DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-17 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 and 9 (and by virtue of dependence, all the claims) require:
“an input signal generator…generating an i+1th stage input signal according to a first inverted output signal…
an acknowledge signal generator generating an i-th stage acknowledge signal according to… a second inverted output signal…and
phases of the first inverted output signal and the second inverted output signal are opposite to a phase of the i-th stage output signal of the i-th stage pulse signal generator.”
Two signals being “opposite in phase” of one another is understood in the art to require a 180 degree phase shift between the two signals. Applicant’s first inverted output signal, second inverted output signal and i-th stage output signal correspond to CB2i, CB3i and CKPi of the Figures, respectively. It can be understood by Applicant’s Figure 2 that the first inverted output signal and second inverted output signal cannot have the same phase due to the delay introduced by IV6 and IV7. Thus, at least one of first inverted output signal and second inverted output signal is not opposite to a phase of the first inverted output signal.
For the purposes of examination, examiner will interpret all instances of:
“phases of the first inverted output signal and the second inverted output signal are opposite to a phase of the i-th stage output signal of the i-th stage pulse signal generator” in the claims as:
“phases of the first inverted output signal and the second inverted output signal are delayed with respect to a signal at a first intermediate node of the i-th stage pulse signal generator, wherein the first inverted output signal is opposite in phase to the signal at the intermediate node.”
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1 and 9 would be allowable if rewritten or amended to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action.
Claims 2-8 and 10-17 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
Lee teaches a multi-phase, multi-stage clock signal generator but fails to teach the acknowledge signal generator as claimed.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DANIEL CALRISSIAN PUENTES whose telephone number is (571)270-5070. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9-6:30 (flex).
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, Menatoallah Yousseff can be reached at 571-270-3684. 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.
/DANIEL C PUENTES/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2849