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 .
Response to Amendments
This is a final office action in response to applicant's arguments and remarks filed on 06/22/2026.
Status of Rejections
The rejection(s) of claim(s) 4 and 12 is/are obviated by applicant’s cancellation.
All other previous rejections are maintained and modified only in response to the amendments to the claims.
Claims 1-3, 5, 7-11, 13 and 15 are pending and under consideration for this Office Action.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claims 1-3, 5, 7-11, 13 and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Taguchi et al. (JP 2007031813 A, citations based on translation) in view of Muyeen et al. (“Electrolyzer switching strategy for hydrogen generation from variable speed wind generator”, Electr. Power Syst. Res., 2011).
Regarding claim 1, Taguchi teaches a controller for an electrolysis stack module powered by a renewable energy power generation device (see e.g. Fig. 1, control circuit 44 for electrolysis device 14 powered by power supply device 18 comprising solar cell 16; Paragraphs 0020 and 0028), the controller being configured to control power supply by receiving the power supply from the renewable energy power generation device and distributing the power supply to n=4 electrolysis stacks (see e.g. Fig. 1, power to four electrolysis stacks 40a, 40b, 40c, 40d distributed and adjusted by control circuit 44 via power adjustment units 42a, 42b, 42c, 42d; Paragraphs 0024-0025 and 0028),
wherein the controller is configured to determine whether or not to drive each electrolysis stack according to stack driving conditions, no less than two, determined on a basis of a minimum amount of operating power supply preset in advance for each of the electrolysis stacks (see e.g. Figs. 7 and 9, power controlled to be distributed to the four stacks on the basis of four different conditions of a value At/Ap based on a minimum Ap point at which a peak efficiency is reached; Paragraph 0037 and Paragraphs 0042-0045),
the stack driving conditions are ranges of an amount of the power supply in which on/off of the electrolysis stacks is predetermined, and the controller is configured to control driving of the electrolysis stacks according to the stack driving conditions corresponding to the amount of power supply supplied from the renewable energy power generation device (see e.g. Fig. 9, Paragraph 0037, lines 4-6, and Paragraphs 0041 and 0043-0045, power/current supplied to electrolysis stacks individually adjusted in response to output power of power source and the value At/Ap being in specific ranges),
wherein the controller determines one or more electrolysis stacks that need to be driven from the electrolysis stacks (see e.g. Figs. 1 and 9, control circuit 44 determines which of the electrolysis stacks 40a, 40b, 40c and 40d receives power as indicated by their respective designated distributed currents A1, A2, A3 and A4; Paragraphs 0024, 0028 and 0042),
wherein as the supplied power increases, the controller sequentially drives the determined one or more electrolysis stacks from a first electrolysis stack (see e.g. Fig. 9 and Paragraphs 0041-0044, with distribution examples 2 and 3, as the total supplied power/current At increases stacks 40a-40d are sequentially supplied with currents A1-A4, e.g. with only stack 40a supplied with current A1 when At/Ap≥1 followed by stacks 40a and 40 b with currents A1 and A2 when At/Ap≥2),
wherein as the supplied power decreases, the controller sequentially deactivates the driven electrolysis stacks (see e.g. Fig. 9 and Paragraphs 0041-0044, power to the respective stacks for distribution examples 2 and 3 being in order of stacks 40a-40d and respective currents A1-A4 in accordance with increase in total available current/power At from and therefore being stopped in the reverse order when At decreases, e.g. when At/Ap goes from ≥4 to ≥3, all cells 40a-40d being supplied with currents A1-A4 goes to only cells 40a-40c being supplied with currents A1-A3),
wherein the minimum amount of operating power supply is determined by a minimum operation coefficient (α) and the stack capacity (A) (see e.g. Fig. 7 and Paragraphs 0037 and 0043, all the electrolysis stacks 40a to 40d with the same minimum efficiency peak current Ap, which is a proportion, i.e. a fraction coefficient, of the total potential power-receiving capacity at which electrolysis efficiency peaks),
