Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 22, 2026
Application No. 18/482,290

MODULATOR INTEGRATED CIRCUIT PACKAGE

Final Rejection §112
Filed
Oct 06, 2023
Examiner
NGUYEN, KHIEM D
Art Unit
2843
Tech Center
2800 — Semiconductors & Electrical Systems
Assignee
Cirrus Logic International Semiconductor Ltd.
OA Round
2 (Final)
86%
Grant Probability
Favorable
3-4
OA Rounds
0m
Est. Remaining
98%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 86% — above average
86%
Career Allowance Rate
1940 granted / 2260 resolved
+17.8% vs TC avg
Moderate +12% lift
Without
With
+12.4%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 4m
Avg Prosecution
55 currently pending
Career history
2336
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.8%
-39.2% vs TC avg
§103
46.3%
+6.3% vs TC avg
§102
29.0%
-11.0% vs TC avg
§112
16.0%
-24.0% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 2260 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 Arguments Applicant’s arguments, see pages 9-10, filed 07/23/2026, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 1-3 & 5-29 under 35 U.S.C 102(a)(1) and (35 U.S.C 103 have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. Independent claims 30-32 newly added. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph. 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 30 is 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. In Claim 30, lines 11-12, the recitation of “a first monitor output signal output by the first monitor circuitry” is unclear because the first monitor circuitry is not clearly defined and which the first monitor circuitry is the applicant referring to and it is noted that there is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Thus, the claim appears to be indefinite. Further clarification is needed. Allowable Subject Matter Claims 1-3, 5-29 & 31-32 are allowed. The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance: The amendment of independent claim 1 overcomes the previous rejections of the prior art including the reference of King et al. (US 6388514 B1, record). Specially, the independent claim 1 requires “wherein the power modulator circuitry is configured to control the power converter circuitry based on the supply voltage provided by the power converter circuitry to the output stage circuitry”. As such, the combination of limitations of the independent claim 1 overcomes the prior art. Claims 2-3 & 5-29 are allowable as being dependent on claim 1. Independence claim 31 is allowable over prior art, the previous prior art of King et al. (US 6388514 B1, record) found in search of the prior art does not teach the limitation of “wherein the signal modulator circuitry and the power modulator circuitry are configured to communicate with each other” nor would it have been obvious to combine the prior art of record thus claim is allowable. Independence claim 32 is allowable over prior art, the previous prior art of King et al. (US 6388514 B1, record) found in search of the prior art does not teach the limitation of “wherein the power modulator circuitry is configured to receive a signal indicative of the input signal and to control the power converter circuitry based at least in part on the signal indicative of the input signal, wherein the power modulator circuitry is operative to control the power converter circuitry to modulate the supply voltage based on the signal indicative of the input signal, and wherein the power modulator circuitry is operative to control the power converter circuitry to modulate the supply voltage between a plurality of different supply voltage levels based on the signal indicative of the input signal” nor would it have been obvious to combine the prior art of record thus claim is allowable. 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.” Claim 30 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. Conclusion Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a). A shortened statutory period for replying 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 case, 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 KHIEM D NGUYEN whose telephone number is (571)270-3941. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 8:00 AM-5:00 PM EST. 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, Jessica Han can be reached at (571) 272-2078. 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. /KHIEM D NGUYEN/Examiner, Art Unit 2843
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Oct 06, 2023
Application Filed
May 04, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §112
Jul 23, 2026
Response Filed
Oct 13, 2026
Final Rejection mailed — §112 (current)

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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
86%
Grant Probability
98%
With Interview (+12.4%)
2y 4m (~0m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Moderate
PTA Risk
Based on 2260 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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