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 .
Claim Objections
Claim 18 is objected to because of the following informalities: “the gain increments” lacks antecedent basis. Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claims 1-16 are 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.
Claim 1 recites “a feed-forward supply noise cancellation circuit configured to generate gain increments to a noise-cancelling signal at the gate of the pass transistor in response to changes in the load current”. However, it is unclear how a signal itself, i.e. the “noise cancelling signal at the gate of the pass transistor” per se, has a gain (i.e. a “gain” being a property of a circuit providing a particular function rather than a property of a signal itself per se). The examiner suggests the following amendment that clarifies that the incremental gain adjustments are applied to the feed-forward noise cancelling circuit rather than a property of the signal per se: “a feed-forward supply noise cancellation circuit configured to provide gain increments to generate a noise-cancelling signal at the gate of the pass transistor in response to changes in the load current”.
Claim 9 similarly recites “a feed-forward supply noise cancellation circuit configured to amplify a gain of a supply noise cancelling signal at increments of the gate voltage”. Again, it is unclear how a signal per se has a “gain”, rather than circuitry that generates the signal, and how a “gain” of the signal is “amplified”. The examiner suggests the following amendment that clarifies the scope of the claim: “a feed-forward supply noise cancellation circuit configured to modify a gain of the feed-forward supply noise cancelling circuit at increments of the gate voltage”.
Claims 2-8 and 10-16 are rejected merely for inheriting the deficiencies of claims 1 and 9. The examiner has interpreted claims 1 and 9 according to the above suggestions for the purpose of applying prior art.
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) 17 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Banerjee et al. (US 2024/0264619, hereinafter “Banerjee”).
Banerjee discloses a supply noise suppression process (Figs.2 and 3) comprising:
monitoring a gate voltage (Vgate_p, at 318 of Fig.3, which corresponds to the voltage applied to the gate of 102 in Fig.2; see [0037]) at a pass transistor (102, Fig.2) for a load (IL); and
adjusting a gain (via 316, which provides a voltage Vgn to 308, adjusting the gain of the feed-forward supply noise cancellation circuit; see Fig.3, [0035], and [0036]) of a feed-forward supply noise cancellation circuit (Fig.3) to modulate the gate voltage with a supply noise suppression signal (see [0042]) in response to changes in the gate voltage (see Fig.3, where the input Vgn provided to 308 is based on Vgate_p, thus provides the modulation with the supply noise suppression signal in response to changes in the gate voltage).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-16 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.
Claims 18-20 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: the closets prior art only discloses a feed-forward supply noise cancellation circuit that provides adjustment of gain according to the pass transistor gate voltage in an analog, non-incremental manner. Therefore, the prior art does not clearly disclose within the overall context of the claims “a feed-forward supply noise cancellation circuit configured to provide gain increments to generate a noise-cancelling signal at the gate of the pass transistor in response to changes in the load current”. (as claim 1 in interpreted), “a feed-forward supply noise cancellation circuit configured to modify a gain of the feed-forward supply noise cancelling circuit at increments of the gate voltage” (as claim 9 is interpreted), or “generating gain increments at particular levels of a load current through the pass transistor” (claim 18).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. The following prior art discloses other feedforward supply noise or ripple cancellation circuits: Roh et al. (US 2023/0393601), Joshi et al. (US 2021/0311513), Nedovic et al. (US 2020/0159267), Wang (US 2014/0340058), and Fang et al. (US 2014/0176098).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to RYAN JOHNSON whose telephone number is (571)270-1264. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday, 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Menna Youssef can be reached at (571)270-3684. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/RYAN JOHNSON/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2849