wherein ranges of the amount of power supply for the stack driving conditions are determined such that the upper limit values and lower limit values thereof are based on multiples of the minimum amount of operating power supply (see e.g. Fig. 9, with distribution examples 2 and 3, the lower limit and upper limit between which each stack is operated are multiples of the minimum efficiency peak current Ap, with for example only stack 40a receiving current A1 when the available current/power At is between 1*Ap and 2*Ap, shown in the 2nd chart as when At/Ap≥1 is satisfied but At/Ap≥2 is not satisfied, two stacks 40a and 40b with currents A1 and A2 being driven when At is between 2*Ap and 3*Ap, shown in the 3rd chart as when At/Ap≥2 is satisfied but At/Ap≥3 is not satisfied, and so on for the remaining stacks; Paragraphs 0042-0044), and
wherein the controller is configured to determine a number of electrolysis stacks to be driven based on a proportional relationship between a lower limit value of a range of the amount of the power supply including the supplied power among the stack driving conditions and the minimum amount of operating power supply (see e.g. Fig. 9, with distribution examples 2 and 3, the number of stacks determined to be operated N is the lower limit at which each stack is operated divided by the minimum efficiency peak current Ap, i.e. proportional thereto, with for example only stack 40a receiving current A1 when the available current/power At greater than or equal to 1*Ap, shown in the 2nd chart as when At/Ap≥1 is satisfied, two stacks 40a and 40b with currents A1 and A2 being driven when At is greater than or equal to 2*Ap, shown in the 3rd chart as when At/Ap≥2 is satisfied, and so on for the remaining stacks; Paragraphs 0042-0044).
Taguchi does not teach the driven electrolysis stacks being deactivated in the same order as they were activated, instead teaching them being deactivated in the reverse order (see e.g. Fig. 9 and Paragraphs 0041-0044, power to the respective stacks for distribution examples 2 and 3 being in order of stacks 40a-40d and respective currents A1-A4 in accordance with increase in total available current/power At from and therefore being stopped in the reverse order when At decreases, e.g. when At/Ap goes from ≥4 to ≥3, all cells 40a-40d being supplied with currents A1-A4 goes to only cells 40a-40c being supplied with currents A1-A3).
Muyeen teaches a switching strategy for a hydrogen generator comprising multiple controlled electrolyzer units (see e.g. Abstract), wherein operation of each electrolyzer unit is determined according to a FIFO (First-In-First-Out) algorithm with an electrolyzer unit started first also stopping first, i.e. with the units being deactivated in the same order that they were activated (see e.g. Page 1176, Col. 1, lines 3-7 and 18-20), this strategy allowing for the operation time of the different electrolyzer units to be balanced without inclination of operation time of an individual unit, increasing their service life (see e.g. Page 1176, Col. 1, lines 1-3 and 20-21, and Page 1179, Col. 1, lines 10-14).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the controller of Taguchi to operate the electrolysis stacks according to a FIFO algorithm, i.e. with the electrolysis stacks deactivated in the same order they were activated, as taught by Muyeen to allow the operation time for the different stacks to be balanced without inclination of an individual stack, increasing their service life.
Regarding claim 2, modified Taguchi teaches the stack driving conditions consisting of n=4 numbers of conditions according to n=4 numbers of ranges of the amount of the power supply, the controller determining whether or not each of the electrolysis stacks is to be driven according to the n=4 numbers of the stack driving conditions determined on the basis of the minimum amount of operating power supply preset in advance for each of the electrolysis stacks, and an electrolysis stack to be driven is allocated for each of the stack driving conditions (see e.g. Taguchi Fig. 9, Paragraph 0037, lines 4-6, and Paragraphs 0041 and 0043-0045, power/current supplied to electrolysis stacks individually adjusted in response to output power of power source and the value At/Ap being in four specific ranges of 1≤At/Ap<2, 2≤At/Ap<3, 3≤At/Ap<4, At/Ap≥4, equating to four ranges of the total applied power/current At).
Regarding claim 3, modified Taguchi teaches all of the n=4 electrolysis stacks having the same stack capacity (A) (see e.g. Taguchi Fig. 7 and Paragraphs 0037 and 0043, all the electrolysis stacks 40a to 40d with the same minimum efficiency peak current Ap, which is a proportion of the total potential power-receiving capacity at which electrolysis efficiency peaks).
