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 .
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d). The certified copy has been filed in parent Application No. 10-2020-0188952, filed on 12/31/2020.
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 non-obviousness.
Claims 1-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over An et al. US Pub. No. 20180316028 A1, November 01, 2018 (hereinafter “An”) in view of Kim et al. KR 20190081736 A, July 09, 2019 (Hereinafter “Kim”).
Regarding claim 1, An teaches a humidifier for fuel cells (paragraph 0002), the humidifier comprising: a humidifying module (fig. 3 humifying module 110, paragraph 0061) configured to humidify dry gas supplied from outside using wet gas discharged from a fuel cell stack 10 (fig. 2, paragraph 0044); and a first cap (fig. 3, first cap 120) coupled to one end of the humidifying module, wherein the humidifying module comprises: a mid-case (fig. 3, housing 111, paragraph 0062) open at opposite ends thereof; and a membrane housing 111a disposed in the humidifying module 110, the second housing 111b comprising a plurality of hollow fiber membranes (fig. 3, hollow fiber membrane 112, paragraph 0065), the second housing 111b comprises: a first housing 111a open at opposite ends thereof, the first housing 111a being configured to receive the hollow fiber membranes 112; and a first potting layer (fig. 3, first sub-fixing layers 113a, paragraph 0065) configured to pot one end of each of the hollow fiber membranes 112, the humidifying module comprises: a first packing member (fig. 3, second sub-fixing layers 113b, paragraph 0065) airtightly coupled to one end of the humidifying module through mechanical assembly such that the first cap 120 can fluidly communicate with only the hollow fiber membranes 112; and an outer space (fig. 3 and 4).
However, An fails to disclose a first sealing portion configured to form a hermetic seal between the first packing member and the first potting layer; and a first blocking portion coupled to the first packing member so as to limit a flowable distance of the first sealing portion, and the first sealing portion is disposed in at least one of a first outer space between the first packing member and the first cap based on the first packing member and an inner space disposed on a side opposite the first outer space.
Kim teaches a sealing member 200 (fig. 3, first sealing part 210, paragraph 0052) to hermetically sealing the space formed between a cartridge and a cap case 120 as well as the space inside the middle case 110 (paragraph 0056), the hollow fiber membrane modules is blocked by the potting part 130, and a flow path is formed while other regions are blocked, thereby limiting fluid communication and controlling flow within the humidifier (paragraph 0050). Kim discloses the first sealing portion 210 contacts the inner wall 122 of the cap case and is mounted on the end 111 of the middle case. The second sealing portion 220 is formed on the inner side of the first sealing portion 210 and is formed to surround the potting portion 130 (fig. 3, paragraph 0055), thereby restricting movement of sealing material and separating inner and outer spaces.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the humidifier of An to include the blocking and sealing configurations taught by Kim, such that the sealing portion is structurally limited by a blocking portion in order to improve hermetic sealing and prevent uncontrolled spreading of sealing material. The motivation to combines arises from the well-recognized need in fuel cell humidifiers to improve sealing reliability, prevent leakage, and maintain separation between inner and outer spaces.
Regarding claims 2-5, these claims depend from claim 1 and further recite particular configurations of the first sealing portion, blocking portion, sealant, and corresponding inner and outer recesses. As set forth above with respect to claim 1, An teaches a humidifier structure including a packing member, potting layer, adjacent spaces, and Kim teaches sealing members disposed in recessed regions and bounded by adjacent structural portions that limit sealant flow and form hermetic seals.
The additional limitations of claims 2-5 merely specify alternative placements and arrangements of sealant and blocking structures that perform the known function of limiting a flowable distance of sealant and forming a hermetic seal. Selecting whether a sealant is disposed in an inner space, an outer space, or both, and providing corresponding blocking structures to confine the sealant, would have been an obvious matter of design choice to one of ordinary skill in the art, as such alternatives were known and would have yielded predictable results. The configuration recited in claims 2-5 was not shown to produce any unexpected results or critical difference over the sealing arrangements taught by the applied references. See MPEP §2144.04(IV) (design choice where the claimed structure performs the same function and achieves the same result).
Regarding claim 6, An teaches a humidifier for fuel cells (paragraph 0002), the humidifier comprising: a humidifying module (fig. 3 humifying module 110, paragraph 0061) configured to humidify dry gas supplied from outside using wet gas discharged from a fuel cell stack 10 (fig. 2, paragraph 0044); and a first cap (fig. 3, first cap 120) coupled to one end of the humidifying module, wherein the humidifying module comprises: a mid-case (fig. 3, housing 111, paragraph 0062) open at opposite ends thereof; and a membrane housing 111a disposed in the humidifying module 110, the second housing 111b comprising a plurality of hollow fiber membranes (fig. 3, hollow fiber membrane 112, paragraph 0065); a first packing member (fig. 3, second sub-fixing layers 113b, paragraph 0065) airtightly coupled to one end of the humidifying module through mechanical assembly such that the first cap 120 can fluidly communicate with only the hollow fiber membranes 112; the humidifying module 110 comprises an inner case (fig. 3, first housing 111a) open at opposite ends thereof, the first housing 111a being configured to receive the hollow fiber membranes 112, and a first potting layer 113 configured to pot one end of each of the hollow fiber membranes (fig. 3and 4, paragraph 0065).
