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
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claim 14-15 and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 14 recites the limitation "said liquid collecting chamber" in line 2 of page 5 of the instant claims. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Claims 15 is rejected for its dependency from claim 14.
Claim 17 recites the limitation "said condenser line " in line 1 of the claim. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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) 1-6, 8-11, 14, and 17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Park et al. (KR 20200020517 A).
Regarding claim 1, Park discloses (Figure 1-8b) a fuel-cell exhaust system for a fuel-cell arrangement including for a vehicle, the fuel-cell exhaust system comprising: a fuel-cell exhaust line for accommodating a flow of fuel-cell exhaust gas therethrough (at exhaust pipe 70); and, a condenser having a condenser body for passing said fuel-cell exhaust gas therethrough (61a and 61b form condensers which condenses water contained in the exhaust gas per the fourth through eleventh paragraph of page 5 of the machine translation provided by the examiner) .
Regarding claim 2, Park discloses the claim limitations of claim 1 above and Park further discloses, a liquid separator (At water recirculation apparatus 100 including 110, 120 and 130) arranged downstream of said condenser (at 61b).
Regarding claim 3, Park discloses the claim limitations of claim 1 above and Park further discloses at least one of the following applies: said condenser body is made with metal (61a and 61b are metal per the sixth paragraph of page 5 of the machine translation provided by the examiner).
Regarding claim 4, Park discloses the claim limitations of claim 3 above and Park further discloses said condenser body includes a plurality of mutually parallel condenser lines for accommodating passage of the fuel-cell exhaust gas therethrough (at 61a and 61b).
Regarding claim 5, Park discloses the claim limitations of claim 4 above and Park further discloses at least one of the following applies: a plurality of heat transfer fins are provided on an outer side of said at least one condenser line (at cooling fins 63 seen in figure 8b).
Regarding claim 6, Park discloses the claim limitations of claim 1 above and Park further discloses at least one of the following applies: said condenser includes an upstream condenser connection element connected to said condenser body for connecting said condenser to said fuel-cell exhaust line; and, ii) said condenser includes a downstream condenser connection element connected to said condenser body for connecting said condenser to said fuel-cell exhaust line (at the portions connecting the condensing structures at 61a and 61b to the exhaust pipe 70 in the upstream and downstream directions of the pipe).
Regarding claim 8, Park discloses the claim limitations of claim 2 above and Park further discloses said fuel-cell exhaust line includes an upstream line portion leading to said liquid separator (At water recirculation apparatus 100 including 110, 120 and 130) and a downstream line portion leading away from said liquid separator (at the portions of pipe 70 upstream and downstream of the circulation apparatus 100) ; and, said condenser is arranged in said upstream line portion (at 61b is upstream of 110, 120 and 130).
Regarding claim 9, Park discloses the claim limitations of claim 2 above and Park further discloses said liquid separator comprises: an upstream separating line part (110); a downstream separating line part (120) ; and, said upstream separating line part and said downstream separating line part conjointly define an opening region (at the opening between inlet 110 and outlet 120) whereat said downstream separating line part and said upstream separating line part are mutually adjacent (as seen in at least figure 2 and 3).
Regarding claim 10, Park discloses the claim limitations of claim 9 above and Park further discloses said downstream separating line part (120) has an upstream end portion and said upstream separating line part (110) has a downstream end portion; and, said upstream end portion is positioned to engage in said downstream end portion so as to cause a liquid separating opening of said opening region to be formed between said upstream end portion and said downstream end portion (where the walls of the passage 130 connect the inlet and outlet 110 and 120 and form the opening within the passage 130) .
Regarding claim 11, Park discloses the claim limitations of claim 9 above and Park further discloses a liquid collecting chamber (at water receiving space 140); and, said opening region (130) being open to said liquid collecting chamber (as seen in figure 2 and 3).
