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 Species A (figure 6) in the reply filed on 5/26/2026 is acknowledged.
Full consideration was given to claims 1-7.
Priority
Acknowledgement has been made of applicant’s claim for priority under 35 USC 119 (a-d). The certified copy has been filed on 8/9/2023.
Information Disclosure Statement
The Information Disclosure Statement (IDS) filed 8/9/2023, 12/10/2024, 1/15/2025, 7/8/2025 has been placed in the application file and the information referred to therein has been considered.
Drawings
The drawings received 8/9/2023 are acceptable for examination purposes.
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.
Claims 1 and 2 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a1) as being anticipated by Kim (WO 2019/235800, using US 2021/0151780 for translation and citation).
Regarding claim 1, Kim discloses a membrane humidifier for a fuel cell comprising:
a middle case 110 having a module insertion portion 210 formed therein, the module insertion portion 210 including an outer partition wall formed to be spaced apart from an inner wall of a middle case 110;
a cap case 120 coupled to the middle case;
a hollow fiber membrane module C inserted into the module insertion portion and including at least one hollow fiber membrane bundle having a plurality of hollow fiber membranes integrated therein or at least one hollow fiber membrane cartridge having a plurality of hollow fiber membranes accommodated therein; and
an active pressure buffer formed between the middle case 110 and the module insertion portion 210 to prevent the module insertion portion from expanding due to a pressure difference between the inside and the outside of the middle case or eliminate a pressure difference, depending on an output situation of a fuel cell. See figure 9 and [0049-0050].
Regarding claim 2, the active pressure buffer portion includes a bypass structure M1 formed between the outer partition wall and the inner wall of the middle case. See figure 10 and below:
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Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-7 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:
The closest prior art is Kim (WO 2019/235800, using US 2021/0151780 for translation and citation).
Regarding claim 3, Kim discloses a bypass structure, but does not disclose nor suggest
“wherein the bypass structure includes
a pair of protrusion members formed to be fixed to the outer partition wall, protrude in a direction of the middle case, and be spaced apart from the inner wall of the middle case;
a sliding space formed between the pair of protruding members; and
an insertion member formed on the inner wall of the middle case, protruding in a direction of the outer partition wall, and inserted into the sliding space”
Claims 4-7 depend from claim 3.
Pertinent Prior Art
Ahn (WO 2021/107679, using US 2022/0344684 as translation) – Ahn discloses an active pressure buffer portion between the middle case and the module insertion portion in a fuel cell membrane humidifier. The active pressure buffer portion includes a bypass structure, but does not disclose an insertion member formed on the inner wall of the middle case, protruding in a direction of the outer partition wall, and inserted into the sliding space, of claim 3.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CYNTHIA KYUNG SOO WALLS whose telephone number is (571)272-8699. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F until 5pm.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Jonathan Leong can be reached at 571-270-1292. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/CYNTHIA K WALLS/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1751
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