Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/319,007

PREFABRICATED TRANSFORMER STATION, OIL-IMMERSED TRANSFORMER, AND PHOTOVOLTAIC SYSTEM

Non-Final OA §103
Filed
May 17, 2023
Examiner
BARNES, MALCOLM
Art Unit
2837
Tech Center
2800 — Semiconductors & Electrical Systems
Assignee
Huawei Digital Power Technologies Co. Ltd.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
80%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
3y 2m
To Grant
87%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 80% — above average
80%
Career Allow Rate
364 granted / 454 resolved
+12.2% vs TC avg
Moderate +7% lift
Without
With
+6.6%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
3y 2m
Avg Prosecution
14 currently pending
Career history
468
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§103
58.7%
+18.7% vs TC avg
§102
27.7%
-12.3% vs TC avg
§112
11.2%
-28.8% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 454 resolved cases

Office Action

§103
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 Information Disclosure Statement (IDS) filed on 12/27/2024, 05/20/2025 and 06/26/2025 have been considered. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action: A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102 of this title, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made. The factual inquiries set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 ( 1966), that are applied for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows: 1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art. 2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue. 3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art. 4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness. Claims 1, 2, 5-12 and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over An et al., (hereinafter An), Chinese Patent CN209515397U , in view of Li et al., (hereinafter Li), Chinese Patent CN211480700U. Regarding Claim 1 , An teaches ( except where italicized ), a prefabricated transformer station, wherein the prefabricated transformer station comprising a container housing (the transformer cabinet of Fig. 1 is analogous to a container housing) and an oil-immersed transformer (Fig. 1); a transformer room (the transformer cabinet of Fig. 1 is analogous to a transformer room) (“a containerized photovoltaic transformer oil storage tank” [0023]) is provided inside the container housing, and a top cover of the transformer room is opened ; and the oil-immersed transformer (“a containerized photovoltaic transformer oil storage tank” [0023]) is installed in the transformer room, and a height of a top of an oil conservator (1) of the oil-immersed transformer is higher than a height of a side wall of the transformer room (an oil storage tank 1, is above the transformer cabinet of Fig. 1, the side wall of the transformer cabinet is analogous to the side wall of the claimed transformer room). (An: Figs. 1 and 2, machine translation, para. [0023]-[0025]). An does not explicitly teach, that the transformer room is provided inside the container housing, and a top cover of the transformer room is opened, and that the oil-immersed transformer is installed in the transformer room. However, Li teaches (Fig. 2) , that the transformer room (2) is provided inside the container housing, and a top cover of the transformer room is opened (“the top of the transformer room 2 is equipped with an openable and closable cover” [0049]). ( Li : Figs. 1-4, machine translation, para. [0034], [0049]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the transformer cabinet of An to include the transformer room provided inside the container housing, and a top cover of the transformer room is opened of Li , the motivation being to “[facilitate] heat dissipation during operation.” [0049]. ( Li : Figs. 1-5, machine translation, para. [0049] ). Therefore, the limitation of Claim 1 would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention. Regarding Claim 2 and similarly claim 12 , the combination of An in view of Li further teaches , wherein a fuel tank (the fuel tank of transformer cabinet (2)) and the oil conservator are connected through a pipe (3), and a gas relay (7) is disposed on the pipe; and the gas relay is configured to: when an internal fault occurs in the oil-immersed transformer, generate an alarm or cut off the oil-immersed transformer (“[w]hen the transformer suddenly generates a large amount of gas, causing the oil speed to be too high, the gas relay can accurately detect the change in oil speed and provide a heavy gas trip signal” [0017] comprises an alarm . ( An: Figs. 1 and 2, machine translation, para. [0017], [0023]-[0025]) . Regarding Claim 5 , the combination of An in view of Li further teaches , wherein a base and a grid door of the transformer room are provided with air holes (“a communication distribution hole are provided between the transformer room 2 and the medium-voltage distribution room 3” [0047] and “has mesh doors on the front and rear sides” [0052], comprise holes in the grid door, further, to include holes in the base is obvious for a person of ordinary skill to facilitate cooling) . ( Li : Figs. 1-4, machine translation, para. [0047]) . Regarding Claim 6 and similarly claim 7 , the combination of An in view of Li further teaches , wherein a medium voltage used for the prefabricated transformer station ranges from 10 kV to 35 kV (“3375KVA” [0050], comprises a transformer