DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application is being examined under the pre-AIA first to invent provisions.
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.
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group I (claims 1-18 and 23) in the reply filed on 9 JUN 2026 is acknowledged.
Status of the Claims
Claims 12, 15, 17-18 have been amended. Claims 19-22 and 24 have been cancelled. Claims 1-18 and 23 are still pending in this application, with claims 1 and 23 being independent.
Priority
The pending application 18/719,237, filed on 12 JUN 2024, is a national stage application filed under 35 U.S.C. 371 of PCT/EP2022/085672, filed on 13 DEC 2022, and claims priority from foreign application GB2118021.1, filed on 13 DEC 2021 in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 12 JUN 2024 has been considered by the examiner.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to as failing to comply with 37 CFR 1.84(p)(5) because they include the following reference character(s) not mentioned in the description: V2 and 600. Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d), or amendment to the specification to add the reference character(s) in the description in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(b) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Examiner Comment
It is noted that claim 16 does not comply with 37 CFR 1.75 (c) in that it does not refer back to and further limit another claim. Claim 16 depends from claim 17 and does not refer back to a previous claim. However, for examination purposes the examiner will examine the claims as presented. The applicant is reminded to follow proper claim numbering in future amendments in accordance to 37 CFR 1.75.
Claim Objections
Claims 2-18 are objected to because of the following informalities:
In line 1 of claims 2-18, “A transceiver circuit” should be “The transceiver circuit”
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.
Claim 6 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.
Claim 6 recites the limitation "the control terminal" in lines 2-3. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. For examination purposes the examiner will interpret the limitation to recite, “a control terminal”.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim(s) 1-2, 13-18 and 23 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Huynh et al. (WO 2005/112286 A2) in view of Choi (US 2010/0309827 A1, cited by applicant in IDS dated 12 JUN 2024).
Regarding claim 1 (Original), Huynh et al. discloses:
[Note: what is not explicitly taught by Huynh et al. has been struck-through]
A transceiver circuit (Huynh et al. transceiver device 400, Fig. 4) for transmitting and receiving via a single antenna interface (Huynh et al. antenna 110, Fig. 4), the transceiver circuit comprising:
a transmitter arranged to send a transmit signal to the antenna interface (Huynh et al. transmitter portion 430, Fig. 4);
an amplifier arranged to receive a receive signal from the antenna interface (Huynh et al. receiver amplifier 460, Fig. 4); and
a filter arranged between the antenna and the amplifier (Huynh et al. “Furthermore, although the transmitter portion 430 and the receiver portion 450 in FIG. 4 are shown as being directly connected to the antenna 110, other circuitry could be placed between the transmitter portion 430 or the receiver portion 450 and the antenna 110, e.g., a filter, as would be understood by those skilled in the art of transceivers.” – p. 14, lines 12-16);
Choi discloses:
A transceiver circuit (Choi transceiver device 200, Fig. 2) for transmitting and receiving via a single antenna interface (Choi transceiver device 200 is a single-input single-output (SISO) transceiver and comprises a single antenna, Fig. 2; ¶ [0042]), the transceiver circuit comprising:
a transmitter (Choi “the transceiver device 200 according to an exemplary embodiment, a receiver chain and a transmitter chain share at least one electronic component so that two different circuits are implemented as one circuit.” - ¶ [0043]) arranged to send a transmit signal to the antenna interface (Choi “when signals are transmitted, the direction of the signals are in a left direction.” - ¶ [0045]; toward the antenna in Fig. 2);
an amplifier (Choi RF amplifier 210, Fig. 2) arranged to receive a receive signal from the antenna interface (Choi “when signals are received, the direction of the signals are in a right direction with respect to the drawings” - ¶ [0045]; from RF amplifier 210 toward antenna, Fig. 2; “In other words, the RF amplifier 210 operates as a low noise amplifier when receiving signals and operates as a power amplifier when transmitting signals.” - ¶ [0046]); and
wherein the transmitter circuit is arranged to source and/or sink current through an inductive element and wherein the inductive element is part of either the filter or the amplifier (Choi “A power amplifier (PA) of the transmitter chain and a low noise amplifier (LNA) of the receiver chain may share at least one inductor.” - ¶ [0018]; see also ¶ [0053]).
