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 § 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 12 and 14 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.
The term “approximately” in claims 12 and 14 is a relative term which renders the claim indefinite. The term “approximately matches” (claim 12) and “approximately 0.7 to 0.8 bar to approximately 2.5 bar” is not defined by the claim, the specification does not provide a standard for ascertaining the requisite degree, and one of ordinary skill in the art would not be reasonably apprised of the scope of the invention. For instance, with regards to claim 14, do 0.9, 1.0 or 1.1 bar read on “approximately 0.7 to 0.8 bar”? For the purpose of examination with regards to 35 USC § 102 and 103, any pressure reading within 0.5 bar is regarded as “approximately” a claimed pressure value.
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.
Claim(s) 1-3 and 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Quartarone (US20230006222A1).
Regarding claim 1, Quartarone teaches
a method of thermal management of a fuel cell on an aircraft, the aircraft having a pressurized cabin (fig. 1), the method comprising:
releasing air from the pressurized cabin and capturing the released air as cabin exhaust air (cabin exhaust air 7, fig. 1);
adjusting a pressure of the cabin exhaust air to comply with air pressure requirements of input air for the fuel cell to obtain conditioned cabin exhaust air (via compressor 6b); and
supplying the conditioned cabin exhaust air to the fuel cell for use in the fuel cell to reduce cooling requirements of the fuel cell (“the remaining portion 7 b of the cabin exhaust air 7 , which does not go to the turbine 6 a , enters the compressor 6 b to be compressed thereby and to be provided as compressed air 2 to the fuel cell(s) 1”) [0021]
Regarding claim 2, Quartarone teaches the method of claim 1, further comprising
ensuring that a temperature of the cabin exhaust air complies with air temperature requirements of the input air for the fuel cell to obtain the conditioned cabin exhaust air (“Operating temperature and inlet gas temperatures have also been found to be factors significantly affecting the operation and performance of the fuel cell. In another example, therefore, heating could also be provided to bring the temperature of the inlet air to the required level”) [0027]
Regarding claim 3, Quartarone teaches the method of claim 2, further comprising
using a cabin recuperative heat exchanger to either cool or heat the cabin exhaust air to obtain the conditioned cabin exhaust air (“Operating temperature and inlet gas temperatures have also been found to be factors significantly affecting the operation and performance of the fuel cell. In another example, therefore, heating could also be provided to bring the temperature of the inlet air to the required level” [0027]; one of ordinary skill the art would recognize that utilizing a heat exchanger is standard practice for heating inlet air)
Regarding claim 19, Quartarone teaches
a method for reusing cabin exhaust air from pressurized cabin of an aircraft (fig. 1), comprising:
releasing and capturing the cabin exhaust air from the pressurized cabin (cabin exhaust air 7, fig. 1);
conditioning the cabin exhaust air to adjust its pressure and temperature to obtain conditioned cabin exhaust air and to comply with air pressure requirements and air temperature requirements of input air for a fuel cell located on the aircraft (adjusting pressure via compressor 6b; “Operating temperature and inlet gas temperatures have also been found to be factors significantly affecting the operation and performance of the fuel cell. In another example, therefore, heating could also be provided to bring the temperature of the inlet air to the required level); and
supplying the conditioned cabin exhaust air to the fuel cell for use by the fuel cell (“the remaining portion 7 b of the cabin exhaust air 7 , which does not go to the turbine 6 a , enters the compressor 6 b to be compressed thereby and to be provided as compressed air 2 to the fuel cell(s) 1”) [0021]
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) 4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Quartarone (US20230006222A1) in view of Rainville (US20200388865A1).
Regarding claim 4, Quartarone does not teach the method of claim 3, further comprising:
determining that the temperature of the cabin exhaust air is lower than the air temperature requirements for the input air for the fuel cell; and, heating the cabin exhaust air so that the temperature of the cabin exhaust air meets the air temperature requirements of the input air for the fuel cell
Rainville teaches
determining that the temperature of the cabin exhaust air is lower than the air temperature requirements for the input air for the fuel cell; and, heating the cabin exhaust air so that the temperature of the cabin exhaust air meets the air temperature requirements of the input air for the fuel cell (“If the controller 205 determines the ambient temperature of the inlet 209 is below the required temperature of the fuel cell 103 , then the controller 205 activates the heater 203 to raise a temperature of supply air flowing into the fuel cell 103 until the fuel cell thermocouple 215 detects supply air at a sufficient temperature for the fuel cell 103 to operate efficiently”) [0018]
Quartarone teaches “Operating temperature and inlet gas temperatures have also been found to be factors significantly affecting the operation and performance of the fuel cell. In another example, therefore, heating could also be provided to bring the temperature of the inlet air to the required level” [0027], however does not further teach how temperature monitoring and heating are implemented. Therefore, It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide the temperature detecting and heating system of Rainville to Quartarone, in order to effectively ensure optimal performance of the fuel cell.
