DETAILED ACTION
Specification
The application has not been checked to the extent necessary to determine the presence of all possible typographical and grammatical errors. Applicant’s cooperation is requested in correcting any errors of which he/she may become aware in the application.
The Information Disclosure Statements filed 11/21/2024 has been considered.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1, 3 and 4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Ribner et al (US 5,500,645).
Regarding claim 1, Ribner et al teach in figure (5A) an analog-to-digital converter configured to convert an analog input signal to a digital output signal, the ADC comprising: an integrator (212) configured to generate an integrated signal based on the input signal X(nt) and subtrahend signals from output signals of (216) and (206); and a quantizer (14) configured to: receive the integrated signal from the integrator, generate the digital output signal; and generate a quantization error/noise signal (See column 10; lines 41-45), wherein the ADC is further configured to, in a feedback loop: provide the integrated signal at combiner (210) and the quantization error signal at combiner (204) as the subtrahend signals to the integrator (212).
Regarding claim 3, Ribner et al teach in figure (5A) an analog-to-digital converter wherein the integrator (212) generates the integrated signal by integrating a difference of the analog input signal X (nt) and the subtrahend signals.
Regarding claim 4, Ribner et al teach in figure (5A) an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) wherein the ADC is based on a multi-bit sigma- delta quantization (See abstract).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
Claim 2 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ribner et al (US 5,500,645).
Regarding claim 2, Ribner et al teach the essential features of the claimed invention, as set forth above, except for the quantizer comprising a SAR ADC. However, this limitation is obvious because the choice of a particular type of ADC is a design tradeoff dictated by a target application.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5-16 are allowable.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JOSEPH J LAUTURE whose telephone number is (571)272-1805. The examiner can normally be reached 9:30 AM-6:00 PM.
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, Dameon Levi can be reached at 5712722105. 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.
/JOSEPH J LAUTURE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2845
Prosecution Insights