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 Amendments
This is a final office action in response to applicant's arguments and remarks filed on
01/15/2026.
Status of Rejections
The rejection of claims 2-6 under 35 USC 101 is withdrawn in view of the Applicant’s amendments.
The rejections of claims 15 and 16 under 35 USC 112(b) are withdrawn in view of the Applicant’s amendments.
The rejections of claims 2, 11, and 12 are obviated by the Applicant’s cancellation.
The rejection of claim 1 has been updated in light of the Applicant’s amendments. No new art is cited.
New rejections are made for newly added claims 17 and 18 and for the amended claims 15 and 16.
Claims 1, 3-10, and 13-18 are pending and under consideration for this Office Action.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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, 3, 8, 10-13, and 15-18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Yellepeddi et al (US 20230374681 A1)
Claim 1: Yellepeddi discloses an electrolysis device (see e.g. abstract) comprising:
an electrolysis cell (see e.g. Fig 2) including a cathode part to be supplied with a gas or a liquid containing a substance to be reduced and in which a reduction electrode is disposed (see e.g. “Platinum catalyst” section on Fig 2), an anode part to be supplied with a liquid containing a substance to be oxidized and in which an oxidation electrode is disposed (see e.g. “Iridium catalyst” section on Fig 2), and a diaphragm provided between the cathode part and the anode part (see e.g. “Nation membrane” [sic] on Fig 2);
a supply power property obtaining unit that obtains a property of power that is to be supplied to the electrolysis cell (see e.g. [0017]);
an input gas property obtaining unit that obtains a property of a gas that is to be input to the electrolysis cell (such as pressure or flow rate, see e.g. [0090]);
an electric property obtaining unit that obtains an electric property of the electrolysis cell (such as current, see e.g. [0022]);
an output gas property obtaining unit that obtains a property of an output gas of the electrolysis cell (such as pressure or flow rate, see e.g. [0090]);
a temperature control unit that controls a temperature of the electrolysis cell (see e.g. “Heat ex” on Fig 1);
a temperature obtaining unit that obtains the temperature of the electrolysis cell (see e.g. [0090]);
a data storage unit that stores data from the supply power property obtaining unit, the input gas property obtaining unit, the electric property obtaining unit, the output gas property obtaining unit, and the temperature obtaining unit (see e.g. [0108]; and
a data processing unit to which the data is sent from the data storage unit and that processes the data to determine a state of the electrolysis cell (see e.g. [0107]),
wherein the data processing unit is configured to calculate an equivalent circuit parameter (see e.g. [0052] and [0090]) by fitting using measurement data (see e.g. [0090]: “the machine learning (ML) system 330 tracks the EIS output over time and makes predictions about performance, state-of-health and imminent failures of any of the cells of the electrolyzer system 100. The machine learning system 330 (using the same or a different machine learning model) may optionally take other measured parameters such as…”) from each of the supply power property obtaining unit (see e.g. [0090]: “current as measured at the power supply”), the input gas property obtaining unit (see e.g. [0090]: “H2/O2/H2O flow”), the electric property obtaining unit (see e.g. [0090]: “cell DC voltage measurement”), the output gas property obtaining unit (see e.g. [0090]: “H2/O2/H2O flow”), and the temperature obtaining unit (see e.g. [0090]: “cell temperatures”) and simulation data of an equivalent circuit model of the electrolysis cell (see e.g. [0057]), to detect deterioration based on information of the equivalent circuit parameter (see e.g. [0046]: “to predict whether the cell is operating and degrading normally or abnormally; and optionally, what the abnormality is”), and
wherein the data processing unit is further configured to control an operation condition of the electrolysis cell based on the determined state of the electrolysis cell (see e.g. [0091]).
Claim 3: Yellepeddi discloses that the data processing unit is configured to infer a deteriorated place by comparing the equivalent circuit parameter before real operation or at design time with the equivalent circuit parameter during the real operation (see e.g. [0094]; [0097]).