It would have been obvious to someone with ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the features as disclosed by Choi into the invention of Huynh et al. to yield the invention of claim 1 above. Both Huynh et al. and Choi are considered analogous arts to the claimed invention as they both disclose radio frequency transceivers comprising a single antenna without a switch provided at the antenna. Huynh et al. discloses the limitations of claim 1 outlined above. However, Huynh et al. fails to explicitly disclose wherein the transmitter circuit is arranged to source and/or sink current through an inductive element and wherein the inductive element is part of either the filter or the amplifier. This feature is disclosed by Choi where “A power amplifier (PA) of the transmitter chain and a low noise amplifier (LNA) of the receiver chain may share at least one inductor.” (Choi ¶ [0018]; see also ¶ [0053], Fig. 3C). The combination of Huynh et al. and Choi would be obvious with a reasonable expectation of success to support impedance matching and reduce noise.
Regarding claim 2 (Original), Huynh et al. as modified above discloses:
[Note: what is not explicitly taught by Huynh et al. has been struck-through]
A transceiver circuit as claimed in claim 1
Choi discloses:
wherein the inductive element is connected to a supply rail or to ground (Choi the inductor is connected to bias 1, Fig. 3C).
It would have been obvious to someone with ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the features as disclosed by Choi into the invention of Huynh et al. as modified above to yield the invention of claim 2. Both Huynh et al. and Choi are considered analogous arts to the claimed invention as they both disclose radio frequency transceivers comprising a single antenna without a switch provided at the antenna. Huynh et al. discloses the invention of claim 1. However, Huynh et al. fails to explicitly disclose wherein the inductive element is connected to a supply rail or to ground. This feature is disclosed by Choi where the inductor is connected to bias 1 (Choi Fig. 3C). The combination of Huynh et al. and Choi would be obvious with a reasonable expectation of success to support impedance matching and reduce noise.
Regarding claim 13 (Currently Amended), Huynh et al. as modified above discloses:
A transceiver circuit as claimed in claim 1, wherein the transmitter is arranged to remain in signal communication with the amplifier during both transmit operation and non-transmit operation (Huynh et al. no switch is provided between the transmitter portion 430 and the receiver portion 450, Fig. 4).
Regarding claim 14 (Original), Huynh et al. as modified above discloses:
A transceiver circuit as claimed in claim 13, wherein there is no switch between the transmitter and the amplifier (Huynh et al. no switch is provided between the transmitter portion 430 and the receiver amplifier 460, Fig. 4).
Regarding claim 15 (Currently Amended), Huynh et al. as modified above discloses:
A transceiver circuit as claimed in claim 1, wherein the amplifier is arranged to remain in signal communication with the antenna during both transmit operation and non-transmit operation (Huynh et al. no switch is provided between the antenna 110 and the receiver amplifier 460, Fig. 4).
Regarding claim 16 (Original), Huynh et al. as modified above discloses:
A transceiver circuit as claimed in claim 17, wherein there is no switch between the antenna and the amplifier (Huynh et al. no switch is provided between the antenna 110 and the receiver amplifier 460, Fig. 4).
Regarding claim 17 (Currently Amended), Huynh et al. as modified above discloses:
[Note: what is not explicitly taught by Huynh et al. has been struck-through]
A transceiver circuit as claimed in claim 1
Choi discloses:
wherein the transmitter, amplifier and filter are all fabricated on the same chip (Choi “The RF chip 100 comprises a receiver chain 150, which processes received signals, and a transmitter chain 160, which processes signals to be transmitted.” - ¶ [0006]; “However, one of an amplifier, a mixer, a filter, etc., is shared by the receiver chain and the transmitter chain…” - ¶ [0050]).
It would have been obvious to someone with ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the features as disclosed by Choi into the invention of Huynh et al. as modified above to yield the invention of claim 17. Both Huynh et al. and Choi are considered analogous arts to the claimed invention as they both disclose radio frequency transceivers comprising a single antenna without a switch provided at the antenna. Huynh et al. as modified above discloses the invention of claim 1. However, Huynh et al. fails to explicitly disclose wherein the transmitter, amplifier and filter are all fabricated on the same chip. This feature is disclosed by Choi where “The RF chip 100 comprises a receiver chain 150, which processes received signals, and a transmitter chain 160, which processes signals to be transmitted.” (Choi ¶ [0006]) and “one of an amplifier, a mixer, a filter, etc., is shared by the receiver chain and the transmitter chain…” (Choi ¶ [0050]). The combination of Huynh et al. and Choi would be obvious with a reasonable expectation of success to reduce the cost of the transceiver, and reduce the effects of parasitic components by reducing the number of pins and the size transceiver (Choi ¶ [0034]-[0035]).
