Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/695,130

POWER CONVERSION APPARATUS, MOTOR DRIVE APPARATUS, AND REFRIGERATION CYCLE APPLICATION APPARATUS

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
Mar 25, 2024
Examiner
AGARED, GABRIEL T
Art Unit
2846
Tech Center
2800 — Semiconductors & Electrical Systems
Assignee
Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
83%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
2y 8m
To Grant
99%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 83% — above average
83%
Career Allow Rate
474 granted / 571 resolved
+15.0% vs TC avg
Strong +19% interview lift
Without
With
+19.0%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 8m
Avg Prosecution
15 currently pending
Career history
586
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
2.8%
-37.2% vs TC avg
§103
45.7%
+5.7% vs TC avg
§102
36.7%
-3.3% vs TC avg
§112
10.7%
-29.3% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 571 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 . This action is in response to an application filed on 03/25/2024. Claims 1-7 are pending for examination. Claim Objections Claim 1 recite the limitation "a capacitor" in lines 8-9. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. 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, 7 and 8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a) (1) as being anticipated by Ogura et al. (JP 2014212584 A and Ogura hereinafter – English Machine Translation is attached). As to Claim 1, Ogura in its teachings as shown in Fig.1-6 disclose a power conversion apparatus (2) that supplies alternating-current power to a motor (5), the motor driving a load (6), the power conversion apparatus (2) comprising: a converter (42) rectifying a power-supply voltage applied from an alternating-current power supply (41); a capacitor (43) connected to an output end of the converter; an inverter (3) connected across the capacitor; and a control device (1) controlling an operation of the inverter, wherein the control device performs a first control (adding a correction command Idsin* to a d-axis current command Id* via adder 19d that outputs Id**- see [0030]) to output of reducing a pulsatile component of a capacitor (43) output current output from the capacitor to the inverter when the load is driven (The DC power supply 4 for supplying DC power (voltage) to the inverter 3 has an AC power supply 41, a diode bridge 42 for rectifying AC to DC, and a smoothing capacitor 43 for suppressing pulsation contained in the DC power supply- see [0017]), the first control is control of causing the motor to generate a loss, and the loss that the motor is caused to generate is performed by using an excitation current (if the d-axis current increases by adding the correction command to the d-axis current command, a loss occurs in the electric motor due to the increase and the loss occurs in the electric motor due to the increase in the d-axis current (excitation current) by the first control – see also [0071] - [0072] and [0081] – [0087]). As to Claim 7, Ogura disclose a motor drive apparatus comprising the power conversion apparatus according to claim 1 (see [0011]). As to Claim 8, Ogura disclose a refrigeration cycle application apparatus comprising the power conversion apparatus according to claim 1 (a compressor provided in a refrigeration system or a refrigeration system- see [0090]). Allowable Subject Matter Claims 2-6 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 The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure (US 2013/0300327 A1: A DC link is provided, which includes a capacitor connected in parallel to an output of a converter circuit, and outputs a pulsating DC link voltage. An inverter circuit is provided, which converts an output of the DC link to AC by switching, and supplies the AC to a motor connected thereto. A controller is provided, which controls switching of the inverter circuit so that motor currents pulsate in synchronization with pulsation of a power-supply voltage. The controller controls the switching of the inverter circuit in accordance with a load of the motor or an operational state of the motor, and reduces pulsation amplitude of the motor currents – [Abstract]). Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to GABRIEL T AGARED whose telephone number is (571)270-1981. The examiner can normally be reached 8-5 (Mon- Thur). 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 5712722060. 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. /GABRIEL AGARED/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2846
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Prosecution Timeline

Mar 25, 2024
Application Filed
Dec 02, 2025
Non-Final Rejection — §102 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12599231
CONTROL METHOD FOR SMART FURNITURE
2y 5m to grant Granted Apr 14, 2026
Patent 12594838
METHOD OF MODULATION OF TORQUE BY VEHICLE PROPULSION MOTOR
2y 5m to grant Granted Apr 07, 2026
Patent 12583327
SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR POWER CONVERSION IN AN ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
2y 5m to grant Granted Mar 24, 2026
Patent 12587116
MOTOR STARTING CIRCUIT HAVING DEAD TIME SETTING MECHANISM
2y 5m to grant Granted Mar 24, 2026
Patent 12587123
CONTROL DEVICE AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING A POWER CONVERTER, AND ELECTRICAL DRIVE SYSTEM
2y 5m to grant Granted Mar 24, 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
83%
Grant Probability
99%
With Interview (+19.0%)
2y 8m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 571 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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