Claim 8: Yellepeddi discloses that the data processing unit is installed in a cloud and is configured to determine the state of the electrolysis cell remotely (see e.g. [0037]).
Claim 10: Yellepeddi discloses an electrolysis method (see e.g. abstract) comprising:
supplying a gas or a liquid containing a substance (see e.g. Fig 2) to be reduced to a cathode part of an electrolysis cell (see e.g. “Platinum catalyst” section on Fig 2), supplying a liquid containing a substance to be oxidized (see e.g. Fig 2) to an anode part of the electrolysis cell (see e.g. “Iridium catalyst” section on Fig 2), and operating the electrolysis cell (see e.g. [0049]), the electrolysis cell including the cathode part in which a reduction electrode is disposed, the anode part in which an oxidation electrode is disposed (see e.g. [0011]), and a diaphragm provided between the cathode part and the anode part (see e.g. “Nation membrane” [sic] on Fig 2);
obtaining property data of power that is to be supplied to the electrolysis cell (see e.g. [0017]), property data of a gas that is to be input to the electrolysis cell, electric property data of the electrolysis cell (such as pressure or flow rate, see e.g. [0090]), property data of an output gas of the electrolysis cell (such as pressure or flow rate, see e.g. [0090]), and temperature data of the electrolysis cell (see e.g. [0090]), all the data being obtained during the operation of the electrolysis cell; and
processing the property data of the power, the property data of the gas, the electric property data, the property data of the output gas, and the temperature data to obtain an equivalent circuit model and an equivalent circuit parameter of the electrolysis cell, and determining a state of the electrolysis cell, using the equivalent circuit model and the equivalent circuit parameter of the electrolysis cell (see e.g. [0006]; [0055]),
wherein the determining the state of the electrolysis cell comprises calculating the equivalent circuit parameter (see e.g. [0052] and [0090]) by fitting, using the obtained data and simulation data of the equivalent circuit model (see e.g. [0090]), and detecting a deterioration of the electrolysis cell based on information of the equivalent circuit parameter (see e.g. [0046]: “to predict whether the cell is operating and degrading normally or abnormally; and optionally, what the abnormality is”), and
wherein the electrolysis method further comprises controlling an operation condition of the electrolysis cell based on the determined state of the electrolysis cell (see e.g. [0091]).
Claim 11: Yellepeddi discloses that the determining the state of the electrolysis cell comprises determining a deterioration state of the electrolysis cell, using the equivalent circuit model and the equivalent circuit parameter (see e.g. [0092]).
Claim 12: Yellepeddi discloses that the determining the state of the electrolysis cell comprises calculating the equivalent circuit parameter by fitting, using the obtained data and simulation data of the equivalent circuit model (see e.g. [0055]), and detecting a deterioration of the electrolysis cell based on information of the equivalent circuit parameter (see e.g. [0092]).
Claim 13: Yellepeddi discloses that the determining the state of the electrolysis cell comprises inferring a deteriorated place by comparing the equivalent circuit parameter before real operation or at design time with the equivalent circuit parameter during the real operation (see e.g. [0094]; [0097]).
Claim 15: Yellepeddi discloses that the obtaining the data of the electrolysis cell comprises obtaining data of a reference electrolysis cell (see e.g. [0090]), and wherein an electrolysis system is designed based on the equivalent circuit model and the equivalent circuit parameter that are derived from the data of the reference electrolysis cell (cells are added or removed based on model and parameters, see e.g. [0092]).
Claim 16: Yellepeddi discloses
selecting a candidate for the equivalent circuit model (see e.g. [0093]);
calculating the equivalent circuit parameter by fitting such that a square error between the data of the reference electrolysis cell and simulation data of the selected equivalent circuit model becomes small (see e.g. [0098]); and
determining whether the equivalent circuit parameter is valid, using the square error between the data of the reference electrolysis cell and the simulation data of the equivalent circuit parameter (see e.g. [0098]); and
designing the electrolysis cell using the equivalent circuit model and the equivalent circuit parameter determined as valid (see e.g. [0097]).