Regarding claim 5, modified Taguchi teaches, among the stack driving conditions, a first stack driving condition in which a first electrolysis stack is operable with a minimum amount of supplied power is set to αA ≤ amount of supplied power < 2αA, and the controller controls to drive only the first electrolysis stack under the first stack driving condition (see e.g. Taguchi Fig. 9, with distribution examples 2 and 3, only stack 40a receiving current A1 when 1≤At/Ap<2, equal to Ap≤At<2Ap; Paragraphs 0042-0044), and the electrolysis stacks allocated to the stack driving conditions, respectively, are controlled to be sequentially driven in a driving start order according to an increase of the amount of the supplied power (see e.g. Taguchi Fig. 9, with distribution examples 2 and 3, as the total supplied power/current At increases stacks 40a-40d are sequentially supplied with currents A1-A4).
Regarding claim 7, modified Taguchi teaches, after some of the electrolysis stacks are stopped due to the decrease in the amount of supplied power, when some of the electrolysis stacks need to be additionally driven as the amount of the supplied power increases again, the controller allows the electrolysis stacks allocated to each of the stack driving conditions to be driven (see e.g. Taguchi Fig. 9 and Paragraphs 0041-0044, power to the respective stacks is distributed and adjusted according to fluctuations, i.e. increase and decrease, of the power generated by the solar cell).
Regarding claim 8, Taguchi teaches an operation control method for an electrolysis stack module powered by a renewable energy power generation device (see e.g. Fig. 1, function of control circuit 44 for electrolysis device 14 powered by power supply device 18 comprising solar cell 16; Paragraphs 0020 and 0028), the operation control method comprising controlling driving, by a controller electrolysis stacks, the controlling driving including receiving, by the controller, power from the renewable energy power generation device, distributing, by the controller, power supply to n=4 electrolysis stacks (see e.g. Fig. 1, power to four electrolysis stacks 40a, 40b, 40c, 40d distributed and adjusted by control circuit 44 via power adjustment units 42a, 42b, 42c, 42d; Paragraphs 0024-0025 and 0028),
determining, by the controller, whether or not to drive each electrolysis stack according to stack driving conditions, no less than two, on a basis of a minimum amount of operating power supply preset in advance for each of the electrolysis stacks (see e.g. Figs. 7 and 9, power controlled to be distributed to the four stacks on the basis of four different conditions of a value At/Ap based on a minimum Ap point at which a peak efficiency is reached; Paragraph 0037 and Paragraphs 0042-0045), and
driving, by the controller, the electrolysis stacks according to the stack driving conditions to which an amount of power supplied from the renewable energy power generation device corresponds, wherein the stack driving conditions are ranges of an amount of the power supply in which on/off of the electrolysis stacks is predetermined (see e.g. Fig. 9, Paragraph 0037, lines 4-6, and Paragraphs 0041 and 0043-0045, power/current supplied to electrolysis stacks individually adjusted in response to output power of power source and the value At/Ap being in specific ranges),
wherein the controller determines one or more electrolysis stacks that need to be driven from the electrolysis stacks (see e.g. Figs. 1 and 9, control circuit 44 determines which of the electrolysis stacks 40a, 40b, 40c and 40d receive power as indicated by their respective designated distributed currents A1, A2, A3 and A4; Paragraphs 0024, 0028 and 0042),
wherein as the supplied power increases, the controller sequentially drives the determined one or more electrolysis stacks from a first electrolysis stack (see e.g. Fig. 9 and Paragraphs 0041-0044, with distribution examples 2 and 3, as the total supplied power/current At increases stacks 40a-40d are sequentially supplied with currents A1-A4, e.g. with only stack 40a supplied with current A1 when At/Ap≥1 followed by stacks 40a and 40 b with currents A1 and A2 when At/Ap≥2),
wherein as the supplied power decreases, the controller sequentially deactivates the driven electrolysis stacks (see e.g. Fig. 9 and Paragraphs 0041-0044, power to the respective stacks for distribution examples 2 and 3 being in order of stacks 40a-40d and respective currents A1-A4 in accordance with increase in total available current/power At from and therefore being stopped in the reverse order when At decreases, e.g. when At/Ap goes from ≥4 to ≥3, all cells 40a-40d being supplied with currents A1-A4 goes to only cells 40a-40c being supplied with currents A1-A3), and
