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 .
FUEL CELL SYSTEM CONTROL APPARATUS, SYSTEM INCLDUING THE SAME, AND METHOD THEREOF
Examiner: Adam Arciero S.N. 18/132,139 Art Unit 1727 February 3, 2026
DETAILED ACTION
Applicant’s Response to Restriction filed on January 12, 2026 has been received. Claims 1-20 are currently pending. Claims 1-13 and 15-20 have been amended.
Election/Restrictions
Applicant's election with traverse of Group I in the reply filed on January 12, 2026 is acknowledged. The traversal is on the ground(s) that claim 1 is generic to all the claims and there is no serious search burden. This is not found persuasive because there was no Species election requirement, the inventions were shown to be independent and distinct, are classified differently, and one prior art reference may be applicable to one invention and not the others.
The requirement is still deemed proper and is therefore made FINAL. Accordingly Claims 14-20 are withdrawn from consideration.
Specification
The lengthy specification has not been checked to the extent necessary to determine the presence of all possible minor errors. Applicant’s cooperation is requested in correcting any errors of which applicant may become aware in the specification.
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.
Claim(s) 1-13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Dionne (US 2021/0376361 A1).
As to Claim 1, Dionne discloses a fuel cell system control apparatus, comprising: a memory configured to store computer-executable instructions; and a processor configured to access the memory and configured to monitor a voltage output from the array of fuel cell stacks (reads on amount of accumulated power); and to control power of each of the fuel cell stacks based on the monitored accumulated power and depending on the required power (paragraphs [0012, 0058-0059 and 0092]). In addition, the control apparatus of Dionne comprises the same claimed structure and therefore is further intrinsically configured to perform the claimed functions, see MPEP 2112 and 2114. The claimed memory/processor does not positively recite that computer-executable instructions that perform the claimed functions are present and therefore the claimed control apparatus is not structurally different from that disclosed by Dionne.
As to Claims 2-13, Dionne discloses the same claimed control apparatus as discussed above. Dionne further discloses monitoring the degradation of the fuel cells over time in order to maintain a desired power output and when the desired power output can no longer be met, a stack changeout occurs (replacing unusable fuel cells) (paragraph [0055]). Therefore, the control apparatus of Dionne is intrinsically configured to perform all of the claimed functions, see MPEP 2112. Furthermore, the courts have held that apparatus claims cover what a device is, not what a device does, and functional claim language that is not limited to a specific structure covers all devices that are capable of performing the recited function. See Hewlett-Packard Co. v. Bausch & Lomb Inc., 909 F.2d 1464, 1469, 15 USPQ2d 1525, 1528 (Fed. Cir. 1990), MPEP 2114, II and see In re Translogic Technology, Inc., 504 F.3d 1249, 1258, 84 USPQ2d 1929, 1935-1936 (Fed. Cir. 2007), MPEP 2114, IV.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ADAM ARCIERO whose telephone number is (571)270-5116. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8:00-5 ET.
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/ADAM A ARCIERO/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1727