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 .
Drawings
Figure 1 should be designated by a legend such as --Prior Art-- because only that which is old is illustrated. See MPEP § 608.02(g). Corrected drawings in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. The replacement sheet(s) should be labeled “Replacement Sheet” in the page header (as per 37 CFR 1.84(c)) so as not to obstruct any portion of the drawing figures. If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the limitations of the combined claims 5-6; 11-12; 16-17 must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 6, 12 and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 6 recites features of figure 12 by means of the second sampling module 50. Claim 5 which claim 6 depends on recites feature of figure 10 by means of the second sampling module 50. There isn’t a figure that shows the combined features of claims 5 and 6. Thus, it appears claim 6 should not be depending on claim 5. Thus, claim 6 is indefinite because the metes and bounds cannot be determined renders the claim indefinite.
Claims 12 and 17 are also indefinite for the same reasons as claim 6 above.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-5, 7-11, 13-16 are presently allowed.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance: closest prior art of record, Ye et al. (USP 11, 804,833) discloses a gate oxide aging monitor apparatus and control method, and, in particular embodiments, to a monitor apparatus for detecting gate leakage current in a power switch comprising a capacitor coupled to the power switch, wherein the capacitor is configured to provide a negative gate voltage to the power switch when a turn-off signal is applied to a gate of the power switch, and a sink and source power supply coupled to the capacitor, wherein the sink and source power supply has a first current limit for controlling a sink current flowing from the capacitor to the sink and source power supply, and a second current limit for controlling a source current flowing from the sink and source power supply to the capacitor. Ye et al. fails to teach or fairly suggest the first sampling module is connected between the controlled current source and the first unidirectional conduction device to sample a current flowing through the first unidirectional conduction device; and a second input terminal of the controlled current source is connected to an output terminal of the first sampling module to adjust the source current of gate according to the current flowing through the first unidirectional conduction device, so that the current flowing through the first unidirectional conduction device is equal to the source current of gate, thereby enabling the load to maintain the preset state as called for in claim 1.
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TUAN THIEU LAM whose telephone number is (571)272-1744. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday, 8:30 am to 5:00 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, 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.
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/TUAN T LAM/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2836 6/22/2026
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