Prosecution Insights
Last updated: July 17, 2026
Application No. 18/871,052

COATED ACTIVE COMPONENT IN A HIGH-VOLTAGE DEVICE AND METHOD FOR INCREASING THE DI-ELECTRIC STRENGTH

Non-Final OA §102§103
Filed
Dec 02, 2024
Priority
Jun 03, 2022 — DE 10 2022 205 691.4 +1 more
Examiner
FERDOUS, ZANNATUL
Art Unit
Tech Center
Assignee
HSP Hochspannungsgeräte GmbH
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
85%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
8m
Est. Remaining
99%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 85% — above average
85%
Career Allowance Rate
528 granted / 623 resolved
+24.8% vs TC avg
Strong +16% interview lift
Without
With
+16.3%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 4m
Avg Prosecution
48 currently pending
Career history
656
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
3.0%
-37.0% vs TC avg
§103
78.7%
+38.7% vs TC avg
§102
12.1%
-27.9% vs TC avg
§112
3.7%
-36.3% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 623 resolved cases

Office Action

§102 §103
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 . In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status. Response to Amendment The amendments filed on 12/02/2024 have been fully considered and are made of record. Claims 1-11 have been amended. Claims 12-19 have been newly added. 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. Claim(s) 1-2, 4-13 and 15-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a1) as being anticipated by Kieffel et al. (Pub NO. Us 2016/0241004 A1; hereinafter Kieffel). Regarding Claim 1, Kieffle teaches a high-voltage device (See [0001]) comprising an encapsulating housing (housing 22 in Fig. 6; See [0143]) and at least one active component arranged in the encapsulating housing (active component 24 inside housing 22 in Fig. 5; See [0143]), wherein the at least one active component is coated with at least one polymer (active component 24 is coated with polymer 25/26 in Fig. 6; See [0143]). Regarding Claim 2, Kieffle teaches the high-voltage device according to claim 1, wherein the at least one polymer is formed on the at least one active component in the form of an insulating layer (polymer 25/26 is on active component 24 as insulating layer in fig. 6; See [0143]). Regarding Claim 4, Kieffle teaches the high-voltage device according to claim 1, wherein the high-voltage device includes a measuring transducer or is a measuring transducer (See [0074]). Regarding Claim 5, Kieffle teaches the high-voltage device according to claim 1, wherein the encapsulating housing is filled in part or completely with clean air (See [0009]). Regarding Claim 6, Kieffle teaches the high-voltage device according to claim 1, wherein the at least one active component is any combination of a current active part and a voltage active part or includes any combination of a current active part and a voltage active part (See [0055]-[0057]). Regarding Claim 7, Kieffle teaches the high-voltage device according to claim 1, wherein the at least one polymer is configured in the form of any combination of a shrink tubing, a dip coating (thick layer is dip coating; See [0143]), a spray coating, and vulcanisation. Regarding Claim 8, Kieffle teaches the high-voltage device according to claim 1, wherein the at least one polymer comprised of any combination of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) (See [0072]), polychlorotrifluoroethylene (PCTFE), polyolefin, and ethylene tetrafluoroethylene copolymers (ETFE). Regarding Claim 9, Kieffle teaches the high-voltage device according to claim 1, wherein the at least one active component is comprised of a core shell (active component 25 is core shell of enclosure 22 in Fig. 5; See [0143]). Regarding Claim 10, Kieffle teaches the high-voltage device according to claim 1, wherein the at least one active component is comprised of any combination of an electrode (active component 24 is electrode in Fig. 6; See [0143]). Regarding Claim 11, Kieffle teaches a method for increasing a dielectric strength in ahigh-voltage device, the method comprising: providing an encapsulating housing (housing 22 in Fig. 5; See [0143]); providing at least one active component arranged in the encapsulating housing (active component 24 inside housing 22 in Fig. 5; See [0143]); and coating the at least one active component with at least one polymer (active component 24 is coated with polymer 25/26 in Fig. 5; See [0143]), wherein the encapsulating housing is filled with clean air (See [0009]). Regarding Claim 12, Kieffle teaches the high-voltage device according to claim 1, wherein the high-voltage device is any combination of a current transducer, a voltage transducer and a combination transducer (See [0074]). Regarding Claim 13, Kieffle teaches the high-voltage device according to claim 5, wherein the clean air is dry, purified air. Regarding Claim 15, Kieffle teaches the high-voltage device according to claim 1, wherein the at least one active component is comprised of a core shell (active component 25 is core shell of enclosure 22 in Fig. 5; See [0143]) that further comprises any combination of a current active part, a voltage active part (See [0055]-[0057]), an electrode (active component 24 is electrode in Fig. 6; See [0143]), and a conductor through which current flows (conductor 20 in Fig. 5; See [0143]). Regarding Claim 16, Kieffle teaches the high-voltage device according to claim 15, wherein the conductor further comprises any combination of a primary conductor (primary conductor 20 in fig. 5; See [0143]) and a discharge pipe. Regarding Claim 17, Kieffle teaches the high-voltage device according to claim 9, wherein the core shell is comprised of any combination of a current active part, a voltage active part (See [0055]-[0057]) and a discharge pipe, and wherein the core shell is coated in part with the at least one polymer (active component 24 is coated with polymer 25/26 in Fig. 5; See [0143]). Regarding Claim 18, Kieffle teaches the high-voltage device according to claim 17, wherein the polymer coating is on the outside of the core shell (active component 24 is coated with polymer 25/26 in Fig. 5; See [0143]). Regarding Claim 19, Kieffle teaches the method of claim 11, wherein the at least one polymer is applied by any combination of shrink tubing, dip coating (thick layer is dip coating; See [0143]), spray coating, and vulcanization. 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) 3 and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kieffle. Regarding Claim 3, The high-voltage device according to claim 2, wherein the insulating layer has a layer thickness in (See [0139]-[0140]). Kieffle is silent about the range of 0.5 to 5 millimetres in a region of one millimetre and above. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to use the range of 0.5 to 5 millimetres in a region of one millimetre and above, since it has been held that where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, discovering the optimum or working ranges involves only routine skill in the art. In re Aller, 105 USPQ 233, in order to achieve high-voltage equipment including a leaktight enclosure (Kieffle; abstract). Regarding Claim 14, Kieffle teaches the high-voltage device of claim 5, wherein the clean air is at a pressure (See [0048]-[0052]). Kieffle is silent about in a range of 7 to 15 bar. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to use in a range of 7 to 15 bar, since it has been held that where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, discovering the optimum or working ranges involves only routine skill in the art. In re Aller, 105 USPQ 233, in order to achieve high-voltage equipment including a leaktight enclosure (Kieffle; abstract). Conclusion The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Watson et al. (Pub NO. Us 2021/0190851 A1) discloses Digital Modulation/Demodulation with Active Monitoring. Hansen et al. (Pub NO. US 2019/0259549 A1) discloses Encapsulated Supercapacitor. ERDMANN et al. (Pub NO. US 2018/0275172 A1) discloses Device for High Voltage. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ZANNATUL FERDOUS whose telephone number is (571)270-0399. The examiner can normally be reached Monday through Friday 8am to 5pm (PST). 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, Rodak Lee can be reached at 571-270-5628. 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. /ZANNATUL FERDOUS/Examiner, Art Unit 2858 /LEE E RODAK/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2858
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Prosecution Timeline

Dec 02, 2024
Application Filed
Jun 24, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102, §103 (current)

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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
85%
Grant Probability
99%
With Interview (+16.3%)
2y 4m (~8m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 623 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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