Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/698,117

POWER CONVERTING APPARATUS, MOTOR DRIVE UNIT, AND REFRIGERATION CYCLE-INCORPORATING DEVICE

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
Apr 03, 2024
Examiner
LAUGHLIN, CHARLES S
Art Unit
2846
Tech Center
2800 — Semiconductors & Electrical Systems
Assignee
Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
76%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
3y 2m
To Grant
86%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 76% — above average
76%
Career Allow Rate
284 granted / 372 resolved
+8.3% vs TC avg
Moderate +10% lift
Without
With
+10.1%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
3y 2m
Avg Prosecution
42 currently pending
Career history
414
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
2.5%
-37.5% vs TC avg
§103
52.0%
+12.0% vs TC avg
§102
33.7%
-6.3% vs TC avg
§112
10.2%
-29.8% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 372 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 4/3/24 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner. 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)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention. Claim(s) 1-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1)/(a)(2) as being anticipated by Hayashi et al. (US 2020/0412292). Regarding claim 1, Hayashi discloses (Fig. 1): A power converting apparatus (Fig. 1) comprising: a rectifier unit (11) rectifying a supply voltage applied from an alternating-current power supply (6, ¶0027); a capacitor (C) connected to an output end of the rectifier unit (11); an inverter (13) connected across the capacitor (C, ¶0037), the inverter (13) converting direct-current power output from the capacitor (C) into alternating-current power (¶0037) and outputting the alternating-current power to a device comprising a motor (5); a detection unit (23, 25) detecting a power state of the capacitor (Vdc, via 23, ¶0039); and a control unit (40) performing, by controlling the inverter (13), load pulsation compensation and power-supply pulsation compensation and adjusting a degree of at least one of the load pulsation compensation and the power-supply pulsation compensation on a basis of a detection value of the detection unit (¶0055), the load pulsation compensation being performed to compensate a load pulsation in a load unit (¶0055), the power-supply pulsation compensation being performed to compensate a power-supply pulsation in the load unit (compensates by changing inverter timing, ¶0055), the load unit (13, 5) comprising the inverter (13) and the device (5). Regarding claim 2, Hayashi discloses (Fig. 1): wherein the detection unit (Fig. 1, 23, 25) detects a first current (idc), the first current flowing from the rectifier unit (11), and the control unit (40) adjusts a degree of the power-supply pulsation compensation on a basis of a detection value of the first current (¶0039, ¶0044, ¶0055). Regarding claim 3, Hayashi discloses (Fig. 1): wherein the detection unit (fig. 1, 23, 25) detects a second current (from iu, iv, iw), the second current flowing into the inverter (13, flows into inverter from motor, calculates current from idc), and the control unit adjusts a degree of the power-supply pulsation compensation on a basis of a detection value of the second current (¶0039, ¶0044, ¶0055). Regarding claim 4, Hayashi discloses (Fig. 1): wherein the control unit adjusts a degree of the load pulsation on a basis of a speed command (Fig. 2, ωm*), the speed command being a command value for a rotational speed of the motor (¶0052). Regarding claim 5, Hayashi discloses (Fig. 1): wherein the detection unit (Fig. 1, 23, 25) detects a first current (idc), the first current flowing from the rectifier unit (11), and the control unit adjusts a degree of the power-supply pulsation on a basis of the speed command (Fig. 2, ωm*) and a detection value of the first current (Fig. 2, idc, torque command T*, from 46, is changed based on speed command, and control unit, 45, and from idc, which is fed into 41, 43, 50, then 46, ¶0055). Regarding claim 6, Hayashi discloses (Fig. 1): wherein the detection unit (fig. 1, 23, 25) detects a second current (from iu, iv, iw), the second current flowing into the inverter (13, flows into inverter from motor, calculates current from idc), and the control unit adjusts the degree of the power-supply pulsation on a basis of the speed command (Fig. 2, ωm*) and a detection value of at least one of the first current and the second current (Fig. 2, idc, iu, iv, iw, torque command T*, from 46, is changed based on speed command, and control unit, 45, and from idc, which is fed into 41, 43, 50, then 46, ¶0055). Regarding claim 7, Hayashi discloses (Fig. 17): wherein a current for adjustment of a degree of the load pulsation compensation is lower when a rotational speed of the motor is low than when the rotational speed of the motor is high (¶0151-¶0152, speed increases as torque increases, more harmonic injection to suppress torque fluctuations, shown in Fig. 17 no suppression is used at lower torque or speed). Regarding claim 8, Hayashi discloses (Fig. 1): wherein a current for adjustment of a degree of the power-supply pulsation compensation is lower when the motor is subjected to a heavy load than when the motor is subjected to a light load (¶0168-¶0169, suppresses current peaks under high load). Regarding claim 9, Hayashi discloses (Fig. 1): wherein a current for adjustment of a degree of the load pulsation compensation and a degree of the power-supply pulsation compensation is superimposed on a torque current command (¶0167-¶0168). Regarding claim 10, Hayashi discloses (Fig. 1): A motor drive unit (Fig. 1, 13, 5, ¶0027) comprising the power converting apparatus according to claim 1. Regarding claim 11, Hayashi discloses (Fig. 1): A refrigeration cycle-incorporating device (Fig. 1, ¶0027) comprising the power converting apparatus according to claim 1. Conclusion The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Kawashima (US 2019/0312503) – Active filter device for HVAC system Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CHARLES S LAUGHLIN whose telephone number is (571)270-7244. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday. 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. /C.S.L./Examiner, Art Unit 2846 /DAVID LUO/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2846
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Prosecution Timeline

Apr 03, 2024
Application Filed
Jan 06, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §102 (current)

Precedent Cases

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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
76%
Grant Probability
86%
With Interview (+10.1%)
3y 2m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 372 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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