Prosecution Insights
Last updated: May 29, 2026
Application No. 18/708,161

INDUCTIVELY ELECTRICALLY SYNCHRONOUS MACHINE

Non-Final OA §102§112
Filed
May 07, 2024
Priority
Nov 08, 2021 — DE 10 2021 212 548.4 +1 more
Examiner
ISLAM, MUHAMMAD S
Art Unit
2846
Tech Center
2800 — Semiconductors & Electrical Systems
Assignee
Mahle International GmbH
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
88%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
0m
Est. Remaining
97%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 88% — above average
88%
Career Allowance Rate
525 granted / 598 resolved
+19.8% vs TC avg
Moderate +9% lift
Without
With
+9.2%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Fast prosecutor
2y 0m
Avg Prosecution
19 currently pending
Career history
621
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.8%
-39.2% vs TC avg
§103
55.3%
+15.3% vs TC avg
§102
29.8%
-10.2% vs TC avg
§112
11.4%
-28.6% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 598 resolved cases

Office Action

§102 §112
DETAILED ACTION This action is in response to application filed on May 07, 2024. 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 . Information Disclosure Statement The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on May 07, 2024 has been considered by the examiner. Drawings The drawings were received on May 07, 2024. This drawing is accepted. 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 1-20 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 pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention. Claim 1 and 18 recite "at least one consumer of electrical energy and/or at least one store for electrical energy. “The term "consumer" is extremely broad. In electrical engineering, almost any load is a consumer. If "consumer" is intended to mean a resistor (heater) or a battery, those terms should be used. For the examination purpose these limitations will be treated as battery to store electrical energy. Appropriate correction is requested. Since the independent claims 1 and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) and hence the dependent claims of 1 and 18 are also rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b). 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 1-2,6 and 13-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Krause (WO2011086513). Regarding independent claim 1, Krause discloses that an inductively electrically excited synchronous machine (Title), comprising: a rotor (Fig.3:LR) including at least one rotor coil for generating a magnetic rotor field, a stator on which the rotor is rotatably mounted about an axis of rotation, the stator including at least one stator coil for generating a magnetic stator field([0025]), a rotary transformer including at least one transformer primary coil fixed to the stator and at least one transformer secondary coil arranged fixed to the rotor for supplying the at least one rotor coil with electrical energy (Claim1), a machine control which for operation as a motor and/or as a generator is connected to the at least one stator coil and to the at least one transformer primary coil (claim 2), at least one demagnetisation circuit electrically interconnected with the at least one stator coil, the at least one demagnetization circuit including a switching device for activating and deactivating the at least one demagnetisation circuit and at least one consumer of electrical energy and/or at least one store for electrical energy (Fig.3 and [0036]), wherein the switching device is configured and/or controlled so that during a normal operation the switching device deactivates the at least one demagnetisation circuit and that upon a machine fault the switching device activates the at least one demagnetisation circuit (Fig.3 and [0037]). Regarding claim 2, Krause discloses that wherein the switching device is configured as a braking circuit or a brake chopper (Claim 17). Regarding claim 6, Krause discloses that wherein the motor control is configured so that during the normal operation, the motor control controls the switching device for deactivating the at least one demagnetisation circuit and that in case of a machine fault the motor control controls the switching device for activating the at least one demagnetisation circuit. Regarding claim 13, Krause discloses that wherein the synchronous machine has a multi-phase configuration, wherein each phase is assigned at least one stator coil ([0052]; T1 and T2). Regarding claim 14, Krause discloses that wherein the synchronous machine has a single-phase or multi-phase configuration wherein each phase is assigned a coil group of multiple stator coils or is assigned at least one coil pair of two stator coils located diametrically opposite one another (Fig.3). Regarding claim 15, Krause discloses that wherein the at least one consumer and/or the at least one store is/are arranged outside on the stator or outside of the stator (Fig.2). Regarding claim 16, Krause discloses that wherein the at least one consumer comprises at least one thermoelectrical element which converts the electrical energy into heat ([0014]; resistor). Regarding claim 17, Krause discloses that wherein the motor control upon a machine fault terminates the supply of electrical energy to the at least one stator coil and/or to the at least one transformer primary coil ([0037]). Regarding independent claim 18, Krause discloses that a motor vehicle ([0016]), comprising: an inductively electrically excited synchronous machine(Title), the synchronous machine including: a rotor (Fig.3:LR) including at least one rotor coil for generating a magnetic rotor field, a stator on which the rotor is rotatably mounted about an axis of rotation, the stator including at least one stator coil for generating a magnetic stator field ([0025]), a rotary transformer including at least one transformer primary coil fixed to the stator and at least one transformer secondary coil arranged fixed to the rotor for supplying the at least one rotor coil with electrical energy ([0036]), a machine control which for operating the synchronous machine as a motor and/or as a generator is connected to the at least one stator coil and to the at least one transformer primary coil(claim 2), at least one demagnetisation circuit electrically interconnected with the at least one stator coil, the at least one demagnetization circuit including a switching device for activating and deactivating the at least one demagnetisation circuit and at least one consumer of electrical energy and/or at least one store for electrical energy(Fig.3 and [0036]), wherein the switching device is configured and/or controlled so that during a normal operation of the synchronous machine the switching device deactivates the at least one demagnetisation circuit and that upon a machine fault the switching device activates the at least one demagnetisation circuit(Fig.3 and [0037]). Regarding claim 19, Krause discloses that wherein the synchronous machine is configured as a drive motor or a traction motor, and/or the synchronous machine is configured to a power of 100 kW to 200 kW ([0018]). Regarding claim 20, Krause discloses that wherein: the machine control includes an inverter for supplying electrical energy to the at least one stator coil, the inverter connected to the at least one stator coil via a first inverter line and a second inverter line for transmitting electrical energy (Fig.3:8,9), the first inverter (8) line is electrically connected to a first coil (T1) end of the at least one stator coil, and the second inverter (9) line is electrically connected to a second coil (T2)end of the at least one stator coil, and the at least one demagnetisation circuit for the electrical interconnection with the at least one stator coil includes a circuit line pair with a first circuit line and a second circuit line ([0027]). Allowable Subject Matter Claims 3-5 and 7-12 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 and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MUHAMMAD S ISLAM whose telephone number is (571)272-8439. The examiner can normally be reached 9:30am to 6:00pm. 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 on 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. /MUHAMMAD S ISLAM/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2846
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Prosecution Timeline

May 07, 2024
Application Filed
Mar 31, 2026
Non-Final Rejection (signed) — §102, §112
May 08, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102, §112 (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
88%
Grant Probability
97%
With Interview (+9.2%)
2y 0m (~0m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 598 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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