Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/081,444

SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR ACTIVE POWER FLOW CONTROL AND EQUALIZATION FOR ELECTROCHEMICAL ACCUMULATORS CONNECTED TO THE ELECTRICAL GRID

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
Dec 14, 2022
Examiner
ALAM, MOHAMMED
Art Unit
2851
Tech Center
2800 — Semiconductors & Electrical Systems
Assignee
UNIVERSIDADE FEDERAL DE MINAS GERAIS - UFMG
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
92%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
2y 2m
To Grant
99%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 92% — above average
92%
Career Allow Rate
763 granted / 828 resolved
+24.1% vs TC avg
Moderate +7% lift
Without
With
+6.6%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 2m
Avg Prosecution
20 currently pending
Career history
848
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
16.2%
-23.8% vs TC avg
§103
9.3%
-30.7% vs TC avg
§102
49.5%
+9.5% vs TC avg
§112
21.6%
-18.4% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 828 resolved cases

Office Action

§102
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 . Non-Final Office Action DETAILED ACTION Examiner’s Notes (a) Claim date: 02/17/26 (b) Priority date: 12/15/21. (c) Invention: Algorithm to individually control each battery cell based on its health parameters. Claim Rejections - 35 USC 102 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:(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.Claims 6-9, are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by the prior art of record “LI” <US 20250385325 A1>.(As to claim 6, LI discloses):6. (Currently Amended) A method for active power flow control and equalization for electrochemical accumulators connected to an electrical grid, the method comprises [0180: “voltage may be controlled by the grid-connected inverter… on the DC bus or a certain intelligent battery unit…determined power according to the power distribution algorithm, maintaining the power balance”]: acting on a power demand of a charge [0002: “requirement for the capacity and functions of energy storage systems”]; measuring battery voltage, current, and temperature [0015: “measuring voltage, current, pressure and/or temperature of the battery cel]”; PNG media_image1.png 654 480 media_image1.png Greyscale estimating a state of charge, health, and life of each battery in a bank [Fig. 6]; calculating energy to be dispatched by each battery in the bank [0068: “power of each power electronic intelligent battery unit is determined based on the battery status information provided by a plurality of the power electronic intelligent battery units, and the control strategy for each unit is determined in combination with the power interface control method of the power electronic intelligent battery unit.”]; dispatching energy proportional to the state of health, charge, and life in each battery of the bank [0180: “battery modules output determined power according to the power distribution algorithm, maintaining the power balance of the DC bus, and realizing efficient and intelligent parallel expansion” along with Fig. 6 that depicts the determination factors (health, state of charge and etc.) of power dispatch] [Additional similar disclosures are in Para. 42-53]; processing all data in a central controller [0068: “the control strategy for each unit is determined in combination with the power interface control method of the power electronic intelligent battery unit”]; and dispatching all information in a communication bus [Fig. 6, 220]. (As to claim 7, LI discloses):7. (Currently Amended) The method according to claim 6, wherein the central controller calculates the state of charge, health, and life of each battery [Fig. 6 along with Para. 0098]. (As to claim 8, LI discloses):8. (Currently Amended) The method according to claim 6, wherein the central controller selects which batteries from the bank deliver more energy and which deliver a smaller amount of energy throughout their useful life [0024: “each battery cell, and realizing the balance of the state of charge of the battery cells by switching the switch transistor, through a certain balance algorithm, under the control of the processor.”] [Para. 0175 contains additional description about individual cell activity control algorithm]. (As to claim 9, LI discloses):9. (Currently Amended) The method according to claim 6, wherein the method is continuous and happens uninterruptedly until all energy in the battery bank is completely drained [0158: “ during the operation of the battery, the battery state of charge estimation process is continuously carried out, and the battery state of charge is continuously predicted, corrected and tracked, and the obtained battery state of charge information is further applied to the charge and discharge control and balance management of the battery.”]. Conclusion The prior art made of record in the form PTO-892 are not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.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.Contact information:Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MOHAMMED ALAM whose telephone number is (571) 270-1507, email address: [mohammed.alam@uspto.gov] and fax number (571) 270-2507. The examiner can normally be reached on 10AM to 4PM (EST), Monday to Friday. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the Examiner's Supervisor, JACK CHIANG can be reached on (571) 272-7483. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300./Mohammed Alam/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2851
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Prosecution Timeline

Dec 14, 2022
Application Filed
Jan 27, 2026
Applicant Interview (Telephonic)
Jan 29, 2026
Examiner Interview Summary
Mar 12, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §102 (current)

Precedent Cases

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Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
92%
Grant Probability
99%
With Interview (+6.6%)
2y 2m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 828 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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