CTNF 18/735,630 CTNF 101718 DETAILED ACTION Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status 07-03-aia AIA 15-10-aia The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA. Information Disclosure Statement The information disclosure statement (IDS) was filed on June 6, 2024 (6/6/2024) . The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement was considered by the examiner. The information disclosure statement (IDS) was filed on November 14, 2024 (11/14/2024) . The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement was considered by the examiner. The information disclosure statement (IDS) was filed on December, 11, 2024 (12/11/2024) . The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement was considered by the examiner. The information disclosure statement (IDS) was filed on March 3, 2025 (3/3/2025) . The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement was considered by the examiner. The information disclosure statement (IDS) was filed on April 15, 2025 (4/15/2025) . The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement was considered by the examiner. The information disclosure statement (IDS) was filed on July 11, 2025 (7/11/2025) . The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement was considered by the examiner. The information disclosure statement (IDS) was filed on November 6, 2025 (11/6/2025) . The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement was considered by the examiner. The information disclosure statement (IDS) was filed on February, 5, 2026 (2/5/2026) . The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement was considered by the examiner. Specification The disclosure is being objected to as follows: Paragraph [0198] states “Therefore, the claims should be regarded as including such equivalent constructions insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the disclosed subject matter .” Paragraph [0199] states “Although the disclosed subject matter has been described and illustrated in the foregoing exemplary embodiments, it is understood that the present disclosure has been made only by way of example, and that numerous changes in the details of implementation of the disclosed subject matter may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosed subject matter .” As seen in Par. [0198-0199], the specification states “the spirit and scope of the disclosed subject matter.” This statement, however, implies the subject matter for which protection is sought after may be different to that defined by the claims, therefore this statement lacks clarity and the enabled scope of the invention is uncertain. 07-30-03-h AIA Claim Interpretation 07-30-03 AIA The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(f): (f) Element in Claim for a Combination. – An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof. The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph: An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof. 07-30-05 The claims in this application are given their broadest reasonable interpretation using the plain meaning of the claim language in light of the specification as it would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. The broadest reasonable interpretation of a claim element (also commonly referred to as a claim limitation) is limited by the description in the specification when 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is invoked. As explained in MPEP § 2181, subsection I, claim limitations that meet the following three-prong test will be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph: (A) the claim limitation uses the term “means” or “step” or a term used as a substitute for “means” that is a generic placeholder (also called a nonce term or a non-structural term having no specific structural meaning) for performing the claimed function; (B) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is modified by functional language, typically, but not always linked by the transition word “for” (e.g., “means for”) or another linking word or phrase, such as “configured to” or “so that”; and (C) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is not modified by sufficient structure, material, or acts for performing the claimed function. Use of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim with functional language creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites sufficient structure, material, or acts to entirely perform the recited function. Absence of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is not to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is not interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites function without reciting sufficient structure, material or acts to entirely perform the recited function. Claim limitations in this application that use the word “means” (or “step”) are being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action. Conversely, claim limitations in this application that do not use the word “means” (or “step”) are not being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action. Claims 1 and 28 are being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) as they both disclose “a control unit .” The specification, however, fails to adequately define and support the claimed structure as further detailed in the 112(b) rejections provided below. Double Patenting Claims 1, 28, and 47 are provisionally rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claim 1, 2 of copending Application No. 18/735,627 (reference application). Although the conflicting claims are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because the Patent claims include all the limitations of the instant application claims, respectively. The patent claims also include additional limitations. Hence, the instant application claims are generic to the species of invention covered by the respective patent claims. As such, the instant application claims are anticipated by the patent claims and