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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 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.
(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.
Claim(s) 1-9, 14 and 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Lopez et al. (US 20160104908 A1).
Considering claims 1 and 20, Lopez discloses a hydrogen production system comprising: a hydrogen production facility comprising a plurality of electrolyzer units;
a controller in communication with the hydrogen production facility [0094]; and
memory having instructions stored therein executable by the controller [0013] to operate the hydrogen production facility, the instructions comprising:
receiving an instruction signal indicating an available power level [0014];
determining availability states of electrolyzer units in the hydrogen production facility to determine a number of available electrolyzer units [0015];
determining an available load at which each of the available electrolyzer units is capable of operating relative to a base load [0015];
determining a base group of available electrolyzer units (active) having available loads available to consume less than the available power level ([0073];
determining a trim group of available electrotyzer units (added inactive) to consume any remaining power of the available power level not consumed by the base group of available electrolyzer units [0073]; and
operating electrolyzer units of the base group of available electrolyzer units and the trim group of available electrolyzer units to produce hydrogen [0018]. Note that trim group has not been differentiated from the base group in the claim nor clearly defined in the specification.
Considering claim 2, Lopez discloses controlling the base group of available electrolyzer units based on operational states of the base group of available electrolyzer units; and controlling the trim group of available electrolyzer units based on fluctuations in the available power level [0021].
Considering claim 3, Lopez discloses which electrolyzer units are in the base group of available electrolyzer units based on at least one of temperature, maintenance state and accumulated run time; and actively controlling power consumed by electrolyzer units in the trim group of available electrolyzer units as the available power level changes (adding inactive electrolyzers) ([0023] and [0073]).
Considering claim 4, Lopez discloses controlling the trim group of available electrolyzer units based on fluctuations in the available power level by actively controlling output of electrolyzer units in the trim group of available electrolyzer units based on operational states of the trim group of available electrolyzer units [0051].
Considering claim 5, Lopez discloses determining the availability states of the electrolyzer units in the hydrogen production facility comprises determining if the electrolyzer units are at or above a threshold operating temperature [0080].
Considering claim 6, Lopez discloses the threshold operating temperature comprises a first operating temperature where an electrolyzer unit can produce a minimum load or a second operating temperature where an electrolyzer unit can produce a maximum load ([0080]-[0082]).
Considering claim 7, Lopez discloses determining that at least one of the available electrolyzer units is below the threshold operating temperature such that the available load for the at least one available electrolyzer unit is below base load [0083]; and re-determining the available load for the at least one of the available electrolyzers as its operating temperature increases to or above the threshold operating temperature [0086].
Considering claim 8, Lopez discloses the instructions further comprise reducing a total number of operating electrolyzer units as temperature and corresponding output of the available electrolyzer units increases [0072].
Considering claim 9, Lopez discloses determining available electrolyzer units comprises determining which electrolyzer units of a train of installed electrolyzer units are online or offline [0019].
Considering claim 14, Lopez discloses the instructions further comprise: adjusting the base group of available electrolyzer units to allow one or more electrolyzer units of the base group of available electrolyzer units to be taken offline for maintenance [0052].
Claim(s) 1-4, 9, 13, 14 and 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Hinatsu et al. (US 20120175954 A1).
Considering claims 1 and 20, Hinatsu discloses a hydrogen production system comprising: a hydrogen production facility comprising a plurality of electrolyzer units;
a controller in communication with the hydrogen production facility [0095]; and
memory having instructions stored therein executable by the controller to operate the hydrogen production facility, the instructions comprising:
receiving an instruction signal indicating an available power level [0095];
determining availability states of electrolyzer units in the hydrogen production facility to determine a number of available electrolyzer units [0015];
determining an available load at which each of the available electrolyzer units is capable of operating relative to a base load [0117];
determining a base group of available electrolyzer units having available loads available to consume less than the available power level [0114];
determining a trim group of available electrotyzer units (added module) to consume any remaining power of the available power level not consumed by the base group of available electrolyzer units [0112]; and
operating electrolyzer units of the base group of available electrolyzer units and the trim group of available electrolyzer units to produce hydrogen [0116]. Note that trim group has not been differentiated from the base group in the claim nor clearly defined in the specification.
