Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 18, 2026
Application No. 18/857,659

UNINTERRUPTIBLE POWER SUPPLY DEVICE

Non-Final OA §103
Filed
Oct 17, 2024
Examiner
YESHAW, ESAYAS G
Art Unit
2849
Tech Center
2800 — Semiconductors & Electrical Systems
Assignee
Tmeic Corporation
OA Round
2 (Non-Final)
87%
Grant Probability
Favorable
2-3
OA Rounds
2y 4m
To Grant
99%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 87% — above average
87%
Career Allow Rate
563 granted / 648 resolved
+18.9% vs TC avg
Moderate +13% lift
Without
With
+12.6%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 4m
Avg Prosecution
48 currently pending
Career history
696
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.6%
-39.4% vs TC avg
§103
51.1%
+11.1% vs TC avg
§102
35.2%
-4.8% vs TC avg
§112
8.6%
-31.4% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 648 resolved cases

Office Action

§103
DETAILED ACTION The office action is in response to application filed on 3-3-26. Claims 1-6 are pending in the application and have been examined. 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 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. Claims 1-6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 (a) as being unpatentable over JP 2017-99063 to SORIMACHI NAOHIRO (“SORIMACHI”) in view of US 2021/0098991 to NISHIMURA et al. (“NISHIMURA et al.”). PNG media_image1.png 493 746 media_image1.png Greyscale PNG media_image2.png 707 563 media_image2.png Greyscale PNG media_image3.png 784 475 media_image3.png Greyscale PNG media_image4.png 614 713 media_image4.png Greyscale Regarding claim 1, SORIMACHI disclose an uninterruptible power supply device (fig. 5) connected between an AC power supply (120) and a load (150), the uninterruptible power supply device comprising: including first and second bases (a double-sided heat sink including fins (163)), and fins, the first and second bases being arranged to face each other, the fins being arranged between the first and second bases and coupled to both the first and second bases; and a power conversion device ([0007]-[0020) mounted on a surface of each of the first and second bases opposite to a surface to which the fins (164-166) are coupled, wherein the power conversion device includes: a converter to convert AC power supplied from the AC power supply into DC power, and stop when the AC power supply fails; a chopper (fig. 5, 133) to regulate a voltage of DC power supplied from a power storage device (fig. 7, 740) while the AC power supply is in failure [004]; and an inverter (132, [0004] to convert the DC power output from the converter or the DC power output from the power storage device into AC power and supply power to the load ([0004]), the inverter is mounted on either of the first and second bases, the converter is mounted on the first base (131, and 164-166 of Fig. 7), the chopper is mounted on the second base (the chopper is provided on one side (fig. 7, 161, 162)), and at least some of the fins thermally connected to the converter via the first base are thermally connected to the chopper via the second base. But, SORIMACHI does not disclose a heat sink with substrate, However, NISHIMURA discloses a heat sink with substrate (fig. 2, [0039], (1 and 5 being a converter and inverter, placed on a same substrate (15) attached to a heat sink)), Therefore, it would have been obvious to one ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify SORIMACHI by adding heat sink with substrate as part of its configuration as taught by NISHIMURA, in order to suppress temperature increase in both the converter and the inverter [0040] and intrinsically reduce the size of the system by combining heat sinks. Regarding claim 2, SORIMACHI disclose the fins include first fins and second fins ((cooling fin) 163), the first fins are thermally connected to the converter via the first base and are thermally connected to the chopper via the second base ([0020]), and the second fins are thermally connected to the inverter via a base on which the inverter is mounted ([0020]). Regarding claim 3, SORIMACHI disclose the inverter is mounted on the first base ([0020]). Regarding claim 4, SORIMACHI disclose the inverter is mounted on the second base ([0020]). Regarding claim 5, SORIMACHI disclose the inverter is mounted on the first base ([0020]). Regarding claim 6, SORIMACHI disclose the inverter is mounted on the second base ([0020]). Response to Arguments Applicant’s argument filed on 12-5-25 with respect to claims 1-6 has been fully considered but are moot in view of the new grounds of rejection. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ESAYAS G YESHAW whose telephone number is (571)270-1959. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Sat 9AM-7PM. 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, Menna Youssef can be reached at 5712703684. 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. /ESAYAS G YESHAW/Examiner, Art Unit 2836 /Menatoallah Youssef/SPE, Art Unit 2849
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Oct 17, 2024
Application Filed
Aug 26, 2025
Non-Final Rejection — §103
Dec 05, 2025
Response Filed
Mar 22, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §103 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

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Patent 12587109
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Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

2-3
Expected OA Rounds
87%
Grant Probability
99%
With Interview (+12.6%)
2y 4m
Median Time to Grant
Moderate
PTA Risk
Based on 648 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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