are therefore not patentably distinct therefrom (See Eli Lilly and Co. v. Barr Laboratories Inc., 58 USPQ2D 1869, " a later genus claim limitation is anticipated by, and therefore not patentably distinct from, an earlier species claim", In re Goodman, 29 USPQ2d 2010, "Thus, the generic invention is 'anticipated' by the species of the patented invention" and the instant “application claims are generic to species of invention covered by the patent claim, and since without terminal disclaimer, extant species claim preclude issuance of generic application claims”). This is a provisional nonstatutory double patenting rejection because the patentably indistinct claims have not in fact been patented. Instant Application 18/735,630 Co-pending US Application 18/735,627 Claim 1: In a radio frequency (RF) transceiver system having a transmit chain and a digital pre-distorter (DPD), a control unit comprising: one or more inputs, at least one of which is connected to receive a first signal corresponding to a signal desired to be transmitted via the transmit chain or a modified version of said signal ; circuitry configured to generate a control signal for commanding a system state of the transmit chain based at least in part on the first signal ; and an output connected to provide the control signal to the DPD and to a plurality of power amplifier (PA) cells of the transmit chain, wherein the DPD is configured to apply digital predistortion to the signal to be transmitted based at least in part on combining the first signal with a second signal corresponding to the control signal or a translated version of the control signal , and to provide a resulting pre-distorted signal to the transmit chain operating at the system state. Claim 1: In a radio frequency (RF) transceiver system having a transmit chain and a digital pre-distorter (DPD), a control unit comprising: one or more inputs, at least one of which is connected to receive a first signal corresponding to a signal to be transmitted via the transmit chain or a modified version of the signal to be transmitted ; and an output connected to provide a control signal to the DPD, and to a reconfigurable matching network (RMN) for commanding a reconfiguration of the RMN, wherein the DPD is configured to apply digital predistortion to the signal to be transmitted based at least in part on combining the first signal with a second signal corresponding to the control signal or a translated version thereof, and to provide a resulting pre-distorted signal to the transmit chain. Claim 2: The control unit of claim 1 further comprising circuitry configured to generate the control signal. Claim 28: In a radio frequency (RF) transceiver system having a transmit chain and a digital pre-distorter (DPD), a control unit comprising: one or more inputs, at least one of which is connected to receive a first signal corresponding to a signal desired to be transmitted via the transmit chain or a modified version of said signal; circuitry configured to generate a first control signal for commanding a system state of a plurality of power amplifier (PA) cells of the transmit chain based at least in part on the first signal; and an output connected to provide the first control signal to the DPD and to the plurality of PA cells, wherein the transmit chain includes a reconfigurable matching network (RMN) and an RMN controller configured to effect a change in an impedance transformation of the RMN responsive to a second control signal, and wherein the DPD is configured to apply digital predistortion to the signal to be transmitted based at least in part on combining the first signal with at least a second signal corresponding to the first control signal or a translated version of the first control signal and a third signal corresponding to the second control signal or a translated version of the second control signal , and to provide a resulting pre-distorted signal to the transmit chain operating at the system state Claim 1: In a radio frequency (RF) transceiver system having a transmit chain and a digital pre-distorter (DPD), a control unit comprising: one or more inputs, at least one of which is connected to receive a first signal corresponding to a signal to be transmitted via the transmit chain or a modified version of the signal to be transmitted ; and an output connected to provide a control signal to the DPD, and to a reconfigurable matching network (RMN) for commanding a reconfiguration of the RMN, wherein the DPD is configured to apply digital predistortion to the signal to be transmitted based at least in part on combining the first signal with a second signal corresponding to the control signal or a translated version thereof, and to provide a resulting pre-distorted signal to the transmit chain. Claim 2: The control unit of claim 1 further comprising circuitry configured to generate the control signal. Claim 47: In a radio frequency (RF) transceiver system having a transmit chain and a digital pre-distorter (DPD), a method comprising: receiving a first signal corresponding to a signal desired to be transmitted via the transmit chain or a modified version of said signal; generating a control signal for commanding a system state of the transmit chain based at least in part on the first signal ; and providing the control signal to the DPD and to a plurality of power amplifier (PA) cells of the transmit chain, wherein the DPD is configured to apply digital predistortion to the signal to be transmitted based at least in part on combining the first signal with a second signal corresponding to the control signal or a translated version of the control signal , and to provide a resulting pre-distorted signal to the transmit chain operating at the system state. Claim 1: In a radio frequency (RF) transceiver system having a transmit chain and a digital pre-distorter (DPD), a control unit comprising: one or more inputs, at least one of which is connected to receive a first signal corresponding to a signal to be transmitted via the transmit chain or a modified version of the signal to be transmitted ; and an output connected to provide a control signal to the DPD , and to a reconfigurable matching network (RMN) for commanding a reconfiguration of the RMN, wherein the DPD is configured to apply digital predistortion to the signal to be transmitted based at least in part on combining the first signal with a second signal corresponding to the control signal or a translated version thereof, and to provide a resulting pre-distorted signal to the transmit chain. Claim 2: The control unit of claim 1 further comprising circuitry configured to generate the control signal. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112 07-30-02 AIA 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 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. Claims 1, 28, and 47 state “In a radio frequency (RF) transceiver system having a transmit chain and a digital pre-distorter (DPD), a control unit comprising…” but it is unclear if the claims are directed to the control unit itself or the entire RF transceiver system (including the DPD, transmit chain, and control unit). Examiner recommends to reword the claims as either “A control unit comprising…” or “A radio frequency (RF) system having…” Regarding Claim 47, the same issue is shared with Claim 1, however instead of a “control unit,” Claim 47 discloses “a method.” Claims 1 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA), second paragraph, as being indefinite in that it fails to point out what is included or excluded by the claim language. As stated, prior in the Specification section of this Office Action, in Par. [0198-0199], the specification states “the spirit and scope of the disclosed subject matter”. This statement, however, implies the subject matter for which protection is sought after may be different to that defined by the claims which is indefinite. It should be noted that a lack of an art rejection for Claim 28 is not considered to be an indication of allowability at this juncture. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 07-07-aia AIA 07-07 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 – 07-08-aia AIA (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. 07-15 AIA Claim s 1-4, 8, 10, 13-19, and 47 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 ( a)(1 ) as being anticipated by Briffa et al. (US 2019/0074797) . Regarding Claim 1, Briffa discloses a radio frequency (RF) transceiver system having a transmit chain and a digital pre-distorter (DPD), (Fig. 9 “DPD” and “Digital – To – RF Modulator 96, PA 100, and coupler 102” and Fig. 15 “Linearization DPD and/or Pulse Cancellation” and “Digital – To – RF Mod #1, RF Drive #1, PA#1 162a and Power Combiner 164”), a control unit comprising: (Fig. 9, 15, & 16 Par. [0070] “Referring now to FIG. 9, an exemplary system 90 implementing SB-DPD includes a control and command system”), one or more inputs, at least one of which is connected to receive a first signal corresponding to a signal desired to be transmitted via the transmit chain or a modified version of said signal; (Fig. 9, 15 Par. [0070] Referring now to FIG. 9, an exemplary system 90 implementing SB-DPD includes a control and command system 92 which accepts digital data as an input), circuitry configured to generate a control signal for commanding a system state of the transmit chain based at least in part on the first signal; (Fig. 9 and 15, Par. [0070] “To efficiently generate the RF output across high peak-to-average power ratios, a state and RF control system 94 converts the digital data into a combination of one or more state commands (i.e., selecting a power supply input, PA configuration, etc.) and one or more RF drive commands (setting magnitude and phase of the RF drive to the PA input(s))”), and an output connected to provide the control signal to the DPD and to a plurality of power amplifier (PA) cells of the transmit chain (Fig. 9 and 15, Par. [0070] “To efficiently generate the RF output across high peak-to-average power ratios, a state and RF control system 94 converts the digital data into a combination of one or more state commands (i.e., selecting a power supply input, PA configuration, etc.) and one or more RF drive commands (setting magnitude and phase of the RF drive to the PA input(s)). The state command modulates the state of the switched-state power amplifier system 94 (i.e., selecting the power supply input for the PA), while the RF drive command x[n] is converted to RF by a digital-to-RF modulator 96”), wherein the DPD is configured to apply digital predistortion to the signal to be transmitted based at least in part on combining the first signal with a second signal corresponding to the control signal or a translated version of the control signal, and to provide a resulting pre-distorted signal to the transmit chain operating at the system state (Fig. 9, Fig. 15, “r[n] and y[n]” Par. [0072] “In accordance with the concepts, systems and techniques described herein, digital pre-distortion (DPD) is utilized to predistort a desired RF command r[n] into a new command x[n] such that the RF output (and its sensed content y[n]) accurately reflects the desired data… Firstly, this means that the data selected for computing a predistorted waveform such as x[n] (such as a predistorton lookup table (LUT) mapping r to x, for instance) will be indexed in part by the selected state. In addition, there may be further indexing based on the time (or number of samples) duration from the last state selection change and/or the signal level at the time of the change”). Regarding Claim 2, Briffa teaches the invention of Claim 1, further teaching the transmit chain comprises a combiner circuit having a first port (Fig. 9 and 15 “Power Combiner 164 and RF Out,) and a plurality of second ports (Fig. 9 and 15 “Power Combiner 164, PA1 162a, and PA2 162b”, Par. [0096] “For example, FIG. 15 in which like elements of