Prosecution Insights
Last updated: July 17, 2026
Application No. 18/477,250

AC/DC CONVERTER AND CONTROL METHOD THEREOF FOR CHARGING ELECTRICAL VEHICLES

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
Sep 28, 2023
Priority
Mar 29, 2021 — continuation of PCTEP2021058128
Examiner
GRANT, ROBERT J
Art Unit
Tech Center
Assignee
Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der angewandten Forschung e.V.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
76%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
1m
Est. Remaining
94%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 76% — above average
76%
Career Allowance Rate
602 granted / 788 resolved
+16.4% vs TC avg
Strong +17% interview lift
Without
With
+17.3%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 11m
Avg Prosecution
31 currently pending
Career history
815
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.6%
-39.4% vs TC avg
§103
81.4%
+41.4% vs TC avg
§102
16.2%
-23.8% vs TC avg
§112
1.1%
-38.9% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 788 resolved cases

Office Action

§102
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 . 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 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Chang et al. (USPUB 2020/0321796). As to Claim 1, Chang discloses an alternating current/direct current (AC/DC), converter for an on board charger (OBC) the AC/DC converter comprising: a three-phase-input comprising three inputs; a single-stage dual-active bridge (DAB) circuit (Paragraph 16); and an auxiliary circuit, wherein the auxiliary circuit comprises two switching means and energy storage means, wherein the auxiliary circuit comprises at least two branches, wherein each of the at least two branches comprise one of the two switching means, wherein at least one branch of the at least two branches is connected to a single-phase AC input of the three inputs, wherein another branch of the at least two branches is connected to an input of the three inputs which is not a single-phase AC input, and wherein the another branch comprises the energy storage means (Figure 3, Elements S4, S5, C3). Allowable Subject Matter Claims 2-11 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. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ROBERT J GRANT whose telephone number is (571)270-5820. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 9am - 5:30pm. 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, Drew Dunn can be reached at (571)272-2312. 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. /ROBERT GRANT/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2859
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Sep 28, 2023
Application Filed
Jun 30, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12665433
COLLABORATIVE CHARGING METHOD AND APPARATUS, AND LOGISTICS DEVICES
3y 8m to grant Granted Jun 23, 2026
Patent 12658724
DISTRIBUTED CHARGING STATION AND METHOD OF MANAGING THE SAME
1y 11m to grant Granted Jun 16, 2026
Patent 12651918
MOBILE POWER SUPPLY DEVICE
3y 4m to grant Granted Jun 09, 2026
Patent 12646968
A METHOD FOR ESTABLISHING A WIRELESS COMMUNICATION SYSTEM IN A HIGH-VOLTAGE POWER CONVERTER STATION AND A HIGH-VOLTAGE POWER CONVERTER STATION
3y 2m to grant Granted Jun 02, 2026
Patent 12643421
Device and Method for Moving a Connector of an Electric Vehicle Charger
3y 1m to grant Granted Jun 02, 2026
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
76%
Grant Probability
94%
With Interview (+17.3%)
2y 11m (~1m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 788 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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