Claim(s) 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Quartarone (US20230006222A1) in view of Klimpel (US20210245629A1).
Regarding claim 5, Quartarone does not teach the method of claim 3, further comprising:
determining that the temperature of the cabin exhaust air is higher than the air temperature requirements for the input air for the fuel cell; and, cooling the cabin exhaust air so that the temperature of the cabin exhaust air meets the air temperature requirements of the input air for the fuel cell
Klimpel teaches
determining that the temperature of the cabin exhaust air is higher than the air temperature requirements for the input air for the fuel cell; and, cooling the cabin exhaust air so that the temperature of the cabin exhaust air meets the air temperature requirements of the input air for the fuel cell (“In accordance with a further variant, the cooling circuit can further comprise a fourth heat exchanger arranged in the compressed air conduit and configured to cool the compressed air. The compressed/pressurized air allows sufficient supply of oxidant to the fuel cell system, while cooling the compressed air in the fourth heat exchanger allows optimizing the temperature of the oxidant for the operation of the fuel cell system”) [0029]
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide the temperature optimization and cooling system of Klimpel to Quartarone, in order to effectively ensure air temperature is not too high so as to ensure efficient performance of the fuel cell.
Claim(s) 6-10 and 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Quartarone (US20230006222A1) in view of Miftakhov (US20200355117A1).
Regarding claim 6, Quartarone does not teach the method of claim 1, where adjusting a pressure of the cabin exhaust air to comply with air pressure requirements of input air for the fuel cell further comprises
compressing and then cooling the cabin exhaust air to obtain the conditioned cabin exhaust air
Miftakhov teaches
compressing and then cooling the exhaust air to obtain the conditioned exhaust air (intercooler following three turbo compressor stages)
While Quartarone, as modified, teaches a compressor 6b for compressing the air prior to entering the fuel cell, it does not teach this followed by cooling the cabin exhaust air. However, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to apply the turbo compressor system of Miftakhov to the compressor 6b of Quartarone, including the three turbo compressor stages and the intercooler, since single stage compressor systems “are extremely expensive and heavy, resulting in significant degradation of the overall system performance per unit of weight” [0003 of Miftakhov].
The combination teaches
compressing and then cooling the cabin exhaust air to obtain the conditioned cabin exhaust air (intercooler following three turbo compressor stages of Miftakhov, as applied to cabin exhaust air system of Quartarone)
Regarding claim 7, Quartarone teaches the method of claim 6,
wherein the cabin exhaust air is compressed using a compressor on the aircraft and wherein the compressor also provides compressed air to the fuel cell (three turbo compressor stages of Miftakhov providing compressed air to fuel cell, as applied to fuel cell system of Quartarone utilizing cabin exhaust air)
Regarding claim 8, Quartarone teaches the method of claim 7,
wherein the compressor does not have to compress additional air for the fuel cell due to the use of conditioned cabin exhaust air in the fuel cell, thereby reducing heat generated by the compressor (fig. 1 of Quartarone, only input air to compressor is sourced from cabin exhaust air 7)
Regarding claim 9, Quartarone teaches the method of claim 7, further comprising
using a three-stage compressor to compress the cabin exhaust air to obtain the conditioned cabin exhaust air (three stage compressor system of Miftakhov as applied to Quartarone), wherein the three- stage compressor includes a low-pressure compressor (fig. 1 of Miftakhov, Turbo #1, exhausts air at >1 bar), a medium-pressure compressor (fig. 1 of Miftakhov, Turbo #2, exhausts air at >2 bar), and a high-pressure compressor (fig. 1 of Miftakhov, Turbo #3, exhausts air at >3 bar)
Regarding claim 10, the method of claim 9, further comprising
using a recuperative heat exchanger to cool a temperature of the conditioned cabin exhaust air before being used by the fuel cell (intercooler as shown on fig. 1 of Miftakhov)
Regarding claim 20, Quartarone, as modified, does not teach the method of claim 19, further comprising
increasing the pressure of the cabin exhaust air by using a high-pressure compressor on the aircraft, wherein the high-pressure compressor is part of a three-stage compressor system also having a low-pressure compressor and a medium-pressure compressor
Miftakhov teaches
increasing the pressure of the cabin exhaust air by using a high-pressure compressor on the aircraft (fig. 1, Turbo #3, exhausts air at >3 bar), wherein the high-pressure compressor is part of a three-stage compressor system also having a low-pressure compressor (fig. 1, Turbo #1, exhausts air at >1 bar) and a medium-pressure compressor (fig. 1, Turbo #2, exhausts air at >2 bar)
While Quartarone, as modified, teaches a compressor 6b for compressing the air prior to entering the fuel cell, it does not teach the compressor 6b as a three-stage compressor system. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to apply the turbo compressor system of Miftakhov to the compressor 6b of Quartarone, including the three turbo compressor stages and the intercooler, since single stage compressor systems “are extremely expensive and heavy, resulting in significant degradation of the overall system performance per unit of weight” [0003 of Miftakhov].
