DETAILED ACTION
This Office action is in response to the application filed on June 17, 2024.
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
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 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.
Inventorship
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on May 23, 2025 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Drawings
The drawings were filed on June 17, 2024. These drawings are accepted by the Examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1 and 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Venugopal et al. (U.S. Pub. No. 2022/0393464 A1).
In re claim 1, Venugopal discloses (Fig. 1) a switching converter (100) comprising:
a power stage (comprising sub power stages 104, 106, 108, 110) operable to drive a current through an inductance in a duration specified by a periodic control signal (Para. 0016-0017); and
a phase controller (102) to generate said control signal to cause said power stage to generate a regulated supply voltage (output voltage),
wherein said power stage is designed to communicate with said phase controller on a path (Para. 0016-0017),
wherein said power stage comprises a first sub-stage and a second sub-stage (sub power stages 104, 106, 108, 110), wherein each of said first sub-stage and said second sub-stage respectively drives a first sub-current and a second sub-current via corresponding inductors in response to said control signal, wherein said corresponding inductors together provide said inductance (Para. 0018-0026),
wherein said path is used for communication between said first sub-stage and said phase controller, and then between said second sub-stage and said phase controller in alternate cycles of said control signal (Para. 0018-0026).
In re claim 11, Venugopal discloses (Fig. 1) a power stage (comprising sub power stages 104, 106, 108, 110) operable to drive a current through an inductance in a duration specified by a periodic control signal (Para. 0016-0017), wherein said periodic control signal is generated by an external phase controller to cause said power stage to generate a regulated supply voltage (output voltage), wherein said power stage is designed to communicate with said phase controller on a path (Para. 0016-0017), said power stage comprising:
a first sub-stage and a second sub-stage (sub power stages 104, 106, 108, 110), wherein each of said first sub-stage and said second sub-stage respectively drives a first sub-current and a second sub-current via corresponding inductors in response to said periodic control signal (Para. 0018-0026),
wherein said corresponding inductors together provide said inductance, wherein said path is used for communication between said first sub-stage and said phase controller, and then between said second sub-stage and said phase controller in alternate cycles of said periodic control signal (Para. 0018-0026).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-10 and 12-20 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Regarding to claim 2, the prior art of record fails to disclose or suggest “wherein said path is used to communicate a magnitude of current provided by said power stage, wherein each of said first sub-stage and said second sub-stage is designed to indicate on said path twice a magnitude of each of said first sub-current and said second sub-current respectively in corresponding alternate cycles of said control signal” in combination with other limitations of the claim. Claims 3-10 depend directly or indirectly from claim 2 and are, therefore, also objected at least for the same reasons set above.
Regarding to claim 12, the prior art of record fails to disclose or suggest “wherein said path is used to communicate a magnitude of current provided by said power stage, wherein each of said first sub-stage and said second sub-stage is designed to indicate on said path twice a magnitude of each of said first sub-current and said second sub-current respectively in corresponding alternate cycles of said control signal” in combination with other limitations of the claim. Claims 13-20 depend directly or indirectly from claim 12 and are, therefore, also objected at least for the same reasons set above.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to RAFAEL O. DE LEÓN DOMENECH whose telephone number is (571)270-0517. The examiner can normally be reached 8:00 a.m. -5:00 p.m..
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/RAFAEL O DE LEON DOMENECH/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2838