Prosecution Insights
Last updated: August 18, 2026
Application No. 18/533,821

CONTROL DEVICE FOR POWER RECEIVING DEVICE

Non-Final OA §102§103
Filed
Dec 08, 2023
Priority
Feb 28, 2023 — JP 2023-030359
Examiner
GRANT, ROBERT J
Art Unit
Tech Center
Assignee
Toyota Motor Corporation
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
76%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
3m
Est. Remaining
94%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 76% — above average
76%
Career Allowance Rate
604 granted / 791 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
32 currently pending
Career history
815
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
1.3%
-38.7% vs TC avg
§103
65.1%
+25.1% vs TC avg
§102
27.3%
-12.7% vs TC avg
§112
5.4%
-34.6% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 791 resolved cases

Office Action

§102 §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 . 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 1-2 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Nakao et al. (USPUB 2021/0159731). As to Claim 1, Nakao discloses a control device for a power receiving device including a power receiving coil that receives power transmitted from a power transmitting coil of the power transmitting device in a contactless manner, wherein when the control device performs a short-circuit mode in which a switching element provided between the power receiving coil and a load is operated to short-circuit a portion between output terminals of the power receiving coil, the control device performs the short-circuit mode such that a region in which a phase of a current in an inverter of the power transmitting device is advanced is avoided (Paragraph 228, Delayed is the advanced avoided). As to Claim 2, Nakao discloses the control device according to claim 1, wherein the control device determines a switching timing of the switching element in the short-circuit mode such that, by executing the short-circuit mode, the phase of the current of the inverter is shifted in a direction in which the phase of the current of the inverter is delayed (Paragraph 228). 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, 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. Claim 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nakao et al. in view of Ushijima et al. (USPUB 2019/0214853). As to Claim 3, Nakao discloses the control device according to claim 1, wherein when the control device performs the short-circuit mode, the control device controls a swing timing of the switching element in the short-circuit mode (Paragraph 228). Nakao does not expressly disclose a rectangular wave. Ushijima discloses that a left side of a voltage rectangular wave on a power receiving side is trimmed more than a right side of the voltage rectangular wave on the power receiving side is trimmed (Figure 8, Delay). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of this invention to trim the left side of the wave, as taught by Ushijima, in order to delay the wave form of Nakao. 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

Dec 08, 2023
Application Filed
Jul 29, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102, §103 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12706470
CHARGING CIRCUIT AND TERMINAL DEVICE
3y 12m to grant Granted Aug 11, 2026
Patent 12697899
BALANCING CHARGE LEVEL OF BATTERIES
3y 9m to grant Granted Aug 04, 2026
Patent 12697890
GROUND POWER SUPPLY APPARATUS AND POWER SUPPLY METHOD
3y 1m to grant Granted Aug 04, 2026
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
Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

Strategy Recommendation AI-generated — please review before filing

Get a prosecution strategy drawn from examiner precedents, rejection analysis, and claim mapping.
Typically takes 5-10 seconds — AI-generated, attorney review required before filing

Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
76%
Grant Probability
94%
With Interview (+17.3%)
2y 11m (~3m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 791 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

Sign in with your work email

Enter your email to receive a magic link. No password needed.

Personal email addresses (Gmail, Yahoo, etc.) are not accepted.

Free tier: 3 strategy analyses per month