station capable of supporting a voltage of 10kV to 35 kV, thus would be obvious since could have been chosen depending on design needs) . ( Li : Figs. 1-4, machine translation, para. [0050]) . Regarding Claim 8 , the combination of An in view of Li further teaches , wherein a specification for the container housing is a 20-foot marine container (“the container mentioned above is a 20-foot container” [0052], the motivation being “[t]he size of the container is selected according to actual needs” [0052] . ( Li : Figs. 1-4, machine translation, para. [0020]) . Regarding Claim 9 and similarly claim 15 , the combination of An in view of Li further teaches , wherein the oil conservator and the fuel tank of the oil-immersed transformer are connected by using a bracket, since it would have been obvious to person of ordinary skill that using a bracket is one of finite means for connecting an oil conservator to the fuel tank, thus would have been obvious to try . ( An: Figs. 1 and 2, machine translation, para. [0023]-[0025]) . Regarding Claim 10 , the combination of An in view of Li further teaches , wherein a height of a bottom of the oil conservator (1) is higher than the height of the side wall of the transformer room (2) . ( An: Figs. 1 and 2,machine translation, para. [0023]-[0025]) . Regarding Claim 11 , An teaches ( except where italicized ), an oil-immersed transformer (“a containerized photovoltaic transformer oil storage tank” [0023]) (Fig. 1), used in a prefabricated transformer station (the transformer cabinet of Fig. 1 is analogous to a prefabricated transform station), wherein the prefabricated transformer station comprises comprising a container housing (the transformer cabinet of Fig. 1 is analogous to a container housing), a transformer room (the transformer cabinet of Fig. 1 is analogous to a transformer room) configured to install the oil-immersed transformer is provided inside the container housing, and the oil-immersed transformer comprises a fuel tank (2) and an oil conservator (1); and the oil conservator (1) is disposed above the fuel tank (2), and a height of a top of the oil conservator is higher than a height of a side wall of the transformer cabinet of Fig. 1 . (An: Figs. 1 and 2, machine translation, para. [0023]-[0025]). An does not explicitly teach, a container housing having a transformer room configured to install the oil-immersed transformer is provided inside the container housing, and a height of a top of the oil conservator is higher than a height of a side wall of the transformer room. However, Li teaches (Fig. 2) , a container housing having a transformer room (2) configured to install the…transformer (6) is provided inside the container housing (Fig. 2). ( Li : Figs. 1-5, machine translation, para. [0012], [0018], [0022], [0023]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the transformer cabinet of An to include the transformer room provided inside the container housing, of Li , the motivation being to “[facilitate] heat dissipation during operation.” [0049]. ( Li : Figs. 1-5, machine translation, para. [0049] ). Therefore, the limitation of Claim 11 would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention. Claims 16-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Huang et al., (hereinafter Huang), Chinese Patent CN111555167A , in view of Li and further in view of An. Regarding Claim 16 , Huang teaches ( except where italicized ), a photovoltaic system (Fig. 1), wherein the photovoltaic system comprises a prefabricated transformer station (500) and a photovoltaic inverter (300) (Fig. 1); and the prefabricated transformer station comprising a container housing (the container housing of Fig. 1 is analogous to a container housing) and an oil-immersed transformer (20, Fig. 2, “transformer 20 may include a transformer oil temperature gauge, an oil level sensor, etc.” [0059]); a transformer room (first compartment 502, Fig. 3) is provided inside the container housing, and a top cover of the transformer room is opened; and the oil-immersed transformer is installed in the transformer room (id.), and a height of a top of an oil conservator of the oil-immersed transformer is higher than a height of a side wall of the transformer room; and the photovoltaic inverter (300) is configured to convert a direct current into an alternating current and then transmit the alternating current to the prefabricated transformer station (“[i]nverter 300 is connected to at least one photovoltaic string 100 to convert the DC power output from the photovoltaic string 100 into AC power output with fixed frequency and voltage or frequency and voltage regulation” [0039]). (Huang: Figs. 1-3, machine translation, para. [0036], [0039], [0045], [0049], [0059]). Huang does not explicitly teach, a top cover of the transformer room is opened, and a height of a top of an oil conservator of the oil-immersed transformer is higher than a height of a side wall of the transformer room. However, Li teaches (Fig. 2) , a top cover of the transformer room is opened. (“the top of the transformer room 2 is equipped with an openable and closable cover” [0049]). ( Li : Figs. 1-4, machine translation, para. [0034], [0049]). Further, An teaches, a height of a top of an oil conservator (1) of the oil-immersed transformer is higher than a height of a side wall of the transformer room (an oil storage tank (1), is above the transformer cabinet of Fig. 1, the side wall of the