wherein the minimum amount of operating power supply is determined by a minimum operation coefficient (α) and the stack capacity (A) (see e.g. Fig. 7 and Paragraphs 0037 and 0043, all the electrolysis stacks 40a to 40d with the same minimum efficiency peak current Ap, which is a proportion, i.e. a fraction coefficient, of the total potential power-receiving capacity at which electrolysis efficiency peaks),
wherein ranges of the amount of power supply for the stack driving conditions are determined such that the upper limit values and lower limit values thereof are based on multiples of the minimum amount of operating power supply (see e.g. Fig. 9, with distribution examples 2 and 3, the lower limit and upper limit between which each stack is operated are multiples of the minimum efficiency peak current Ap, with for example only stack 40a receiving current A1 when the available current/power At is between 1*Ap and 2*Ap, shown in the 2nd chart as when At/Ap≥1 is satisfied but At/Ap≥2 is not satisfied, two stacks 40a and 40b with currents A1 and A2 being driven when At is between 2*Ap and 3*Ap, shown in the 3rd chart as when At/Ap≥2 is satisfied but At/Ap≥3 is not satisfied, and so on for the remaining stacks; Paragraphs 0042-0044), and
wherein the controller is configured to determine a number of electrolysis stacks to be driven based on a proportional relationship between a lower limit value of a range of the amount of the power supply including the supplied power among the stack driving conditions and the minimum amount of operating power supply (see e.g. Fig. 9, with distribution examples 2 and 3, the number of stacks determined to be operated N is the lower limit at which each stack is operated divided by the minimum efficiency peak current Ap, i.e. proportional thereto, with for example only stack 40a receiving current A1 when the available current/power At greater than or equal to 1*Ap, shown in the 2nd chart as when At/Ap≥1 is satisfied, two stacks 40a and 40b with currents A1 and A2 being driven when At is greater than or equal to 2*Ap, shown in the 3rd chart as when At/Ap≥2 is satisfied, and so on for the remaining stacks; Paragraphs 0042-0044).
Taguchi does not teach the driven electrolysis stacks being deactivated in the same order as they were activated, instead teaching them being deactivated in the reverse order (see e.g. Fig. 9 and Paragraphs 0041-0044, power to the respective stacks for distribution examples 2 and 3 being in order of stacks 40a-40d and respective currents A1-A4 in accordance with increase in total available current/power At from and therefore being stopped in the reverse order when At decreases, e.g. when At/Ap goes from ≥4 to ≥3, all cells 40a-40d being supplied with currents A1-A4 goes to only cells 40a-40c being supplied with currents A1-A3).
Muyeen teaches a switching strategy for a hydrogen generator comprising multiple controlled electrolyzer units (see e.g. Abstract), wherein operation of each electrolyzer unit is determined according to a FIFO (First-In-First-Out) algorithm with an electrolyzer unit started first also stopping first, i.e. with the units being deactivated in the same order that they were activated (see e.g. Page 1176, Col. 1, lines 3-7 and 18-20), this strategy allowing for the operation time of the different electrolyzer units to be balanced without inclination of operation time of an individual unit, increasing their service life (see e.g. Page 1176, Col. 1, lines 1-3 and 20-21, and Page 1179, Col. 1, lines 10-14).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the method of Taguchi to operate the electrolysis stacks controlled according to a FIFO algorithm, i.e. with the electrolysis stacks deactivated in the same order they were activated, as taught by Muyeen to allow the operation time for the different stacks to be balanced without inclination of an individual stack, increasing their service life.
Regarding claim 9, modified Taguchi teaches, in a driving state of the electrolysis stack module:
measuring the current power supply (see e.g. Taguchi Paragraph 0031, lines 1-2, control circuit estimates power generated by solar cell);
checking whether the amount of power supply is increased or decreased by comparing, by the controller, a previously measured amount of power supply and the currently measured amount of power supply; and performing, by the controller, power supply control according to a result of the checking whether the amount of the power supply is increased or decreased, wherein the performing of the power supply control includes controlling, by the controller, the amount of the power supply supplied to electrolysis stacks allocated to the stack driving conditions allocated to the stack driving conditions according to the increased or decreased amount of the power supply (see e.g. Taguchi Fig. 9 and Paragraphs 0041-0044, power to the respective stacks is distributed and adjusted according to fluctuations, i.e. increase and decrease in comparison to a previous amount, of the power generated by the solar cell).
