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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group I, claims 1-9 in the reply filed on 12/09/2025 is acknowledged.
Claims 10-20 withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected method of operation and controller, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 12/09/2025.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1 and 2 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Lusardi (PGPub 2021/0285364).
Considering Claim 1, Lusardi discloses a fuel cell system (fuel cell system 150 [0024, Figure 2]), the system comprising:
one or more hydrogen fuel cells (fuel cell 160 [0024, Figure 2] using hydrogen gas [0024]) electrically connected and configured to provide electrical power to an electrical load (fuel cell configured to produce electricity [0024], provides power to stationary or mobile machine such as generator [0036]);
a turbocharger comprising a compressor and a turbine (turbochargers 30,40,130,140 contain compressor and turbine [Abstract, 0017, 0023]), wherein the compressor is configured to compress air into compressed air (air compressing function [0019, 0028]) and the turbine is configured to rotate the compressor to compress the air (rotating turbine for compressor [0027, 0021, 0024]);
an air intake manifold configured to receive the compressed air and introduce the compressed air into a cathode side of the one or more hydrogen fuel cells (intake manifold with intake passage 120 [0023, Figure 2] that has air intake passage 186 that supplies compressed air to fuel cell [0028, 0017, Figure 2] at cathode/oxygen side [0025]);
a hydrogen intake manifold configured to receive hydrogen from a hydrogen supply (fuel source passage 148 connected to fuel source 152 [0026, Figure 2] which may include hydrogen gas [0024]) and supply the hydrogen to an anode side of the one or more hydrogen fuel cells (supplies hydrogen to anode/hydrogen side of fuel cell [0025, 0024, Figure 2]);
an exhaust manifold for receiving exhaust gases at a first temperature and first pressure from the cathode side of the one or more hydrogen fuel cells (cathode side via air exhaust passage 164 from fuel cell [0028, Figure 2], flow of exhaust has associated temperature and pressurized exit [0027, 0029]); and
a combustor configured to receive the exhaust gases from the exhaust manifold at the first temperature and pressure (exit gases flow to combustion chamber with a depleted and associated temperature and pressure [0027, 0029, Figure 2]) and combust the exhaust gases with combustor hydrogen from the hydrogen supply or anode exhaust manifold or both (exhaust gases are combusted [0027], combustion chambers 126 operate on fuel [0015], connected fuel source 152 [0026, Figure 2] may include hydrogen [0024] as well as depleted fuel [0027]) from the first temperature and first pressure to a second temperature and a second pressure (exhaust from combustion is at second pressure and temperature [0029]), wherein the exhaust gases at the second pressure and the second temperature are fed to the turbine to rotate a shaft connecting the turbine to the compressor (exhaust gas is fed to rotating turbine [0029], shaft connects compressors to turbines [0019, 0024, 0026]).
Considering Claim 2, Lusardi discloses that the combustor comprises a hydrogen internal combustion engine to combust hydrogen with oxygen in the exhaust gases (internal combustion engine [0023], depleted hydrogen fuel and air is included in combustion chamber [0027, 0029], combustion chambers operate on hydrogen fuel and air [0015, 0027]).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 3, 4, and 7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lusardi (PGPub 2021/0285364) and further in view of Chikugo et al. (PGPub 2019/0088962).
Considering Claims 3 and 4, Lusardi is silent to a load control signal configuration.
Chikugo discloses a fuel cell system comprising a compressor, a turbine, and a combustor [Abstract]. As the required load to the fuel cell stack increases, the opening degree of the combustor hydrogen supply valve is set to be greater [0124] via a controller that controls the fuel cell system [0009] via load signaling [0070]. If the required load is set to be very small, setting the opening degree of the combustor hydrogen supply valve so as to be closed for predicted unneeded combustion would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art. By using recovery power of the turbine and reducing the amount of electric power to be generated by the fuel cell stack, it is possible to suppress the maximum output performance of the fuel cell stack to reduce the size of the fuel cell stack [0191].
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the fuel cell system of Lusardi with the combustor, controller and load signaling of Chikugo in order to suppress the maximum output performance of the fuel cell stack to reduce the size of the fuel cell stack [0191].
Considering Claim 7, the combined teachings of Lusardi and Chikugo are as applied in claims 3 and 4. Chikugo discloses a fuel cell system comprising a compressor, a turbine, and a combustor [Abstract]. An aftercooler is configured to cool the cathode gas that is supplied from the compressor to the fuel cell [Abstract, 0027]. This allows air to reach a temperature suitable for the operation of the fuel cell stack [0066].
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the fuel cell system of Lusardi with the aftercooler of Chikugo in order to allow air to reach a temperature suitable for the operation of the fuel cell stack [0066].
Claims 5 and 6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lusardi (PGPub 2021/0285364) and further in view of Grundei et al. (WO2016/124575 (see attached Machine Translation)).
Considering Claims 5 and 6, Lusardi discloses that exhaust gas is fed to rotating turbine [0029], and that a shaft connects compressors to turbines [0019, 0024, 0026]. However, Lusardi is silent to an ebooster that rotates the shaft and supplies compressed air.
Grundei discloses a fuel cell system [0002]. The fuel cell system has a second compressor, wherein the second compressor is characterized as an e-booster and can be used for quick required high changes in pressure of the cathode operating gas [0030]. It quickly provides a high boost pressure [0032], and is connected to a turbocharger [0071]. Providing an e-booster to the shaft and rotating turbine of Lusardi in order to achieve the predicted result of quickly providing a high boost pressure when needed [0032] would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art.
Claims 8 and 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lusardi (PGPub 2021/0285364) and further in view of Yoshida (PGPub 2008/0110514).
Considering Claims 8 and 9, Lusardi is silent to a humidifier configured to add and remove moisture to the compressed air from the compressor and the exhaust gases respectively.
Yoshida discloses a fuel tank system [Abstract] that comprises a fuel cell [0026]. The air supply system includes a humidifier which adds appropriate humidity to the compressed air [0053], and air-off gas of the fuel cell stack is supplied to the humidifier [0053], so moisture is removed from air-off gas via exchange with compressed air.
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the fuel cell system of Lusardi with the humidifier of Yoshida in order to provide the incoming compressed air with the appropriate humidity for fuel cell function [0053].
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CHRISTOPHER P DOMONE whose telephone number is (571)270-7582. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:00-4:30 PM.
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/CHRISTOPHER P DOMONE/Primary Patent Examiner
Art Unit 1725