor of Pengelly (Fig. 5) in the die because such a modification would have advantageously produced a small-sized integrated circuit.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 9-11, 13, 14 and 19 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.
Reasons for Allowance
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance: Regarding claim 9, the closest prior art of record, Pengelly does not disclose the following limitation: the tap is located at a center of the first inductor. Regarding claim 10, the closest prior art of record, Pengelly does not disclose the following limitation: a first capacitor coupled in parallel with the first inductor. Regarding claim 13, the closest prior art of record, Pengelly does not disclose the following limitation: a phase shifter coupled ------------- by the phase shift. Regarding claim 14, the closest prior art of record, Pengelly does not disclose the following limitation: a second phase shifter ---------------------------- the second RF signal. Regarding claim 19, the closest prior art of record, Pengelly does not disclose the following limitation: the RFEE module comprises a substrate, the die --------------------, and the transformer is on the substrate.
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Henry Choe whose telephone number is (571)272-1760. The examiner can normally be reached MONDAY-FRIDAY 5AM-11:00PM.
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/HENRY CHOE/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2843
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