transformer cabinet is analogous to the side wall of the claimed transformer room). (An: Figs. 1 and 2, machine translation, para. [0023]-[0025]) It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the transformer cabinet of Huang to include the transformer room provided inside the container housing, and a top cover of the transformer room is opened of Li , the motivation being to “[facilitate] heat dissipation during operation.” [0049]. ( Li : Figs. 1-5, machine translation, para. [0049] ). Further, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the transformer of the combination of Huang in view of Li to include the height of a top of an oil conservator of the oil-immersed transformer that is higher than a height of a side wall of the transformer room of An , the motivation being “[w]ith a fixed height, this greatly increases the volume of the oil conservator, ensuring sufficient expansion space for the transformer oil, while simultaneously reducing the overall size of the transformer, thus enhancing its practicality” [0049]. ( An: Figs. 1 and 2, machine translation, para. [0049] ). Therefore, the limitation of Claim 16 would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention. Regarding Claim 17 , the combination of Huang in view of Li and further in view of An further teaches , wherein the photovoltaic inverter is a string inverter (“the photovoltaic power generation system 1000 includes a photovoltaic string 100,” [0036]) or a central inverter . ( Huang: Figs. 1-3, machine translation, para. [0036]) . Regarding Claim 18 , the combination of Huang in view of Li and further in view of An further teaches , wherein a fuel tank (An: the fuel tank of transformer cabinet (2)) and the oil conservator are connected through a pipe (3), and a gas relay (7) is disposed on the pipe; and the gas relay is configured to: when an internal fault occurs in the oil-immersed transformer, generate an alarm or cut off the oil-immersed transformer (An: “[w]hen the transformer suddenly generates a large amount of gas, causing the oil speed to be too high, the gas relay can accurately detect the change in oil speed and provide a heavy gas trip signal” [0017] comprises an alarm, the motivation being “the gas relay can accurately detect the change in oil speed and provide a heavy gas trip signal, resulting in high safety performance” [0017] . ( An: Figs. 1 and 2 ,machine translation, para. [0017], [0023]-[0025]) . Pertinent Prior Art The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Zhang et al. (US 20150014224), Zhang et al. (CN 203721466 U) and Zhou et al. (CN 202307433 U). Allowable Subject Matter Claims 3, 4, 13, 14, 19 and 20 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if any of claims 3, 4, 13, 14, 19 and 20 are rewritten in independent form including all of the limitation of the base claims and any intervening claims. Claim 3 and claims 13 and 19 recite , inter alia , “… further comprising a first butterfly valve; a second butterfly valve; and a third butterfly valve, wherein and the pipe further comprises a first pipe and a second pipe; the first butterfly valve is connected between a port on a fuel tank side of the gas relay and a first end of the first pipe, and a second end of the first pipe is connected to the fuel tank; the second butterfly valve is connected between a port on an oil conservator side of the gas relay and a first end of the third butterfly valve, a second end of the third butterfly valve is connected to a first end of the second pipe, and a second end of the second pipe is connected to the oil conservator; and the first butterfly valve, the second butterfly valve, and the third butterfly valve are configured to avoid transformer oil leakage of the oil-immersed transformer when being closed, to enable the second butterfly valve and the third butterfly valve to be disconnected ”. (Emphasis added). Claim 4 and claims 14 and 20 recite , inter alia , “… wherein the oil conservator further comprises a capsule, an air tube, and an oil conservator body, and the prefabricated transformer station further comprises a moisture absorber; the oil conservator body is filled with the transformer oil and the capsule; the capsule is connected to the moisture absorber outside the oil conservator body through the air tube; and the moisture absorber is configured to maintain a balance between pressure of the oil conservator and the fuel tank and outside pressure ”. (Emphasis added). Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MALCOLM BARNES whose telephone number is (408)918-7512. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 7:30-5:00 pm (PST). 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, Shawki Ismail can be reached on 571-272-3985. 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 http s://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. /MALCOLM BARNES/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2837 3/12/202 6
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Prosecution Timeline

May 17, 2023
Application Filed
Mar 12, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §103 (current)

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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
80%
Grant Probability
87%
With Interview (+6.6%)
3y 2m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 454 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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