FIGS. 8 and 9 are provided having like reference designations, a system 160 comprising two power amplifiers (PAs) 162 a , 162 b each of which can have bias voltages (e.g. drain supply voltages) selected from a plurality of voltages V1-V4; V1′-V4′, along with a power combiner 164 to combine the individual PA outputs into a single output”). Regarding Claim 3, Briffa teaches the invention of Claim 2, further teaching the combiner circuit is configured as a combiner to combine a plurality of input signals provided at respective ones of the second ports (Fig. 9 and 15, “PA1 162a, PA2 162b and Power Combiner 164) into an output signal at the first port (Fig. 9 and 15, “RF Out” and Par. [0096] “For example, FIG. 15 in which like elements of FIGS. 8 and 9 are provided having like reference designations, a system 160 comprising two power amplifiers (PAs) 162a, 162b each of which can have bias voltages (e.g. drain supply voltages) selected from a plurality of voltages V1-V4; V1′-V4′, along with a power combiner 164 to combine the individual PA outputs into a single output”). Regarding Claim 4, Briffa teaches the invention of Claim 3, further teaching the plurality of second ports are connected to respective outputs of the plurality of PA cells (Fig. 9 and 15, Par. [0096] “For example, FIG. 15 in which like elements of FIGS. 8 and 9 are provided having like reference designations, a system 160 comprising two power amplifiers (PAs) 162a, 162b each of which can have bias voltages (e.g. drain supply voltages) selected from a plurality of voltages V1-V4; V1′-V4′, along with a power combiner 164 to combine the individual PA outputs into a single output”). Regarding Claim 8, Briffa teaches the invention of Claim 1, further teaching the transmit chain comprises a splitter configured to split an input signal provided at a first splitter port into a plurality of output signals at respective ones of a plurality of second splitter ports (Fig. 9 and 15, Par. [0098] “It may, in some applications be, particularly valuable to split the signals to the multiple PAs such that the contributions and performance of the individual PAs are observable from the received signal in order to provide robust, stable adjustment of the linearization over time”). Regarding Claim 10, Briffa teaches the invention of Claim 8, further teaching the plurality of second splitter ports are connected to respective inputs of the plurality of PA cells (Fig. 9 and 15 “x1[n] and x2[n]”, Par. [0098] “It may, in some applications be, particularly valuable to split the signals to the multiple PAs such that the contributions and performance of the individual PAs are observable from the received signal in order to provide robust, stable adjustment of the linearization over time. Moreover, in performing DPD, it can be important to provide a means to achieve relative time alignment of the RF drive paths, as well as aligning RF paths to drain paths”). Regarding Claim 13, Briffa teaches the invention of Claim 1, further teaching the output is connected to the plurality of PA cells via a multi-PA controller (Fig. 15 “State Select S[n]” and Par. [0096] “For example, FIG. 15 in which like elements of FIGS. 8 and 9 are provided having like reference designations, a system 160 comprising two power amplifiers (PAs) 162 a , 162 b each of which can have bias voltages (e.g. drain supply voltages) selected from a plurality of voltages V1-V4; V1′-V4′, along with a power combiner 164 to combine the individual PA outputs into a single output”). Regarding Claim 14, Briffa teaches the invention of Claim 13, further teaching the plurality of PA cells are configured to receive one or more RF signals as input (Fig. 15 “RF Drive #1 and RF Drive #2” and Par. [0070] “To efficiently generate the RF output across high peak-to-average power ratios, a state and RF control system 94 converts the digital data into a combination of one or more state commands (i.e., selecting a power supply input, PA configuration, etc.) and one or more RF drive commands (setting magnitude and phase of the RF drive to the PA input(s)). The state command modulates the state of the switched-state power amplifier system 94 (i.e., selecting the power supply input for the PA), while the RF drive command x[n] is converted to RF by a digital-to-RF modulator 96”). Regarding Claim 15, Briffa teaches the invention of Claim 14, further teaching the multi-PA controller is configured to adjust an amplitude and/or a phase of the one or more RF signals received as input by the plurality of PA cells (Par. [0070] “To efficiently generate the RF output across high peak-to-average power ratios, a state and RF control system 94 converts the digital data into a combination of one or more state commands (i.e., selecting a power supply input, PA configuration, etc.) and one or more RF drive commands (setting magnitude and phase of the RF drive to the PA input(s))” and Par. [0071] “The RF signal delivered from digital to RF modulator 96 to the RF input of PA 100 is adjusted (e.g., in amplitude and/or phase) to compensate for the discrete changes in the state of the power amplifier system such that the RF output appropriately represents the data provided for transmission”). Regarding Claim 16, Briffa teaches the invention of Claim 15, further teaching the plurality of PA cells includes at least a first PA cell and a second PA cell, (Fig. 9 and 15, Par. [0096] “For example, FIG. 15 in which like elements of FIGS. 8 and 9 are provided having like reference designations, a system 160 comprising two power amplifiers (PAs) 162 a , 162 b”) , the first PA cell is configured to receive a first one of the one or more RF signals as input, (Fig. 15 “RF Drive #1”), the second PA cell is configured to receive a second one of the one or more RF signals as input, (Fig. 15 “RF Drive #2”), and the first and second RF signals are different signals (Fig. 15 “RF Drive #1 and RF Drive #2” and Par. [0070] “ To efficiently generate the RF output across high