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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 1/19/2026 has been entered.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 12/05/2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. The arguments are presented on pages 6-7 that Kelly and Knoop would not teach fuel flowing through an expansion machine in first and second modes. These arguments are not found persuasive due to the fact that Kelly teaches an expansion machine in fluid communication with a fuel cell and storage tank as seen in fig. 1 [0022-0024, fig 1]. Knoop teaches valves that may be configured to select fuel flow from a hydrogen source to a tank or directly to a fuel cell and teaches the hydrogen source, tank (fuel store 2) and expansion device (5) are connected [0031-0032]. Therefore, Kelly modified by Knoop would be capable of performing the claimed functions since there would be a fuel flow path through the expansion machine.
Applicant’s arguments, see page 6, filed 12/05/2025, with respect to the rejection(s) of amended claim(s) 1 under Kelly and Knoop have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of Kelly, Knoop, and Ewan et al (US 5,346,778, hereafter Ewan). Ewan is relied upon for teaching the benefits of a valve located near a hydrogen tank as detailed in the claim rejections below.
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) 1-5, and 9-13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kelley et al. (US 2010/0025232 A1, hereafter Kelley) in view of Knoop et al. (DE 10008823A1, hereafter Knoop), and further in view of Ewan et al (US 5,346,778, hereafter Ewan).
With regard to claim 1, Kelley teaches an energy recovery assembly comprising:
an electrolyzer configured to provide fuel and an oxidant (electrolyzer 12) [0016];
a fuel cell (fuel cell 54) configured to convert the fuel and the oxidant to electrical energy [0026];
a tank configured to store the fuel or the oxidant (storage tank 22 or 24) [0019, 0024];
a conduction pathway connecting the tank to the electrolyzer and the fuel cell (as seen in fig. 1) [0022-0024, fig 1];
an expansion machine (expansion engine 32) disposed in the conduction pathway and configure to expand a fluid flowing through the expansion machine and to obtain mechanical energy [0022-0024]; and
wherein the fuel flows through the expansion machine (expansion engine 32) [0022-0024, fig. 1].
Kelley does not teach a valve arrangement configured to put the conduction pathway in a first conduction mode in which the fuel or the oxidant is guided to the tank or in a second conduction mode in which the fuel cell or the oxidant is guided to the fuel cell from the tank. However, in the same field of endeavor, Knoop teaches a valve configuration that allows for selecting fuel flow to a tank or directly to a fuel cell [0031-0032]. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to use the valve arrangement of Knoop with the energy recovery assembly of Kelly for the benefit of allowing for rapid reaction to peak loads or low emission operation of the fuel cell [Knoop 0035].
Kelly does not explicitly teach the location of the valve arrangement. However, in the same field of endeavor, Ewan teaches a valve (57) located adjacent to a hydrogen tank (storage bottle 4) [col. 6 lines 1-6, col. 7 lines 25-38, fig. 1]. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to use the valve location adjacent to a hydrogen storage tank of Ewan with the assembly of modified Kelly for the benefit of regulating output from the tank to allow a fuel cell to use stored hydrogen or generated hydrogen [Kelly col. 7 lines 25-38]. When used with the assembly of Kelly the valve would be located between the expansion machine and tank since it is taught by Ewan to be adjacent to the tank.
With regard to claims 2 and 4, Kelley does not teach the claimed valve arrangement. However, in the same field of endeavor, Knoop teaches a multiway valve (capable of selecting between two paths) configuration that allows for selecting fuel flow from a hydrogen source to a tank or directly to a fuel cell and teaches the hydrogen source, tank (fuel store 2) and expansion device (5) are connected [0031-0032]. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to use the valve arrangement of Knoop with the energy recovery assembly of Kelly for the benefit of allowing for rapid reaction to peak loads or low emission operation of the fuel cell [Knoop 0035]. When used with the energy recovery assembly of Kelly the valve arrangement of Knoop would be connected to the hydrogen source (electrolyzer 12) of Kelly.
With regard to claim 3, Kelley does not explicitly teach a shutoff valve in an outlet conduit of the electrolyzer. However, in the same field of endeavor, Ewan teaches an electrolyzer with a shutoff valve (flow control valves 98, 99, which would be capable of altering a flow cross section) located in electrolyzer outlets [col. 7 lines 50-59]. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to use the valves of Ewan with the electrolyzer of modified Kelley for the benefit of maintaining high pressure in the electrolyzer during time it is not powered [Ewan col. 7 lines 50-59].
With regard to claim 5, Kelly does not teach the claimed valve arrangement. However, in the same field of endeavor, Knoop teaches a multiway valve (capable of selecting between two paths) configuration that allows for selecting fuel flow from a hydrogen source to a tank or directly to a fuel cell and teaches the tank (fuel store 2) and outlet of the expansion device (5) are connected [0031-0032]. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to use the valve arrangement of Knoop with the energy recovery assembly of Kelly for the benefit of allowing for rapid reaction to peak loads or low emission operation of the fuel cell [Knoop 0035]. Modified Kelly would not explicitly teach multiple multiway valves, however this would be an obvious variant to one of ordinary skill in the art since it would only require a duplication of parts. See MPEP 2144.04 VI.
With regard to claim 9, Kelly teaches the expansion machine (expansion engine) is configured to convert the mechanical energy to electrical energy (via electrical generator) [0022].
With regard to claim 10, Kelly teaches a generator coupled to the expansion machine (expansion engine) [0022].
With regard to claim 11, Kelly teaches a high pressure electrolyzer that can produce hydrogen and oxygen at up to 10,000 psi (equivalent to a range of 0 to 689 bar) [0017] and would therefore be capable of operating at the claimed pressures.
With regard to claim 12, Kelley teaches a water tank [0018] but does not explicitly teach it is capable of collecting and storing water formed in the fuel cell. However, in the same field of endeavor, Ewan teaches collecting byproduct water from the fuel cell in a tank [col. 4 lines 5-21]. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to use the water tank connected to a fuel cell of Ewan with the energy recovery assembly of modified Kelley for the benefit of being able to use byproduct water from the fuel cell for electrolysis or cooling [Ewan col. 4 lines 5-21].
With regard to claim 13, Kelly teaches a vehicle comprising the energy recovery assembly [0008].
Claim(s) 6-8 and 14-15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kelley, Knoop, and Ewan as applied to claims 1-5, and 9-13 above, and further in view of Endoh et al (US 2004/0031384 A1, hereafter Endoh).
With regard to claims 6-8 and 14-15, Kelley teaches an expansion machine (expansion engine) [0022-0024] but does not teach the claimed details of the expansion machine. However, in the same field of endeavor, Endoh teaches an expansion machine that is a rotary flow machine (claim 6) [0010, 0035, 0077] with a tooth (vanes in vane piston units, claim 7) arrangement [0059, fig. 4] and is a rotary piston expansion machine (reciprocal rotating pistons, claim 14) [0009]. Endoh further teaches the tooth arrangement (vane piston units) comprise a rotatable first section (cylinder member 39) and a second section with an expansion space between (gaps between inner wall of cylinder 39 and piston 41 as seen in fig. 2 and fig. 4, claim 8) [0040-0042, fig. 2, fig. 4]. Endoh further teaches that the rotary flow machine comprises seven teeth (incudes a seventh vane piston unit, claim 15) [0059]. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to use the rotary flow machine of Endoh as the expansion machine of Kelley for the benefit of an expansion machine with enhanced durability [Endoh 0009, 0083].
Conclusion
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/BRENT C THOMAS/Examiner, Art Unit 1724
/STEWART A FRASER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1724