Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/966,277

POWER SUPPLY APPARATUS AND IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS USING POWER SUPPLY APPARATUS

Non-Final OA §112
Filed
Dec 03, 2024
Examiner
TRAN, HOAN H
Art Unit
2852
Tech Center
2800 — Semiconductors & Electrical Systems
Assignee
Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
96%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
1y 8m
To Grant
99%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 96% — above average
96%
Career Allow Rate
524 granted / 546 resolved
+28.0% vs TC avg
Minimal +4% lift
Without
With
+4.2%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Fast prosecutor
1y 8m
Avg Prosecution
7 currently pending
Career history
553
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
3.9%
-36.1% vs TC avg
§103
21.1%
-18.9% vs TC avg
§102
43.2%
+3.2% vs TC avg
§112
12.2%
-27.8% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 546 resolved cases

Office Action

§112
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 . Priority Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55. Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114 A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after allowance or after an Office action under Ex Parte Quayle, 25 USPQ 74, 453 O.G. 213 (Comm'r Pat. 1935). Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, prosecution in this application has been reopened pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 02/02/2026 has been entered. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112 The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b): (b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention. The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph: The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention. Claims 1-6, 10-15 and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention. Claim 1 recites the limitation "the output signal" in line 5. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Claims 2-6, 10-15 and 18 are also rejected for the same reason because of their dependency on claim 1. Allowable Subject Matter Claim 19 is allowed. Prior Art 7. The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant’s disclosure: - Kozuma et al. [CN 11064979 A] disclose a power supply apparatus. Contact Information Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to HOAN H TRAN whose telephone number is (571)272-2141. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F 9AM-5:30PM. 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, Walter Lindsay can be reached on 571-272-1674. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIRsystem, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /HOAN H TRAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2852 02/21/26
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Dec 03, 2024
Application Filed
Feb 02, 2026
Request for Continued Examination
Feb 09, 2026
Response after Non-Final Action
Feb 21, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §112 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12601988
IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS
2y 5m to grant Granted Apr 14, 2026
Patent 12601990
DEVELOPING CARTRIDGE
2y 5m to grant Granted Apr 14, 2026
Patent 12596316
DEVELOPING CARTRIDGE
2y 5m to grant Granted Apr 07, 2026
Patent 12591201
ADAPTER, CARTRIDGE, AND IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS
2y 5m to grant Granted Mar 31, 2026
Patent 12591187
IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS
2y 5m to grant Granted Mar 31, 2026
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
96%
Grant Probability
99%
With Interview (+4.2%)
1y 8m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 546 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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