Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 25, 2026
Application No. 18/932,644

INTEGRATED STIRLING REFRIGERATOR

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
Oct 31, 2024
Priority
Jul 21, 2022 — CN 202210874398.6 +2 more
Examiner
ZEC, FILIP
Art Unit
Tech Center
Assignee
Raytron (Wuxi) Technology Co. Ltd.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
66%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
1y 1m
Est. Remaining
80%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 66% — above average
66%
Career Allowance Rate
679 granted / 1033 resolved
+5.7% vs TC avg
Moderate +14% lift
Without
With
+13.9%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
3y 1m
Avg Prosecution
33 currently pending
Career history
1058
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.6%
-39.4% vs TC avg
§103
54.5%
+14.5% vs TC avg
§102
21.6%
-18.4% vs TC avg
§112
16.6%
-23.4% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 1033 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 . 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)(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. Claim(s) 1-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by CN 217785514 to Wang et al. (Wang). The applied reference has a common inventive 2ntity with the instant application. Based upon the earlier effectively filed date of the reference, it constitutes prior art under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2). This rejection under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) might be overcome by: (1) a showing under 37 CFR 1.130(a) that the subject matter disclosed in the reference was obtained directly or indirectly from the inventor or a joint inventor of this application and is thus not prior art in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(A); (2) a showing under 37 CFR 1.130(b) of a prior public disclosure under 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(B) if the same invention is not being claimed; or (3) a statement pursuant to 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) establishing that, not later than the effective filing date of the claimed invention, the subject matter disclosed in the reference and the claimed invention were either owned by the same person or subject to an obligation of assignment to the same person or subject to a joint research agreement. In reference to claim 1, Wang teaches an integrated Stirling refrigerator, comprising an eccentric shaft box defining therein a sealed cavity filled with a gas medium; an eccentric shaft provided rotatably around a rotation axis within the sealed cavity and comprising an eccentric segment with its center line offset from the rotation axis and a non-eccentric segment with its center line coinciding with the rotation axis; a stator assembly provided around the rotation axis and fixed within the sealed cavity; a rotor assembly provided on the non-eccentric segment around the rotation axis, with an air gap formed between the rotor assembly and the stator assembly along an axial direction; a compression link assembly provided within the sealed cavity and coupled to the eccentric segment; and an expansion link assembly provided within the sealed cavity and coupled to the eccentric segment; wherein the stator assembly and the rotor assembly form an axial flux motor arranged in the axial direction and configured to drive the eccentric shaft to rotate about the rotation axis through the rotor assembly (claim 1). In reference to claim 2, Wang teaches the system as explained in the rejection of claim 1 above, and Wang additionally teaches wherein the eccentric shaft box comprises a housing and an end plate, the housing having an opening and the end plate being sealingly connected to the opening (claim 2). In reference to claim 3, Wang teaches the system as explained in the rejection of claim 2 above, and Wang additionally teaches wherein the opening in the housing is circular in shape, and the end plate is in a shape of a circular plate matching the shape of the opening (claim 3). In reference to claim 4, Wang teaches the system as explained in the rejection of claim 2 above, and Wang additionally teaches wherein the housing and the end plate are made of aluminum alloy, and the end plate and the housing are connected by a sealing ring or are sealingly welded (claim 4). In reference to claim 5, Wang teaches the system as explained in the rejection of claim 2 above, and Wang additionally teaches wherein two ends of the eccentric shaft are connected to one bearing fixed to the housing and another bearing fixed to the end plate, respectively (claim 5). In reference to claim 6, Wang teaches the system as explained in the rejection of claim 2 above, and Wang additionally teaches wherein one end of the eccentric shaft is connected to an inner ring of a deep groove ball bearing fixed inside the housing, and another end thereof is connected to an inner ring of a thrust ball bearing fixed to an inner side of the end plate (claim 6). In reference to claim 7, Wang teaches the system as explained in the rejection of claim 6 above, and Wang additionally teaches wherein the stator assembly is fixed to the inner side of the end plate and is coaxially provided with respect to the thrust ball bearing (claim 7). In reference to claim 8, Wang teaches the system as explained in the rejection of claim 5 above, and Wang additionally teaches wherein motor lead pins protrude from an outer side of the end plate, and the motor lead pins extend through the end plate in the axial direction and are electrically isolated from the end plate through insulation sintering (claim 8). In reference to claim 9, Wang teaches the system as explained in the rejection of claim 1 above, and Wang additionally teaches wherein the stator assembly comprises a stator core and a winding; the stator core is provided with a bottom portion perpendicular to the axial direction, a plurality of teeth protruding from the bottom portion in the axial direction towards the rotor assembly; the winding comprises a plurality of coils, each of which is arranged around and electrically isolated from a corresponding one of the teeth; the rotor assembly comprises a rotor disk and a plurality of permanent magnets; the rotor disk is mounted around the non-eccentric segment, the permanent magnets are fixed on a side of the rotor disk facing towards the stator assembly, and the permanent magnets are magnetized in the axial direction, with each two circumferentially adjacent permanent magnets having opposite polarities therebetween (claim 9). In reference to claim 10, Wang teaches the system as explained in the rejection of claim 9 above, and Wang additionally teaches wherein the air gap between the rotor assembly and the stator assembly is 0.2 mm (claim 10). In reference to claims 11-18, said claims claim the limitations similar to the limitations claims in claims 1-10; thus, said claims 11-18 are rejected in the same manner, as discussed in detail above. Conclusion The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. See attached PTO-892 for relevant prior art. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FILIP ZEC whose telephone number is (571)270-5846. The examiner can normally be reached Mon - Fri; 9-5. 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, JD Fletcher can be reached at 5712705054. 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. /FILIP ZEC/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3763 9/30/2026
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Oct 31, 2024
Application Filed
Oct 05, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12768575
THERMOELECTRIC ELEMENT COOLING DEVICE AND REFRIGERATOR COMPRISING SAME
1y 12m to grant Granted Oct 20, 2026
Patent 12759901
Passive Freezing Desalination Driven By Radiative Cooling
2y 0m to grant Granted Oct 13, 2026
Patent 12753961
COOLING CIRCUIT FOR A SYSTEM FOR SUPPLYING AND COOLING A GAS
2y 4m to grant Granted Oct 06, 2026
Patent 12753953
CRYOGENIC COOLING DEVICE
2y 2m to grant Granted Oct 06, 2026
Patent 12747900
ICE MAKING METHODS, SYSTEMS, AND DEVICES
2y 8m to grant Granted Sep 29, 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
66%
Grant Probability
80%
With Interview (+13.9%)
3y 1m (~1y 1m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 1033 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