Regarding claim 18 (Currently Amended), Huynh et al. as modified above discloses:
A transceiver circuit as claimed in claim 1, wherein the transmitter is connected to a node between the filter and the amplifier (Huynh et al. “Furthermore, although the transmitter portion 430 and the receiver portion 450 in FIG. 4 are shown as being directly connected to the antenna 110, other circuitry could be placed between the transmitter portion 430 or the receiver portion 450 and the antenna 110, e.g., a filter, as would be understood by those skilled in the art of transceivers.” – p. 14, lines 12-16; where the filter would be placed between the antenna and the node where the lines to the transmitter portion 430 and the receiver portion 450 meet).
Regarding claim 23 (Original), Huynh et al. discloses:
[Note: what is not explicitly taught by Huynh et al. has been struck-through]
A method of duplex operation of a transceiver circuit (Huynh et al. transceiver device 400, Fig. 4) via a single antenna interface (Huynh et al. antenna 110, Fig. 4), wherein the transceiver circuit comprises:
a transmitter arranged to send a transmit signal to the antenna interface (Huynh et al. transmitter portion 430, Fig. 4); and
an amplifier arranged to receive a receive signal from the antenna interface (Huynh et al. receiver amplifier 460, Fig. 4); and
a filter arranged between the antenna and the amplifier (Huynh et al. “Furthermore, although the transmitter portion 430 and the receiver portion 450 in FIG. 4 are shown as being directly connected to the antenna 110, other circuitry could be placed between the transmitter portion 430 or the receiver portion 450 and the antenna 110, e.g., a filter, as would be understood by those skilled in the art of transceivers.” – p. 14, lines 12-16);
wherein the method comprises:
the transmitter transmitting a transmit signal by sourcing and/or sinking current through an inductive element.
Choi discloses:
A method of duplex operation of a transceiver circuit (Choi transceiver device 200, Fig. 2) via a single antenna interface (Choi transceiver device 200 is a single-input single-output (SISO) transceiver and comprises a single antenna, Fig. 2; ¶ [0042]), wherein the transceiver circuit comprises:
a transmitter (Choi “the transceiver device 200 according to an exemplary embodiment, a receiver chain and a transmitter chain share at least one electronic component so that two different circuits are implemented as one circuit.” - ¶ [0043]) arranged to send a transmit signal to the antenna interface (Choi “when signals are transmitted, the direction of the signals are in a left direction.” - ¶ [0045]; toward the antenna in Fig. 2); and
an amplifier (Choi RF amplifier 210, Fig. 2) arranged to receive a receive signal from the antenna interface (Choi “when signals are received, the direction of the signals are in a right direction with respect to the drawings” - ¶ [0045]; from RF amplifier 210 toward antenna, Fig. 2; “In other words, the RF amplifier 210 operates as a low noise amplifier when receiving signals and operates as a power amplifier when transmitting signals.” - ¶ [0046]); and
wherein the method comprises:
the transmitter transmitting a transmit signal by sourcing and/or sinking current through an inductive element (Choi “A power amplifier (PA) of the transmitter chain and a low noise amplifier (LNA) of the receiver chain may share at least one inductor.” - ¶ [0018]; see also ¶ [0053]).
It would have been obvious to someone with ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the features as disclosed by Choi into the invention of Huynh et al. to yield the invention of claim 23 above. Both Huynh et al. and Choi are considered analogous arts to the claimed invention as they both disclose radio frequency transceivers comprising a single antenna without a switch provided at the antenna. Huynh et al. discloses the limitations of claim 23 outlined above. However, Huynh et al. fails to explicitly disclose wherein the transmitter circuit is arranged to source and/or sink current through an inductive element and wherein the inductive element is part of either the filter or the amplifier. This feature is disclosed by Choi where “A power amplifier (PA) of the transmitter chain and a low noise amplifier (LNA) of the receiver chain may share at least one inductor.” (Choi ¶ [0018]; see also ¶ [0053], Fig. 3C). The combination of Huynh et al. and Choi would be obvious with a reasonable expectation of success to support impedance matching and reduce noise.
Claim(s) 3-5, 7-8 and 11-12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Huynh et al. (WO 2005/112286 A2) in view of Choi (US 2010/0309827 A1, cited by applicant in IDS dated 12 JUN 2024) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Bagga (US 2020/0336119 A1, cited by applicant in IDS dated 12 JUN 2024).
