CTNF 18/346,510 CTNF 101899 DETAILED ACTION Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status 07-03-aia AIA 15-10-aia The present application, filed on or after July 3, 2023, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA. Priority 02-26 AIA Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55. Information Disclosure Statement The information disclosure statement(s) (IDS) submitted on July 3, 2023 and April, 29, 2025 have been considered by the examiner. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 07-07-aia AIA 07-07 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 – 07-08-aia AIA (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. 07-12-aia AIA (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. 07-06 AIA 15-10-15 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 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. Claims 1-3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)1 as anticipated by Teshima et al. (JP 2020087520 A, references made to US equivalent US 20220042523 A1). Regarding claim 1 , a fuel cell system (in FIG. 1, annotated below as 1 is a fuel cell system, and an FC stack (a fuel cell) 11 (Para [0042])) comprising: a first fuel supplier of an external valve opening type (in FIG. 1, annotated below as a linear solenoid valve 51, a first fuel injection valve) (Para [0047])), a second fuel supplier of an internal valve opening type (in FIG. 1, annotated below as an injector 52, a second fuel injection valve) (Para [0047])). (Furthermore, the injector 52 is an on-off valve configured to be controlled to switch the opening degree of the injection port 52 a only to either a fully closed opening degree or a fully open opening degree to intermittently inject hydrogen gas. The injection amount of the injector 52 is set to be smaller than the injection amount of the linear solenoid valve 51 (Para [0049])), and a fuel gas supply pressure sensor in a fuel gas system (the injection control unit 42 performs the control contents shown in the flowchart of FIG. 3. As disclosed in FIG. 3, the injection control unit 42 detects an accelerator operating amount (i.e. a depression amount of an accelerator pedal (not shown)) (step S1) and then calculates a power generation amount of a FC stack (a required power generation amount of the FC stack 11) based on the detected accelerator operating amount (step S2). Successively, the injection control unit 42 calculates a requested hydrogen flow rate (a requested flow rate of hydrogen gas to be supplied to the FC stack 11) based on the calculated power generation amount of the FC stack (step S3). Then, the injection control unit 42 calculates a target pressure-regulation value TP of the stack inner pressure SP based on the calculated requested hydrogen flow rate (step S4) and also detects the actual pressure AP and a primary pressure (i.e. the pressure on the upstream side of the fuel supply apparatus 34) (steps S5 and S6). Furthermore, the injection control unit 42 subsequently performs actuation control of the injector 52 (INJ) based on a pressure difference between the target pressure-regulation value TP and the actual pressure AP and also the primary pressure (step S7) (Para [0068-0069])), wherein: when a fuel gas supply pressure is excessively high, the first fuel supplier operates a fuel cell (as disclosed in FIG. 2, when the change in stack output SO is small, the injection control unit 42 performs control to actuate the linear solenoid valve 51 and stop the injector 52 first-injection-valve injection control. At that time, the injection control unit 42 maintains the opening degree of the injection port 51 a of the linear solenoid valve 51 at a predetermined opening degree between a fully closed opening degree and a fully open opening degree to adjust the actual pressure AP of the stack inner pressure SP to a lower limit TPmin of the target pressure-regulation value. Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 2, the actual pressure AP of the stack inner pressure SP is controlled to the lower limit TPmin of the target pressure-regulation value. Thus, the stack inner pressure SP is suppressed from generating pulsations, thereby reducing a difference between the inner pressure of the FC stack 11 on the hydrogen gas side and the inner pressure of the same on the air side, so that the fuel consumption of the FC stack 11 is enhanced (Para [0062])). and when the fuel gas supply pressure is normal, the fuel cell is operated in combination of the first fuel supplier and the second fuel supplier (when the pressure difference between the target pressure-regulation value TP and the actual pressure AP is larger than the pressure difference allowing pressure increase of the actual pressure AP by actuation of the linear solenoid valve 51, the injection control unit 42 performs control to actuate the linear solenoid valve 51 and also actuate the injector 52 (Double-injection-valve injection control). In other words, when the stack inner pressure SP cannot be adjusted to the target pressure-regulation