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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 4/22/24 has been considered by the examiner.
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Invention 1, claims 1-19, in the reply filed on 3/31/26 is acknowledged. Claim 20 is withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 3/31/26.
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.
Claims 1-19 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 1 recites “therethrough” in line 3, which does not clearly claim the method for operating a fuel cell system. It is unclear what encompasses “therethrough”. It is unclear if “therethrough” means through the fuel cell stack, through the exhaust valve and/or through the isolation valve.
Claim 5 recites “therethrough” in line 2 and line 3, which does not clearly claim the method for operating a fuel cell system. It is unclear what encompasses “therethrough”.
Claim 5 recites the limitation "a premixed gas" in line 2. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 7 recites “therethrough” in line 2, which does not clearly claim the method for operating a fuel cell system. It is unclear what encompasses “therethrough”.
Claim 7 recites the limitation "a premixed gas" in line 2. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 8 recites “therethrough” in line 2, which does not clearly claim the method for operating a fuel cell system. It is unclear what encompasses “therethrough”.
Claim 8 recites the limitation "a premixed gas" in line 2. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 9 recites “therethrough” in line 2, which does not clearly claim the method for operating a fuel cell system. It is unclear what encompasses “therethrough”.
Claim 9 recites the limitation "a premixed gas" in line 2. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 10 recites “therethrough” in line 2 and line 3, which does not clearly claim the method for operating a fuel cell system. It is unclear what encompasses “therethrough”.
Claim 10 recites the limitation "a premixed gas" in line 2. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 15 recites “therethrough” in line 2 and line 3, which does not clearly claim the method for operating a fuel cell system. It is unclear what encompasses “therethrough”.
Claim 16 recites the limitation "the gas containing carbon monoxide and hydrogen" in lines 1-2. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claims 17-19 each recite “therethrough” in line 2 and/or line 3, which does not clearly claim the method for operating a fuel cell system. It is unclear what encompasses “therethrough”.
Claim 19 recites “containing at 10 ppm…of CO”, which does not particularly point out and distinctly claim the invention. It is unclear what encompasses “at 10 ppm”.
To the extent the claims are understood in view of the 35 USC 112 rejections above, note the following prior art rejections.
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.
Claim(s) 1-5, 7, 10-15, 17 and 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kimura et al., US 2013/0059219 A1.
Kimura teaches a fuel cell system comprising a fuel cell stack, a CO source and valves as depicted by Figure 2:
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In FIG. 2, solid arrows represent electrical circuits, and white arrows represent gas distribution channels. Also, the direction of the white arrows represents the approximate direction of gas distribution. Hydrogen gas may be used as fuel gas. Oxygen gas or air may be used as oxidant gas. When air is used as oxidant gas, an air compressor can be used to supply air [0131-0134].
A gas discharge channel (mainly for an oxidant gas discharge channel) is connected to the outside of the system through a valve A (exhaust valve). The valve A functions to isolate the gas discharge channel of the fuel cell from the outside of the fuel cell system. By closing the oxidant gas source (isolation valve) and the valve A, it is possible to isolate a stack and introduce carbon monoxide from the CO source only to the stack. In the middle of an oxidant gas supply channel from the oxidant gas source to the fuel cell, a gas distribution channel branch is provided. The branch is connected to the CO source and a CO adsorbent through a valve B. The valve B (isolation valve) functions to switch back and forth between the supply of carbon monoxide from the CO source to a predetermined stack and the adsorption of excessive carbon monoxide to the CO adsorbent from the predetermined stack [0136-0137].
First, the oxidant gas source and the valve A are closed to seal the cathode side of the stack (S1). After a sufficient amount of time is passed in the state of closing the valve A, hydrogen supplied to the anode side penetrates into the cathode side, so that the whole stack is filled with hydrogen, water and nitrogen, and the temperature inside the stack becomes a room temperature. Then, the valve B is opened to supply carbon monoxide from the CO source to the stack (S3). By supplying carbon monoxide, the carbon monoxide supplied is absorbed to the core-shell type catalyst particles in the cathode catalyst layer. After a predetermined period of time is passed, the valve B is switched to connect the CO adsorbent with the stack (S4). By operating a compressor (air), excessive carbon monoxide remaining in the stack is adsorbed to the CO adsorbent [0143-0146]. The fuel cell stack is shown in Figure 1 and includes an anode 7 and a cathode 6. Figure 2 shows air flows through the cathode 6.
The concentration of gas (fuel gas) which is supplied to the anode electrode and the concentration of gas (oxidant gas) which is supplied to the cathode electrode can be controlled. In particular, the concentration of the gas which is supplied to one of the anode electrode and the cathode electrode is increased higher than that of the same which is generally supplied; or the concentration of the gas which is supplied to the other electrode is decreased lower than that of the same which is generally supplied; or the concentrations of the gasses are controlled at the same time. To increase the concentration of hydrogen gas having a pressure of 1 atm and a composition ratio of 100%, the pressure can be decreased from 1 to 0.5 atm, or the hydrogen gas can be mixed with inert gas such as nitrogen to have a composition ratio of 50%. It is also possible to decrease the partial pressure of the hydrogen gas by humidifying the hydrogen gas and mixing the same with water vapor. Also for example, to decrease the concentration of oxygen gas having a total pressure of 1 atm in air, additional inert gas such as nitrogen gas can be added to the air to decrease the partial pressure of the oxygen gas, or the total pressure can be decreased from 1 to 0.5 atm. It is also possible to decrease the partial pressure of the oxygen gas by humidifying the air and increasing the partial pressure of the water vapor in the air [0179-0185].
Thus, the claims are anticipated.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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) 8-9 and 18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kimura et al., US 2013/0059219 A1.
Kimura does not explicitly teaches the inert gas is argon or helium. However, the invention as a whole would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art because Kimura teaches an “additional inert gas such as nitrogen gas”. One of skill would have found the use of argon or helium obvious in view of the teachings by Kimura of using an inert gas. One of skill would have known nitrogen, argon and helium are inert gases.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 6 and 16 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims. Note claims 6 and 16 are indicated as allowable to the extent they are understood in view of the indefinite rejections above. Kimura does not teach or suggest the gas containing carbon monoxide contains hydrogen and carbon monoxide wherein the hydrogen content is 99.9% and the carbon monoxide content is 0.1%.
Conclusion
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/TRACY M DOVE/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1725
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