Regarding claim 14, Park discloses the claim limitations of claim 8 above and Park further discloses a muffler including: a muffler housing having a fuel-cell exhaust inlet region and a fuel-cell exhaust outlet region (where the members 61a and 61b additionally serve to reduce noise per the seventh through ninth paragraphs of page 5 of the machine translation provided by the examiner); said upstream line portion of said fuel-cell exhaust line being connected to said fuel-cell exhaust inlet region and said downstream line portion of said fuel-cell exhaust line being connect to said fuel-cell exhaust outlet region (at the portions of pipe 70 upstream and downstream of the members 61a and 61b); at least one muffler chamber being formed in said muffler housing (between 61a and 61b); said muffler housing (at the walls of the pipe 70 around 61a and 61b) having a housing base separating said at least one muffler chamber (between 61a and 61b) from said liquid collecting chamber (at water receiving space 140); at least one liquid passage opening (at 130) being provided in said housing base connecting said at least one muffler chamber to said liquid collecting chamber (140) for permitting a liquid exchange; and, at least one liquid drain opening provided on said muffler housing for draining liquid from said at least one liquid collecting chamber (at any opening into receiving space 140).
Regarding claim 17, Park discloses the claim limitations of claim 3 above and Park further discloses a condenser line has a flattened flow cross section (the mesh member 61b extend linearly across the cross section of the pipe 70, as the line and the cross section are not specifically defined in the claim).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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) 7, 15-16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over by Park et al. (KR 20200020517 A).
Regarding claims 7, 15 and 16, Park discloses the claim limitations of claim 6, 14 and 1 respectively However Park does not specify condenser connection element is made with plastic material required by claim 7, the muffler is made with plastic material as required by claim 15, or said fuel-cell exhaust line is made with plastic material or said liquid separator is made with plastic material as required by claim 16. While Park discloses that plastic can be used in the construction of an insert member 62 per page 10, the seventh full paragraph, of the machine translation provided by the examiner; Park is silent as to the specific material of construction of the structures claimed The use of plastic as a construction material in piping systems and heat exchanger systems is notoriously well known in the art. The Examiner hereby takes Official Notice of the notoriously well-known nature of use of plastic as a construction material in exhaust piping systems, and it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the instant invention was made to employ plastic as a material of construction of the connecting elements , the muffler or the piping itself since plastic elements are already present in the piping system of Park.
Claim(s) 12-13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over by Park et al. (KR 20200020517 A) in view of Höfler et al. (DE 102016221566 A1).
Regarding claim 12, Park discloses the claim limitations of claim 9 above, however Park does not explicitly disclose a swirl flow generator arranged upstream of said opening region.
Höfler discloses (Figure 1-4) a fuel cell exhaust system with a liquid separator in a exhaust line (exhaust system 21) from a fuel cell (3) where the liquid separator (water separator 1) has an upstream separating line part (at inlet 403); a downstream separating line part (at outlet 404) ; and, said upstream separating line part and said downstream separating line part conjointly define an opening region (at the interior 401 of the housing) whereat said downstream separating line part and said upstream separating line part are mutually adjacent a swirl flow generator arranged upstream of said opening region (at turbulence generator/swirl generator 5).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was effectively filed to have modified the liquid separator of Park to include the swirl flow generator/ turbulence generator of Höfler. Doing so would provide a structure that would promote the condensation of vapor into liquid to drain the liquid out at the water separator by increasing turbulence in the exhaust gas per the fifth full paragraph of page 5 of the machine translation provided by the examiner.
Regarding claim 13, Park as modified discloses the claim limitations of claim 12 above and Höfler further discloses at least one of the following applies: said swirl flow generator comprises a plurality of flow deflectors succeeding one another in circumferential direction with respect to a flow center axis (as the generator 5 is formed with multiple blades per the sixth full paragraph of page 5 of the machine translation provided by the examiner) and said plurality of flow deflectors are pitched with respect to the exhaust-gas main flow direction (as seen in figure 4);
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Kondo et al. US 20080185218 A1), Martuscelli et al. (US 20210111421 A1), Oh et al. (US 10950878 B2) and Yagisawa et al. (JP 2003288924 A) disclose relevant structures in fuel cell exhaust systems.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to HANS R. WEILAND whose telephone number is (571)272-9847. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Thursday 6-3 EST and alternating Fridays.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Len Tran can be reached at 571-272-1184. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/HANS R WEILAND/Examiner, Art Unit 3763
/ERIC S RUPPERT/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3763