Regarding claim 3 (Previously Presented), Huynh et al. as modified above discloses:
[Note: what is not explicitly taught by Huynh et al. has been struck-through]
A transceiver circuit as claimed in claim 1
Bagga discloses:
wherein the amplifier is an impedance matching amplifier (Bagga “The circuit described here is particularly advantageous in providing a simple amplifier with high gain and impedance matching in a simple circuit with a single transistor as the main amplifying element.” - ¶ [0036]) and wherein the inductive element is part of a transformer (Bagga trifilar transformer 510, Fig. 5) of the amplifier (Bagga low-noise amplifier 500, Fig. 5).
It would have been obvious to someone with ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the features as disclosed by Bagga into the invention of Huynh et al. as modified above to yield the invention of claim 3. Huynh et al., Choi and Bagga are considered analogous arts to the claimed invention as they disclose radio frequency receivers comprising low-noise amplifiers. Huynh et al. as modified above discloses the invention of claim 1. However, Huynh et al. fails to explicitly disclose wherein the amplifier is an impedance matching amplifier and wherein the inductive element is part of a transformer of the amplifier. This feature is disclosed by Bagga where an impedance matching amplifier comprises a trifilar transformer (Bagga low-noise amplifier 500 comprises trifilar transformer 510, Fig. 5). The combination of Huynh et al., Choi and Bagga would be obvious with a reasonable expectation of success to support impedance matching and reduce noise and adjust the input impedance of the circuit “for impedance matching without adversely impacting the gain or putting undesirable constraints on the intrinsic transconductance of the amplifying element.” (Bagga ¶ [0019]).
Regarding claim 4 (Previously Presented), Huynh et al. as modified above discloses:
[Note: what is not explicitly taught by Huynh et al. has been struck-through]
A transceiver circuit as claimed in claim 1
Bagga discloses:
wherein the amplifier comprises an impedance matching amplifier (Bagga “The circuit described here is particularly advantageous in providing a simple amplifier with high gain and impedance matching in a simple circuit with a single transistor as the main amplifying element.” - ¶ [0036]) arranged to receive the receive signal from the antenna interface (Bagga low-noise amplifier 103 receives a signal from antenna 101 through high-pass filter HPF 102, Fig. 1).
It would have been obvious to someone with ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the features as disclosed by Bagga into the invention of Huynh et al. as modified above to yield the invention of claim 4. Huynh et al., Choi and Bagga are considered analogous arts to the claimed invention as they disclose radio frequency receivers comprising low-noise amplifiers. Huynh et al. as modified above discloses the invention of claim 1. However, Huynh et al. fails to explicitly disclose wherein the amplifier comprises an impedance matching amplifier arranged to receive the receive signal from the antenna interface. This feature is disclosed by Bagga where the amplifier is an impedance matching amplifier (Bagga “The circuit described here is particularly advantageous in providing a simple amplifier with high gain and impedance matching in a simple circuit with a single transistor as the main amplifying element.” - ¶ [0036]). The combination of Huynh et al., Choi and Bagga would be obvious with a reasonable expectation of success to support impedance matching and reduce noise and adjust the input impedance of the circuit “for impedance matching without adversely impacting the gain or putting undesirable constraints on the intrinsic transconductance of the amplifying element.” (Bagga ¶ [0019]).
Regarding claim 5 (Original), Huynh et al. as modified above discloses:
[Note: what is not explicitly taught by Huynh et al. has been struck-through]
A transceiver circuit as claimed in claim 4
Bagga discloses:
wherein the impedance matching amplifier comprises a transistor or multiple transistors arranged in a common-gate and/or a common-source arrangement (Bagga “the amplifying element may be a number of transistors or other components connected together to form an amplifying circuit… The FET is preferably arranged in a common-gate configuration.” - ¶ [0036]-[0037]).
It would have been obvious to someone with ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the features as disclosed by Bagga into the invention of Huynh et al. as modified above to yield the invention of claim 5. Huynh et al., Choi and Bagga are considered analogous arts to the claimed invention as they disclose radio frequency receivers comprising low-noise amplifiers. Huynh et al. as modified above discloses the invention of claim 4. However, Huynh et al. fails to explicitly disclose wherein the impedance matching amplifier comprises a transistor or multiple transistors arranged in a common-gate and/or a common-source arrangement. This feature is disclosed by Bagga where “the amplifying element may be a number of transistors or other components connected together to form an amplifying circuit… The FET is preferably arranged in a common-gate configuration.” (Bagga ¶ [0036]-[0037]). The combination of Huynh et al., Choi and Bagga would be obvious with a reasonable expectation of success to support impedance matching and reduce noise and adjust the input impedance of the circuit “for impedance matching without adversely impacting the gain or putting undesirable constraints on the intrinsic transconductance of the amplifying element.” (Bagga ¶ [0019]).
