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 Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1, 7, 14-16, 19 and 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Qian (8,659,356).
Regarding claims 1, 14 and 16, Qian (Fig. 3) discloses a power supply circuit for an power amplifier comprising: an amplifier (PA) configured to amplify an RF pulsed signal, the amplifier comprising an input (RF) configured to receive a supply voltage (Vout), a DC link (node connected to top terminal of capacitor (C1)) configured to supply a DC bus voltage, a capacitor (C1) read as an energy storage device connected to the DC link, a switched DC/DC converter (DC/DC switch power chip) comprising a converter input connected to the DC link and a converter output connected to the input of the amplifier, and a control unit (Control circuit) configured to operate the switched DC/DC converter, wherein the switched DC/DC converter is configured to step down the DC bus voltage at the converter input to the supply voltage (Vout) at the converter output, and wherein the control unit is configured to operate the switched DC/DC converter continuously to control the supply voltage at a predetermined value during generation of the RF pulsed signal.
Regarding claims 7 and 20, wherein the energy storage device comprises a capacitor (C1).
Regarding claim 15, wherein a coil for generating the RF electromagnetic field, wherein the coil is coupled to the device/circuit is inherently seen in Qian, see output of power amplifier (PA) connected to antenna via a coil.
Regarding claim 19, wherein the RF pulse is applied to power amplifier (PA).
Claim(s) 1, 3, 4, 14-16, 18 and 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Petrovic et al. (20200366202), hereafter called PETROVIC.
Regarding claims 1, 14 and 16, PETROVIC (Fig. 9) discloses a transmitter/device for amplifying a radio frequency (RF) pulse (see peak 302 of Figure 3 can be considered to be a pulse), comprising: an amplifier (508) configured to amplify a RF pulsed signal, see para. [0043]; this signal may be a pulse, the amplifier comprising an input for receiving a supply voltage (power terminal), a DC link for supplying a DC bus voltage (see Figure 10A, VH), an energy storage device connected to the DC link, see para. 0046], a switched DC/DC converter (904) comprising a converter input (see Figure 10A, VH) connected to the DC link and a converter output connected to the input of the amplifier, and a control unit (see Figure 10A, Controller) configured to operate the switched DC/DC converter, characterized in that: the switched DC/DC converter is configured to step down the DC bus voltage, see para. [0102] at the converter input to the supply voltage (VDD) at the converter output, see para. [0104], and the control unit is configured to operate the switched DC/DC converter continuously to control the supply voltage at a predetermined value during generation of the RF pulsed signal, see para. [0105].
Regarding claims 3 and 18, wherein claimed subject matter is disclosed in para. [0107].
Regarding claim 4, wherein the control unit (Controller of Fig. 10A) is configured to switch the switched DC/DC converter during amplification of a pulse of the RF pulsed signal.
Regarding claim 15, wherein a coil for generating the RF electromagnetic field, wherein the coil is coupled to the device is inherently seen in PETROVIC, see output of power amplifier (508) connected to antenna (104) via a coil.
Regarding claim 19, wherein the RF pulse is applied to power amplifier (508).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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) 2, 5, 6, 8, 12, 13 and 17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over PETROVIC.
Regarding claims 2 and 17, wherein the claimed subject matter is considered to be a common design measure, which is known in the art.
Regarding claims 5 and 6, wherein claimed subject matter is considered obvious if not well known in circuit design, since mobile devices are chargeable from the mains, it would be obvious to include a charger with the device of PETROVIC and wherein the charger is an AC/DC converter.
Regarding claim 8, wherein ratio is based on component(s) selected, which is considered a matter of design engineering and desired capacitance value is readily available.
Regarding claims 12 and 13, wherein non-isolated converter and isolated converter claimed are obvious design alternatives, which considered a matter of design engineering.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 9-11 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:
Regarding claims 9-11, prior art(s) does not disclose a plurality of the switched DC/DC converter (141, 14N) and a plurality of the amplifier (151, 15N), wherein each of the plurality of amplifiers is series connected to a respective one of the plurality of switched DC/DC converters for receiving the supply voltage therefrom, wherein the plurality of amplifiers are parallel connected to an output (26) of the device.
Conclusion
The prior arts made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
May et al. (11,728,779), which is considered to be the closest prior art to the subject matter of claimed. This reference also discloses storage device (201) and DC/DC converter (210). However, it lacks control unit configured to operate the switch DC/DC converter continuously as claimed.
ORR (20190181811) and Dening et al. (7,132,891) disclose power supply for a power amplifier. However, they lack the energy storage device claimed.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Khanh V. Nguyen whose telephone number is (571) 272-1767. The examiner can normally be reached from 8:30 AM – 5:00 PM EST.
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/KHANH V NGUYEN/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2843
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