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 .
Response to Amendment
Upon consideration, the previous rejection of record was withdrawn in light of new amendments. However new rejection is applied to the amended claims. All changes made in the rejection are necessitated by the amendment.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1-2 and 4-15 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Claim Interpretation
Claim 14 recites “…determining a user’s intention to activate a launch control function by a controller…” Examiner submits that such recitation about the user’s intention is unclear and can be construed in several possibilities. Specifically, paragraph [0085] of Applicant’s specification describes such intention as pressing the acceleration pedal according to the outputted signal. Determining a user’s intention is therefore interpreted to include pressing the acceleration or touching the signal displayed on the cluster.
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) 1-2 and 4-15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Pre-Grant Publication No. 2009/0280372 hereinafter Maenaka in view of U.S. Pre-Grant Publication No. 2018/0334160 hereinafter Kava and JP 2021-182529 A hereinafter Tomi.
Regarding Claim 1, Maenaka teaches a fuel cell system [10] mounted on a fuel cell vehicle (paragraph 20), the fuel cell system [10] comprising: a fuel cell stack [12]; an air compressor [16] configured to supply air to the cathode electrode side of the fuel cell stack; and a control section (controller) [18] configured to drive the drive motor of the air compressor in response to a signal output (paragraphs 23, 29) and charge the secondary battery [46] through an output of the fuel cell stack (paragraphs 30, 32).
PNG
media_image1.png
468
696
media_image1.png
Greyscale
Maenaka does not specifically disclose that the control section (controller) is configured to prepare to activate a launch control function and output a signal indicating that the launch control function can be activated when the fuel cell stack output reaches a preset value.
However, Kava teaches a hybrid electric vehicle [10] comprising: an engine [14] and an electric motor/generator (M/G) [18]; a fuel cell; and a controller [50] (paragraphs 10-11, 18), wherein the controller is configured to prepare and activate launch control strategy for the vehicle based on an output signal when the power output reaches a predetermined level, and wherein the vehicle includes a notification system for the launch control strategy (i.e., notification system may be visual, audible, or haptic) (paragraphs 35-42). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine such launch control strategy with the air compressor control method before the effective filing date of the claimed invention because such modification can increase the fuel cell power output with the launch control function based on various conditions or states of the vehicle/components received by the input signals (paragraph 35).
The combination teaches that the controller is configured to control charging and discharging of the secondary battery based on the signal output (paragraph 36 of Maenaka) but does not specifically disclose that the controller sets a capacity lower than the maximum capacity of the battery as the target amount of charging of the battery when the launch control function is deactivated, and increases the target amount of charging upon the launch control function activation request.
However, Tomi teaches a fuel cell system [1] comprising: a fuel cell; a compressor for supplying air to the fuel cell; a control unit for controlling the compressor; a hydrogen tank for storing hydrogen supplied to the fuel cell; a battery; and a drive motor (paragraphs 5, 8, see figure 1), wherein the control unit is configured to set the target amount of charging of the battery based on the upper limit of battery charge/discharge and controls the amount of charging in response to the signal output (see operation of the fuel cell, figure 2).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to control the target amount of battery charging in response to the signal output before the effective filing date of the claimed invention because such modification can suppress excessive charging and discharging of the battery, as well as the deterioration of the system's fuel efficiency (paragraphs 6, 27).
Regarding Claim 2, the combination teaches that the controller is configured to increase the fuel cell power output by increasing the drive control of the air compressor (paragraphs 23, 29 of Maenaka and paragraph 37 of Kava).
Regarding Claims 4-6, the combination teaches that the fuel cell vehicle further comprises a charging or discharging means (i.e., control section and power distribution) [18, 42], a plurality of auxiliary devices (i.e., auxiliary device can include a cooling device) configured to assist the fuel cell stack, and the controller controls the plurality of auxiliary devices (paragraphs 31, 36 of Maenaka).
