Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 02, 2026
Application No. 18/880,901

POWER CONVERSION SYSTEM AND CONTROL SYSTEM

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
Jan 03, 2025
Priority
Aug 08, 2022 — nonprovisional of PCTJP2022030306
Examiner
CHOI, SEUNG HO
Art Unit
Tech Center
Assignee
Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
100%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
4m
Est. Remaining
99%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 100% — above average
100%
Career Allowance Rate
16 granted / 16 resolved
+40.0% vs TC avg
Minimal +0% lift
Without
With
+0.0%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Fast prosecutor
2y 1m
Avg Prosecution
19 currently pending
Career history
28
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
2.0%
-38.0% vs TC avg
§103
55.6%
+15.6% vs TC avg
§102
40.4%
+0.4% vs TC avg
§112
2.0%
-38.0% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 16 resolved cases

Office Action

§102
DETAILED ACTION This Office action is in response to the application filed on 03 January 2025. 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 § 102 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. 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. (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. Claims 1, and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kimura et. al (JP2019165531A; hereafter “Kimura”). -Regarding claim 1: Kimura discloses: PNG media_image1.png 530 1004 media_image1.png Greyscale A power conversion system (Fig. 6; 103A, 103B, 103WA,103WB) connected to first and second AC systems (Fig. 6; 101A, 101B) and a DC system (Fig. 6; 106A, 106B), comprising: a first power converter connected between the first AC system and the DC system (Fig. 6; 103A between 101A and 106A / 103WB between 101A and 106A); a second power converter connected between the second AC system and the DC system (Fig. 6; 103B between 101B and 106B / 103WB between 101B and 106B); and a control system, wherein the control system controls the first and second power converters (Fig. 6; 103WA, 103WB, paragraph; “A series of controls to be adjusted is referred to as “wrinkle removal control”. A converter that performs wrinkle removal control is referred to as a “wrinkle removal converter”.”) in a consolidated manner so that a total sum of a first AC power output from the first power converter to the first AC system, a second AC power output from the second power converter to the second AC system, and a DC power output from the power conversion system to the DC system becomes zero (Fig. 2; Pw-(Pa+Pa) is zero from t=0 to T1). -Regarding claim 17: Kimura discloses: A control system to control a power conversion system (Fig. 6; 103WA, 103WB, paragraph; “A series of controls to be adjusted is referred to as “wrinkle removal control”. A converter that performs wrinkle removal control is referred to as a “wrinkle removal converter”.”) connected to first and second AC systems (Fig. 6; 101A, 101B) and a DC system (Fig. 6; 106A, 106B), the power conversion system comprising: a first power converter connected between the first AC system and the DC system (Fig. 6; 103WA between 102WA and 104WA and 103WB between 102WB and 104WB); and a second power converter connected between the second AC system and the DC system (Fig. 6; 103A between 102A and 104A and 103B between 102B and 104B), wherein the control system controls the first and second power converters in a consolidated manner (Fig. 6; 103WA, 103WB, paragraph; “A series of controls to be adjusted is referred to as “wrinkle removal control”. A converter that performs wrinkle removal control is referred to as a “wrinkle removal converter”.”) so that a total sum of a first AC power output from the first power converter to the first AC system, a second AC power output from the second power converter to the second AC system, and a DC power output from the power conversion system to the DC system becomes zero (Fig. 2; Pw-(Pa+Pa) is zero from t=0 to T1). Allowable Subject Matter Claims 2-16 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim. The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: -with respect to claim 2: the prior art in Kimura discloses the claimed invention in basic claims but do not further disclose about a computation using a deviation between an AC power command value and the first AC power as an input. -with respect to claim 6: the prior art in Kimura discloses the claimed invention in basic claims but do not further disclose about a computation using a deviation between an AC voltage command value and an AC voltage of the first AC system as an input. -with respect to claim 7: the prior art in Kimura discloses the claimed invention in basic claims but do not further disclose about a computation using a deviation between a DC voltage command value and a DC voltage output to the DC system as an input, the computation using a deviation between the first AC current command value and the first AC current as an input, and the computation using a deviation between the second AC current command value and the second AC current as an input. -with respect to claim 8: the prior art in Kimura discloses the claimed invention in basic claims but do not further disclose about a computation using a deviation between a first AC current command value based on an AC power command value and a first AC current output from the first power converter as an input, the computation using a deviation between a second AC current command value based on the AC power command value and a second AC current output from the second power converter as an input, the computation using a deviation between the AC power command value and a sum of the first AC power and the second AC power as an input, and the computation using a deviation between the DC current command value and the DC current as an input. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SEUNG HO CHOI whose telephone number is (571)272-8188. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Thursday, 7:30 AM - 5:30 PM ET. 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, Crystal Hammond can be reached at 571-270-1682. 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. /SEUNG HO CHOI/Examiner, Art Unit 2838 /CRYSTAL L HAMMOND/Supervisory Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2838
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Jan 03, 2025
Application Filed
Aug 10, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12749977
METHOD FOR CONTROLLING A NON-INVERTING BUCK BOOST DC-DC CONVERTER AND CORRESPONDING CONVERTER
1y 12m to grant Granted Sep 29, 2026
Patent 12744453
CURRENT LIMITING CIRCUIT
2y 6m to grant Granted Sep 22, 2026
Patent 12726117
VOLTAGE BOOSTER AND VOLTAGE BOOSTER SYSTEM
2y 5m to grant Granted Sep 01, 2026
Patent 12712449
SWITCHED CAPACITOR CIRCUIT AND BIDIRECTIONAL SWITCHING CONVERTER INCLUDING THE SAME
2y 0m to grant Granted Aug 18, 2026
Patent 12676551
MULTILANE POWER DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM
2y 0m to grant Granted Jul 07, 2026
Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

Strategy Recommendation AI-generated — please review before filing

Get a prosecution strategy drawn from examiner precedents, rejection analysis, and claim mapping.
Typically takes 5-10 seconds — AI-generated, attorney review required before filing

Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
100%
Grant Probability
99%
With Interview (+0.0%)
2y 1m (~4m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 16 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

Sign in with your work email

Enter your email to receive a magic link. No password needed.

Personal email addresses (Gmail, Yahoo, etc.) are not accepted.

Free tier: 3 strategy analyses per month