Claim 17: Yellepeddi discloses a display unit (see e.g. [0107]) that displays information including the equivalent circuit model, the equivalent circuit parameter, and the determined state (see e.g. [0037] and [0091]).
Claim 18: Yellepeddi discloses a display unit (see e.g. [0107]) that displays information including the equivalent circuit model, the equivalent circuit parameter, and the determined state (see e.g. [0037] and [0091]).
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) 3 and 14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yellepeddi.
Claim 3: Yellepeddi discloses that the data processing unit is configured to find a deterioration degree of the equivalent circuit parameter (threshold, see e.g. [0097]), and to determine whether to stop the operation of the electrolysis cell by setting a determination standard for the deterioration degree (abnormal profile, see e.g. [0097]),
Yellepeddi does not explicitly teach that the deterioration degree is represented by [(the equivalent circuit parameter during the real operation) – (the equivalent circuit parameter before the real operation or at the design time)] / (the equivalent circuit parameter before the real operation or at the design time). However, in the case of Yellepeddi and in the case of the instant claim, both determine a deterioration degree that compares a parameter of the system before the real operation or at the design time with a parameter of the system during real operation using the equivalent circuit parameters (see e.g. [0046]; [0097]). It would be obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant invention that the means of determining/calculating the deterioration degree would be considered obvious variants of one another because they are all result in the same thing and are used to make the same determinations.
Claim 14: Yellepeddi discloses determining the state of the electrolysis cell comprises finding a deterioration degree of the equivalent circuit parameter (threshold, see e.g. [0097]), and determining whether to stop the operation of the electrolysis cell by setting a determination standard for the deterioration degree (abnormal profile, see e.g. [0097]).
Yellepeddi does not explicitly teach that the deterioration degree is represented by [(the equivalent circuit parameter during the real operation) – (the equivalent circuit parameter before the real operation or at the design time)]/(the equivalent circuit parameter before the real operation or at the design time). However, in the case of Yellepeddi and in the case of the instant claim, both determine a deterioration degree that compares a parameter of the system before the real operation or at the design time with a parameter of the system during real operation using the equivalent circuit parameters (see e.g. [0046]; [0097]). It would be obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant invention that the means of determining/calculating the deterioration degree would be considered obvious variants of one another because they are all result in the same thing and are used to make the same determinations.
Claim(s) 5 and 9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yellepeddi in view of Ono et al (US 20200002822 A1) as evidenced by Hoshi et al (“Electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide at a series of platinum single crystal electrodes”, Electrochimica Acta, 45 (2000) 4263–4270).
Claim 5: Yellepeddi discloses that the data processing unit is configured to calculate an equivalent circuit as the equivalent circuit model (see e.g. [0055]), the equivalent circuit including: a cathode part that are connected in parallel and to which a series resistance is connected in series; a diaphragm part; and an anode part and a series resistance that are connected in series, the cathode part, the diaphragm part, and the anode part being connected in series (see e.g. Fig 4).
The limitation claiming the cathode part “has a carbon dioxide reduction substance producing part and a hydrogen producing part” is an intended use/function of the cathode. MPEP § 2114 states ‘"[A]pparatus claims cover what a device is, not what a device does." Hewlett-Packard Co. v. Bausch & Lomb Inc., 909 F.2d 1464, 1469, 15 USPQ2d 1525, 1528 (Fed. Cir. 1990) (emphasis in original). A claim containing a "recitation with respect to the manner in which a claimed apparatus is intended to be employed does not differentiate the claimed apparatus from a prior art apparatus" if the prior art apparatus teaches all the structural limitations of the claim. Ex parte Masham, 2 USPQ2d 1647 (Bd. Pat. App. & Inter. 1987) ‘.Yellepeddi discloses that the cathode produces hydrogen (see e.g. Fig 2) and that the cathode can comprise platinum (see e.g. Fig 2). As evidenced by the Hoshi, platinum can reduce platinum. Therefore, Yellepeddi anticipates the limitation.