Regarding claim 7 (Previously Presented), Huynh et al. as modified above discloses:
[Note: what is not explicitly taught by Huynh et al. has been struck-through]
A transceiver circuit as claimed in claim 5
Bagga discloses:
wherein the impedance matching amplifier comprises a field effect transistor (Bagga “The transistor may be any type of transistor such as a bipolar junction transistor (BJT), but more conveniently the transistor may be a FET, preferably a MOSFET.” - ¶ [0036]) and wherein the impedance matching amplifier further comprises a transformer coupling the signal between the gate and the source of the field effect transistor (Bagga “The windings of the trifilar transformer 510 are connected to the terminals of amplifying element M1 which in this embodiment is a Field Effect Transistor (FET). The amplifying element M1 acts as a voltage controlled current source whereby the voltage applied between the first terminal and the third terminal (the gate-source voltage) controls the current flowing between the second terminal (drain) and the third terminal (source).” - ¶ [0057]).
It would have been obvious to someone with ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the features as disclosed by Bagga into the invention of Huynh et al. as modified above to yield the invention of claim 7. Huynh et al., Choi and Bagga are considered analogous arts to the claimed invention as they disclose radio frequency receivers comprising low-noise amplifiers. Huynh et al. as modified above discloses the invention of claim 5. However, Huynh et al. fails to explicitly disclose wherein the impedance matching amplifier comprises a field effect transistor and wherein the impedance matching amplifier further comprises a transformer coupling the signal between the gate and the source of the field effect transistor. This feature is disclosed by Bagga where the transistor is preferably a MOSFET (Bagga ¶ [0036]) and “The windings of the trifilar transformer 510 are connected to the terminals of amplifying element M1 which in this embodiment is a Field Effect Transistor (FET). The amplifying element M1 acts as a voltage controlled current source whereby the voltage applied between the first terminal and the third terminal (the gate-source voltage) controls the current flowing between the second terminal (drain) and the third terminal (source).” (Bagga ¶ [0057]). The combination of Huynh et al., Choi and Bagga would be obvious with a reasonable expectation of success to support impedance matching and reduce noise and adjust the input impedance of the circuit “for impedance matching without adversely impacting the gain or putting undesirable constraints on the intrinsic transconductance of the amplifying element.” (Bagga ¶ [0019]).
Regarding claim 8 (Original), Huynh et al. as modified above discloses:
[Note: what is not explicitly taught by Huynh et al. has been struck-through]
A transceiver as claimed in claim 7
Bagga discloses:
wherein the inductive element is a winding of the transformer (Bagga trifilar transformer 510, Fig. 5).
It would have been obvious to someone with ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the features as disclosed by Bagga into the invention of Huynh et al. as modified above to yield the invention of claim 8. Huynh et al., Choi and Bagga are considered analogous arts to the claimed invention as they disclose radio frequency receivers comprising low-noise amplifiers. Huynh et al. as modified above discloses the invention of claim 7. However, Huynh et al. fails to explicitly disclose wherein the inductive element is a winding of the transformer. This feature is disclosed by Bagga where the inductive element is part of a trifilar transformer (Bagga trifilar transformer 510, Fig. 5). The combination of Huynh et al., Choi and Bagga would be obvious with a reasonable expectation of success to support impedance matching and reduce noise and adjust the input impedance of the circuit “for impedance matching without adversely impacting the gain or putting undesirable constraints on the intrinsic transconductance of the amplifying element.” (Bagga ¶ [0019]).
Regarding claim 11 (Current Previously Presented), Huynh et al. as modified above discloses:
[Note: what is not explicitly taught by Huynh et al. has been struck-through]
A transceiver circuit as claimed in claim 7
Bagga discloses:
wherein the field effect transistor is in common-gate arrangement (Bagga “The transistor M.sub.1 is arranged in a common-gate configuration.” - ¶ [0058]) and comprises a transformer coupling the signal between the source and the drain of the field effect transistor (Bagga “Thus, the primary winding LP and the tertiary winding LT form a positive current feedback loop whereby current sensed at the drain on the tertiary winding LT is fed back to the primary winding LP on the source, thereby amplifying the current flow through the current path of the transistor M1 (i.e. drain-source current is amplified).” - ¶ [0060]).
