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. Claim Status Claims 1 and 2 are pending. Drawings Figures 3 and 4 are objected to for illegibility . The lines in Figure s 3 and 4 are not legible , and should be adjusted to improve clarity. Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance. Specification The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities: In paragraph 13, line 29 , the word “form” should be changed to “from”. In paragraph 14, line 15, the word “an” should be changed to “the”. Appropriate correction is required. 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)(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. (FP 7.08.aia ) Claim 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Ichida et al. (JP2018106 8 77A – the English machine translation provided by applicant ). Regarding Claim 1 , Ichida discloses a fuel cell system (20) configured to recirculate fuel off gas that has not been used for power generation of a fuel cell (¶2), wherein: The fuel cell system includes a fuel cell stack ( ¶ 12 , 50 ) , a fuel container ( ¶ 14 , a hydrogen tank 110 supplying high-pressure hydrogen to the fuel cell stack 5 0 ) , a fuel supply path (¶13, 120), and a fuel circulation path (¶21, 160); t he fuel circulation path is connected to a fuel outlet of the fuel cell stack and extends parallel to an end plate of the fuel cell stack (¶21, see annotated Figure 1) ; the fuel supply path is connected to the fuel container, extends parallel to the end plate, and merges with the fuel circulation path at a position (Cn1) in which a center of the fuel supply path is offset from a center of the fuel circulation path (¶ 28-29, see A: annotated Figures 1 and A ) ; and the fuel circulation path includes a bent portion downstream of a merging portion (Cn2) with the fuel supply path (¶30-31 , see B: annotated Figure 3 ) and is connected to a fuel inlet of the fuel cell stack downstream of the bent portion (170, see B: annotated Figure 3) . Annotated Prior Art Figures for Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 SEQ Figure \* ALPHABETIC A : Annotated Figures 1 and 2 from Ichida et al. (JP2018106877A) SEQ Figure \* ALPHABETIC B : Annotated Figure 3 from Ichida et al. (JP2018106877A) 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. 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 . Claim 2 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ichida et al. (JP2018106977A) as applied to Claim 1 above, further in view of Inaba et al. (JP2005361420). Regarding Claim 2 , Ichida discloses the fuel cell system according to Claim 1 (20) wherein in the fuel circulation path (160) , a hydrogen pump (¶22-23, 165 – where the circulation pump pumps hydrogen as a component of the anode-off gas) is disposed upstream of the merging portion (Cn1) but does not disclose an injector disposed upstream of the merging portion. Inaba discloses a fuel cell system (1 , see C: annotated Figure 1 ) with a hydrogen pump (39) disposed in the fuel circulation path (32) upstream of the merging portion (A1) with the fuel supply path (31) and an injector (35) in the fuel supply path disposed upstream of the merging portion , the latter of which rapidly adjusts fuel gas supply pressure and consequently improve power generation responsiveness (¶6-7). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to modify the fuel cell system of Ichida to dispose an injector upstream of the merging portion of the two paths as taught by Inaba to more rapidly adjust fuel gas supply pressure and improve power generation responsiveness . SEQ Figure \* ALPHABETIC C : Annotated Figure 1 from Inaba et al. (JP2005361420) Conclusion The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. United States Patent Application Publication US2021/0336286 (“Fuel Cell System” , Matsusue ) discloses a fuel cell system which may change the direction of fuel gas and fuel-off gas are ejected to the stack direction (¶11). Sroka et al.’s article in Industrial & Engineering Chemical Research teaches the benefits of pipeline elbow geometries for mixing fluids (abstract). Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FILLIN "Examiner name" \* MERGEFORMAT Kent G. Mendoza whose telephone number is FILLIN "Phone number" \* MERGEFORMAT (571)482-9953 . The examiner can normally be reached FILLIN "Work Schedule?" \* MERGEFORMAT Monday- Thursday 8:30-5:00 EST . Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. 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For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /K.G.M./ Examiner, Art Unit 1754 /SUSAN D LEONG/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1754