Claim(s) 11-12 and 17-18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Quartarone (US20230006222A1) in view of Klewer (EP3950509A1).
Regarding claim 11, Quartarone teaches
a fuel cell thermal management system for an aircraft [0002], comprising:
a fuel cell (fuel cell(s) 1);
at least one compressor on the aircraft for compressing air prior to the air entering the fuel cell (compressor 6b); and
a cabin air bleed mechanism for releasing and capturing cabin air from a pressurized cabin of the aircraft and using this cabin exhaust air as input air to the fuel cell (“the remaining portion 7 b of the cabin exhaust air 7 , which does not go to the turbine 6 a , enters the compressor 6 b to be compressed thereby and to be provided as compressed air 2 to the fuel cell(s) 1”) [0021]; “cabin exhaust air is air that has been conditioned to provide air of an appropriate temperature and pressure for the interior of the passenger cabin” [0017]
Quartarone does not teach
an integrated air-cooling system having a heat exchanger located in a cavity on the aircraft;
a fuel cell in fluid communication with the heat exchanger for transferring heat from the fuel cell to the heat exchanger;
Klewer teaches
an integrated air-cooling system (fig. 5A) having a heat exchanger (ram air heat exchanger 240) located in a cavity on the aircraft (located as part of propulsion system 100, fig. 1, [0014]);
a fuel cell (fuel cell 200) in fluid communication with the heat exchanger (fig. 5A) for transferring heat from the fuel cell to the heat exchanger (“The cooling circuit further comprises a ram air heat exchanger 240, via which at least part of the coolant heated up by the fuel cell 200 circulates”) [0016];
As shown on fig. 1 of Quartarone, the cell/stack 1 is cooled utilizing exhausted cabin air. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide the cooling circuit of fig. 5A of Klewer, in order to additionally provide a liquid cooling circuit for further cooling of the cell/stack 1.
Regarding claim 12, Quartarone, as modified, teaches the fuel cell thermal management system of claim 11, further comprising
a cabin recuperative heat exchanger for either heating or cooling the cabin exhaust air such that a temperature of the cabin exhaust air approximately matches air temperature requirements for input air to the fuel cell (“Operating temperature and inlet gas temperatures have also been found to be factors significantly affecting the operation and performance of the fuel cell. In another example, therefore, heating could also be provided to bring the temperature of the inlet air to the required level” [0027]; one of ordinary skill the art would recognize that utilizing a heat exchanger is standard practice for heating inlet air)
Regarding claim 17, Quartarone, as modified, teaches the fuel cell thermal management system of claim 11, further comprising
a water spray system (water pump 510 of Klewer, as applied to Quartarone) arranged to spray water onto surfaces of the heat exchanger (“The water circulates from the water tank to the ram air onto the ram air heat exchanger 240 thanks to the water pump 510. Water resulting from chemical reaction of dihydrogen with dioxygen in the fuel cell 200 may be used to supply the water tank 500. The ram air system is equipped with a nozzle, and water is thus sprayed in the ram air onto the ram air heat exchanger 240 thanks to the nozzle”) [0038 of Klewer]
Regarding claim 18, Quartarone, as modified, teaches the fuel cell thermal management system of claim 17, further comprising
a water accumulation tank that provides water to the water spray system and collects the water from exhaust of the fuel cell (“the fuel cell power system comprises a water tank 500 and the fuel cell power system is arranged to flow water from the water tank 500 to the ram air system”) [0036 of Klewer]
Claim(s) 13-15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Quartarone (US20230006222A1) in view of Klewer (EP3950509A1), in further view of Miftakhov (US20200355117A1).