peak-to-average power ratios, a state and RF control system 94 converts the digital data into a combination of one or more state commands (i.e., selecting a power supply input, PA configuration, etc.) and one or more RF drive commands (setting magnitude and phase of the RF drive to the PA input(s))” and Par. [0098] “Digital predistortion may be carried out in multiple manners consistent with the concepts, systems and techniques described herein. One may perform State-Based DPD on each PA independently with respect to its states”). Regarding Claim 17, Briffa teaches the invention of Claim 16, further teaching the multi-PA controller is configured to independently control the first and second PA cells (Par. [0098] Digital predistortion may be carried out in multiple manners consistent with the concepts, systems and techniques described herein. One may perform State-Based DPD on each PA independently with respect to its states). Regarding Claim 18, Briffa teaches the invention of Claim 16, further teaching the transmit chain comprises at least a first signal path to transmit the first one of the one or more RF signals and a second signal path to transmit the second one of the one or more RF signals (Fig. 15 “RF Drive #1 and RF Drive #2”) Regarding Claim 19, Briffa teaches the invention of Claim 16, further teaching the one or more RF signals include a plurality of RF signals, wherein the transmit chain comprises a splitter configured to receive an input RF signal and to provide the plurality of RF signals as amplitude-adjusted and/or phase- adjusted versions of the input RF signal (Par. [0070] “To efficiently generate the RF output across high peak-to-average power ratios, a state and RF control system 94 converts the digital data into a combination of one or more state commands (i.e., selecting a power supply input, PA configuration, etc.) and one or more RF drive commands (setting magnitude and phase of the RF drive to the PA input(s))” and Par. [0098] “It may, in some applications be, particularly valuable to split the signals to the multiple PAs such that the contributions and performance of the individual PAs are observable from the received signal in order to provide robust, stable adjustment of the linearization over time”). Regarding Claim 47, Briffa discloses a radio frequency (RF) transceiver system having a transmit chain and a digital pre-distorter (DPD), (Fig. 9 “DPD” and “Digital – To – RF Modulator 96, PA 100, and coupler 102” and Fig. 15 “Linearization DPD and/or Pulse Cancellation” and “Digital – To – RF Mod #1, RF Drive #1, PA#1 162a and Power Combiner 164”), and a method comprising receiving a first signal corresponding to a signal desired to be transmitted via the transmit chain or a modified version of said signal; (Fig. 9, 15 Par. [0070] Referring now to FIG. 9, an exemplary system 90 implementing SB-DPD includes a control and command system 92 which accepts digital data as an input), generating a control signal for commanding a system state of the transmit chain based at least in part on the first signal; (Fig. 9 and 15, Par. [0070] “To efficiently generate the RF output across high peak-to-average power ratios, a state and RF control system 94 converts the digital data into a combination of one or more state commands (i.e., selecting a power supply input, PA configuration, etc.) and one or more RF drive commands (setting magnitude and phase of the RF drive to the PA input(s))”), and providing the control signal to the DPD and to a plurality of power amplifier (PA) cells of the transmit chain, (Fig. 9 and 15, Par. [0070] “To efficiently generate the RF output across high peak-to-average power ratios, a state and RF control system 94 converts the digital data into a combination of one or more state commands (i.e., selecting a power supply input, PA configuration, etc.) and one or more RF drive commands (setting magnitude and phase of the RF drive to the PA input(s)). The state command modulates the state of the switched-state power amplifier system 94 (i.e., selecting the power supply input for the PA), while the RF drive command x[n] is converted to RF by a digital-to-RF modulator 96”), wherein the DPD is configured to apply digital predistortion to the signal to be transmitted based at least in part on combining the first signal with a second signal corresponding to the control signal or a translated version of the control signal, and to provide a resulting pre-distorted signal to the transmit chain operating at the system state (Fig. 9, Fig. 15, “r[n] and y[n]” Par. [0072] “In accordance with the concepts, systems and techniques described herein, digital pre-distortion (DPD) is utilized to predistort a desired RF command r[n] into a new command x[n] such that the RF output (and its sensed content y[n]) accurately reflects the desired data… Firstly, this means that the data selected for computing a predistorted waveform such as x[n] (such as a predistorton lookup table (LUT) mapping r to x, for instance) will be indexed in part by the selected state. In addition, there may be further indexing based on the time (or number of samples) duration from the last state selection change and/or the signal level at the time of the change”) . Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 07-20-aia AIA 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. 07-21-aia AIA Claim s 5, 11, and 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Briffa et al. (US 2019/0074797) in view of Beltran et al. (US 2016/0164474) . Regarding Claim 5, Briffa teaches the invention of Claim 4, but does not teach the combiner comprises a transformer to couple the PA cell outputs. Beltran teaches the combiner comprises a transformer to couple the PA cell outputs (Par. [0012] “In some embodiments, the LC BALUN transformer can include a first path that couples an output of the carrier amplifier to an output node, and a second path that couples an output of the peaking amplifier to the output node” Fig. 2 and 4, Par. [0050] “In some embodiments, the combiner 144 of FIG. 2 can be implemented as or similar to a lumped-element balanced to unbalanced (BALUN) transformer” and Par. [0051] “In FIG. 4, the combiner 144 is shown to include a portion of the carrier amplification path (e.g., 110 in FIG. 2) and a portion of the peaking amplification path (130) joined at a combining node 186. The combining node 186 is shown to be coupled to an output port 198 (RF_OUT in FIGS. 2 and 7)”). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate Beltran’s transformer coupling PA outputs with Briffa’s circuit to improve linearity within a power amplifier system. Regarding Claim 11, Briffa teaches the invention of Claim 2, but does not teach the combiner circuit is at least one of: a Wilkinson combiner; a 90-degree hybrid; and a transformer. Beltran teaches the combiner circuit is at least one of: a Wilkinson combiner; a 90-degree hybrid; and a transformer (Par. [0050] “In some embodiments, the combiner 144 of FIG. 2 can be implemented as or similar to a lumped-element balanced to unbalanced (BALUN) transformer”). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate Beltran’s transformer coupling PA outputs with Briffa’s circuit to improve linearity within a power amplifier system. Regarding Claim 12, Briffa teaches the invention of Claim 2, but does not teach the combiner circuit is implemented using at least one of: a lumped circuit element; a transmission line; a resonator; and a waveguide. Beltran teaches the combiner circuit is implemented using at least one of: a lumped circuit element; a transmission line; a resonator; and a waveguide. (Par. [0050] “In some embodiments, the combiner 144 of FIG. 2 can be implemented as or similar to a lumped-element balanced to unbalanced (BALUN) transformer”). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate Beltran’s lumped-element combiner with Briffa’s circuit to improve linearity within a power amplifier system . 07-21-aia AIA Claim s 6 and 7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Briffa et al. (US 2019/0074797) in view of Caffee et al. (US 2018/0191384) . Regarding Claim 6, Briffa teaches the invention of Claim 4, but does not teach at least one of the PA cells provides a differential output signal. Caffee teaches at least one of the PA cells provides a differential output signal (Par. [0042] “FIG. 16 illustrates multi-phase switching mode power amplifier 606 including two multi-phase switching mode power amplifier units 1402 configured to provide a differential output signal”). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate Caffee’s power amplifier system with Briffa’s circuit to improve signal generation. Regarding Claim 7, Briffa teaches the invention of Claim 4, but does not teach the combiner has a differential output connected to an input of a balun. Caffee teaches the combiner has a differential output connected to an input of a balun (Par. [0042] “Multi-phase switching mode power amplifiers 1402 provide a differential signal to balun 1502, which generates a single-ended signal that drives antenna 1504”). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate Caffee’s power amplifier system with Briffa’s circuit to improve signal generation . 07-21-aia AIA Claim 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Briffa et al. (US 20190074797) in view of Hellberg et al. (US 2017/0244366) . Regarding Claim 9, Briffa teaches the invention of Claim 8, but does not teach the splitter is configured to produce an unequal amplitude relationship between the plurality of output signals. Hellberg teaches the splitter is configured to produce an unequal amplitude relationship between the plurality of output signals (Par. [0053] “Accordingly, the first gain unit 191 provides the first signal and the second gain unit 192 provides the second signal. The main splitter 193 may be a power splitter, meaning that the input signal may be split into equal part with respect to amplitude or unequal parts with respect to amplitude”). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate Hellberg’s splitter producing unequal signals with Briffa’s circuit to reduce complexity and cost within a power amplifier system . 07-21-aia AIA Claim s 20-22 and 24-27 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Briffa et al. (US 20190074797) in view of Peng et al. (US 2015/0236729) . Regarding Claim 20, Briffa teaches the invention of Claim 13, but does not teach the multi-PA controller is configured to enable or disable at least one of the plurality of PA cells. Peng teaches the multi-PA controller is configured to enable or disable at least one of the plurality of PA cells (Par. [0092] “In this example, the output from PA supply modulator module 920 may be utilised to supply a plurality of parallel-configured power amplifier modules 910, 912, 914, which may be controlled by at least one controller module 916. In this example, controller module 916 may be a combiner controller module, operable to selectively enable 980 one or more of the required power amplifier modules 910, 912, 914”). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate Peng’s PA management with Briffa’s circuit to improve the efficiency of a PA system. Regarding Claim 21, Briffa in view of Peng teaches the invention of Claim 20, where Peng further teaches the multi-PA controller is configured to enable or disable the at least one of the plurality of PA cells by closing or opening an RF switch (Par. [0095] “Thereafter, during an in-use transmission mode of operation, controller module 916 is arranged to enable the selected and determined number of power amplifier modules 910, 912, 914 via switches 911”). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate Peng’s PA management with Briffa’s circuit to improve the efficiency of a PA system. Regarding Claim 22, Briffa in view of Peng teaches the invention of Claim 20, where Peng further teaches the multi-PA controller is configured to enable or disable the at least one of the plurality of PA cells by adjusting an RF matching element or network (Fig. 8 Par. [0090] “Thus, in this example, load controller 865 may be able to utilize the calculated load impedance value 805 and determine a feedback control value 806 to be input to power controller 875. In this manner, power controller 875 is then able to adjust the control signals applied to DPD 860 and/or envelope mapping module 815, to reflect the calculated load impedance value 805 and or any change in such a value. In addition, or alternatively, load controller 865 may be able to utilize the calculated load impedance value 805 in order to determine how to adjust 880 the tunable matching network 845” and Par. [0091] “The illustrated example of FIG. 9 also has many features in common with FIG. 5 and FIG. 8” and Par. [0092] “In this example, controller module 916 may be a combiner controller module, operable to selectively enable 980 one or more of the required power amplifier modules 910, 912, 914, thereby, potentially altering the output load impedance of the overall PA 955”). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate Peng’s PA management with Briffa’s circuit to improve the efficiency of a PA system. Regarding Claim 24, Briffa in view of Peng teaches the invention of Claim 20, where Peng further teaches the multi-PA controller is configured to enable or disable the at least one of the plurality of PA cells by adjusting a supply voltage of said PA cell (Fig. 9 and 10, Par. [0098] “ At 1006, a control module, for example combiner control module 916 of FIG. 9, may be operable to enable a selected number of identified power amplifier modules to achieve a desired target output power. At 1010, a power amplifier module constant gain is determined based on the set power amplifier output impedance. At 1012, the flowchart determines a mapping of power amplifier input power to supply voltage for the previously determined power amplifier constant gain in 1010”). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate Peng’s PA management with Briffa’s circuit to improve the efficiency of a PA system. Regarding Claim 25, Briffa in view of Peng teaches the invention of Claim 20, where Peng further teaches the multi-PA controller is configured to enable or disable the at least one of the plurality of PA cells by adjusting an amplitude and/or phase of an RF signal provided as input to said PA cell with respect to another RF signal provided as input to another PA cell of the plurality (Fig. 8 Par. [0090] “ In this manner, the impedance detector 802 is able to determine a load impedance value, for example based on the signal level (the signal amplitude and phase) from the PA output and any signal reflection (the signal amplitude and phase) from the tunable matching network 845, as sampled at coupler 804, and provide the calculated PA output/load impedance value 805 to load controller 865. Thus, in this example, load controller 865 may be able to utilize the calculated load impedance value 805 and determine a feedback control value 806 to be input to power controller 875. In this manner, power controller 875 is then able to adjust the control signals applied to DPD 860 and/or envelope mapping module 815, to reflect the calculated load impedance value 805 and or any change in such a value” and Par. [0092] “In this example, controller module 916 may be a combiner controller module, operable to selectively enable 980 one or more of the required power amplifier modules 910, 912, 914, thereby, potentially altering the output load impedance of the overall PA 955”). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate Peng’s PA management with Briffa’s circuit to improve the efficiency of a PA system. Regarding Claim 26, Briffa in view of Peng teaches the invention of Claim 20, where Peng teaches the transmit chain includes a reconfigurable matching network (RMN) element connected to an input or an output of at least one of the plurality of PA cells for adjusting an amplitude and/or a phase of an RF signal receive as input or provided as output from said PA cell (Fig. 8 Par. [0090] “ In this manner, the impedance detector 802 is able to determine a load impedance value, for example based on the signal level (the signal amplitude and phase) from the PA output and any signal reflection (the signal amplitude and phase) from the tunable matching network 845, as sampled at coupler 804, and provide the calculated PA output/load impedance value 805 to load controller 865. Thus, in this example, load controller 865 may be able to utilize the calculated load impedance value 805 and determine a feedback control value 806 to be input to power controller 875. In this manner, power controller 875 is then able to adjust the control signals applied to DPD 860 and/or envelope mapping module 815, to reflect the calculated load impedance value 805 and or any change in such a value”). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate Peng’s tunable matching network with Briffa’s circuit to improve the efficiency of a PA system. Regarding Claim 27, Briffa teaches the invention of Claim 1, but does not teach the transmit chain includes a reconfigurable matching network (RMN) controller configured to effect a change in an impedance transformation of a RMN of the transmit chain. Peng teaches the transmit chain includes a reconfigurable matching network (RMN) controller configured to effect a change in an impedance transformation of a RMN of the transmit chain (Par. [0090] “In addition, or alternatively, load controller 865 may be able to utilize the calculated load impedance value 805 in order to determine how to adjust 880 the tunable matching network 845. In one example, the output impedance of power amplifier 555 may not only be controlled based on the average PA output power, but may also be controlled by the practical output impedance that can be attained after the tuneable matching network 845, for example, between the transmitter chain and receiver chain if there is not enough isolation”). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate Peng’s tunable matching network and load controller with Briffa’s circuit to improve the efficiency of a PA system . 07-21-aia AIA Claim 23 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Briffa et al. (US 20190074797) in view of Peng et al. (US 2015/0236729) in further view of Lum et al. (US 2013/0059546) . Regarding Claim 23, Briffa in view of Peng teaches the invention of Claim 20, but does not teach the multi-PA controller is configured to enable or disable the at least one of the plurality of PA cells by adjusting a bias of said PA cell. Lum teaches the multi-PA controller is configured to enable or disable the at least one of the plurality of PA cells by adjusting a bias of said PA cell (Par. [0034] “By enabling and disabling stages 22 selectively and/or adjusting the gain of individual stages separately, the power amplifier may be placed into different power modes. For example, the power amplifier may be placed into a high power mode by enabling all three of power amplifier stages 22 or may be placed into a low power mode by enabling two of the power amplifier stage… As another example, the power amplifier may be placed into a high power mode by increasing bias currents provided to one or more of the stages to increase the gain and/or maximum power output of the power amplifier (e.g., control signals may be provided via path 44 to power amplifier circuitry 20 that adjust bias currents provided to amplifiers 22)”). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate Lum’s bias adjustment with Peng’s PA management and with Briffa’s circuit to optimize the supply voltage of a power amplifier system . Conclusion 07-96 AIA The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Gilabert et al., ("Digital Predistorters Go Multidimensional: DPD for Concurrent Multiband Envelope Tracking and Outphasing Power Amplifiers"; IEEE Microwave Magazine, Vol. 20, No. 5; May 2019; 12 pages) discloses “Figure 6 shows a block diagram of a multidimensional DPD to compensate for the intraband, crossband, and slow-envelope-dependent distortion effects in a concurrent multiband system” (Pg. 57, Figures 6 and7). Yan et al. (US 2017/0005676) discloses “In some examples, the controller 214 may be operably coupled and arranged to set levels within each of: a DPD module, the transmitter/modulation circuitry 222, any envelope to supply mapping circuits (not shown), etc. In this manner, the controller 214 may be able to individually set and optimise the performance of each of a DPD, one or more RF transmitter circuit and an ET system, thereby concurrently improving efficiency and linearity” (Par. [0054], Fig. 2 and 3). Camp et al. (US 2011/0098011) discloses “FIG. 3A illustrates RF controller 244 implemented with a drain bias controller and a predistortion controller. In the implementation depicted in FIG. 3A, RF controller 244 may include an input signal 310, an envelope detector 320, a predistortion controller 330, an amplifier 340, a drain bias controller 350, a signal ground 360, a matching circuit 370, and an output signal 380” (Par. [0073], Fig. 3A-3C). Wang et al. (US 20160182102) discloses “One principle of CANE relies on the power combining at the output stage of PAs. It should be appreciated that a number of power combining techniques can be utilized without departing from the teachings of the present disclosure, including transmission line based” (Par. [0030]). Mikhemar et al. (US 2024/0340030) discloses “The first output signal 162 and the second output signal 172 are combined by the combiner circuit 180 (e.g., a transformer) to generate an RF output signal” (Par. [0013]). Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JOSEPH NGHIA DINH whose telephone number is (571)272-7982. The examiner can normally be reached Mon. - Fri. 7:30AM-5PM. Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Charles Appiah can be reached at 571-272-7904. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /J.N.D./Examiner, Art Unit 2641 /CHARLES N APPIAH/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2641 Application/Control Number: 18/735,630 Page 2 Art Unit: 2641 Application/Control Number: 18/735,630 Page 3 Art Unit: 2641 Application/Control Number: 18/735,630 Page 4 Art Unit: 2641 Application/Control Number: 18/735,630 Page 5 Art Unit: 2641 Application/Control Number: 18/735,630 Page 6 Art Unit: 2641 Application/Control Number: 18/735,630 Page 7 Art Unit: 2641 Application/Control Number: 18/735,630 Page 8 Art Unit: 2641 Application/Control Number: 18/735,630 Page 9 Art Unit: 2641 Application/Control Number: 18/735,630 Page 10 Art Unit: 2641 Application/Control Number: 18/735,630 Page 11 Art Unit: 2641 Application/Control Number: 18/735,630 Page 13 Art Unit: 2641 Application/Control Number: 18/735,630 Page 14 Art Unit: 2641 Application/Control Number: 18/735,630 Page 15 Art Unit: 2641 Application/Control Number: 18/735,630 Page 16 Art Unit: 2641 Application/Control Number: 18/735,630 Page 17 Art Unit: 2641 Application/Control Number: 18/735,630 Page 18 Art Unit: 2641 Application/Control Number: 18/735,630 Page 19 Art Unit: 2641 Application/Control Number: 18/735,630 Page 20 Art Unit: 2641 Application/Control Number: 18/735,630 Page 21 Art Unit: 2641 Application/Control Number: 18/735,630 Page 22 Art Unit: 2641 Application/Control Number: 18/735,630 Page 23 Art Unit: 2641 Application/Control Number: 18/735,630 Page 24 Art Unit: 2641 Application/Control Number: 18/735,630 Page 25 Art Unit: 2641 Application/Control Number: 18/735,630 Page 26 Art Unit: 2641 Application/Control Number: 18/735,630 Page 27 Art Unit: 2641 Application/Control Number: 18/735,630 Page 28 Art Unit: 2641 Application/Control Number: 18/735,630 Page 29 Art Unit: 2641 Application/Control Number: 18/735,630 Page 30 Art Unit: 2641 Application/Control Number: 18/735,630 Page 31 Art Unit: 2641
Prosecution Insights