Office Action Predictor
Last updated: April 15, 2026
Application No. 18/514,098

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM AND CONTROL METHOD

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
Nov 20, 2023
Examiner
BERHANE, ADOLF D
Art Unit
2838
Tech Center
2800 — Semiconductors & Electrical Systems
Assignee
Thermo King LLC
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
88%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
2y 0m
To Grant
86%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 88% — above average
88%
Career Allow Rate
914 granted / 1036 resolved
+20.2% vs TC avg
Minimal -2% lift
Without
With
+-2.0%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Fast prosecutor
2y 0m
Avg Prosecution
18 currently pending
Career history
1054
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.9%
-39.1% vs TC avg
§103
28.1%
-11.9% vs TC avg
§102
49.2%
+9.2% vs TC avg
§112
7.3%
-32.7% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 1036 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 . Priority Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55. Information Disclosure Statement The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 03/15/24 has been considered by the examiner. Drawings The drawings received on 03/15/24 are acceptable. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status. 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 9-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Tianjun et al.(EP 2471260 A1). Tianjun et al. disclose a voltage sensor-less position detection in an active front end in Figures 1-12. Regarding claim 9. An electrical system (Figure 1) comprising: a passive filter (300), an active power converter (500), a first AC connecting bus (bus between 300 and 500) extending between the active power converter (500) and the passive filter (300), a second AC connecting bus (bus between 200 and 300) extending between the passive filter and an AC network, a DC connecting bus (bus between 500 and 800) extending between the active power converter and a DC network, a monitoring arrangement (120) configured to monitor an AC voltage on the first AC connecting bus, and a controller (100) adapted to control the active power converter based on the monitored AC voltage on the first AC connecting bus (see paragraphs 29-49). Regarding claim 10. The electrical system of claim 9, wherein the passive filter includes at least one reactive electrical component (Figure 1, 300 an inductor resistor, paragraph 29). Regarding claim 11. The electrical system of claim 9, wherein the active power converter includes at least one active power switching component (Figure 1, 500 an active front end inverter, see paragraph 29). Allowable Subject Matter Claims 1-8 are allowed over the cited prior art of record. Claims 12-14 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 following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance: Claim 1 is allowed because the prior art of record fails to disclose or suggest a method of operating an electrical system including the limitation “operating in a first mode including: monitoring an AC voltage on the first AC connecting bus using the monitoring arrangement; and determining a plurality of parameters of an operating AC voltage of the AC network based on the monitored AC voltage on the first AC connecting bus; and subsequently operating in a second mode including: controlling the active power converter to convert a DC voltage received from the DC network into an AC voltage for supply to the AC network via the passive filter, wherein controlling the active power converter is based on: a mathematical model of a set of electrical characteristics of the passive filter; and the plurality of parameters of the operating AC voltage of the AC network“ in addition to other limitations recited therein. Dependent claims 2-8 are allowable by virtue of their dependency. Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.” The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: Claim 12 is allowed because the prior art of record fails to disclose or suggest an electrical system including the limitation “wherein the controller is adapted to perform a method of operating the electrical system, the method comprising: operating in a first mode including: monitoring an AC voltage on the first AC connecting bus using the monitoring arrangement; and determining a plurality of parameters of an operating AC voltage of the AC network based on the monitored AC voltage on the first AC connecting bus; and subsequently operating in a second mode including: controlling the active power converter to convert a DC voltage received from the DC network into an AC voltage for supply to the AC network via the passive filter, wherein controlling the active power converter is based on: a mathematical model of a set of electrical characteristics of the passive filter; and the plurality of parameters of the operating AC“ in addition to other limitations recited therein. Dependent claims 13-14 are allowable by virtue of their dependency. Conclusion The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Kumar et al. (US 2021/0313876 A1) disclose an active noise filtering for switch mode power supplies. Zhou et al. (US 2015/0009727 A1) disclose a power converter with low common mode noise. Hitachi Appliance, Inc (EP 2023476 A2) disclose a converter apparatus. Peterson et al. (US 4,053,820A) disclose an active filter. Examiner has cited particular columns, line numbers and/or paragraphs in thereferences applied to the claims above for the convenience of the applicant. Althoughthe specified citations are representative of the teachings of the art and are applied tospecific limitations within the individual claim(s), other passages and figures may applyas well. Additionally, in the event that other prior art is provided and made of record by theExaminer, as being relevant or pertinent to applicant's disclosure but not relied upon.The references are provided for the convenience of the applicant. The Examinerrequest that the references be considered in any subsequent amendments, as they arealso representative of the art and may apply to the specific limitations ofany newly amended claim(s). It is respectfully requested from the applicant in preparing amendments or responses, to fully consider the references in their entirety as potentially teaching all or part of theclaimed invention, as well as the context of the passage as taught by the prior art and/ordisclosed by the Examiner. In the case of amending the claimed invention, Applicant is respectfully requested to indicate the portion(s) of the specification which dictate(s) the structure relied upon inorder to ensure proper interpretation of the newly added limitations and toverify/ascertain the metes and bounds of the claimed invention Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ADOLF D BERHANE whose telephone number is (571)272-2077. The examiner can normally be reached 7:00 AM to 4:00 PM. 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, Sean P Kayes can be reached at 571-272-8931. 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. /ADOLF D BERHANE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2838
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Prosecution Timeline

Nov 20, 2023
Application Filed
Nov 18, 2025
Non-Final Rejection — §102
Apr 06, 2026
Response Filed

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12597870
CONTROL CIRCUIT FOR MULTI-PHASE POWER CONVERSION CIRCUIT AND MULTI-PHASE POWER SUPPLY
2y 5m to grant Granted Apr 07, 2026
Patent 12597864
CONTROLLER AND ISOLATED POWER CONVERTER
2y 5m to grant Granted Apr 07, 2026
Patent 12592652
HIG EFFICIENCY AC-DC CONVERTER
2y 5m to grant Granted Mar 31, 2026
Patent 12592645
SWITCHED-IN VOLTAGE DOUBLER UTILIZING PARALLEL/SERIES RECTIFIER OUTPUT
2y 5m to grant Granted Mar 31, 2026
Patent 12592648
POWER CONVERSION DEVICE
2y 5m to grant Granted Mar 31, 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
88%
Grant Probability
86%
With Interview (-2.0%)
2y 0m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 1036 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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