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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The listing of references in the specification is not a proper information disclosure statement. 37 CFR 1.98(b) requires a list of all patents, publications, or other information submitted for consideration by the Office, and MPEP § 609.04(a) states, "the list may not be incorporated into the specification but must be submitted in a separate paper." Therefore, unless the references have been cited by the examiner on form PTO-892, they have not been considered.
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.
Claim Objections
Claims 8, 10 and 16 are objected to because of the following informalities:
In claim 8, lines 1-2, the examiner suggests deleting “first” between “a third” and “electronic switch”;
In claim 10, lines 7-8, the examiner suggests inserting –to—between “applying a reference voltage” and “the voltage-controlled oscillator”; and
In claim 16, lines 1-2, the examiner suggests deleting “first” between “a third” and “electronic switch”.
Appropriate correction is required.
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 7-9 and 15-19 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.
a) regarding claim 7:
Claim 7 recites the limitation "the second signal" in line 10. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
b) regarding claim 8:
It is unclear and therefore indefinite if “a first control signal” in line 3 is the same or different from “a first control signal” in claim 7, line 2.
c) regarding claim 9:
The claim is rejected based on its dependence from claim 8.
d) regarding claim 15:
Claim 15 recites the limitation "the second signal" in line 10. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
e) regarding claim 16:
It is unclear and therefore indefinite if “a first control signal” in line 3 is the same or different from “a first control signal” in claim 15, line 2.
f) regarding claims 17-19:
The claims are rejected based on their dependence from claim 15.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-6 and 10-14 are allowed.
Claims 15-19 would be allowable if rewritten or amended to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
The prior art of record fails to disclose or make obvious a circuit, comprising: in the first circuit configuration, said voltage control signal for the voltage-controlled oscillator is a reference voltage, and the charge pump is decoupled from an output of the phase detector and configured to regulate the phase-lock control signal at said reference voltage, along with all the other limitations as required by claim 1.
The prior art of record fails to disclose or make obvious a method of operating a phase-locked loop (PLL) circuit, the method comprising: in a first circuit configuration, applying a reference voltage to the voltage-controlled oscillator as said voltage control signal, decoupling the charge pump from an output of the phase detector, and regulating the phase-lock control signal at said reference voltage, along with all the other limitations as required by claim 10.
The prior art of record fails to disclose or make obvious a charge pump circuit for a phase-locked loop (PLL) circuit, comprising: a switching circuit configured to generate the first control signal as one of: a pump up control signal when the PLL circuit is in an on mode of operation and a difference signal when the PLL circuit is in an off mode of operation; a differential amplifier configured to generate the difference signal as a difference between a reference signal and a signal output at the node; and a logic gate configured to generate the second control signal as a logical combination of a pump down control signal and a signal indicating that the PLL circuit is in the off mode of operation, along with all the other limitations as required by claim 15.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Patrick O'Neill whose telephone number is (571)270-1677. The examiner can normally be reached Monday- Friday 9AM-5PM EST.
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, Taelor Kim can be reached at (571)270-7166. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/PATRICK O NEILL/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2836
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