Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/365,697

FUEL CELL POWER GENERATION DEVICE

Non-Final OA §102§103
Filed
Aug 04, 2023
Examiner
RHEE, JANE J
Art Unit
1724
Tech Center
1700 — Chemical & Materials Engineering
Assignee
Yee Hop Environmental Protection Limited
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
86%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
2y 10m
To Grant
98%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 86% — above average
86%
Career Allow Rate
954 granted / 1110 resolved
+20.9% vs TC avg
Moderate +12% lift
Without
With
+12.4%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 10m
Avg Prosecution
32 currently pending
Career history
1142
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.2%
-39.8% vs TC avg
§103
43.0%
+3.0% vs TC avg
§102
41.5%
+1.5% vs TC avg
§112
3.7%
-36.3% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 1110 resolved cases

Office Action

§102 §103
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. 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. 1. Claim(s) 1,3-4,7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a) as being anticipated by Chen et al. (CN213782050) . As to claim 1, Chen et al. discloses a fuel cell power generation device (figure 2) , comprising: a fuel cell (32) , comprising an anode and a cathode, configured to decompose hydrogen and generate electric energy through reaction of decomposed hydrogen and oxygen; a first delivery pipe (301) , connected between a pipeline of a hydrogen-containing gas and the fuel cell and configured to deliver the hydrogen-containing gas to the anode of the fuel cell (paragraph 0044) ; a first output pipe (302) , connected to the fuel cell and configured to discharge a first remaining gas contacted with the anode of the fuel cell (paragraph 0044) ; a second delivery pipe (303) , connected to the fuel cell and configured to deliver an oxygen-containing gas to the cathode of the fuel cell (paragraph 0009) ; a second output pipe (fig 2) , connected to the fuel cell and configured to discharge a second remaining gas contacted with the cathode of the fuel cell (paragraph 0050) . As to claim 3, Chen et al. discloses further comprising: a hydrogen separator, connected to the first delivery pipe and configured to deliver hydrogen to the anode of the fuel cell through the first delivery pipe after extracting the hydrogen from the hydrogen-containing gas (figure 2 number 32). As to claim 4, Chen et al. discloses further comprising: a first flow controller, mounted to the first delivery pipe and configured control a gas flow of the hydrogen-containing gas delivered to the anode of the fuel cell; a second flow controller, mounted on the second delivery pipe and configured to control a gas flow of the oxygen-containing gas delivered to the cathode of the fuel cell (paragraph 0061). As to claim 7, Chen et al. discloses further comprising: a rechargeable battery, connected to the anode and cathode of the fuel cell and configured to store and buffer the electric energy generated by the fuel cell (paragraph 0058). 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. 2. Claim (s) 2, 6,10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen et al. in view of Wang et al. (CN109449454). Chen et al. discloses the fuel cell power generation described above. Chen et al. fail to disclose wherein the hydrogen-containing gas is a coal gas and the oxygen-containing gas is an air . Wang et al. teaches wherein the hydrogen-containing gas is a coal gas and the oxygen-containing gas is an air for the purpose of providing clean secondary energy, electricity which is energy saving and environmentally friendly (0017). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time applicant's invention was made to Chen et al. with wherein the hydrogen-containing gas is a coal gas and the oxygen-containing gas is an air for the purpose of providing clean secondary energy, electricity which is energy saving and environmentally friendly (0017). As to claim 6, Chen et al. discloses further comprising: an air driver, mounted to the second delivery pipe, and configured to drive the air to the second delivery pipe (paragraph 0010). As to claim 10, Chen et al. discloses further comprising: a hydrogen-containing gas filter, connected to the first delivery pipe and configured to filter a corrosive gas in the hydrogen-containing gas; an air filter, connected to the second delivery pipe and configured to filter a corrosive gas in the oxygen-containing gas (paragraph 0042,0056). 3. Claim (s) 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen et al. in view of Xu et al. (CN107829786) . Chen et al. discloses the fuel cell power generation described above. Chen et al. fail to disclose , further comprising: a cooler, mounted to the first output pipe, and configured to cool the first remaining gas . Xu et al. teaches , further comprising: a cooler, mounted to the first output pipe, and configured to cool the first remaining gas for the purpose of achieving multi energy complementarity with system’s comprehensive energy utilization efficiency reaching more than 65% (paragraph 0009,0007). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time applicant's invention was made to provide Chen et al. with a cooler, mounted to the first output pipe, and configured to cool the first remaining gas for the purpose of achieving multi energy complementarity with system’s comprehensive energy utilization efficiency reaching more than 65% (paragraph 0007,0009) . 4. Claim (s) 8-9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen et al. in view of Krewer et al. (US20090191433). Chen et al. discloses the fuel cell power generation described above. Chen et al. fail to disclose, further comprising: a direct current converter, connected to the rechargeable battery to convert the electric energy of the rechargeable battery into direct current electric energy suitable for use by a load and further comprising: an alternating current converter, connected to the rechargeable battery and configured to convert the electric energy of the rechargeable battery into alternating current electric energy suitable for use by a load. Krewer et al. teaches further comprising: a direct current converter, connected to the rechargeable battery to convert the electric energy of the rechargeable battery into direct current electric energy suitable for use by a load and further comprising: an alternating current converter, connected to the rechargeable battery and configured to convert the electric energy of the rechargeable battery into alternating current electric energy suitable for use by a load for the purpose of supplying electric energy to be used as a power source for an external load such as a computer or vehicle (paragraph 0046). Therefore,it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time applicant's invention was made to Krewer et al. with further comprising: a direct current converter, connected to the rechargeable battery to convert the electric energy of the rechargeable battery into direct current electric energy suitable for use by a load and further comprising: an alternating current converter, connected to the rechargeable battery and configured to convert the electric energy of the rechargeable battery into alternating current electric energy suitable for use by a load for the purpose of supplying electric energy to be used as a power source for an external load such as a computer or vehicle (paragraph 0046). Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FILLIN "Examiner name" \* MERGEFORMAT JANE J RHEE whose telephone number is FILLIN "Phone number" \* MERGEFORMAT (571)272-1499 . The examiner can normally be reached FILLIN "Work Schedule?" \* MERGEFORMAT Monday-Friday (10-6:30) . 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, FILLIN "SPE Name?" \* MERGEFORMAT Miriam Stagg can be reached at FILLIN "SPE Phone?" \* MERGEFORMAT 571-270-5256 . The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. 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. /JANE J RHEE/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1724
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Aug 04, 2023
Application Filed
Mar 04, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §102, §103 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12603392
SQUARE SECONDARY BATTERY AND MANUFACTURING METHOD THEREOF
2y 5m to grant Granted Apr 14, 2026
Patent 12597634
PRODUCING METHOD FOR LITHIUM-ION SECONDARY BATTERY
2y 5m to grant Granted Apr 07, 2026
Patent 12592437
SQUARE TYPE BATTERY AND MANUFACTURING METHOD OF SQUARE TYPE BATTERY
2y 5m to grant Granted Mar 31, 2026
Patent 12562419
BUTTON-TYPE SECONDARY BATTERY
2y 5m to grant Granted Feb 24, 2026
Patent 12548826
EXTERIOR MATERIAL FOR POWER STORAGE DEVICE, METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING SAME, AND POWER STORAGE DEVICE
2y 5m to grant Granted Feb 10, 2026
Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
86%
Grant Probability
98%
With Interview (+12.4%)
2y 10m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 1110 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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