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 .
DETAILED ACTION
Response to Amendment
This Office action addresses claims 1-8, 9 and 10. The claims are newly rejected under 35 USC 102 and 103, as necessitated by amendment. Accordingly, this action is made final.
Claim Interpretation
The limitation that the component is “directly connected” to the fuel cell via a power line is interpreted as there being no additional components in the line, in accordance with Applicant’s remarks of 12/16/25. Accordingly, for example, the contactor (switch) K1 of CN ‘857 is excluded by this language.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
Claims 1, 2, and 4-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by CN 1790043. Regarding claims 1 and 4, the reference is directed to a fuel cell system and a method for operating. The system has a fuel cell stack (1) and a DC/DC converter (18), and the stack is supplied with a medium (water or air) via a component (water pump 15 and associated motor controller 22, or air blower 2 and associated motor controller 21) (Fig. 2). The pump and blower motor controllers are directly connected to the fuel cell stack via a power line, such that they are directly supplied with power via the fuel cell stack (Fig. 2). Regarding claim 1, the output of the fuel cell stack is converted by means of the converter into a voltage of a higher level system (battery 19 and central controller 20) and is made available to the higher level system (Fig. 2). During normal operation of the stack, the pump and blower are directly supplied with power from the fuel cell stack (on page 5 of the translation, it is stated that “the blower motor controller and the pump motor controller are directly connected to the positive and negative electrodes of the fuel cell and the positive and negative poles of the bidirectional DC/DC high voltage terminal. The blower and the water pump motor are DC brushless motors that are compatible with the output voltage of the fuel cell”). Regarding claims 2, 5 and 6, the converter (18) is a bidirectional converter and the component is connected to the converter via a power line so the component can be supplied with power via the converter. Regarding claim 2, during startup, the component is supplied with power via the converter (page 5 of translation). Regarding claim 7, the component supports the voltage level of the fuel cell stack (page 5 of translation). Regarding claim 8, the system comprises a control unit (20), and other controllers shown in Figure 2. Thus, the instant claims are anticipated.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
Claims 3, 9 and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over CN ‘043.
The reference is applied to claims 1, 2, and 4-8 for the reasons stated above. However, the reference does not expressly teach that the control unit is used for controlling the bidirectional operation of the converter as recited in claim 3, or that the medium supplied by the component is a fuel (hydrogen) as recited in claims 9 and 10. For purposes herein the term “fuel” is considered to be distinct from air or oxygen.
However, the invention as a whole would have been obvious to one skilled in the art at the time of filing because it would have been routine practice to use the control unit of CN ‘043 to control the bidirectional operation of the converter. The central controller (20) is shown as providing control signals to units throughout the system in CN ‘043. It is known in the art to use controllers to control DC/DC converters, although this is not expressly shown in CN ‘043. However, such modification is obvious to the person skilled in the art operating the system of CN ‘043 when the DC/DC converter is operated or switched.
Regarding the medium of the component being fuel (hydrogen), it is noted that CN ‘043 teaches that the direct connection is between components that are operable on the fuel cell stack voltage, that is, the air blower and the water pump. In Figure 2, it is shown that a hydrogen solenoid valve 8 is supplied with power at the voltage of battery 19, on the other side of the DC/DC converter. It would have been obvious to also provide the hydrogen supply component as being directly connected to the fuel cell, as with the air blower and water pump. A hydrogen supply component having a voltage matching the fuel cell could be wired in the same way as the other components, thereby simplifying the system. Accordingly, the limitation is rendered obvious.
Conclusion
The following reference is cited herein: CN 103010044, which teaches a fuel cell (11) and a component (air compressor 13), however, a diode (18) is present between the fuel cell and the component which is considered to be excluded by the claims.
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). 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 extension fee 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 date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Jonathan Crepeau whose telephone number is (571) 272-1299. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday from 9:30 AM - 6:00 PM EST.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner's supervisor, Nicole Buie-Hatcher, can be reached at (571) 270-3879. The phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is (571) 272-1700. Documents may be faxed to the central fax server at (571) 273-8300.
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/Jonathan Crepeau/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1725
March 30, 2026
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