value TP even by actuation of the linear solenoid valve 51, the injection control unit 42 actuates both the linear solenoid valve 51 and the injector 52 (Para [0071]); PNG media_image1.png 344 659 media_image1.png Greyscale Regrading claim 2, the first fuel supplier is a linear solenoid valve (in FIG. 51 is a linear solenoid valve) and (the fuel injection unit 41 serves as a valve for injecting hydrogen gas and thus includes a linear solenoid valve 51 (a first fuel injection valve) (Para [0047])); and the second fuel supplier is an injector (FIG. 1 annotated as 52 injector) and (an injector 52 (a second fuel injection valve) (Para [0047])). Regarding claim 3 , the fuel cell system according to claim 1, further comprising a control unit (FIG. 1 annotated as 42 injection control unit) (Para [0047]), wherein: the control unit determines whether the fuel gas supply pressure measured by the fuel gas supply pressure sensor exceeds a predetermined threshold value (the injection control unit 42 is configured to control the fuel injection unit 41 based on programs stored in advance in its memory (Para [0050])); when the fuel gas supply pressure measured by the fuel gas supply pressure sensor exceeds the predetermined threshold value, the control unit determines that the fuel gas supply pressure is excessively high, and operates the fuel cell by the first fuel supplier (when the change in stack output SO is large (i.e., during high output of the fuel cell), the injector 52 is stopped and only the linear solenoid valve 51 is actuated as shown in FIG. 11. At that time, actuation of the linear solenoid valve 51 is controlled so that the actual pressure AP of the stack inner pressure SP becomes the lower limit TPmin of the target pressure-regulation value. Since the linear solenoid valve 51 has a low response to inject hydrogen gas, however, a region a in which the actual pressure AP of the stack inner pressure SP cannot reach the lower limit TPmin of the target pressure-regulation value may occur in a time period T1 in which the target pressure-regulation value TP of the stack inner pressure SP increases as shown in FIG. 11 (Para [0066]). and when the fuel gas supply pressure measured by the fuel gas supply pressure sensor is equal to or less than the predetermined threshold value, the control unit determines that the fuel gas supply pressure is normal, and operates the fuel cell in combination of the first fuel supplier and the second fuel supplier (when the pressure difference between the target pressure-regulation value TP and the actual pressure AP is equal to or less than a pressure difference allowing pressure increase of the actual pressure AP by actuation of the linear solenoid valve 51, the injection control unit 42 controls actuation of the linear solenoid valve 51 and stop the injector 52 (the first-injection-valve injection control). In other words, when the stack inner pressure SP can be adjusted to the target pressure-regulation value TP by actuation of the linear solenoid valve 51, the injection control unit 42 stops the injector 52 and actuates only the linear solenoid valve 51” (Para [0070]). In contrast, when the pressure difference between the target pressure-regulation value TP and the actual pressure AP is larger than the pressure difference allowing pressure increase of the actual pressure AP by actuation of the linear solenoid valve 51, the injection control unit 42 performs control to actuate the linear solenoid valve 51 and also actuate the injector 52 (Double-injection-valve injection control). In other words, when the stack inner pressure SP cannot be adjusted to the target pressure-regulation value TP even by actuation of the linear solenoid valve 51, the injection control unit 42 actuates both the linear solenoid valve 51 and the injector 52 (Para [0071])). Conclusion 07-96 AIA The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Tyler et al. (US 2022099050 A1) . Contact Information Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to NAHEED IQBAL MANN whose telephone number is (571)272-9170. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 7:30am-5pm. Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Joshua Allen can be reached at (571) 270-3176. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. 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If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /NAHEED IQBAL MANN/Examiner, Art Unit 1713 /JOSHUA L ALLEN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1713 Application/Control Number: 18/346,510 Page 2 Art Unit: 1713 Application/Control Number: 18/346,510 Page 3 Art Unit: 1713 Application/Control Number: 18/346,510 Page 4 Art Unit: 1713 Application/Control Number: 18/346,510 Page 5 Art Unit: 1713 Application/Control Number: 18/346,510 Page 6 Art Unit: 1713 Application/Control Number: 18/346,510 Page 7 Art Unit: 1713 Application/Control Number: 18/346,510 Page 8 Art Unit: 1713 Application/Control Number: 18/346,510 Page 9 Art Unit: 1713
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