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 Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see pp. 5-7, filed June 24, 2026, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 1 and 4-15 under 35 USC 102 and 103 have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of Uozumi (US 2005/0130008 A1) and Chow et al. (US Patent 4,534,512 A).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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.
Claim(s) 1, 4, 6, 7, and 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Uozumi (US 2005/0130008 A1) in view of Chow et al. (US Patent 4,534,512 A).
Regarding Claim 1, Uozumi discloses an anode circuit (fuel cell system 100, see [0021] and Figure 1 & 9A, where the pump and lines recirculating anode exhaust gas from the fuel cell outlet through the pump and into the fuel cell inlet read on the anode circuit) for a fuel cell (fuel cell 1, see [0021] and Figure 1) having at least one gas jet pump (ejector unit 50C, see Figure 9A ); for recirculating anode exhaust gas (see Fig. 1 and [0025], [0042] which describes hydrogen from fuel cell exhaust being recirculated via ejectors 5, 7 and 9 back to the fuel cell, where ejector unit 50C of Figure 9A comprises of ejector sections 57a, 59a & 61a which are equivalent to ejectors 5, 7 and 9 of Figure 1); comprising at least one nozzle (nozzles 63a, 65a and 67a; Figure 9A), through which the fuel gas (hydrogen, see [0022]) is able to flow as a fuel gas flow (flow rate of hydrogen, see [0022] ) and which comprises a fuel gas line (hydrogen inlet port passages 11 and 17, see [0023] and Figure 1, which is equivalent to 49a of Figure 9A), a recirculation line (recirculation branch flow passages 35, 37, 39 and 41 of Figure 1, which is equivalent to 53a of Figure 9A) and an outflow line (common flow passage 23, 29, see [0024] and Figure 1 which is equivalent to 51a of Figure 9A) wherein a plurality of nozzles (nozzles 63a, 65a and 67a; see Figure 9A) having different geometries are arranged in a nozzle body (valve body 47a [0066], where nozzles have different specifications i.e. diameters, see [0070] and Figure 9A ) which is movable relative to the fuel gas line (hydrogen inlet port passages 11 and 17, see [0023] & Figure 1, which is equivalent to 49a of Figure 9A, where valve body 47a is available for sliding movement in the vertical direction with respect to a central axis and rotationally movable, see [0067-0070] ) such that one of the nozzles is selectively useable, respectively (nozzles 63a, 65a and 67a in ejector sections 57a, 59a & 61a are selected through a sliding and rotational movement of valve body 47a; see [0070] and Figure 9A).
Uozumi does not teach that the nozzle body is rotatably movable about an axis of rotation, with the axis off-center relative to the fuel line and the nozzles arranged on a constant radius around the axis. Chow is directed to a fluid dispenser (Chow Title). Chow discloses a nozzle body (turret 20) for selecting a desired nozzle with nozzles (54) equidistant from a central axis (screw 160) that is off-center relative to the supply line (outlet chamber 55) (Chow Figs. 2 and 3). The slidable nozzle body of Uozumi and the turret of Chow are both means of selectively placing desired nozzles at the outlet of a fluid flow and are therefore art-recognized equivalents for the same purpose, and substituting equivalents known for the same purpose is prima facie obvious (MPEP 2144.06 II). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant invention to select any conventional means for selecting the nozzles of Uozumi, including the turret of Chow.
Regarding Claim 4, Uozumi discloses all of the limitations as set forth above and further discloses:
wherein the fuel gas line (49a which is equivalent to 11 & 17 in Figure 1) and outflow line (51a which is equivalent to 23 in Figure 1) are configured to be aligned (see Figures 9A & 9B).
Regarding Claims 6, 7 and 10, Uozumi discloses all of the limitations as set forth above and further discloses:
wherein the recirculation line (35, 41 and 53a) is formed at an angle to the fuel gas line or outflow line (51a, 23 and 29) (as required by claims 6 and 10) and wherein the angle is approximately 90° (as required by claim 7) (Uozumi discloses recirculation line (53a) formed at a 90° angle to the fuel gas line (49a) (see annotated Figure 9A below).
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Claim(s) 8, 12, 14, and 15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Uozumi in view of Chow as applied to claims 1, 4, 6, and 7 above, and further in view of Saito et al. (US 2002/0022171 A1).
Regarding claims 8, 12, 14, and 15, modified Uozumi does not disclose any particular purpose for the fuel cell. Saito is directed to a fuel cell system (Saito Abstract). Saito teaches that fuel cells may be used to power electric vehicles (Saito [0032]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant invention to use the fuel cell of modified Uozumi for any conventional purpose, including in a vehicle.
Claims 5, 9, 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Uozumi in view of Chow as applied to claims 1 and 4 above, and further in view of Kim (KR 20120057996 A, see machine translation attached to the action mailed February 24, 2026).
Regarding Claims 5 and 9, modified Uozumi discloses all of the limitations as set forth above and further discloses a cylindrical nozzle body (47) (see [0030]) but does not explicitly teach wherein the nozzle body tapers at the outer circumference thereof in the flow direction of the fuel gas flow.
Kim teaches an anode circuit (parallel multi-stage hydrogen recirculation ejector device, see Figure 1 and [0013]); a fuel cell (fuel cell, [0013]); at least one nozzle (plurality of ejector nozzles 3); fuel gas (hydrogen, [0016]); fuel gas line (see flow direction of fuel gas in annotated Figure 5 below); recirculation line (see annotated Figure 5 below); outflow line (see annotated Figure 5 below); plurality of nozzles (plurality of ejector nozzles 3); nozzle body (chamber body 1, see Figure 2 and [0014], wherein nozzles 3 inside chamber body 1 have varying diameters (see annotated Figure 5 below).
Accordingly, nozzle body (1) is formed in a tapered configuration in the flow direction of the fuel gas as indicated by the horizontal arrows (see annotated Figure 5 below) wherein this configuration allows for new hydrogen and recirculated hydrogen to be introduced and discharged at appropriate operating conditions into the fuel cell stack (see [0014]-0015]).
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Uozumi and Kim are analogous art to the claimed invention as both references are in the field of fuel cell systems. It would therefore have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to substitute the cylindrical valve body of Uozumi with the tapered chamber body of Kim to obtain the predictable result of supplying fuel gas under controlled flow conditions into the fuel cell.
Regarding Claim 11, modified Uozumi discloses all of the limitations as set forth above and further discloses:
wherein the recirculation line (35, 41 and 53a) is formed at an angle to the fuel gas line or outflow line (51a, 23 and 29) (Uozumi discloses recirculation line (53a) formed at a 90° angle to the fuel gas line (49a) (see annotated Figure 9A above).
Claim 13 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Uozumi in view of Chow and Kim as applied to claim 5 above, and further in view of Saito.
Regarding Claim 13, modified Uozumi does not disclose any particular purpose for the fuel cell. Saito is directed to a fuel cell system (Saito Abstract). Saito teaches that fuel cells may be used to power electric vehicles (Saito [0032]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant invention to use the fuel cell of modified Uozumi for any conventional purpose, including in a vehicle.
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 JAMES A CORNO JR whose telephone number is (571)270-0745. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9:00 am - 5:00 pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Niki Bakhtiari can be reached at (571) 272-3433. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/J.A.C/ Examiner, Art Unit 1722
/ANCA EOFF/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1722
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