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, 5 and 7-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen et al. (US 2022/0255507 and Chen hereinafter) in view of Martin (WO 2021144017 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Chen discloses an amplifier comprising: a first amplifier circuit [fig. 1]; and an output signal [104/RFOUT] of the first amplifier circuit, wherein the first amplifier circuit includes: a first divider [112] that divides an input signal [102/RFIN] into a first signal [output of 112 input to 106] and a second signal [output of 112 input to 108]; a control amplifier [CA in 106] that amplifies the first signal and outputs an amplified signal as a third signal [output of CA/106 input to 108]; a second divider [114] that divides the second signal into a fourth signal [output of 114 input to 118] and a fifth signal [output of 114 input to 120] having different phases at a center frequency [in 114] of an operation band; a first auxiliary amplifier [118] that amplifies the fourth signal and outputs an amplified signal as a sixth signal [output of 118]; a second auxiliary amplifier [120] that amplifies the fifth signal and outputs an amplified signal as a seventh signal [output of 120]; and a hybrid coupler [116] including a first end that receives the sixth signal [first end receives output of 118], a second end that receives the seventh signal [second end receives output of 120], a third end that receives the third signal [third end receives output of 106], and a fourth end that outputs the output signal [end outputs RFOUT]. Chen does not explicitly disclose a second amplifier circuit that amplifies the output signal of the first amplifier circuit.
However, Martin discloses [see fig. 15] wherein a second amplifier circuit [1321] that amplifies output signal of first amplifier circuit [1320]. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention was made to modify the invention of Chen by incorporating the second amplifier circuit as taught in Martin in order to enabling minimization or elimination of some or all load modulation of the amplifier.
Regarding claim 5, Chen in view of Martin discloses wherein the second amplifier circuit [Doherty amplifier 1321] is a load modulated balanced amplifier (LMBA) or a Doherty amplifier circuit.
Regarding claim 7, Chen in view of Martin discloses wherein the hybrid coupler is a branch line coupler [par. 0095-0096].
Regarding claim 8, Chen discloses a driver amplifier circuit [fig. 1] comprising: a first divider [112] that divides an input signal [102] into a first signal [output of 112 input to 106] and a second signal [output of 112 input to 108]; a control amplifier [CA] that amplifies the first signal and outputs an amplified signal as a third signal [output of CA/106 input to 108]; a second divider [114] that divides the second signal into a fourth signal [output of 114 input to 118] and a fifth signal [output of 114 input to 120] having different phases at a center frequency of an operation band; a first auxiliary amplifier [118] that amplifies the fourth signal and outputs an amplified signal as a sixth signal [output of 118]; a second auxiliary amplifier [120] that amplifies the fifth signal and outputs an amplified signal as a seventh signal [output of 120]; and a hybrid coupler [116] including a first end that receives the sixth signal [first end receives output of 118], a second end that receives the seventh signal [second end receives output of 120], a third end that receives the third signal [third end receives output of 106], and a fourth end that outputs an output signal [end outputs RFOUT]. Chen does not explicitly disclose a subsequent-stage amplifier circuit.
However, Martin discloses [see fig. 15] wherein a second amplifier circuit [1321] that amplifies output signal of first amplifier circuit [1320]. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention was made to modify the invention of Chen by incorporating a subsequent-stage amplifier circuit as taught in Martin in order to enable minimization or elimination of some or all load modulation of the amplifier.
Claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen et al. in view of Martin
Regarding claim 4, Chen in view of Martin discloses all the features with respect to claim 1 as indicated above. Chen in view of Martin does not disclose wherein the second amplifier circuit includes a first amplifier that perform class-A or class-AB operation and a second amplifier connected in parallel to the first amplifier and that perform class-C operation. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention was made to modify the invention of Chen in view of Martin by incorporating a second amplifier having the same structure as the first amplifier (i.e., a first amplifier [108] that perform class-A or class-AB operation and a second amplifier [106] connected in parallel to the first amplifier and that perform class-C operation.) because duplicating a known amplifier structure is a known design choice that yields predictable results.
Claims 2, 6 and 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen et al. in view of Martin further in view of Ozard et al. (US 9742365 and Ozard hereinafter).
Regarding claims 2, 6 and 9, Chen in view of Martin discloses all the features with respect to claims 1 and 8 as indicated above. Chen in view of Martin further discloses wherein the control amplifier performs class-A or class-AB operation [par. 0045] and the second amplifier circuit is a load modulated balanced amplifier (LMBA) or a Doherty amplifier circuit [Doherty amplifier 1321, fig. 15]. Chen in view of Martin does not explicitly disclose the first auxiliary amplifier, and the second auxiliary amplifier perform class-A or class-AB operation.
However, Ozard discloses Doherty power amplifier 500, fig. 5 with peaking amplifier [404] first auxiliary amplifier [406], and the second auxiliary amplifier [408] perform class-A or class-AB operation. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention was made to modify the invention of Chen in view of Martin by incorporating auxiliary amplifier perform class-A or class-AB operation as taught in Ozard in order to achieve further improvement in the usable output power and to also improve the power added efficiency.
Claims 3 and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen et al. in view of Martin further in view of Kobayashi et al. (US 2017/0019071 and Kobayashi hereinafter).
Regarding claims 3 and 10, Chen in view of Martin discloses all the features with respect to claims 1 and 8 as indicated above. Chen in view of Martin does not explicitly disclose wherein the control amplifier, the first auxiliary amplifier, and the second auxiliary amplifier have a mutually equal input bias voltage.
However, Kobayashi discloses the carrier amplifier [66, fig. 4], the first auxiliary amplifier [68], and the second auxiliary amplifier [68] have a mutually equal input bias voltage [active bias]. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention was made to modify the invention of Chen in view of Martin by incorporating input bias voltage as taught in Kobayashi in order to bias the amplifier.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to METASEBIA T RETEBO whose telephone number is (571)272-9299. The examiner can normally be reached M - F 8:30 - 5.
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, Regis Betsch can be reached at 571-270-7101. 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.
/METASEBIA T RETEBO/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2836
