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 .
Election/Restrictions
During a telephone message from Robert Sovesky on 01/20/2026 a provisional election was made without traverse to prosecute the invention of Group I, Claims 1-14. Affirmation of this election must be made by applicant in replying to this Office action. Claims 15-20 are withdrawn from further consideration by the examiner, 37 CFR 1.142(b), as being drawn to a non-elected invention.
Applicant is reminded that upon the cancelation of claims to a non-elected invention, the inventorship must be corrected in compliance with 37 CFR 1.48(a) if one or more of the currently named inventors is no longer an inventor of at least one claim remaining in the application. A request to correct inventorship under 37 CFR 1.48(a) must be accompanied by an application data sheet in accordance with 37 CFR 1.76 that identifies each inventor by his or her legal name and by the processing fee required under 37 CFR 1.17(i).
Restriction to one of the following inventions is required under 35 U.S.C. 121:
I. Claims 1-14, drawn to a vessel for a fuel cell, classified in H01M 8/04201.
II. Claims 15-20, drawn to a method for maintaining a non-explosive atmosphere in a cavity of a
vessel for a fuel cell classified in H01M 8/0618.
The inventions are independent or distinct, each from the other because:
Inventions I and II are related as product and process of use. The inventions can be shown to be distinct if either or both of the following can be shown: (1) the process for using the product as claimed can be practiced with another materially different product or (2) the product as claimed can be used in a materially different process of using that product. See MPEP § 806.05(h). In the instant case the method for maintaining a non-explosive atmosphere can be practiced in a materially different vessel comprising a different configuration with a separate supply of gas to the fuel cell or the cavity or the gas supply to the cavity to create the non-explosive atmosphere is separate from the fuel cell supply.
Restriction for examination purposes as indicated is proper because all the inventions listed in this action are independent or distinct for the reasons given above and there would be a serious search and/or examination burden if restriction were not required because one or more of the following reasons apply:
A unique field of search and classification would apply to each invention.
A prior art reference that applies to one invention may not apply to the other.
The examiner has required restriction between product or apparatus claims and process claims. Where applicant elects claims directed to the product/apparatus, and all product/apparatus claims are subsequently found allowable, withdrawn process claims that include all the limitations of the allowable product/apparatus claims should be considered for rejoinder. All claims directed to a nonelected process invention must include all the limitations of an allowable product/apparatus claim for that process invention to be rejoined.
In the event of rejoinder, the requirement for restriction between the product/apparatus claims and the rejoined process claims will be withdrawn, and the rejoined process claims will be fully examined for patentability in accordance with 37 CFR 1.104. Thus, to be allowable, the rejoined claims must meet all criteria for patentability including the requirements of 35 U.S.C. 101, 102, 103 and 112. Until all claims to the elected product/apparatus are found allowable, an otherwise proper restriction requirement between product/apparatus claims and process claims may be maintained. Withdrawn process claims that are not commensurate in scope with an allowable product/apparatus claim will not be rejoined. See MPEP § 821.04. Additionally, in order for rejoinder to occur, applicant is advised that the process claims should be amended during prosecution to require the limitations of the product/apparatus claims. Failure to do so may result in no rejoinder. Further, note that the prohibition against double patenting rejections of 35 U.S.C. 121 does not apply where the restriction requirement is withdrawn by the examiner before the patent issues. See MPEP § 804.01.
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for priority in view of Provisional Application 63/366,813 with an effective filing date of 06/22/2022.
Response to Arguments
The amendment filed on 07/20/2023 has been entered. The amendment to the specification is accepted.
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.
Claims 1-4, 8, 11 and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by by Weydahl et al. (Fuel cell systems for long-endurance autonomous underwater vehicles - challenges and benefits, international journal of hydrogen energy 45 (2020) 5543-5553), hereinafter "Weydahl".
In regard to Claim 1, Weydahl et al. discloses a vessel for a fuel cell, the vessel comprising a wall defining a cavity (sealed container) wherein the cavity is configured to receive the fuel cell and comprises a non-explosive atmosphere comprising predominantly oxygen gas (Weydahl, Pg 5547). Weydahl et al. also discloses a catalyst in contact with the non-explosive atmosphere in the cavity wherein the catalyst is configured to convert hydrogen gas and oxygen gas into water (Weydahl, Pg 5550).