It would have been obvious to someone with ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the features as disclosed by Bagga into the invention of Huynh et al. as modified above to yield the invention of claim 11. Huynh et al., Choi and Bagga are considered analogous arts to the claimed invention as they disclose radio frequency receivers comprising low-noise amplifiers. Huynh et al. as modified above discloses the invention of claim 7. However, Huynh et al. fails to explicitly disclose wherein the field effect transistor is in common-gate arrangement and comprises a transformer coupling the signal between the source and the drain of the field effect transistor. This feature is disclosed by Bagga where “The transistor M.sub.1 is arranged in a common-gate configuration.” (Bagga ¶ [0058]) and “the primary winding LP and the tertiary winding LT form a positive current feedback loop whereby current sensed at the drain on the tertiary winding LT is fed back to the primary winding LP on the source...” (Bagga ¶ [0060]). The combination of Huynh et al., Choi and Bagga would be obvious with a reasonable expectation of success to support impedance matching and reduce noise and adjust the input impedance of the circuit “for impedance matching without adversely impacting the gain or putting undesirable constraints on the intrinsic transconductance of the amplifying element.” (Bagga ¶ [0019]).
Regarding claim 12 (Original), Huynh et al. as modified above discloses:
[Note: what is not explicitly taught by Huynh et al. has been struck-through]
A transceiver circuit as claimed in claim 11
Bagga discloses:
wherein the transformer is a trifilar transformer (Bagga trifilar transformer 510, Fig. 5) with a primary winding connected to the source (Bagga “The primary transformer winding LP is connected to the third terminal, i.e. in parallel with the RF input and connects to a ground...” - ¶ [0058]), a secondary winding connected to the gate (Bagga “The secondary winding LS is connected to the first terminal (gate)…” - ¶ [0059]) and a tertiary winding connected to the drain (Bagga “The tertiary winding LT is connected to the second terminal (drain) ...” - ¶ [0060]), wherein the primary winding and the secondary winding are coupled in an inverting relationship (Bagga “The secondary winding is connected to the first terminal (gate) with the DC bias voltage and in inverting relationship with the primary winding LP.” - ¶ [0059]) and wherein the primary winding and the tertiary winding are coupled in non-inverting relationship (Bagga “The tertiary winding LT is connected to the second terminal (drain) in non-inverting relationship with the primary winding LP.” - ¶ [0060]), and wherein there is substantially no coupling between the secondary winding and the tertiary winding (Bagga “the secondary winding and the tertiary winding are substantially not coupled to each other.” - ¶ [0029]).
It would have been obvious to someone with ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the features as disclosed by Bagga into the invention of Huynh et al. as modified above to yield the invention of claim 12. Huynh et al., Choi and Bagga are considered analogous arts to the claimed invention as they disclose radio frequency receivers comprising low-noise amplifiers. Huynh et al. as modified above discloses the invention of claim 11. However, Huynh et al. fails to explicitly disclose wherein the transformer is a trifilar transformer with a primary winding connected to the source, a secondary winding connected to the gate and a tertiary winding connected to the drain, wherein the primary winding and the secondary winding are coupled in an inverting relationship and wherein the primary winding and the tertiary winding are coupled in non-inverting relationship, and wherein there is substantially no coupling between the secondary winding and the tertiary winding. This feature is disclosed by Bagga where “The transistor M.sub.1 is arranged in a common-gate configuration.” (Bagga ¶ [0058]); “The primary transformer winding LP is connected to the third terminal, i.e. in parallel with the RF input and connects to a ground... The secondary winding LS is connected to the first terminal (gate) in series with the DC bias voltage and in inverting relationship with the primary winding LP... The tertiary winding LT is connected to the second terminal (drain) in non-inverting relationship with the primary winding LP.” (Bagga ¶ [0058]-[0060]) and “the secondary winding and the tertiary winding are substantially not coupled to each other.” (Bagga ¶ [0029]). The combination of Huynh et al., Choi and Bagga would be obvious with a reasonable expectation of success to support impedance matching and reduce noise, adjust the input impedance of the circuit “for impedance matching without adversely impacting the gain or putting undesirable constraints on the intrinsic transconductance of the amplifying element.” (Bagga ¶ [0019]) and reduce the coupling coefficient between the secondary winding and tertiary winding in order to avoid oscillation and instability (Bagga ¶ [0065]).
