CTNF 18/890,190 CTNF 87282 DETAILED ACTION Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status 07-03-aia AIA 15-10-aia The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA. 2. This action is in response to application filed on September 19, 2024. Drawings 06-37 AIA 3. The drawings were received on September 19, 2024 . These drawings are accepted . Claim Objections 07-29-01 AIA 4. Claim 13 is objected to because of the following informalities: At the end of claim 13, “turning on and/or off;.” should be changed to --turning on and/or off. --. In other words, the semicolon should be removed . Appropriate correction is required. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 07-20-aia AIA 5. 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 of this title, 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. 07-21-aia AIA 6. Claim 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee (US 2014/0159687) in view of Zinn (US 7,064,531) . Regarding claim 1 , Lee discloses a circuit (Fig. 1, converter circuit 400) comprising: a switching converter (Fig. 1, circuit of inductor 415 and switches 420-421), and comprising a switch (Fig. 1, switch 420) having a first current input (Fig. 1, drain terminal of switch 420) , a second current input (Fig. 1, source terminal of switch 420) , and a control input (Fig. 1, gate terminal of switch 420) , a respective one of the first current input (Fig. 1, drain terminal of switch 420) and the second current input having an associated parasitic impedance (i.e. parasitic impedance from parasitic inductor 415 of Figure 1) ; an energy capture circuit (Fig. 1, circuit of diode 416, capacitor 430, inductor 434, and capacitor 431) having a third input (Fig. 1, input to inductor 434) and a first output (Fig. 1, output at shared node between inductor 434 and capacitor 431) , in which the third input (Fig. 1, input to inductor 434) is coupled to the respective one of the first current input and the second current input (Fig. 1, source terminal of switch 420) ; and a load (Fig. 1, load 450) having a fourth input (Fig. 1, input to load 450) and a second output (Fig. 1, output from load 450) , in which the fourth input (Fig. 1, input to load 450) is coupled to the first output (Fig. 1, output at shared node between inductor 434 and capacitor 431) or an input voltage terminal, and the second output (Fig. 1, output from load 450) is coupled to a voltage terminal (i.e. shared ground terminal with transistor 421 and capacitor 431) of the circuit (Fig. 1, converter circuit 400) . Lee fails to explicitly disclose where a load is a voltage regulator. However, Zinn discloses where a load (Fig. 1, linear regulator 14) is a voltage regulator (Fig. 1, LDO regulator 14) . Therefore, it would have been obvious, to one having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the circuit of Lee, by including a voltage regulator, as taught by Zinn, in order to obtain a circuit with improved output efficiency . Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 07-07-aia AIA 07-07 7. 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 – 07-08-aia AIA (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. 07-15 AIA 8. Claim s 13-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102( a)(1 ) as being anticipated by Lee (US 2014/0159687) . Regarding claim 13 , Lee discloses a circuit (Fig. 1, converter circuit 400) , comprising: a switching converter (Fig. 1, circuit of inductor 415 and switches 420-421) comprising a switch (Fig. 1, switch 420) configured to turn on and off and provide a converter output voltage (Fig. 1, output at shared node between inductor 434 and capacitor 431) responsive to a switch control signal (Fig. 1, signal at Vgate terminal of switch 420) , in which the switch (Fig. 1, switch 420) comprises a parasitic impedance (i.e. parasitic impedance from parasitic inductor 415 of Figure 1) at a respective switch terminal (Fig. 1, drain terminal of switch 420) of the switch (Fig. 1, switch 420) ; and an energy capture circuit (Fig. 1, circuit of diode 416, capacitor 430, inductor 434, and capacitor 431) configured to capture energy stored in the parasitic impedance (i.e. parasitic impedance from parasitic inductor 415 of Figure 1) at the respective switch terminal (Fig. 1, drain terminal of switch 420) responsive to the switch (Fig. 1, switch 420) turning on and/or off;. Regarding claim 14 , Lee further discloses wherein the switch (Fig. 1, switch 18) comprises a field effect transistor (FET) (Fig. 1, switch 18) , and the parasitic impedance (i.e. parasitic impedance from parasitic inductor 415 of Figure 1) comprises a parasitic inductance (i.e. parasitic impedance from parasitic inductor 415 of Figure 1) at a drain (Fig. 1, drain terminal of switch 420) of the FET (Fig. 1, switch 18) . Allowable Subject Matter 12-151-07 AIA 07-97 12-51-07 9. Claim s 19-21 are allowed. 