Regarding Claims 7-10, the combination teaches that the control section (controller) is configured to control the power output of the fuel cell stack in response to power consumed by the plurality of auxiliary devices (paragraphs 30-31 of Maenaka), and the controller is configured to prepare and activate launch control strategy for the vehicle based on an output signal when the power output reaches a predetermined level (paragraphs 35-42). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine such launch control strategy with the air compressor control method before the effective filing date of the claimed invention because such modification can increase the fuel cell power output with the launch control function based on various conditions or states of the vehicle/components received by the input signals (paragraph 35).
Regarding Claims 11-13, the combination teaches that the controller determines a user's intention to accelerate after outputting a signal indicating that the launch control function can be activated, and drives the vehicle when the user is deemed to have an intention to accelerate or deactivates the launch control function when a user is deemed to have no intention to accelerate (i.e., vehicle operator fully depressing both the accelerator and the brake pedals to activate launch control strategy) (paragraphs 35-42 of Kava).
Regarding Claim 14, Maenaka teaches a fuel cell system [10] mounted on a fuel cell vehicle and a method for controlling the fuel cell vehicle (paragraphs 20, 32), the method comprising: driving the drive motor of the air compressor [16] in response to a signal output via a control section (controller) [18] (paragraphs 23, 29) and charging the secondary battery [46] through an output of the fuel cell stack [12] (paragraphs 30, 32).
Maenaka teaches that the fuel cell system [10] comprises: a fuel cell stack [12]; an air compressor [16] configured to supply air to the cathode electrode side of the fuel cell stack; and a control section (controller) [18] configured to drive the drive motor of the air compressor in response to a signal output (paragraphs 23, 29) and charge the secondary battery [46] through an output of the fuel cell stack (paragraphs 30, 32).
Maenaka does not specifically disclose that the control section (controller) is configured to prepare to activate a launch control function and output a signal indicating that the launch control function can be activated when the fuel cell stack output reaches a preset value.
However, Kava teaches a hybrid electric vehicle [10] comprising: an engine [14] and an electric motor/generator (M/G) [18]; a fuel cell; and a controller [50] (paragraphs 10-11, 18), wherein the controller is configured to prepare and activate launch control strategy for the vehicle based on an output signal when the power output reaches a predetermined level, and wherein the vehicle includes a notification system for the launch control strategy (i.e., notification system may be visual, audible, or haptic) (paragraphs 35-42). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine such launch control strategy with the air compressor control method before the effective filing date of the claimed invention because such modification can increase the fuel cell power output with the launch control function based on various conditions or states of the vehicle/components received by the input signals (paragraph 35).
The combination teaches that the controller is configured to control charging and discharging of the secondary battery based on the signal output (paragraph 36 of Maenaka) but does not specifically disclose that the controller sets a capacity lower than the maximum capacity of the battery as the target amount of charging of the battery when the launch control function is deactivated, and increases the target amount of charging upon the launch control function activation request.
However, Tomi teaches a fuel cell system [1] comprising: a fuel cell; a compressor for supplying air to the fuel cell; a control unit for controlling the compressor; a hydrogen tank for storing hydrogen supplied to the fuel cell; a battery; and a drive motor (paragraphs 5, 8, see figure 1), wherein the control unit is configured to set the target amount of charging of the battery based on the upper limit of battery charge/discharge and controls the amount of charging in response to the signal output (see operation of the fuel cell, figure 2).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to control the target amount of battery charging in response to the signal output before the effective filing date of the claimed invention because such modification can suppress excessive charging and discharging of the battery, as well as the deterioration of the system's fuel efficiency (paragraphs 6, 27).
Regarding Claim 15, the combination teaches that the method comprises in preparing to activate the launch control strategy, driving the drive motor of the air compressor driving (i.e., increasing rotational frequency of the drive motor), and the battery is charged through an output of the fuel cell stack (paragraphs 23, 29-32 of Maenaka).
Conclusion
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 nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) 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 mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to OSEI K AMPONSAH whose telephone number is (571)270-3446. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday, 8:00 am - 5:00 pm EST.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, NICHOLAS A SMITH can be reached at (571)272-8760. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/OSEI K AMPONSAH/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1752
Prosecution Insights