Prosecution Insights
Last updated: May 29, 2026
Application No. 18/906,971

POWER SUPPLY CIRCUIT AND DETECTION APPARATUS

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
Oct 04, 2024
Priority
Oct 16, 2023 — JP 2023-178392
Examiner
TRAN, THAI H
Art Unit
2836
Tech Center
2800 — Semiconductors & Electrical Systems
Assignee
Fcl Components Limited
OA Round
2 (Non-Final)
72%
Grant Probability
Favorable
2-3
OA Rounds
1y 3m
Est. Remaining
98%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 72% — above average
72%
Career Allowance Rate
246 granted / 342 resolved
+3.9% vs TC avg
Strong +26% interview lift
Without
With
+25.7%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 11m
Avg Prosecution
20 currently pending
Career history
372
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§103
90.8%
+50.8% vs TC avg
§102
7.3%
-32.7% vs TC avg
§112
1.0%
-39.0% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 342 resolved cases

Office Action

§102
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 . Claims 1-7 are pending for examination. Response to Argument Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim 1 have been considered but are moot in view of the new ground(s) of rejection below. 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. Claim(s) 1 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Ideno et al., US Patent 10,108,209; hereinafter Ideno. Regarding claim 1, DUONG discloses a power supply circuit (Fig. 1) comprising: a first regulator (102) that includes a first input terminal (N1) to which a first voltage is input (N1 is an input), a first output terminal from which a second voltage is output (Tout), and a first adjustment terminal (101c), and adjusts the second voltage based on a voltage of the first adjustment terminal (Tout is based on the output Ng of the differential amp); a second regulator (107 is a constant current regulator) that includes a second input terminal (input of 107) to which the first voltage is input (N1 is an input) and a second output terminal (Vrf) from which a third voltage is output (Vrf); and a differential amplifier circuit (101e) that outputs, to the first adjustment terminal (101c), a signal corresponding to a difference between the third voltage (Vrf) and a fourth voltage (divided voltage at N3) at a first node (N3) between a plurality of first resistors (R2 and R3) connected in series between the first output terminal (Tout) and a reference potential (GND) lower than the second voltage (GND potential is lower than Vrf). Allowable Subject Matter Claim 7 is allowed. Claims 2-6 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 and any intervening claims. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to THAI H TRAN whose telephone number is (571)270-0668. The examiner can normally be reached M - F 8:30 - 5:00. 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, Rexford Barney can be reached at 571-272-7492. 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. /THAI H TRAN/Examiner, Art Unit 2836 /REXFORD N BARNIE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2836
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Oct 04, 2024
Application Filed
Oct 01, 2025
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102
Jan 02, 2026
Response Filed
May 06, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

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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
72%
Grant Probability
98%
With Interview (+25.7%)
2y 11m (~1y 3m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Moderate
PTA Risk
Based on 342 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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