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. Priority Acknowledgment is made of applicant's claim for foreign priority based on an application filed in Germany on 25 March 2021 . It is noted, however, that applicant has not filed a certified copy of the WO or DE application s to which priority is claimed as required by 37 CFR 1.55. Automatic retrieval of those documents by the office was attempted but failed. 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. (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. Claims 1- 3, 7 and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1 or 2) as being anticipated by Masahiro (JP 2011003403 newly cited, a copy and machine translation of which are attached) . In regard to claim 1, Masahiro teaches a water separator comprising: a flow-conducting interior (exhaust passage 34 to gas-liquid separator 35) ; and a water outlet (drainage passage 45) connected to the flow-conducting interior, the water outlet comprising a throttle element (figure 2 below) that is inserted in the water outlet and configured to conduct water flow into the throttle element, wherein the throttle element comprises: a first channel section comprising a conical section (discharge regulating part 46) tapering in a direction of the water flow into the first channel section; a constriction (restriction opening 60) directly connected to an output of the first channel section, the constriction comprising a cylindrical section; and a cylindrical channel section (exhaust drainage passage 45 on second side of constriction) directly connected to an output of the constriction, the cylindrical channel section having a cross-section that is larger than a cross-section of the constriction (see annotated figures 1 and 2 below, pages 3 through 6 of machine translation) . In regard to claim 2 , the cross-section of the cylindrical channel section becomes larger in the direction of the water flow into the first channel section to an end of the throttle element (figure 2 above) . In regard to claim 3 , the Examiner notes that “ the throttle element is inserted in the water outlet by heat-set insertion or by injection molding ” relates to a product by process limitations that does not distinguish the claims from the prior art (MPEP 2113) which may be formed in other ways and have the an indistinguishable structure . In regard to claim 7 , the throttle element comprises an outer wall having a cylinder shape (figure 2 above) . In regard to claim 14 , Masahiro teaches a fuel cell system comprising: a fuel cell unit 12 ; a cathode supply air path 20 connected to the fuel cell unit; a cathode exhaust air path 45 connected to the fuel cell unit; and the water separator according to claim 1, wherein the water separator is arranged in the cathode exhaust air path and is configured to limit an air flow in a drainage path of the water separator (see figure 1, page 3 of translation) . 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. Claims 4-6 and 8-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Masahiro as applied to claim 1, and further in view of Kang et al. (CN 106523210 cited in IDS, a machine translation of which is attached) . Regarding claims 4-6 and 8-13, Masahiro teaches t he water separator according to claim 1 above but does not disclose particulars of the throttle. However, Kang et al. teach a similar water separator for a vehicle and the desirability for form a throttle with a constriction of a diameter of 1. 6 mm that is formed of ethylene propylene diene rubber (i.e. a plasti c – see page 7 of attached machine translation), wherein the outer wall comprises an outer circumference comprising one or more corrugations that are oriented in an axial direction of the outer wall , the outer wall comprises an outer circumference comprising one or more circumferential grooves with a knurled structure (see figure 6 below ), wherein the water outlet is arranged tangentially in a spin direction of the water separator (figure 5), the water outlet is arranged radially in an outward direction and arranged at an angle (figure 3 annotated below ) relative to a longitudinal axis of the water separator and further comprising a funnel-shaped region (rotational flow component 2) connecting the water outlet to the flow-conducting interior which forms a water separator which purifies the air effectively, reducing maintenance and costs (pages 5-7 of machine translation) . Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the before the effective filing date of the claimed invention filed to include a plastic throttle shaped as shown above disposed at an angle downstream of a funnel shaped region as such is an effective arrangement for purifying and removing water from an exhaust stream as taught by Kang et al. In any event, changes to size and shape of the prior art throttle are an obvious modification absent evidence to the contrary (see MPEP 2144.04 Part IV) as the shape and size of the throttle materially affect the functionality. Conclusion The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure - US Pub 2008/0233445 newly cited , teaches a similar fuel cell system with a constrictive throttle (see paragraph [0084]). Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FILLIN "Examiner name" \* MERGEFORMAT NICHOLAS P D'ANIELLO whose telephone number is FILLIN "Phone number" \* MERGEFORMAT (571)270-3635 . The examiner can normally be reached FILLIN "Work Schedule?" \* MERGEFORMAT Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm EST . 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 Tong Guo can be reached at FILLIN "SPE Phone?" \* MERGEFORMAT 571-272-3066 . 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. /NICHOLAS P D'ANIELLO/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1723