Regarding claim 13, Quartarone ,as modified, does not teach the fuel cell thermal management system of claim 11,
wherein the at least one compressor is a three-stage compressor system having a first low-pressure compressor, a second medium-pressure compressor, and a third high-pressure compressor
Miftakhov teaches
wherein the at least one compressor is a three-stage compressor system having a first low-pressure compressor (fig. 1, Turbo #1, exhausts air at >1 bar), a second medium-pressure compressor (fig. 1, Turbo #2, exhausts air at >2 bar), and a third high-pressure compressor (fig. 1, Turbo #3, exhausts air at >3 bar)
While Quartarone, as modified, teaches a compressor 6b for compressing the air prior to entering the fuel cell, it does not teach the compressor 6b as a three-stage compressor system. Therefore, It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to apply the turbo compressor system of Miftakhov to the compressor 6b of Quartarone, including the three turbo compressor stages and the intercooler, since single stage compressor systems “are extremely expensive and heavy, resulting in significant degradation of the overall system performance per unit of weight” [0003 of Miftakhov].
Regarding claim 14, Quartarone, as modified, teaches the fuel cell thermal management system of claim 13
wherein the three-stage compressor system increases a pressure of the cabin exhaust air from approximately 0.7 to 0.8 bar to approximately 2.5 bar for use as the input air to the fuel cell (fig. 1 of Miftakhov, air enters at <1 bar prior to Turbo #1, and air exhausts at >3 bar after Turbo #3 prior to fuel cell; thus reads on “approximately 0.7 to 0.8 bar to approximately 2.5 bar”)
Regarding claim 15, Quartarone, as modified, teaches the fuel cell thermal management system of claim 13, further comprising
a recuperative heat exchanger for cooling a temperature of the cabin exhaust air, after compression by the three-stage compressor system and before being used by the fuel cell (intercooler as shown on fig. 1 of Miftakhov)
Claim(s) 16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Quartarone (US20230006222A1) in view of Klewer (EP3950509A1), in further view of Labarthe (US20220306306A1).
Regarding claim 16, Quartarone, as modified, does not teach the fuel cell thermal management system of claim 11, wherein the integrated air-cooling system further comprises:
a variable-geometry outlet at one end of the cavity for controlling an amount of cooling airflow passing through the cavity and over the heat exchanger;
a fan located in the cavity; wherein the integrated air-cooling system is located on one or more of: (a) a wing of the aircraft; (b) a fuselage of the aircraft; (c) a nacelle of the aircraft
Labarthe teaches
a variable-geometry outlet at one end of the cavity for controlling an amount of cooling airflow passing through the cavity (“The position of the device 32 is controlled so as to optimize the flow of cooling air in the air circulation channel 22 in accordance with the need for cooling”) [0050] and over the heat exchanger (“The air circulation channel receives a heat exchanger 30 provided to allow the system for producing electricity 10 to be cooled”) [0044];
a fan located in the cavity (fan 12);
wherein the integrated air-cooling system is located on one or more of: (a) a wing of the aircraft; (b) a fuselage of the aircraft; (c) a nacelle of the aircraft (nacelle 20)
Quartarone, as modified by Klewer, teaches a system for cooling a fuel cell utilizing a heat exchanger which is cooled by ram air (fig. 5A of Klewer), wherein the system is located as part of a nacelle (propulsion system 100 on fig. 1 of Klewer). However, Klewer does not teach controlling an amount of ram airflow passing over the heat exchanger. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide the ram air control system of the nacelle 20 of Labarthe, including the device 32 and fan 12, to the system of Klewer as applied to Quartarone in order to effectively “to optimize the flow of cooling air in the air circulation channel 22 in accordance with the need for cooling, in order to minimize the aerodynamic drag of the nacelle as much as possible” [0050 of Labarthe].
Conclusion
The prior art of record not relied upon includes:
Law (US20230356855A1), which teaches a similar multi-stage compressor for a fuel cell system as claimed
Bevirt (WO2021257567A1), which teaches a similar multi-stage compressor for a fuel cell system as claimed
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BRETT P. MALLON whose telephone number is (571)272-4749. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Thursday from 8am to 5pm.
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/BRETT P. MALLON/Examiner, Art Unit 3762 /MICHAEL G HOANG/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3762
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