Claim(s) 6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Huynh et al. (WO 2005/112286 A2) in view of Choi (US 2010/0309827 A1, cited by applicant in IDS dated 12 JUN 2024) and Bagga (US 2020/0336119 A1, cited by applicant in IDS dated 12 JUN 2024) as applied to claim 5 above, and further in view of Gaynor (US 10601376 B2).
Regarding claim 6 (Original), Huynh et al. as modified above discloses:
[Note: what is not explicitly taught by Huynh et al. has been struck-through]
Gaynor discloses:
wherein the transceiver circuit further comprises a DC blocking capacitor between the inductive element and the control terminal of the transistor (Gaynor “The input matching circuit 110 provides an impedance match between the input impedance of the front end amplifier 100 and the impedance seen at the gate of input FET 102. In the example shown in FIG. 1, the input matching circuit 110 includes an input matching inductor 112 and an input DC block capacitor 114.” – Col. 1, lines 52-57).
It would have been obvious to someone with ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the features as disclosed by Gaynor into the invention of Huynh et al. as modified above to yield the invention of claim 6. Huynh et al., Choi, Bagga and Gaynor are considered analogous arts to the claimed invention as they disclose radio frequency receivers comprising low-noise amplifiers. Huynh et al. as modified above discloses the invention of claim 5. However, Huynh et al. fails to explicitly disclose wherein the transceiver circuit further comprises a DC blocking capacitor between the inductive element and the control terminal of the transistor. This feature is disclosed by Gaynor where “The input matching circuit 110 provides an impedance match between the input impedance of the front end amplifier 100 and the impedance seen at the gate of input FET 102. In the example shown in FIG. 1, the input matching circuit 110 includes an input matching inductor 112 and an input DC block capacitor 114.” (Gaynor Col. 1, lines 52-57). The combination of Huynh et al., Choi, Bagga and Gaynor would be obvious with a reasonable expectation of success to support impedance matching and reduce noise, adjust the input impedance of the circuit “for impedance matching without adversely impacting the gain or putting undesirable constraints on the intrinsic transconductance of the amplifying element.” (Bagga ¶ [0019]) and “assist in providing a desirable input impedance at the operating frequency.” (Gaynor Col. 4, lines 30-33).
Claim(s) 9-10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Huynh et al. (WO 2005/112286 A2) in view of Choi (US 2010/0309827 A1, cited by applicant in IDS dated 12 JUN 2024) and Bagga (US 2020/0336119 A1, cited by applicant in IDS dated 12 JUN 2024) as applied to claim 5 above, and further in view of Bagga et al. (WO 2019033743 A1, cited by applicant in IDS dated 12 JUN 2024).
Regarding claim 9 (Previously Presented), Huynh et al. as modified above discloses:
[Note: what is not explicitly taught by Huynh et al. has been struck-through]
A transceiver circuit as claimed in claim 7
Bagga et al. discloses:
wherein the field effect transistor is in common-source arrangement (Bagga et al. common source stage 410 comprising amplifying MOSFET M1, Fig. 4) and the amplifier comprises a transformer (Bagga et al. trifilar transformer with three windings 411, 412, 413, Fig. 4) arranged to amplify the signal at the gate of the field effect transistor (Bagga et al. “the secondary winding 412 and tertiary winding 413 boost the gate voltage and therefore increase the gate-source voltage of transistor 410, M1.” – p. 11, lines 11-12).
It would have been obvious to someone with ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the features as disclosed by Bagga et al. into the invention of Huynh et al. as modified above to yield the invention of claim 9. Huynh et al., Choi, Bagga and Bagga et al. are considered analogous arts to the claimed invention as they disclose radio frequency receivers comprising low-noise amplifiers. Huynh et al. as modified above discloses the invention of claim 7. However, Huynh et al. fails to explicitly disclose wherein the field effect transistor is in common-source arrangement and the amplifier comprises a transformer arranged to amplify the signal at the gate of the field effect transistor. This feature is disclosed by Bagga et al. where a common source stage 410 is an amplifying MOSFET 410 M1 and comprises a trifilar transformer T1 that increases the gate source voltage of the transistor 410 (Bagga et al. “the secondary winding 412 and tertiary winding 413 boost the gate voltage and therefore increase the gate-source voltage of transistor 410, M1.” – p. 11, lines 11-12; Fig. 4). The combination of Huynh et al., Choi, Bagga and Bagga et al. would be obvious with a reasonable expectation of success to support impedance matching and reduce noise, adjust the input impedance of the circuit “for impedance matching without adversely impacting the gain or putting undesirable constraints on the intrinsic transconductance of the amplifying element.” (Bagga ¶ [0019]) and provide a significantly improved gain with well-defined input impedance (Bagga et al. p. 11, lines 18-19).
