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 .
This is the initial Office action based on application number 18/063244 filed on 12/08/2022. Claims 1-14 are currently pending and have been considered below.
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election of Group I, directed to a fuel cell system as recited in claims 1-5 and 11-14, without traverse in the reply filed on 12/10/2025 is acknowledged. Claims 6-10 withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected group.
Claim Objections
Claims 1, 11, 14 objected to because of the following informalities:
Regarding to claim 1: In lines 6-7 “a recycling conduit that fluidly connects the fuel exhaust to [[the]] a fuel inlet conduit”.
Regarding to claim 11: In lines 7-8 “wherein the recycling conduit that fluidly connects the fuel exhaust to [[the]] a fuel inlet conduit”
Regarding to claim 14: in lines 8-9 “an anode exhaust cooler bypass fluidly connecting the splitter to the least one hydrogen pump separator”.
Appropriate correction is required.
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-5, 11-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Weingaertner et al. (WO 2020210167 A1).
Regarding to claim 1: Weingaertner et al. disclose a fuel cell system (abstract) comprising:
a hotbox (302) (par. 78, fig. 4);
a fuel cell stack (101) disposed in the hotbox (par. 78, fig. 4);
a fuel exhaust conduit (412) that receives fuel exhaust output by the fuel cell stack (101) (par. 83, fig. 4);
a fuel exhaust separator (462) that separates liquid from the fuel exhaust (par. 85, fig. 4); and
a recycling conduit (414) that fluidly connects the fuel exhaust to a fuel inlet conduit (410) (par. 84, fig. 4).
Regarding to claim 2: Weingaertner et al. disclose a fuel exhaust condenser (460) that reduces liquid content of the fuel exhaust (par. 83, fig. 4).
Regarding to claim 3: Weingaertner et al. disclose the liquid is returned to the fuel exhaust condenser (460) through a water conduit (464) that fluidly connects the fuel exhaust separator (462) and the fuel exhaust condenser (460) (par. 85, fig. 4).
Regarding to claim 4: Weingaertner et al. disclose a bleed valve (417) that removes impurities from the fuel exhaust (par. 87, fig. 4).
Regarding to claim 5: Weingaertner et al. disclose a mixer (422) to fluidly connect the recycling conduit (414) and the fuel inlet conduit (410) (par. 84, fig. 4).
Regarding to claim 11: Weingaertner et al. disclose a fuel cell system (abstract) comprising:
a hotbox (302) (par. 78, fig. 5A);
a fuel cell stack (101) disposed in the hotbox (par. 78, fig. 5A);
a fuel exhaust conduit (412) that receives fuel exhaust output by the fuel cell stack (101) (par. 83, fig. 5A);
a fuel exhaust splitter (558) that fluidly separates fuel exhaust to a recycling conduit (414) and a processing conduit (516) (par. 96, fig. 5A);
wherein the recycling conduit (414) fluidly connects the fuel exhaust to a fuel inlet conduit (410) (par. 96, fig. 5A ), and the processing conduit (516) is fluidly connected to a gas separator (570) (par. 94, fig. 5A).
Regarding to claim 12: Weingaertner et al. disclose the gas separator (570) separates streams of water, carbon dioxide, and a mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide (par. 97).
Regarding to claim 13: Weingaertner et al. disclose carbon dioxide is stored in a carbon dioxide storage device (340) (par. 61, 62, fig. 5A).
Regarding to claim 14: Weingaertner et al. disclose a fuel cell system (abstract), comprising:
a fuel cell stack (101) (par. 46, fig. 3);
an anode recuperator heat exchanger (121) (par. 74, fig. 3);
an anode exhaust cooler heat cooler (125) (equivalent to am anode exhaust cooler heat exchanger) (par. 81, fig. 3);
a splitter (332) located between the anode recuperator heat exchanger (121) and the anode exhaust cooler (125) (par. 19, 46, 78, fig. 3);
first and second hydrogen pump separators (350A, 350B) (par. 46, fig. 3); and
a first separation conduit (316) (equivalent to an anode exhaust cooler bypass) fluidly connecting the splitter (332) to the first hydrogen pump separator (350A) (par. 51, fig. 3).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to PIN JAN WANG whose telephone number is (571)272-7057. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9am-5pm.
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/PIN JAN WANG/Examiner, Art Unit 1717
/Dah-Wei D. Yuan/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1717