The limitation claiming the anode part “having an oxygen producing part” is an intended use/function of the cathode. See MPEP § 2114. Yellepeddi discloses that the anode produces oxygen (see e.g. Fig 2).
Yellepeddi does not explicitly teach that the cell is configured to reduce carbon dioxide. However, the means of monitoring and controlling are designed to be used with electrolytic cells in general (see e.g. [0004]). Ono teaches a carbon dioxide reduction cell (see e.g. abstract) and that these cells have “a problem that a deterioration over time of a cell performance such that a production amount of CO is reduced or a cell voltage is increased occurs. For this reason, there has been demanded a carbon dioxide electrolytic device capable of suppressing the deterioration over time of the cell performance” (see e.g. [0005]). Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant invention to modify the device of Yellepeddi so that the cell is a carbon dioxide reduction cells as taught in Ono because the monitoring and controlling of Yellepeddi would be applicable and beneficial for these types of cells.
Claim 9: The limitation claiming that “the electrolysis cell is configured to produce a carbon compound by supplying carbon dioxide as the substance to be reduced, or to produce ammonia by supplying nitrogen as the substance to be reduced” is an intended use/function of cell. See MPEP § 2114. Yellepeddi discloses that the cathode can comprise platinum (see e.g. Fig 2). As evidenced by the Hoshi, platinum can reduce platinum. Furthermore, the means of monitoring and controlling are designed to be used with electrolytic cells in general (see e.g. [0004]). Ono teaches a carbon dioxide reduction cell (see e.g. abstract) and that these cells have “a problem that a deterioration over time of a cell performance such that a production amount of CO is reduced or a cell voltage is increased occurs. For this reason, there has been demanded a carbon dioxide electrolytic device capable of suppressing the deterioration over time of the cell performance” (see e.g. [0005]). Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant invention to modify the device of Yellepeddi so that the cell is a carbon dioxide reduction cells as taught in Ono because the monitoring and controlling of Yellepeddi would be applicable and beneficial for these types of cells.
Relevant Prior Art
Van der Merwe et al (“A Study of the Loss Characteristics of a Single Cell PEM Electrolyser for Pure Hydrogen Production”, IEEE International Conference on Industrial Technology (ICIT), 2013, pages 668-672).
Teaches that “A plot of cell voltage against current density is known as a polarisation curve. The polarisation curve is the standard electrochemical technique to characterise [sp] the performance of electrochemical cells” (see e.g. page 669, col 1, B. Polarization curve) and “The smaller the Tafel slope the better the performance of the cell” (see e.g. page 669, col 1, C. Tafel plot).
Kodama (US 11380941 B2).
Teaches a method of minimizing the square errors in an equivalent circuit model for making determinations about the condition of a unit (see e.g. col 9, lines 40-45; connecting paragraph of col 11 and col 12).
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 01/15/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
In the interview conducted on 12/30/2025, the applicant argued that Yellepeddi does not anticipate claim 1 because the equivalent circuit is determined using the impedance. However, upon further consideration of the reference, [0090] of Yellepeddi states that “As an example, the machine learning (ML) system 330 tracks the EIS output over time and makes predictions about performance, state-of-health and imminent failures of any of the cells of the electrolyzer system 100. The machine learning system 330 (using the same or a different machine learning model) may optionally take other measured parameters such as…” .
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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 ALEXANDER W KEELING whose telephone number is (571)272-9961. The examiner can normally be reached 7:30 AM - 4:00 PM. 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, Luan Van can be reached at 571-272-8521. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ALEXANDER W KEELING/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1795