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 .
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 final rejection. 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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 01/07/2026 has been entered.
Status of Claims
Claims 1, 4, 6-8, 12-13 and 15 were rejected in the Office Action from 11/06/2025.
Applicant filed a response, amended claim 1 and cancelled claims 4 and 13.
Claims 1, 6-8, 12 and 15 are pending in the application, of claims 10-11 are withdrawn from consideration.
Claims 1, 6-8, 12 and 15 are being examined on the merits in this Office Action.
Claim Objections
Claim 1 is objected to because of the following informalities:
In claim 1, line 9, it is suggested to amend “through which a vacuum is applied to the at least one filter element” to - -configure to apply a vacuum to the at least one filter element- -.
Appropriate correction is required.
Response to Arguments
In response to the amendments in the claims, the previous claim objection and the previous 35 U.S.C. 112(a) rejections are withdrawn from the record.
Applicant primarily argue Volk’s interface (electronic control element 94) is an external control separate from the filter unit and is not physically connected to the filter element therefore, cannot be the claimed “at least one interface”.
Examiner respectfully disagrees. As an initial matter, the claimed “at least one interface” is generic and not particularly defined in the claims. According to the specification, “the interface” for applying a vacuum may be a valve in the filter unit that can be opened or closed in order to allow a vacuum provided by an external suction device. However, this is not recited in the claim. The “one interface” can be interpreted and defined as such, a boundary, surface, or point of interaction between elements, systems regions or materials. In this case, control element 94 can be interpreted as an interface that controls a vacuum which meets the requirements of the claimed limitations. Second, Applicant asserts that Volk’s interface is an external control and not physically connected to the filter element however, the claims do not recite the interface being physically or directly connected to the filter element or to a filter element boundary. Moreover, it is well known in the art of fuel cells that most components within the system are connected to each other in order to ensure proper function and operation of the system.
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.
Claim(s) 1, 4, 6-8, 12-13 and 15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Volk et al. (U.S. Patent Application Publication 2016/0129383) and further in view of Nanning et al. (CN109400202A) and Schroeter (U.S. Patent Application Publication 2006/0096456).
The Examiner has provided a machine translation of CN109400202A. The citation of the prior art in this rejection refer to the machine translation.
Regarding claims 1 and 15, Volk teaches a filter unit (i.e., filter element) (10) (paragraph [0066]-[0067], [0097]) (see figures 1 and 10) for filtering a fluid (i.e. medium to be filtered, particularly air) (paragraph [0067) for a fuel cell (paragraph [0097]),
wherein the filter unit comprises at least one filter element (i.e., carrier body) (12) (paragraph [0067]) with a filter material which includes silica (paragraph [0015]-[0019]).
Volk does not teach the specifics of the cyclodextrin.
Nanning, directed to a filter (page 1, line 14-15), address this deficiency by teaching a filter material having cyclodextrin and ceramic foam (page 2, lines10-21). Nanning teaches the filter has good heat resistance, large specific surface area and uniform pores and strong filtration and purification effects (page 2, lines 50-10).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the filter material of Volk to include cyclodextrin as taught by Nanning, in order to have good heat resistance, large specific surface area and uniform pores and strong filtration and purification effects.
Volk does not teach the specifics of at least one temperature control element comprising a heater and/or cooler and configured to adjust the temperature of the filter element to facilitate the impurities to be released from the at least one cyclodextrin material.
Schroeter, directed to an arrangement for filtering (i.e., purifying) gases to be fed in a fuel cell (paragraph [0001]), teaches heating the filter element (i.e., filter system) (12) (Note: in order to heat the filter element, a heater or heating element must necessarily be present) in order to remove impurities (i.e., gases bound) and regenerate the filter element (paragraph [0027]).
Volk as modified by Nanning, teaches the filter unit that includes a cyclodextrin material. Schoreter provides the guidance of a filter unit being heated to facilitate the removal of impurities and regenerate the filter element for further use.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the filter element of Volk to include a heater in order to heat the filter element and facilitate the removal of impurities captured by the cyclodextrin material as suggested by Schroeter.
Further, Volk teaches the filter unit comprises at least one interface (i.e., element) (94) through which a vacuum is applied to the at least one filter element (i.e., controlled by pressure for example, a vacuum box) (paragraph [0092]).
Regarding claim 6, Volk teaches a fuel cell system (200) (see figure 10) (paragraph [0097]) comprising:
A fuel cell stack (220) (paragraph [0097]) (see figure 10 below), and
the filter unit (10, 100) as described above in claim 1 (see figure 10 below) (paragraph [0066]-[0067], [0097]) disposed in line for supplying a fluid to the fuel cell stack and configured to clean the fluid of impurities (paragraph [0067], [0097]-[0100]).
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Regarding claim 7, Volk does not explicitly articulate the specifics as recited in the instant claim however, such is implicit as the filter must necessarily act as a pressure reducer when air passes through due to friction and resistance from the filter material. When air passes through the filter, it encounters resistance due to contact with the filter material and when the filter captures particles or contaminants, additional resistance to airflow is created. As such, it is interpreted that Volk meets the requirements of the claimed limitations.
Regarding claim 8, Volk, teaches the filter unit and the fuel cell system as described above in claim 1 and 6. Volk teaches fuel cell systems of high power applications (paragraph [0008]) which encompass solid oxide fuel cells or membrane fuel cell systems.
Regarding claim 12, Volk as modified by Nanning, teaches the filter material is silica (paragraph [0015]-[0019]) and ceramic foam (page 2, lines10-21 - Nanning).
Pertinent Prior Art
The following prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
Kinoshita et al. (U.S. Patent Application Publication 2019/0016605). Kinoshita teaches an interface (i.e., vacuum pump) in a filter configured to suck particles from the filter (paragraph [0088]).
Correspondence
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CHRISTIAN ROLDAN whose telephone number is (571)272-5098. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Thursday 9:00 am - 7:00 pm.
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/CHRISTIAN ROLDAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1723