DETAILED ACTION
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
This Office Action is responsive to amendment filed on 03/31/2026. Claims 1-20 have been examined and are pending in this application.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 03/31/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
The 35 U.S.C. 112(a), pre-AIA first paragraph, rejection of claims 1-20 is withdrawn in view of the amendment.
However, based on the amendment, this Office Action rejects claims 1-20 under 35 U.S.C. 112(b), pre-AIA second paragraph, as further explained below.
In view of the foregoing, independent claims 1, 13, and 14 are not in a condition for allowance. Claims depending therefrom, either directly or indirectly, are also not in a condition for allowance.
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 1-20 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.
Independent claim 1 as amended requires among other things “perform a read operation of a first memory row of the memory rows in response to a read command” and “and without performing a refresh of the first memory row”.
The above-noted two claim limitations are contradictory. A read operation of the first memory row automatically performs a refresh operation of the first memory row because, during a read operation, the sense amplifier connected to the bit lines of the first memory row replenishes charge on a capacitor of a DRAM cell. Therefore, it cannot be that a refresh operation on the first memory row is not performed. The instant filed specification at paragraph [0063] supports the assertion made by the Examiner because it states in part, that after a read operation, a refresh operation is not performed “to avoid repetitive refresh of the first memory row 307,” [0063] of the specification (emphasis added).
Dependent claims 2-12 directly or indirectly depend from claim 1 and these claims are also rejected based on their dependency.
Independent claims 13-14 include similar claim limitations as claim 1 and these claims are rejected for the aforementioned reason.
Dependent claims 15-20 directly or indirectly depend from claim 1 and these claims are also rejected based on their dependency.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-20 would be allowed provided that the outstanding 35 U.S.C. 112(b), pre-AIA second paragraph, rejection of the claims is overcome.
Conclusion
To support the Examiner’s assertion in the indefiniteness rejection, the Examiner cites, in addition to the description of paragraph [0063] of the instant filed specification, a prior art reference Schreck US 2004/0190349 (“Schreck”). Schreck teaches in the background section “the sense amplifiers 120, 122 detect a voltage imbalance in the digit lines D, D* during a read access of memory cells in the arrays 100, 102. The access transistors 160 coupled to an active row line remain ON during the time the sense amplifiers 120, 122 drive to digit lines to the supply voltage and ground potential. As a result, the storage capacitors 162 in the active row are recharged or to their original value or ‘refreshed’ in they [the] event they were internally discharged by leakage currents.” Paragraph [0011] and FIG. 3.
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply 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 event, 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 ZUBAIR AHMED whose telephone number is (571)272-1655. The examiner can normally be reached 7:30AM - 5:00PM EST.
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/ZUBAIR AHMED/Examiner, Art Unit 2132
/HOSAIN T ALAM/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2132
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