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 .
Summary
This is the initial Office Action based on Application 17/842,233 and is in response to a Request for Continued Examination filed 06/04/2026.
Claims 1-9 and 11-13 are previously pending, no claims have been amended. Claims 1-9 and 11-13 are currently pending and have been fully considered.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim(s) 1 and 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over MIFTAKHOV (US 2022/0381160 A1) in view of EARL (US 2023/0335763 A1) and SRIDHAR (US 7,878,280 B2).
With respect to claims 1 and 13. MIFTAKHOV teaches a hydrogen fuel powered aircraft 10 (paragraph 0013). The aircraft 10 includes a fuselage 20, a propulsor 30, and a hydrogen fuel cell powered electric engine system 100 (paragraph 0014). The system 100 includes the propulsor 30, an air compressor system 120, a turboexpander 130 in fluid communication with a fuel source 140, a heat exchanger 150 in fluid communication with air compressor system 120 and turboexpander 130, a hydrogen fuel cell stack 160 in fluid communication with heat exchanger 150, and a motor assembly 170 in electrical communication with the fuel cell stack 150 (paragraph 0015). Air compressor system 120 includes an air inlet portion 122 and a compressor portion 124 (paragraph 0016). The compressor pushes compressed air to the fuel cell stack 160 wherein the compressed air is converted to electrical energy (paragraph 0016). The hydrogen fuel cell powered electric engine system 100 includes a gas management system such as a heat exchanger 150 and control thermal and/or humidity characteristics of the compressed air from air compressor system 120 for conditioning the compressed air before entering the fuel cell stack 160 (paragraph 0019). The fuel source 140 may store hydrogen fuel (paragraph 0019). The fuel source 140 may then be coupled with the heat exchanger 150 via turboexpander 130 which serves to enable controlled expansion of the hydrogen gas (paragraph 0019).
MIFTAKHOV does not explicitly teach where the fuel delivery system includes a flow of hydrogen fuel and a flow of hydrogen coolant, and a hydrogen/coolant h eat exchanger configured to cool the flow of hydrogen coolant with the flow of the hydrogen fuel.
EARL teaches a fuel cell system including a gas fuel source, a fuel cell stack, and a turboexpander (abstract). The fuel cell system 100 may be used in transportation equipment such as a fuel cell vehicle (paragraph 0018). The fuel cell system includes a fuel supply 102, a fuel cell stack 104, a fluid pathway 108 extending between the fuel supply 102 and the fuel cell stack 104, and a turboexpander generation 110 along a bypass pathway 112 (paragraph 0019). The fuel supply 102 includes a gas fuel source, such as a hydrogen gas tank that fluidly connects to the fuel cell stack via the fluid pathway (paragraph 0019). The turboexpander generator outputs the depressurized second amount of fuel at a temperature that is cooler than the first amount of depressurized fuel from the valve 114, outputting fuel at a temperature as low as -185 C (paragraph 0022). The fuel that exits the turboexpander generator is diverted to other components of the fuel cell system 100, to cool other components due to the lower temperature of the second amount of fuel (paragraph 00230. The component may be at least a heat exchange system 120 that controls the temperature of coolant suppled to the fuel cell stack in order to regulate the temperature of the fuel cell stack (paragraph 0023). Specifically the second amount of fuel from the turboexpander generator is diverted to the heat exchange system, to cool the coolant flowing through the heat exchange system (paragraph 0023).
At the time the invention was filed one having ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to combine the bypass line and turboexpander generator of EARL for the fuel cell system of MIFTAKHOV, as this is a combination of known prior art elements in order to achieve predictable results. Specifically both EARL and MIFTAKHOV teaches fuel cell systems with coolant loops, and then EARL teaches that it is known to use some of the hydrogen fuel to cool the coolant in the heat exchanger.
MIFTAKHOV teaches the heat exchanger in fluid communication with the air compressor system 120 and the turboexpander 130 (paragraph 0015). The heat exchanger 150 is configured to cool the compressed air received form the air compressor system with assistance from the fuel source via the turboexpander 130 (paragraph 0019). The fuel source 140 is the hydrogen fuel, and conditions the compressed air from the air compressor system 120 (paragraph 0019).
Therefore at the time the invention was filed one having ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to have the flow of the hydrogen coolant to cool the flow of compressed air for the system of MIFTAKHOV and EARL, as MIFTAKHOV teaches that the hydrogen coolant is used to cool the compressed air from the compressor via the heat exchanger 150, and then EARL teaches a system with a bypass system for the hydrogen coolant.
Neither MIFTAKHOV nor EARL explicitly teaches the use of a startup hydrogen tank.
SRIDHAR teaches a hydrogen fuel vehicle including a vehicle body and hydrogen fuel tank (abstract). There may include a start-up system (column 5 lines 43-45). The initial hydrogen for the start up may be provided from a small start-up hydrogen gas tank located in the vehicle (column 5 lines 50-55).
At the time the invention was filed one having ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to further include the start-up gas tank as taught by SRIDHAR for the fuel cell system of MIFTAKHOV and EARL, as this is a combination of known prior art elements in order to achieve predictable results. Specifically, SRIDHAR teaches a known fuel cell vehicle system and a start up hydrogen tank, therefore the combination would have been predictable at the time the invention was filed.
MIFTAKHOV does not explicitly teach the claimed juncture where the second fuel delivery system meets the flow from the first fuel delivery system at the juncture. However, this is taken to be a mere rearrangement of parts and would have been obvious at the time the invention was filed. See MPEP 2144.04(VI)C. In re Japikse, 181 F.2d 1019, 86 USPQ 70 (CCPA 1950) (Claims to a hydraulic power press which read on the prior art except with regard to the position of the starting switch were held unpatentable because shifting the position of the starting switch would not have modified the operation of the device.); In re Kuhle, 526 F.2d 553, 188 USPQ 7 (CCPA 1975) (the particular placement of a contact in a conductivity measuring device was held to be an obvious matter of design choice.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-9 and 11-12 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 JONATHAN G JELSMA whose telephone number is (571)270-5127. The examiner can normally be reached Monday through Friday 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Niki Bakhtiari can be reached at (571)272-3433. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/JONATHAN G JELSMA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1722
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