Regarding claim 10 (Original), Huynh et al. as modified above discloses:
[Note: what is not explicitly taught by Huynh et al. has been struck-through]
A transceiver circuit is claimed in claim 9
Bagga et al. discloses:
wherein the transformer is a trifilar transformer (Bagga et al. trifilar transformer with three windings 411, 412, 413, Fig. 4) with a primary winding connected to the source (Bagga et al. “The primary winding 411 is T1,p is connected to the source of amplifying element 410 (MOSFET M1)…” – p. 10, lines 34-35), a secondary winding connected between the gate and ground (Bagga et al. “The secondary winding 412, T1,s is connected between the input signal RFi and ground…” – p. 11, lines 1-2) and a tertiary winding connected between the secondary winding and the gate (Bagga et al. “The tertiary winding 413 T1,t of T1 is connected between the input signal RFi and the gate of the transistor 410.” – p. 11, lines 5-6; Fig. 4), wherein the primary winding and the secondary winding are coupled in inverting relationship (Bagga et al. “While the primary winding 411 and the secondary winding 412 are in current-inverting relationship…” – p. 11, lines 6-7; Fig. 4), wherein the secondary winding and the tertiary winding are coupled to increase voltage at the gate (Bagga et al. “the input voltage sensed across secondary winding 412 is mutually coupled to tertiary winding 413 and adds to the gate voltage of transistor 410, i.e. the secondary winding 412 and tertiary winding 413 boost the gate voltage and therefore increase the gate-source voltage of transistor 410, M1.” – p. 11, lines 9-12; Fig. 4), and wherein there is substantially no coupling between the primary winding and the tertiary winding (Bagga et al. “removing unwanted coupling between primary and tertiary windings” can be achieved through a more expensive fabrication process to yield better electrical performance p. 2, line 23 – p. 3, line 8).
It would have been obvious to someone with ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the features as disclosed by Bagga et al. into the invention of Huynh et al. as modified above to yield the invention of claim 10. Huynh et al., Choi, Bagga and Bagga et al. are considered analogous arts to the claimed invention as they disclose radio frequency receivers comprising low-noise amplifiers. Huynh et al. as modified above discloses the invention of claim 9. However, Huynh et al. fails to explicitly disclose wherein the transformer is a trifilar transformer with a primary winding connected to the source, a secondary winding connected between the gate and ground and a tertiary winding connected between the secondary winding and the gate, wherein the primary winding and the secondary winding are coupled in inverting relationship, wherein the secondary winding and the tertiary winding are coupled to increase voltage at the gate, and wherein there is substantially no coupling between the primary winding and the tertiary winding. This feature is disclosed by Bagga et al. where “The primary winding 411, T1,p is connected to the source of amplifying element 410... The secondary winding 412, T1,s is connected between the input signal RFi and ground… thus defining the input impedance of the amplifier 400. The tertiary winding 413, T1,t of Τ1 is connected between the input signal RFi and the gate of the transistor 410. While the primary winding 411 and the secondary winding 412 are in current-inverting relationship, the secondary winding 412 and tertiary winding 413 are in non-inverting relationship... the secondary winding 412 and tertiary winding 413 boost the gate voltage and therefore increase the gate-source voltage of transistor 410, M1.” (Bagga et al. p. 10, line 34 – p. 11, line 12). Bagga et al. also discloses “removing unwanted coupling between primary and tertiary windings” can be achieved through a more expensive fabrication process to yield better electrical performance (Bagga et al. p. 2, line 23 – p. 3, line 8). The combination of Huynh et al., Choi, Bagga and Bagga et al. would be obvious with a reasonable expectation of success to support impedance matching and reduce noise, adjust the input impedance of the circuit “for impedance matching without adversely impacting the gain or putting undesirable constraints on the intrinsic transconductance of the amplifying element.” (Bagga ¶ [0019]) and provide a significantly improved gain with well-defined input impedance (Bagga et al. p. 11, lines 18-19).
Conclusion
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NAOMI M. WOLFORD
Examiner
Art Unit 3648
/N.M.W./Examiner, Art Unit 3648
22 AUG 2026
/RESHA DESAI/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3648
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