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
Applicant’s election without traverse of Species I, Claims 1-2, 8-9, and 15-16 in the reply filed on 08/11/2026 is acknowledged.
Claims 3-7, 10-14, and 17-20 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected Species, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 08/11/2026.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101
35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows:
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
Claims 1-2 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to an abstract idea without significantly more. The claim(s) recite(s) computer executable instructions to implement: a hydrogen exploration controller configured to generate a plurality of maps and identify an area that comprises a convergence of two more geological features. This judicial exception is not integrated into a practical application because the generically recited computer elements do not add a meaningful limitation to the abstract idea because they amount to simply implementing the abstract idea on a computer. The claim(s) does/do not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception because the additional limitations only store and retrieve information in memory and are well understood, routine, and conventional in the hydrogen exploration art. See: MPEP § 2106.05.
Claims 8-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to an abstract idea without significantly more. The claim(s) recite(s) a method of identifying an area in a geographical region that comprises a convergence of two or more of respective geological features based on a plurality of maps. This judicial exception is not integrated into a practical application because no action is taken after the adapting step. Additionally, under its broadest reasonable interpretation, the claim covers performance of the functions in the mind, thereby falling within the “mental processes” grouping of abstract ideas. The claim(s) does/do not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception because data gathering to be used in an abstract idea is insignificant extra-solution activity and is not a particular practical application. See: MPEP § 2106.05.
Claims 15-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to an abstract idea without significantly more. The claim(s) recite(s) computer executable instructions to implement: a hydrogen exploration controller configured to generate a plurality of maps and identify an area that comprises a convergence of two more geological features. This judicial exception is not integrated into a practical application because the generically recited computer elements do not add a meaningful limitation to the abstract idea because they amount to simply implementing the abstract idea on a computer. The claim(s) does/do not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception because the additional limitations only store and retrieve information in memory and are well understood, routine, and conventional in the hydrogen exploration art. See: MPEP § 2106.05.
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) 1-2, 8-9, and 15-16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Darrah et al. (WO 2022/229928 A1, cited in IDS filed 08/20/2025).
Regarding claim 1, Darrah discloses a system (Fig. 1, see: Hydrogen Targeting System 102; Fig. 2, see: apparatus 200), comprising:
memory to store computer executable instructions (Fig. 2, see: Memory 204); and
one or more processors, operatively coupled to the memory (Fig. 2, see: Processing Circuitry 202), that execute the computer executable instructions to implement:
a hydrogen exploration controller configured to generate a plurality of maps characterizing a geographical region, wherein respective maps from the plurality of maps delineate a location of respective geological features within the geographical region that are associated with a presence of a subsurface reservoir of natural hydrogen, and wherein the hydrogen exploration controller is further configured to identify an area in the geographical region that comprises a convergence of two or more of the respective geological features based on the plurality of maps (Fig. 2, see: Model Generator 210, Image Analysis Engine 212, Relevance Determination Engine 214).
Regarding claim 2, Darrah further discloses the hydrogen exploration controller comprises: a regional screener configured to generate a map from the plurality of maps that delineates a location of an ophiolite, aulacogen, craton, or combination thereof based on geological formation data provided by a geographic information system (Fig. 2, see: Model Generator 210, Image Analysis Engine 212, Relevance Determination Engine 214; pg. 11/L20-24, see: ophiolites).
Regarding claim 8, Darrah discloses a method, comprising: generating a plurality of maps characterizing a geographical region, wherein respective maps from the plurality of maps delineate a location of respective geological features within the geographical region that are associated with a presence of a subsurface reservoir of natural hydrogen (pg. 25/L21-34, see: map interface (e.g. Google Maps or GIS software)); and
identifying an area in the geographical region that comprises a convergence of two or more of the respective geological features based on the plurality of maps (pg. 25/L21-34, see: indication a surface feature is indicative of active subsurface hydrogen accumulation provided by visualization layer overlaid onto a map interface).
Regarding claim 9, Darrah further discloses generating a first map from the plurality of maps that delineates a location of an ophiolite, aulacogen, craton, or combination thereof based on geological formation data provided by a geographic information system (pg. 11/L20-24, see: ophiolites).
Regarding claim 15, Darrah discloses a computer program product for predicting a location of a subsurface reservoir of natural hydrogen, the computer program product comprising a computer readable storage medium having computer executable instructions embodied therewith (Fig. 2, see: Processing Circuitry 202, Memory 204, Model Generator 210, Image Analysis Engine 212, Relevance Determination Engine 214), the computer executable instructions executable by one or more processors to cause the one or more processors to:
generate a plurality of maps characterizing a geographical region, wherein respective maps from the plurality of maps delineate a location of respective geological features within the geographical region that are associated with a presence of the subsurface reservoir of natural hydrogen (pg. 25/L21-34, see: map interface (e.g. Google Maps or GIS software)); and
identify an area in the geographical region that comprises a convergence of two or more of the respective geological features based on the plurality of maps (pg. 25/L21-34, see: indication a surface feature is indicative of active subsurface hydrogen accumulation provided by visualization layer overlaid onto a map interface).
Regarding claim 16, Darrah further discloses the computer executable instructions further cause the one or more processors to: generate a first map from the plurality of maps that delineates a location of an ophiolite, aulacogen, craton, or combination thereof based on geological formation data provided by a geographic information system (pg. 11/L20-24, see: ophiolites).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ROBERT J EOM whose telephone number is (571)270-7075. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday (9:00AM-5:00PM).
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/ROBERT J EOM/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1797
