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 .
DETAILED ACTION
Information Disclosure Statement
1. The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 10/02/2024 has been considered by Examiner and made of record in the application file.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC §103
2. 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.
3. Claims 1-3, 8-12 and 17-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hur et al. (U.S PAT. 9,979,352, hereinafter “Hur”) in view of Bouisse (U.S PAT. 11,283,410).
Consider claim 1, Hur teaches a wireless transmission circuit comprising: a power amplifier circuit comprising: a carrier amplifier (fig. 1, item 101) always activated to amplify a radio frequency (RF) signal based on an average power tracking (APT) voltage (col. 10, lines 11-19); a peak amplifier activated by a bias voltage to further amplify the RF signal based on the APT voltage (col. 10, lines 11-41); and a bias circuit configured to: generate the bias voltage to thereby activate the peak amplifier when an output power of the RF signal is higher than or equal to a threshold value (col. 3, lines 47-63); a power management integrated circuit (PMIC) configured to generate the APT voltage based on a target voltage (col. 10, lines 11-19); and a transceiver circuit configured to: generate and provide the RF signal to the power amplifier circuit (col. 3, lines 29-46); indicate the output power of the RF signal to the bias circuit (col. 4, line 66 through col. 5, line 19); and generate the target voltage based on the output power of the RF signal (col. 10. lines 11-19).
Hur does not explicitly show that refrain from generating the bias voltage to thereby deactivate the peak amplifier when the output power of the RF signal is lower than the threshold value.
In the same field of endeavor, Bouisse teaches refrain from generating the bias voltage to thereby deactivate the peak amplifier when the output power of the RF signal is lower than the threshold value (fig. 2B, col. 5 lines 7-24).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to use, refrain from generating the bias voltage to thereby deactivate the peak amplifier when the output power of the RF signal is lower than the threshold value, as taught by Bouisse, in order for a main amplifier may amplify signals at low signal levels and high signal levels. Secondary amplifiers (referred to as peaking amplifiers) may be idle (non-amplifying) at low signal levels and become active (amplifying) as signal levels increase. The main amplifier may see a same impedance at its output regardless of whether the secondary amplifiers are idle or fully amplifying, thereby avoiding load modulation of the main amplifier that is typical with conventional Doherty amplifiers.
Consider claim 2, Hur further teaches wherein the threshold value is equal to an average output power of the RF signal (col. 2, line 59 through col. 3, line 3).
Consider claim 3, Hur further teaches wherein the threshold value is equal to a backoff average output power of the RF signal that is lower than an average output power of the RF signal (col. 10. lines 11-19).
Consider claim 8, Bouisse further teaches wherein the PMIC is further configured to generate the APT voltage between a minimum APT voltage and approximately twice the minimum APT voltage when the output power of the RF signal is lower than a predefined power threshold (col. 5 lines 7-24).
Consider claim 9, Bouisse further teaches wherein the bias circuit is further configured not to generate the bias voltage to thereby deactivate the peak amplifier when the output power of the RF signal is lower than the predefined power threshold (col. 5 lines 7-24).
Consider claim 10, Hur further teaches wherein the PMIC is further configured to: generate the APT voltage between the minimum APT voltage and a backoff APT voltage when the output power of the RF signal is between the predefined power threshold and a backoff average output power (col. 7, lines 4-21); and generate the APT voltage between the minimum APT voltage and a maximum APT voltage when the output power of the RF signal is higher than the predefined power threshold (col. 3, lines 47-63).
Consider claim 11, the subject-matter of independent claim 11 relates to a wireless device with features fully corresponding to the characteristics of claim 1. Therefore, the same argumentation presented in relation to claim 1 is, mutatis mutandis, of application to claim 11.
Consider claim 12, the previous rejections of claims 2 and 3 apply mutatis mutandis to corresponding claim 12.
Consider claim 17, the previous rejections of claim 8 apply mutatis mutandis to corresponding claim 17.
Consider claim 18, the previous rejections of claim 9 apply mutatis mutandis to corresponding claim 18.
Consider claim 19, the previous rejections of claim 10 apply mutatis mutandis to corresponding claim 19.
Consider claim 20, the subject-matter of independent claim 20 relates to a method for improving wireless transmission efficiency with features fully corresponding to the characteristics of claim 1. Therefore, the same argumentation presented in relation to claim 1 is, mutatis mutandis, of application to claim 20.
Allowable Subject Matter
4. Claims 4-7 and 13-16 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.
Consider claim 4, the prior arts made of record, alone or in combination, fail to clearly teach or fairly suggest wherein: the PMIC is further configured to adapt the APT voltage within a voltage transition interval in between each adjacent pair of a plurality of voltage modulation intervals; the power amplifier circuit is further configured to amplify the RF signal in each of the plurality of voltage modulation intervals; and the transceiver circuit is further configured to indicate the output power of the RF signal to the bias circuit prior to a start of each of the plurality of voltage modulation intervals, in combination with other limitations, as specified in the independent claim 1, and further limitations of their respective dependent claims 5-7.
Consider claim 13, the prior arts made of record, alone or in combination, fail to clearly teach or fairly suggest wherein: the PMIC is further configured to adapt the APT voltage within a voltage transition interval in between each adjacent pair of a plurality of voltage modulation intervals; the power amplifier circuit is further configured to amplify the RF signal in each of the plurality of voltage modulation intervals; and the transceiver circuit is further configured to indicate the output power of the RF signal to the bias circuit prior to a start of each of the plurality of voltage modulation intervals, in combination with other limitations, as specified in the independent claim 13, and further limitations of their respective dependent claims 14-16.
Conclusion
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Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Tuan H. Nguyen whose telephone number is (571) 272-8329. The examiner can normally be reached on 8:00Am - 5:00Pm.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Pan Yuwen can be reached on (571) 272-7855. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is (571) 273-8300.
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/TUAN H NGUYEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2649
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