Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/270,120

COOKWARE DETECTION CIRCUIT USING HALF-BRIDGE DRIVE HEATING, HEATING DEVICE, COOKWARE DETECTION METHOD, AND STORAGE MEDIUM

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
Jun 28, 2023
Examiner
LEE JR, WOODY A
Art Unit
3761
Tech Center
3700 — Mechanical Engineering & Manufacturing
Assignee
Foshan Shunde Midea Electrical Heating Appliances Manufacturing Co., Ltd.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
85%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
3y 2m
To Grant
98%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 85% — above average
85%
Career Allow Rate
543 granted / 641 resolved
+14.7% vs TC avg
Moderate +13% lift
Without
With
+13.1%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
3y 2m
Avg Prosecution
40 currently pending
Career history
681
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.8%
-39.2% vs TC avg
§103
41.3%
+1.3% vs TC avg
§102
29.2%
-10.8% vs TC avg
§112
25.7%
-14.3% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 641 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. 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. Claim(s) 14, 15, 22- 24 and 30-34 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a)(2) as being anticipated by EP 3462813 to Moon . Regarding claim 14 , 23 , 30, 32 and 33 : An electromagnetic heating device /method (cooking unit shown in Fig. 3) with A cookware detection circuit , comprising: a control module (250; “single pu s le in line with P1”) configured to output a single pulse cookware detection signal to a half- bridge drive module (IV1-IV3) of the electromagnetic heating device to drive a coil disk to perform a resonant operation through the half-bridge drive module (Half-bridge shown in IV1-IV3; “single pulse in line with P1”) ; and a pulse cookware detection module connected to the coil disk and configured to detect a resonant current of the coil disk (Fig. 3) and generate pulse signals based on the resonant current of the coil disk (¶ [0151]) , wherein the control module is connected to the pulse detection module, and is further configured to count the pulse signals and determine whether cookware is placed on the electromagnetic heating device based on the number of the pulse signals (¶ [0150] and [0021] “target object” ). Having a computer readable storage medium/memory and processor (processing architecture of 250) for performing the detection steps (inherent memory which is used for storing the control instructions). Regarding claim s 15 and 24 wherein the pulse detection module includes: a current detection unit connected to the coil disk and configured to detect the resonant current of the coil disk to output a cookware detection current signal (see current detection, best shown in Figs. 6-7) ;a load unit connected to the current detection unit and configured to generate a voltage detection signal based on the cookware detection current signal (¶ [0021]) ; and a zero-crossing voltage comparison unit connected to the load unit and configured to output the one or more pulse signals based on the voltage detection signal (¶ [0021]) . Regarding claim s 22 and 31 Wherein the control module is further configured to determine, in response to the number of the one or more pulse signals is smaller than a predetermined value, the cookware is placed on the electromagnetic heating device ( ¶ [0021] the “target object” being the cookware ) and determining in response to determining the number of the one or more pulse signals is greater than or equal to the predetermined value that no cookware is placed on the electromagnetic heating device (¶ [0021] when no ”target object” is detected). Allowable Subject Matter Claims 16-21 and 25-29 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims. The further circuitry components and functions of claims 16-21 and 25-29 are not anticipated or made obvious by the prior art. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FILLIN "Examiner name" \* MERGEFORMAT WOODY A LEE JR whose telephone number is FILLIN "Phone number" \* MERGEFORMAT (571)272-1051 . The examiner can normally be reached FILLIN "Work Schedule?" \* MERGEFORMAT Monday - Friday 0800-1630 . 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, FILLIN "SPE Name?" \* MERGEFORMAT Edward "Ned" Landrum can be reached at FILLIN "SPE Phone?" \* MERGEFORMAT 571-272-5567 . 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. /WOODY A LEE JR/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3761
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Prosecution Timeline

Jun 28, 2023
Application Filed
Mar 04, 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
85%
Grant Probability
98%
With Interview (+13.1%)
3y 2m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 641 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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