In regard to Claims 2-4, Weydahl et al. discloses the vessel of claim 1. Weydahl et al. also discloses wherein the catalyst comprises a precious metal catalyst comprising platinum wherein the catalyst is affixed to a substrate (ceramic) within the vessel (Weydahl, Pg 5550).
In regard to Claim 8, Weydahl et al. discloses the vessel of claim 1. Weydahl et al. also discloses a water collection system in the cavity (Weydahl, Pg 5549).
In regard to Claim 11, Weydahl et al. discloses the vessel of claim 1. Weydahl et al. also discloses a valve configured to introduce oxygen gas into the cavity (Weydahl, Figure 6).
In regard to Claim 14, Weydahl et al. discloses a fuel cell system comprising the vessel of claim 1 and a fuel cell in the cavity of the vessel (Weydahl, Abstract).
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.
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 5-6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Weydahl et al. (Fuel cell systems for long-endurance autonomous underwater vehicles - challenges and benefits, international journal of hydrogen energy 45 (2020) 5543-5553), hereinafter "Weydahl" as applied to claim 1 above in view of Door et al. (US 5395705 A), hereinafter "Door". Weydahl and Door et al. are analogous prior art to the claimed invention because they pertain to the same field of endeavor, namely fuel cell operations.
In regard to Claims 5-6, Weydahl et al. discloses the vessel of claim 4. Weydahl et al. also discloses a platinum coated ceramic substrate to catalytically recombine H2 and O2 to water it fails to explicitly disclose the substrate comprises at least one of a metal, a polymer, and a composite or a wet-proofed carbon fiber paper.
Door et al. discloses catalytic metal particles (platinum) coated on a composite substrate comprising wet-proofed carbon fiber paper (Door, Pg 2, Col 2) and that this beneficial combination achieves the benefits of resisting water absorption (hydrophobic) so gas can continue to react with the catalyst (Door, Example 1, Claim 1). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the current invention to provide a platinum coated wet proofed carbon fiber paper as taught in Door et al. in place of the platinum coated ceramic as disclosed in Weydahl et al. as doing so would give the skilled artisan the reasonable expectation of achieving the benefits taught in Door et al. and as doing so would amount to nothing more than a variation of it for use in the same field based on design incentives or other market forces, as the variations are predictable to one of ordinary skill in the art.
Claim 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Weydahl et al. (Fuel cell systems for long-endurance autonomous underwater vehicles - challenges and benefits, international journal of hydrogen energy 45 (2020) 5543-5553), hereinafter "Weydahl" as applied to claim 1 above. Weydahl is analogous prior art to the claimed invention because it pertains to the same field of endeavor, namely fuel cell operations.
In regard to Claim 7, Weydahl et al. discloses the vessel of claim 1. Weydahl et al. also discloses a pressure tight, sealed container (Weydahl, Pg 5547) which is supplied with predominately oxygen gas from a oxygen generator placed inside the sealed container (Weydahl, Pg 5548). The oxygen is discharged from the reactor of the generator into the sealed container, which requires at the moment of discharge the reactor pressure must be ≥ the sealed container pressure and the reactor pressure is disclosed as 400 kPa abs (Weydahl, 5547), which is equivalent to 58 pounds per square inch absolute. Therefore, the pressure in the sealed container comprising the non-explosive atmosphere is at a pressure in a range of 0> pounds per square inch absolute to ≤ 58 pounds per square inch absolute which overlaps the claimed range. Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have selected the overlapping portion of the ranges disclosed by the reference because overlapping ranges have been held to be a prima facie case of obvious. In re Wertheim, 541 F.2d 257, 191 USPQ 90 (CCPA 1976); In re Woodruff, 919 F.2d 1575, 16 USPQ2d 1934 (Fed. Cir. 1990). See MPEP § 2144.05.
Claims 9-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Weydahl et al. (Fuel cell systems for long-endurance autonomous underwater vehicles - challenges and benefits, international journal of hydrogen energy 45 (2020) 5543-5553), hereinafter "Weydahl" as applied to claim 1 above in view of Unno et al. (WO 2012161217 A1 - Machine Translation), hereinafter "Unno". Weydahl and Unno et al. are analogous prior art to the claimed invention because they pertain to the same field of endeavor, namely fuel cell operations.
