Ex Parte Werner et al

Patent Trial and Appeal Board

Jun 9, 2016

13288570 (P.T.A.B. Jun. 9, 2016)

UNITED STA TES p A TENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
APPLICATION NO. FILING DATE
13/288,570 11/03/2011
65913 7590 06/13/2016
Intellectual Property and Licensing
NXPB.V.
411 East Plumeria Drive, MS41
SAN JOSE, CA 95134
FIRST NAMED INVENTOR
Achim WERNER
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
United States Patent and Trademark Office
Address: COMMISSIONER FOR PATENTS
P.O. Box 1450
Alexandria, Virginia 22313-1450
www .uspto.gov
ATTORNEY DOCKET NO. CONFIRMATION NO.
81409292US01 3306
EXAMINER
MAI, TIEN HUNG
ART UNIT PAPER NUMBER
2836
NOTIFICATION DATE DELIVERY MODE
06/13/2016 ELECTRONIC
Please find below and/or attached an Office communication concerning this application or proceeding.
The time period for reply, if any, is set in the attached communication.
Notice of the Office communication was sent electronically on above-indicated "Notification Date" to the
following e-mail address( es):
ip.department.us@nxp.com
PTOL-90A (Rev. 04/07)
UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
BEFORE THE PATENT TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD
Ex parte ACHIM WERNER and HANS-MARTIN RITTER
Appeal2014-008904
Application 13/288,570
Technology Center 2800
Before JEFFREYS. SMITH, DANIEL N. FISHMAN, and
NABEEL U. KHAN, Administrative Patent Judges.
SMITH, Administrative Patent Judge.
DECISION ON APPEAL
Appeal2014-008904
Application 13/288,570
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
This is an appeal under 35 U.S.C. § 134(a) from the rejection of
claims 1-17, which are all the claims pending in the application. We have
jurisdiction under 35 U.S.C. § 6(b).
We affirm.
Representative Claim
1. A light emitting diode protection circuit, comprising:
a plurality of diodes connected in series;
an input connected to a first diode of the plurality of diodes;
an output;
a first resistor connected between the plurality of diodes and the
output;
a transistor with a gate connected to a junction between the first
resistor and the plurality of diodes and a source connected to the
output;
a second resistor connected between the input and a drain of the
transistor; and
a silicon controlled rectifier (SCR) with an anode connected to
the input, a base connected to the drain of the transistor, and a cathode
connected to the output.
Ker
Weindorf
Arai
Arai
Mer gens
Prior Art
US 2003/0076636 Al
US 7,262,752 B2
US 7 ,280,328 B2
US 7,440,248 B2
US 7,589,944 B2
2
Apr. 24, 2003
Aug. 28, 2007
Oct. 09, 2 007
Oct. 21, 2008
Sept. 15, 2009
Appeal2014-008904
Application 13/288,570
Examiner's Rejections
Claims 1, 4, 5, 7, 10, and 11 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a)
as unpatentable over Arai '248, Arai '328, and Ker.
Claims 2, 6, 8, 12-14, 16, and 17 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C.
§ 103(a) as unpatentable over Arai '248, Arai '328, Ker, and Weindorf.
Claims 3 and 9 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a) as
unpatentable over Arai '248, Arai '328, Ker, and Mergens.
Claim 15 stands rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a) as unpatentable
over Arai '248, Arai '328, Ker, Weindorf, and Mergens.
ANALYSIS
We adopt the findings of fact made by the Examiner in the Final
Action and Examiner's Answer as our own. We concur with the conclusions
reached by the Examiner for the reasons given in the Examiner's Answer.
We highlight the following for emphasis.
Appellants contend the power line of the prior art does not teach the
claimed input, and the ground line of the prior art does not teach the claimed
output. App. Br. 7-14; Reply Br. 2---6. Appellants do not provide a
definition of "input" or "output" that excludes the power line and ground
line taught by the prior art.
We are, therefore, unpersuaded of Examiner error in the rejection of
claim 1. Regarding the rejections of claim 2-17, Appellants either
essentially repeat the arguments discussed supra, or do not separately argue
with particularity the other rejected claims (App. Br. 10-16) and, thus, for
the same reason as claim 1, we are unpersuaded of Examiner error in the
rejections thereof.
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Appeal2014-008904
Application 13/288,570
We sustain the rejections of claims 1-17 under 35 U.S.C. § 103.
DECISION
The rejections of claims 1-17 are affirmed.
No time period for taking any subsequent action in connection with
this appeal may be extended under 37 C.F.R. § 1.136(a). See 37 C.F.R.
§ 41.50(±).
AFFIRMED
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