DETAILED ACTION
This Office Action is in response to the Applicant’s Response to Restriction/Election filed on 05/11/2026. In virtue of the Response:
Claims 1-24 are pending in the instant application.
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group I, claims 1-19, in the reply filed on 05/11/2026 is acknowledged.
Claims 20-24 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected Group II, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 05/11/2026.
Note: Claims 20-24 should be indicated as CANCELED in response to this Office Action.
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
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)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1, 2 and 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by TAKAGIMOTO (U.S. Pub. 2023/0337346 A1).
Regarding claim 1, TAKAGIMOTO discloses a circuit (Figs. 1 and 5) comprising:
a plurality of switches (SW0-SW7 in LED SW 4, Fig. 5), each switch of the plurality of switches having a respective first switch terminal (drain terminal), a respective second switch terminal (source terminal) and a respective switching terminal (gate terminal);
a switch logic circuit (logic circuit 3, Fig. 1) including a plurality of switch logic input terminals (terminals connected to logic circuit 3, Fig. 1), a plurality of switch logic output terminals (terminal connected to SW 4, Fig. 1) and a switch control terminal (terminal connected to unit 2, Fig. 1), each switch logic output terminal of the plurality of switch logic output terminals being coupled to the switching terminal of a respective one of the plurality of switches (terminals connected to gate terminals of switches in SW 4, Figs. 1 and 5); and
a switching driver control circuit (unit 2, Fig. 1) including a plurality of driver input terminals (Rx terminal, Fig. 1), a driver output terminal (Tx terminal, Fig. 1) and a driver logic terminal (terminal connected to logic circuit 3, Fig. 1), the driver logic terminal being coupled to the switch control terminal of the switch logic circuit (Fig. 1), and each of the plurality of driver input terminals being coupled to a respective one of the plurality of switch logic input terminals (Fig. 1).
Regarding claim 2, TAKAGIMOTO discloses the circuit wherein each of the plurality of switches is configured to turn on and turn off based on a respective switch control signal at each of the plurality of switch logic output terminals (logic circuit 3 controls ON/OFF of the switching circuit 4, pars [0040]-[0041]).
Regarding claim 13, TAKAGIMOTO discloses a circuit (Figs. 1 and 5) comprising:
a plurality of switches (SW0-SW7 in LED SW 4, Fig. 5) configured to turn on or turn off based on a respective plurality of switch control signals (control signals from logic unit 3 and unit 2, Fig. 1, pars [0040]-[0041]);
a switch logic circuit (logic unit 2, Fig. 1) configured to provide the respective plurality of switch control signals (signals to the switches of SW4, Figs. 1 and 5) based on a respective plurality of controller output signals (signals from unit 2, Fig. 1) and a switch logic signal (signal from logic unit 3, (Fig. 1);
a switching driver control circuit (unit 2, Fig. 1) configured to provide the switch logic signal (signal sent to unit 3, Fig. 1) based on the respective plurality of controller output signals (signals received from Rx terminal, Fig. 1).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-12 and 14-19 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.
Inquiry
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JIMMY T VU whose telephone number is (571)272-1832. The examiner can normally be reached on 9:00 AM - 6:00 PM.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Alexander H. Taningco can be reached on 571-272-8048. The fax phone numbers for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned are 571-273-8300.
Any inquiry of a general nature or relating to the status of this application or proceeding should be directed to the receptionist whose telephone number is 571-272-2800.
/JIMMY T VU/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2845
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