However, An fails to disclose a first sealant configured to form a hermetic seal between the first packing member and the cartridge in an inner space disposed on the mid-case side based on the first packing member, the first packing member comprises a first inner recess configured to receive the first sealant, first blocking member disposed at one side of the first inner recess, and a first partition member disposed at the other side of the first inner recess, the first blocking member projects toward the inner space so as to have a larger length than the first inner recess, and the first sealant is located in the first inner recess, the first sealant being configured to form a hermetic seal between the first blocking member and the first potting layer.
Kim teaches a sealing member 200 (fig. 3, first sealing part 210, paragraph 0052) to hermetically sealing the space formed between a cartridge and a cap case 120 as well as the space inside the middle case 110 (paragraph 0056), an inner recess (fig. 4, sealing arm 222, paragraph 0063); the hollow fiber membrane modules are blocked by the potting part 130, and a flow path is formed while other regions are blocked, thereby limiting fluid communication and controlling flow within the humidifier (paragraph 0050). Kim discloses the first sealing portion 210 contacts the inner wall 122 of the cap case and is mounted on the end 111 of the middle case. The second sealing portion 220 is formed on the inner side of the first sealing portion 210 and is formed to surround the potting portion 130 (fig. 3, paragraph 0055), thereby restricting movement of sealing material and separating inner and outer spaces. Kim further discloses a structural (fig. 3, sealing member 200; first sealing portion 210 and second sealing portion 220, paragraph 0066) portion that performs the same partitioning and flow-limiting function
Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the humidifier fuel cell disclosed by An to include the sealing structure taught by Kim, including a sealing member disposed in an inner recess and bounded by adjacent structural portions that limit a flowable distance of a sealant and form a hermetic seal between components. Incorporating the sealing structure of Kim into the humidifier of An would involve the simple substitution of one known sealing arrangement for another to achieve the predictable result of improved sealing reliability and controlled fluid communication within the humidifier.
Regarding claims 7-9, these claims depend from claim 6 and further recite details of sealant bodies, projections, pressing members, and deformation of sealant by adjacent components. Kim teaches a sealing member having multiple sealing portions arranged to surround a potting portion and block undesired flow paths, while An teaches a humidifier module in which such sealing structures are applied to hollow fiber membrane assemblies. Providing projections or pressing members to compress a sealant within a recess is a well-known mechanical technique for improving sealing reliability. Incorporating such features unto the humidifier of An in view of Kim would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art and would have resulted in predictable improvements in sealing performance. See MPEP §2143(I).
Regarding claims 10-13, these claims further recite specific support recesses, support members, and pressing structures in the mid-case configured to receive or support portions of the packing member. An teaches a mid-case that houses and supports components of the humidifying module, while Kim teaches sealing structures supported by adjacent housings at the ends of the module. Modifying the mid-case of An to include recesses or support members for receiving or supporting portions of the packing member would have been an obvious matter of routine mechanical design, as such features are commonly employed to facilitate assembly, alignment, and sealing of modular components. See MPEP §2144 (obvious to optimize or rearrange parts where the result is predictable).
Regarding claims 14-18, these claims depend from the preceding claims and further recite additional structural refinements of the sealing, blocking, partitioning, and support features of the humidifier. As discussed above, the applied references collectively teach sealing members, recessed structures, blocking portions, and housing-based supports that limit fluid communication and form hermetic seals within hollow fiber membrane humidifiers. The additional limitations of claims 14-18 merely recite alternative structural implementations of known sealing and support functions. Selecting specific shapes, lengths, orientations, or relative arrangements of such structural features would have been an obvious matter of design choice to one of ordinary skill in the art, as these alternatives were known and would have produced predictable results. See MPEP §2144.04(IV) (changes in size, shape, or arrangement of parts).
Prior Art of Record
The prior art of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant’s disclosure. Kim et al. WO 2013100677 A1, July 04, 2013 teaches a membrane humidifier for fuel cell system of vehicle, has sealing unit that is disposed between housing and potting unit to hermetically seal the housing.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MIRIAM N EZELUOMBA whose telephone number is (571)272-0110. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8:00am-4:30pm.
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/M.N.E./Examiner, Art Unit 1776
/Jennifer Dieterle/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1776