Regarding claim 10, modified Taguchi teaches the stack driving conditions consisting of n=4 numbers of conditions according to n=4 numbers of ranges of the amount of the power supply, and the operation control method further comprising: determining, by the controller, whether or not each of the electrolysis stacks is to be driven according to the n=4 numbers of the stack driving conditions determined on the bases of the minimum amount of operating power supply preset in advance for each of the electrolysis stacks, and electrolysis stack to be driving being allocated for each of the stack driving conditions (see e.g. Taguchi Fig. 9, Paragraph 0037, lines 4-6, and Paragraphs 0041 and 0043-0045, power/current supplied to electrolysis stacks individually adjusted in response to output power of power source and the value At/Ap being in four specific ranges of 1≤At/Ap<2, 2≤At/Ap<3, 3≤At/Ap<4, At/Ap≥4, equating to four ranges of the total applied power/current At).
Regarding claim 11, modified Taguchi teaches all of the n=4 electrolysis stacks having the same stack capacity (A) (see e.g. Taguchi Fig. 7 and Paragraphs 0037 and 0043, all the electrolysis stacks 40a to 40d with the same minimum efficiency peak current Ap, which is a proportion of the total potential power-receiving capacity at which electrolysis efficiency peaks).
Regarding claim 13, modified Taguchi teaches, among the stack driving conditions, a first stack driving condition in which a first electrolysis stack is operable with a minimum amount of supplied power is set to αA ≤ amount of supplied power < 2αA, and the controller controls to drive only the first electrolysis stack under the first stack driving condition (see e.g. Taguchi Fig. 9, with distribution examples 2 and 3, only stack 40a receiving current A1 when 1≤At/Ap<2, equal to Ap≤At<2Ap; Paragraphs 0042-0044), and the electrolysis stacks allocated to the stack driving conditions, respectively, are controlled to be sequentially driven in a driving start order according to an increase of the amount of the supplied power (see e.g. Taguchi Fig. 9, with distribution examples 2 and 3, as the total supplied power/current At increases stacks 40a-40d are sequentially supplied with currents A1-A4).
Regarding claim 15, modified Taguchi teaches, when it is confirmed that, after the power supply control is performed as the amount of power supply decreases, and after some of the electrolysis stacks are stopped to be driven due to the decrease in the amount of the supplied power, the amount of the supplied power increases again through the checking whether the amount of power is increased or decreased, the operation control method further comprises: checking, by the controller, whether some of the electrolysis stacks need to be driven or not additionally as the amount of supplied power increases again, and allowing, by the controller, the electrolysis stacks allocated to the respective stack driving conditions to be driven when it is confirmed that some of the electrolysis stacks need to be driven additionally (see e.g. Taguchi Fig. 9 and Paragraphs 0041-0044, power to the respective stacks is distributed and adjusted according to fluctuations, i.e. increase and decrease, of the power generated by the solar cell).
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 06/22/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
On page 8, Applicant argues that Taguchi does not disclose or suggest a configuration in which the power supply ranges for stack driving conditions are defined based on multiples of a minimum amount of operating power supply, nor does Taguchi disclose determining the number of stacks to be driven based on a proportional relationship between the lower limit value of a power supply range and the minimum amount of operating power supply, specifically because Taguchi teaches power/current to the stacks being individually adjusted to maximize efficiency. This is not considered persuasive. Taguchi teaches power for the electrolysis stacks needing to be above a certain level, i.e. a minimum, to operate at a peak efficiency (see e.g. Taguchi Paragraph 0037), then, in individually controlling the electrolysis stacks, the number of stacks to be driven and ranges of power assigned for each number of stacks, i.e. driving conditions, are based on multiples of/proportional to this minimum level (see e.g. Taguchi Fig. 9, in distribution examples 2 and 3, with Ap as the efficiency peak current/power, i.e. minimum amount, no stacks are driven when the available current/power At is less than Ap, shown in the top chart as when At/Ap≥1 is not satisfied, one stack with current A1 is driven when At is between 1*Ap and 2*Ap, shown in the 2nd chart as when At/Ap≥1 is satisfied but At/Ap≥2 is not satisfied, two stacks with currents A1 and A2 are driven when At is between 2*Ap and 3*Ap, shown in the 3rd chart as when At/Ap≥2 is satisfied but At/Ap≥3 is not satisfied, and so on for the remaining stacks; Paragraphs 0040-0044).
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
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/M.S.J./Examiner, Art Unit 1795
/LUAN V VAN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1795
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