12-151-08 AIA 07-43 12-51-08 10. Claim s 2-12 and 15-18 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. 13-03-01 AIA 11. The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: Regarding claims 2-9, the prior art fails to disclose or suggest the emboldened and italicized features below: A circuit, wherein the switch comprises a field effect transistor (FET), the parasitic impedance comprises a parasitic inductance at a drain of the FET, and the third input is coupled to the drain of the FET . Regarding claim 10, the prior art fails to disclose or suggest the emboldened and italicized features below: A circuit, wherein the energy capture circuit comprises: a diode having an anode and a cathode, in which the anode is coupled to the respective one of the first current input and the second current input , and the cathode is coupled to the first output; and a capacitor coupled between the first output and a ground terminal. Regarding claims 11-12, the prior art fails to disclose or suggest the emboldened and italicized features below: A circuit, wherein the energy capture circuit comprises: a rectifier configured to rectify a voltage at the respective one of the first current input and the second current input and provide a rectified voltage at the first output responsive to the switch turning on and/or off ; and a capacitor configured to store energy and provide a capacitor voltage at the first output responsive to the rectified voltage , wherein the voltage regulator is configured to provide a regulated voltage at the second output responsive to the capacitor voltage. Regarding claims 15-18, the prior art fails to disclose or suggest the emboldened and italicized features below: A circuit, wherein the energy capture circuit comprises: a rectifier configured to rectify the voltage at the respective switch terminal and provide a direct current responsive to the switch turning on and off ; and a capacitor configured to store the captured energy and provide a capacitor voltage responsive to the direct current , wherein the power supply circuit is configured to provide the output voltage responsive to the capacitor voltage. Regarding claims 19-21, the prior art fails to disclose or suggest the emboldened and italicized features below: A system, comprising: a controller having a control output; a driver circuit having a signal input, a bias input, and a driver output; a switching converter comprising a switch having a first current input, a second current input, and a control input, in which a parasitic inductance is at a respective one of the first current input or the second current input, and the control input is coupled to the driver output; a rectifier having a rectifier input and a rectifier output, in which the rectifier input is coupled to the respective one of the first current input or the second current input ; and a capacitor coupled between the rectifier output and a ground terminal; and a voltage regulator having a regulator input and a regulator output, in which the regulator input is coupled to the rectifier output or to an input voltage terminal, and the regulator output is coupled to the bias input . Conclusion 07-96 AIA 12. The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Wong (US 2017/0242448) deals with a low dropout regulator with replica feedback frequency compensation . 13. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to GARY NASH whose telephone number is (571) 270-3349. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday 8am-4pm. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner‘s supervisor, Thienvu Tran can be reached on (571) 270-1276. The fax number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /GARY A NASH/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2838 Application/Control Number: 18/890,190 Page 2 Art Unit: 2838 Application/Control Number: 18/890,190 Page 3 Art Unit: 2838 Application/Control Number: 18/890,190 Page 4 Art Unit: 2838 Application/Control Number: 18/890,190 Page 5 Art Unit: 2838 Application/Control Number: 18/890,190 Page 6 Art Unit: 2838 Application/Control Number: 18/890,190 Page 7 Art Unit: 2838 Application/Control Number: 18/890,190 Page 8 Art Unit: 2838 Application/Control Number: 18/890,190 Page 9 Art Unit: 2838
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