Considering claim 2, Hinatsu discloses controlling the base group of available electrolyzer units based on operational states of the base group of available electrolyzer units; and controlling the trim group of available electrolyzer units based on fluctuations in the available power level [0111].
Considering claim 3, Hinatsu discloses which electrolyzer units are in the base group of available electrolyzer units based on at least one of temperature, maintenance state and accumulated run time; and actively controlling power consumed by electrolyzer units in the trim group of available electrolyzer units as the available power level changes (adding inactive electrolyzers) ([0117]-[0119]).
Considering claim 4, Hinatsu discloses controlling the trim group of available electrolyzer units based on fluctuations in the available power level by actively controlling output of electrolyzer units in the trim group of available electrolyzer units based on operational states of the trim group of available electrolyzer units [0117].
Considering claim 9, Hinatsu discloses determining available electrolyzer units comprises determining which electrolyzer units of a train of installed electrolyzer units are online or offline [0119].
Considering claim 13, Hinatsu discloses determining includes adjusting output of the trim group of available electrolyzer units to compensate for degradation (alarmed) of the individual electrolyzer unit [0117].
Considering claim 14, Hinatsu discloses the instructions further comprise: adjusting the base group of available electrolyzer units to allow one or more electrolyzer units of the base group of available electrolyzer units to be taken offline for maintenance [0119].
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim(s) 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lopes et al. as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Harada et al. (WO 2023042590 A1).
Considering claim 13, Lopez does not disclose that determining includes adjusting output of the trim group of available electrolyzer units to compensate for degradation of the individual electrolyzer unit.
However, Harada teaches that degradation loss of hydrogen producing instrument must be taken into consideration when determining the amount of energy consumed by the hydrogen producing instrument (abstract).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include degradation of the individual electrolyzer unit to adjust the output of the trim group of available electrolyzer units to compensate for degradation of the individual electrolyzer unit, because Harada teaches that degradation loss of hydrogen producing instrument must be taken into consideration when determining the amount of energy consumed, which will obviously affect the number of units used to compensate for the loss.
Claim(s) 15-18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lopez et al. (US 20160104908 A1).
Considering claims 15-17, Lopez discloses teaches the problems of interaction of a renewable energy source with an electricity network when it is wished to inject energy obtained from the renewable energy source into the said electricity network because the renewable energy source is unpredictable because of its intermittence ([0003]-[0010]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have a controller to determine if the power output is above demand such that the instruction signal from the grid controller indicates an excess power level and initiating operation of the hydrogen production facility to consume the excess power level in order to produce hydrogen for energy storage using the excess power as suggested by Lopez.
Considering claim 18, Lopez does not disclose plurality of switches to connect the base group of available electrolyzer units and the trim group of available electrolyzer units to the power grid.
However, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have the operations of connecting the electrolyzers to the power source based on the temperature of the electrolyzers to be operated by plurality of switches, as a known and conventional method.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 10-12 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 an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance: novel and inventive over prior art of record. The closest prior art (Lopez et al. US 20160104908 A1) discloses the system as claimed, except claim 10 requires determining an accumulated run time for each of the available electrolyzer units; ranking the available electrolyzer units in order of lowest accumulated run time; and allocating the available electrolyzer units to the base group of available electrolyzer units based on lowest accumulated run time.
The prior art of record does not disclose nor suggest the instantly claimed invention as a whole.
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Wojciech Haske whose telephone number is (571)272-5666. The examiner can normally be reached M-F: 9:30 am - 6:00 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, James Lin can be reached at 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.
/WOJCIECH HASKE/Examiner, Art Unit 1794
Prosecution Insights