In regard to Claims 9-10, Weydahl et al. discloses the vessel of claim 8. While Weydahl et al. also discloses the water collection system comprises a reservoir tank that serves as a collector for condensed water and that surplus water is transferred periodically to the product water reservoir wherein a pump is configured to remove water from the cavity (Weydahl, Pg 5549), it is silent as to the use of fluid sensors to activate the pump or what action initiates the periodic transfer of water.
Unno et al. discloses a fuel cell water collection system that uses a fluid sensor which senses whether the water level of the recovered water tank is at a predetermined level and activates a component of the system to facilitate drainage of the water through fluid conduit for draining (under gravity) the water inside the recovered water tank (Unno, Abstract). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the current invention to orient the vessel to drain the water via gravity through fluid conduits to a reservoir, then provide a fluid sensor to detect a level of water in the reservoir and have the fluid sensor activate a component (pump) to remove the water from the cavity as taught in Unno et al. as doing so would be obvious to try for a person of ordinary skill in the art and as doing so would amount to nothing more than choosing from a finite number of identified, predictable solutions, with a reasonable expectation of success.
Claim 12 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Weydahl et al. (Fuel cell systems for long-endurance autonomous underwater vehicles - challenges and benefits, international journal of hydrogen energy 45 (2020) 5543-5553), hereinafter "Weydahl" as applied to claim 1 above in view of Pulsone et al. (Aluminum-Water Energy System for Autonomous Undersea Vehicles, volume 22, number 2, 2017 Lincoln Laboratory Journal), hereinafter "Pulsone". Weydahl and Pulsone et al. are analogous prior art to the claimed invention because they pertain to the same field of endeavor, namely fuel cell operations.
In regard to Claim 12, Weydahl et al. discloses the vessel of claim 1. While Weydahl et al. also discloses a controller in signal communication with the valve configured to introduce oxygen gas into the cavity in order to maintain a level of oxygen gas (Weydahl, Figure 6, Pg 5546), it is silent as to the method used to maintain the oxygen gas in the cavity.
Pulsone et al. discloses a sealed hull (cavity) configured to accept a fuel cell wherein a non-explosive predominately oxygen gas environment is provided to the cavity by an oxygen generator wherein the oxygen generator uses a pressure sensor to control the oxygen gas supplied into the cavity based on a pressure measured by the pressure sensor (Pulsone, Pgs 85, 87). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the current invention to provide a pressure sensor to signal a controller to control a valve that supplies more oxygen gas to the cavity as taught in Pulsone and use that configuration as the method to maintain the oxygen gas in the cavity of Weydahl et al. as doing so would give the skilled artisan the reasonable expectation of success and as doing so would amount to nothing more than the use of known technique to improve similar devices (methods, or products) in the same way.
Claim 13 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Weydahl et al. (Fuel cell systems for long-endurance autonomous underwater vehicles - challenges and benefits, international journal of hydrogen energy 45 (2020) 5543-5553), hereinafter "Weydahl" as applied to claim 1 above in view of IR Class (Indian Register of Shipping, Guidelines on Vessels with Fuel Cell Power Installations, IRS-G-SAF-05), hereinafter "IR Class". Weydahl and IR Class are analogous prior art to the claimed invention because they pertain to the same field of endeavor, namely fuel cell operations.
In regard to Claim 13, Weydahl et al. discloses the vessel of claim 1. While Weydahl et al. also discloses a fuel cell in a cavity wherein a controller can adjust the gas concentration and pressure it is silent as to a gas sensor to shut down the fuel cell.
However, this beneficial safety feature is well known to the skilled artisan as evidenced by the IR Class document wherein a fuel cell is housed in a gas tight enclosure and uses gas/vapour detection in the fuel cell spaces wherein a certain threshold in LEL will shut down the affected fuel cell (IR Class, Pg 50, Section 5.2, Page 34). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the current invention to provide a standard safety feature comprising a gas sensor configured to shut down a fuel cell operating in an enclosure as taught in IR Class as doing so would give the skilled artisan the reasonable expectation of achieving the benefits taught in IR Class and as doing so would amount to nothing more than applying a known technique to a known device (method, or product) ready for improvement to yield predictable results.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KENNETH MAX OTERO whose telephone number is (571)272-2559. The examiner can normally be reached M-F Generally 7:30-430.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Nicole Buie-Hatcher can be reached at (571) 270-3879. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/K.M.O./Examiner, Art Unit 1725
/JONATHAN CREPEAU/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1725