Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 02, 2026
Application No. 18/626,732

DUAL MOTOR INVERTER SYSTEMS WITH INTEGRATED AC-TO-DC ONBOARD CHARGERS

Non-Final OA §112
Filed
Apr 04, 2024
Examiner
DHAKAL, BICKEY
Art Unit
2896
Tech Center
2800 — Semiconductors & Electrical Systems
Assignee
Ford Global Technologies LLC
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
84%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
0m
Est. Remaining
99%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 84% — above average
84%
Career Allowance Rate
644 granted / 764 resolved
+16.3% vs TC avg
Strong +16% interview lift
Without
With
+16.4%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 4m
Avg Prosecution
28 currently pending
Career history
784
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
2.9%
-37.1% vs TC avg
§103
44.3%
+4.3% vs TC avg
§102
25.4%
-14.6% vs TC avg
§112
24.9%
-15.1% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 764 resolved cases

Office Action

§112
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 Objections Claims 17-20 are objected to because of the following informalities: the phrase “an integrated” in line 1 should be re-written as “the integrated”. Appropriate correction is required. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112 The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b): (b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention. The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph: The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention. Claims 17-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention. The phrase “wherein the second electric motor circuitry, the second ISC circuitry, and the third onboard charger circuitry form a bi-directional isolated DC-DC converter circuit; and wherein the second electric motor circuitry, the second ISC circuitry, and the third onboard charger circuitry form an isolated DC-DC converter circuit” in claim 17 is confusing because the same three components are formed both “a bi-directional isolated DC-DC converter circuit” and “an isolated DC-DC converter circuit” with no identification of any structural or functional distinction. Therefore, it’s unclear how the same three components form two different circuits as claimed. REASONS FOR ALLOWANCE Allowable Subject Matter The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance: Claims 1-16 and 20 are allowed. Upon further consideration and in a view of the limitation, the prior art does not explicitly teach or fairly suggest alone or in combination of “wherein the first onboard charger circuitry, the first ISC circuitry, and the second onboard charger circuitry form a bi-directional power factor correction circuit” in claim 1, “wherein the second motor inverter system and the onboard charger circuitry form a bi-directional isolated DC-DC converter circuit” in claim 8, “a second onboard charger circuitry electrically connected to the first ISC circuitry; and a third onboard charger circuitry electrically connected to the second electric motor circuitry” in claim 16. Claims 17-19 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action. Conclusion The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Liwen pan (A high power density integrated…..compensation) discloses an integrated charger electric vehicle. Khaligh et al. (US 10,562,404 B1) disclose an onboard charger for electric vehicles. Lehn et al. (US 11,607,965 B2) disclose an integrated three-phase AC charger for vehicle. Potts et al. (US 2013/0057200 A1) disclose a bidirectional inverter-charger. Yang et al. (US 2020/0313441 A1) disclose a bidirectional on-board charger. Eduardo (US 2023/0202320 A1) discloses on-board charger for vehicle. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BICKEY DHAKAL whose telephone number is (571)272-3577. The examiner can normally be reached 8:30-4:30 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, Eduardo Colon-Santana can be reached at 571-272-2060. 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. /BICKEY DHAKAL/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2837
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Apr 04, 2024
Application Filed
Sep 01, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §112 (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
84%
Grant Probability
99%
With Interview (+16.4%)
2y 4m (~0m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 764 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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