Prosecution Insights
Last updated: August 18, 2026
Application No. 18/736,682

SWITCHING POWER SUPPLY DEVICE

Final Rejection §103
Filed
Jun 07, 2024
Priority
Jun 14, 2023 — JP 2023-097886
Examiner
BEHM, HARRY RAYMOND
Art Unit
2838
Tech Center
2800 — Semiconductors & Electrical Systems
Assignee
TDK Corporation
OA Round
2 (Final)
80%
Grant Probability
Favorable
3-4
OA Rounds
2m
Est. Remaining
87%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 80% — above average
80%
Career Allowance Rate
931 granted / 1169 resolved
+11.6% vs TC avg
Moderate +7% lift
Without
With
+7.1%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 5m
Avg Prosecution
36 currently pending
Career history
1196
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
1.0%
-39.0% vs TC avg
§103
50.6%
+10.6% vs TC avg
§102
30.2%
-9.8% vs TC avg
§112
8.6%
-31.4% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 1169 resolved cases

Office Action

§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 . Response to Arguments Applicant’s arguments with respect to the amended claim(s) have been considered but are moot because the new grounds of rejection do not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument. New grounds of rejection are presented below which rely upon the primary reference of Park (KR 2016-0126215) to disclose the newly claimed limitations. 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(s) 1 and 3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Park (KR 2016-0126215) in view of Yao (CN 115347794). With respect to claim 1, Park discloses a switching power supply device comprising: a transformer (Fig. 2 T), wherein a bridge (Fig. 2 211), in which a plurality of switch elements are connected in series, and a primary winding (Fig. 2 Np) are provided on a primary side of the transformer, the switch elements include the switch elements controlled by a first on time (Fig. 5 Q1,Q2), and the switch elements controlled by a second on time (Fig. 5 Q1’,Q2’) different (Fig. 15 Q1’ increased,Q2’decreased) from the first on time, two secondary winding (Fig. 2 Ns1,Ns2) having a center tap configuration are provided on a secondary side of the transformer, and a dead time and a switching frequency are maintained (Fig. 5 period and dead time unchanged, duty change), and a current imbalance between the two secondary windings is corrected by simultaneously increasing or decreasing the first on time and the second on time (“the controller 220 may balance the current through the control of the duty ratio of the first and second switching devices M 1 and M 2 of the switching unit 211.”). Park does not detail the type of transformer. The use of planar transformers were well known before the filing date of the claimed invention. Yao teaches a switching power supply device (Fig. 2) comprising a planar type transformer (Fig. 5a). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement a planar type transformer in order to reduce the electromagnetic interference by eliminating the parasitic capacitance or counteracting the noise. With respect to claim 3, Park in view of Yao make obvious the switching power supply device according to claim 1, wherein the transformer has an air gap (Fig. 5a ∂) located at an asymmetrical position (Fig 5a Sec3 adjacent location is asymmetrical). Claim(s) 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Park (KR 2016-0126215) in view of Yao (CN 115347794) and further in view of Hariya (US 2022/0103079). With respect to claim 4, Park in view of Yao make obvious the switching power supply device according to claim 1 as set forth above. Park does not disclose wherein the first on time and the second on time are set in accordance with a predetermined index value on the basis of correspondence between the first on time and the second on time and the index value. It was known before the effective filing date of the invention to implement wherein the first on time and the second on time are set in accordance with a predetermined index value on the basis of correspondence between the first on time and the second on time and the index value. Hariya discloses a switching power supply (Fig. 1 1) wherein the first on time and the second on time are set in accordance with a predetermined index value on the basis of correspondence between the first on time and the second on time and the index value (paragraph 330). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement wherein the first on time and the second on time are set in accordance with a predetermined index value on the basis of correspondence between the first on time and the second on time and the index value, in order to reduce the real time computational burden and delay by pre-computing the values and using an index to determine the on times. Conclusion The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Noro (US 5,459,650) discloses adjusting the dead time in order to balance the current Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a). A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to HARRY RAYMOND BEHM whose telephone number is (571)272-8929. The examiner can normally be reached M-F: 8-5 EST. 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, Thienvu Tran can be reached at 571-270-1276. 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. /HARRY R BEHM/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2838
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Jun 07, 2024
Application Filed
Mar 06, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §103
Jun 03, 2026
Response Filed
Jun 30, 2026
Final Rejection mailed — §103 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12706538
MULTI-MODE POWER STAGE ARCHITECTURE FOR PULSE WIDTH MODULATION CONTROLLER
2y 7m to grant Granted Aug 11, 2026
Patent 12706454
SHORT-CIRCUIT CURRENT CONTROL IN POWER SYSTEMS
2y 10m to grant Granted Aug 11, 2026
Patent 12706521
SINGLE-INPUT, MULTI-OUTPUT DIRECT-CURRENT-TO-DIRECT CURRENT CONVERTERS AND ASSOCIATED METHODS
2y 5m to grant Granted Aug 11, 2026
Patent 12695376
VOLTAGE SOURCE CONVERTER SELECTIVELY DELAYING DEAD TIME
3y 3m to grant Granted Jul 28, 2026
Patent 12683481
ZERO VOLTAGE SWITCHING HYBRID CONVERTER
2y 2m to grant Granted Jul 14, 2026
Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

3-4
Expected OA Rounds
80%
Grant Probability
87%
With Interview (+7.1%)
2y 5m (~2m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Moderate
PTA Risk
Based on 1169 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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