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 invention I in the reply filed on 7/7/2026 is acknowledged.
The species restriction requirement is withdrawn.
Claims 10-17 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b), there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse.
Claim Rejections - 35 U.S.C. § 102
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 1-3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Minamiura et al., U.S. Patent App. Pub. No. 2017/0373329 A1 [hereinafter Minamiura].
The body of the claim is generally written with parentheses following the limitations indicating the prior art's teachings and/or examiner notes. Each claim is numbered at the start and these numbers should not be confused to be paragraph numbers.
1. A porous base layer (gas diffusion layers 20 & 40; Minamiura [0052]-[0053], figs. 2A-2B) comprising:
a base layer body (base of gas diffusion layers 20 & 40; id.) stacked on a membrane electrode assembly (MEA) (stacked on MEA; Minamiura [0042], figs. 2A-2B); and
a protrusion pattern provided on one surface of the base layer body …, the protrusion pattern being configured to define a guide flow path for guiding a movement of a target fluid between the membrane electrode assembly and the base layer body (protrusion patterns on gas diffusion layers 20 & 40 which provide groove-shaped fluid flow paths 22 and 42 which guide oxidant gas and water; Minamiura [0052]-[0053], figs. 2A-2B).
The “that faces the membrane electrode assembly” recitation is intended use. 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. MPEP § 2114. Because the cited prior art teaches the structural limitations of the claim, the prior art is also structurally capable of performing the claimed intentions and therefore reads on the claimed language. See id.
2. The porous base layer of claim 1,
wherein the protrusion pattern includes a plurality of protrusions protruding from the one surface of the base layer body and spaced from one another, and wherein the guide flow path is defined as a space between the plurality of protrusions (protrusions are between each fluid flow path 22/42 which are in the shape of grooves between each protrusion). Minamiura [0052]-[0053], figs. 2A-2B.
3. The porous base layer of claim 1, wherein the guide flow path is defined in an in-plane direction of the base layer body (the fluid flow paths 22/42 are in-plane). Minamiura [0052]-[0053], figs. 2A-2B.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4-9 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: Minamiura et al., U.S. Patent App. Pub. No. 2017/0373329 A1 [hereinafter Minamiura] is the closest prior art of record.
Miamiura teaches:
1. A porous base layer (gas diffusion layers 20 & 40; Minamiura [0052]-[0053], figs. 2A-2B) comprising:
a base layer body (base of gas diffusion layers 20 & 40; id.) stacked on a membrane electrode assembly (MEA) (stacked on MEA; Minamiura [0042], figs. 2A-2B); and
a protrusion pattern provided on one surface of the base layer body …, the protrusion pattern being configured to define a guide flow path for guiding a movement of a target fluid between the membrane electrode assembly and the base layer body (groove-shaped fluid flow paths 22 and 42 which guide oxidant gas and water; Minamiura [0052]-[0053], figs. 2A-2B).
The “that faces the membrane electrode assembly” recitation is intended use. 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. MPEP § 2114. Because the cited prior art teaches the structural limitations of the claim, the prior art is also structurally capable of performing the claimed intentions and therefore reads on the claimed language. See id.
However, Miamiura and the prior art of record do not teach:
4. The porous base layer of claim 1, wherein the guide flow path includes:
a first flow path defined in a first direction thereof; and
a second flow path defined in a second direction intersecting the first direction and configured to fluidically-communicate with the first flow path.
9. The porous base layer of claim 2, wherein a height of the protrusion is defined to be 1 to 20 µm.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Hosung Chung whose telephone number is (571) 270-7578. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Wednesday, 9 AM - 6 PM CT.
Examiner interviews are available by telephone and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. Applicant can schedule an interview online using 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, James Lin can be reached on (571) 272-8902. 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.
/HOSUNG CHUNG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1794
Prosecution Insights