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 § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claims 1 and 4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kato et al. (US 2025/0088184 and Kato hereinafter) in view of Kawashima et al. (JP 2010172067A).
Regarding claim 1, Kato discloses an apparatus [fig. 1] comprising: a bidirectional switch driver [20] having a control input [VG] and a first switch control output [V1] and a second switch control output [V2], the bidirectional switch driver including a first driver circuit [34] and a second driver circuit [36], the first driver circuit having a first driver input [input to 34] coupled to the control input, a first driver output [output from D1] coupled to the first switch control output, and a first reference terminal [VDD1], the second driver circuit having a second driver input [input to 36] coupled to the control input, a second driver output [output from D2] coupled to the second switch control output, and a second reference terminal [VDD2], in which: the first driver circuit configured to, responsive to a state of the control input [ON command of the control signal VG, par. 0040], provide a first voltage difference [V1, fig. 7A] or a second voltage difference [V2, fig. 7B] between the first driver output and the first reference terminal; and the second driver circuit configured to, responsive to a state of the control input [OFF command of the control signal VG, par. 0043-0046, ], provide a third voltage difference [see fig. 7A, 0V in a period from time t3-t7, par. 0056-65] between the second driver output and the second reference terminal, a magnitude of the third voltage difference being between respective magnitudes of the first and second voltage differences [see fig. 7A]. Kato does not explicitly disclose the first driver circuit having a first power supply terminal and the second driver circuit having a second power supply terminal.
However, Kawashima discloses [see fig. 8] a first driver circuit [20] having a first power supply terminal [terminal connected to T3] and a second driver circuit [21] having a second power supply terminal [terminal connected to T3]. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to modify the invention of Kato by incorporating a power terminals as thought in Kawashima in order to provide power to the circuit.
Regarding claim 4, Kato in view of Kawashima discloses [see fig. 7A] wherein the second driver circuit is configured to: responsive to the control input having a first state [OFF command], provide the third voltage difference between the second driver output and the second reference terminal; and responsive to the control input having a second state [ON command], provide the second voltage difference [V2] between the second driver output and the second reference terminal.
Claims 2-3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kato et al. in view of Kawashima et al. further in view of Hesener et al.
Regarding claim 2, Kato in view of Kawashima discloses all the features with respect to claim 1 as indicated above. Kato in view of Kawashima does not explicitly disclose wherein the second driver circuit is configured to provide the third voltage difference between the second driver output and the second reference terminal when the control input has a first state and when the control input has a second state.
However, Hesener discloses [see fig. 2] wherein a second driver circuit [222] is configured to provide the third voltage difference [VDDM] between a second driver output [112] and a second reference terminal [GNDM] when a control input [input from 218] has a first state [on state] and when the control input has a second state [off state]. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to modify the invention of Kato/Kawashima as taught in Hesener in order to set the predetermined voltage range to any suitable value.
Regarding claim 3, Kato in view of Kawashima further in view of Hesener discloses further comprising an input circuit [32] coupled between the control input and the first and second driver inputs, the input circuit configured to receive a switching driver control signal [VG] and forward the switching driver control signal to the first driver input and provide a static driver control signal [output 32 to 36] to the second driver input.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5-21 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.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim 1 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
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/METASEBIA T RETEBO/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2842