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 .
Response to Amendment
The amendment filed July 10th, 2026 has been entered. Claims 1 and 8-9 remain pending in the application. The amendments to the claims have overcome each and every claim objection previously cited in the Non-Final rejection mailed April 10th, 2026. However, the amendment has raised other issues detailed below.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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.
Claims 1 and 8-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shim et al. (KR 20210126800), hereinafter Shim in view of Ishimaru et al. (US 20140053598), hereinafter Ishimaru, Higo et al. (JPH 02171579), hereinafter Higo, and Turney et al. (US Patent No. 12,584,686), hereinafter Turney.
Regarding claim 1, Shim discloses a hydrogen liquefaction system without pre-cooling based on a refrigeration cycle (Fig. 1, hydrogen liquefaction and natural gas suppression system 1; Further, the hydrogen liquefaction and natural gas suppression system 1 of Fig. 1 of Shim does not include any separate pre-cooling refrigeration cycle) comprising:
a first pipe set in which gaseous hydrogen is liquefied into liquid hydrogen (See annotated Fig. 1 of Shim below, first pipe set A; Pg. 9, paragraph 70, The hydrogen liquefaction unit 40 cools and liquefies gaseous hydrogen supplied from the outside through heat exchange with a refrigerant circulating continuously in the refrigerant circulation unit 20, and then fills the storage tank 10);
a second pipe set and a third pipe set forming a closed-loop refrigeration cycle through which refrigerant flows to exchange heat with the gaseous hydrogen flowing through the first pipe set (Annotated Fig. 1 of Shim depicts second pipe set B and third pipe set C to form a refrigeration cycle of a closed loop; Pg. 8, paragraph 50, The refrigerant circulation unit 20 expands and depressurizes the high-temperature and high-pressure refrigerant to convert it into a low-temperature and low-pressure refrigerant, and continuously circulates it to cool gaseous hydrogen and natural gas);
a first heat exchanger and a third heat exchanger sequentially arranged in a direction in which the gaseous hydrogen flows in the first pipe set (annotated Fig. 1 of Shim depicts the first heat exchanger unit 25 to be in heat exchange with the first pipe set A, the second pipe set B and the third pipe set C and the third heat exchanger unit 25 to be in heat exchange with the first pipe set A and the third pipe set C; Pg. 8, paragraph 53, And the refrigerant circulation unit 20 flows the high-temperature high-pressure refrigerant and the low-temperature low-pressure refrigerant circulating along the first refrigerant circulation line 21 in opposite directions to exchange thermal energy with each other, so that the hydrogen supply line of the hydrogen liquefaction unit 40 At least one heat exchange unit 25 for cooling gaseous hydrogen supplied along (41) is provided),
a first turbo expander provided in the second pipe set and located downstream of the first heat exchanger (See annotated Fig. 1 of Shim, expansion unit 26 is disposed on second pipe set B downstream of heat exchange unit 25), and
a refrigerant compressor provided on one side of the second pipe set and one side of the third pipe set (See annotated Fig. 1 of Shim, refrigerant compression unit 22 is provided on one side of the second pipe sent B and one side of the third pipe set C).
Shim does not explicitly disclose a second heat exchanger sequentially arranged with the first heat exchanger and the third heat exchanger,
wherein the second heat exchanger cools the gaseous hydrogen that has passed through the first heat exchanger by heat exchange with the refrigerant that has passed through the first turbo expander.
However, Shim suggests that a plurality of heat exchange units can be used as the heat exchange capacity increases with the addition of heat exchangers (Pg. 8, paragraphs 55-58, Here, the heat exchange unit 25 may be divided into a plurality of heat exchange zones, and the heat exchange units 25 of each divided zone may be connected to each other to circulate the refrigerant. In addition, when helium is used as a refrigerant in the heat exchange unit 25, several devices may be arranged side by side along the first refrigerant circulation line 21 to facilitate heat exchange or cooling of the refrigerant. For example, at least one or more heat exchange units 25 may be arranged in series or parallel combination and operated together to increase heat exchange capacity and efficiency. That is, the heat exchange between the refrigerants is duplicated through the plurality of heat exchange units 25, thereby overcoming limitations in size (capacity) and performance, and re-liquefying the natural gas in the storage tank 10 more efficiently).
Therefore, it would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the hydrogen liquefaction system without pre-cooling of Shim of claim 1 to include a second heat exchanger sequentially arranged with the first heat exchanger and the third heat exchanger and, the second heat exchanger cooling the gaseous hydrogen cooled while passing through the first heat exchanger, specifically positioned between the two heat exchanger units 25 depicted in Fig. 1 of Shim. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification because the heat exchange between the refrigerants is duplicated through the plurality of heat exchange units 25, thereby overcoming limitations in size (capacity) and performance, and re-liquefying the natural gas in the storage tank 10 more efficiently (Shim, Pg. 8, paragraphs 58). Further, the modification described herein results wherein the second heat exchanger cools the gaseous hydrogen that has passed through the first heat exchanger by heat exchange with the refrigerant that has passed through the first turbo expander (Pg. 8, paragraph 53, And the refrigerant circulation unit 20 flows the high-temperature high-pressure refrigerant and the low-temperature low-pressure refrigerant circulating along the first refrigerant circulation line 21 in opposite directions to exchange thermal energy with each other, so that the hydrogen supply line of the hydrogen liquefaction unit 40 At least one heat exchange unit 25 for cooling gaseous hydrogen supplied along (41) is provided). Moreover, regarding the second heat exchanger, “the courts have held that mere duplication of parts has no patentable significance unless a new and unexpected result is produced. In re Harza, 274 F.2d 669, 124 USPQ 378 (CCPA 1960): (Claims at issue were directed to a water-tight masonry structure wherein a water seal of flexible material fills the joints which form between adjacent pours of concrete. The claimed water seal has a "web" which lies in the joint, and a plurality of "ribs" projecting outwardly from each side of the web into one of the adjacent concrete slabs. The prior art disclosed a flexible water stop for preventing passage of water between masses of concrete in the shape of a plus sign (+). Although the reference did not disclose a plurality of ribs, the court held that mere duplication of parts has no patentable significance unless a new and unexpected result is produced.)” MPEP § 2144.04-VI-B.
Shim as modified further discloses wherein a flow rate of the refrigerant branched to an extended part of the second pipe set is controlled based on a flow rate ratio Y to selectively perform a liquefaction operation for the gaseous hydrogen and a cooling operation for a liquid hydrogen storage tank (Shim, Fig. 1, storage tank 10, heat exchanger tube 30, refrigerant inlet line 31; Pg. 9, paragraph 63-65, The heat exchange tube 30 serves to cool and liquefy the naturally vaporized gas evaporated and vaporized from the liquid hydrogen in the storage tank 10 by the endothermic action of the refrigerant converted and separated in the refrigerant circulation unit 20. To this end, the refrigerant in the low-temperature and low-pressure state of the refrigerant circulation unit 20 is circulated to the inside of the storage tank 10. That is, the refrigerant circulating in the heat exchange tube 30 in the refrigerant circulation unit 20 absorbs the heat of the naturally vaporized gas generated in the storage tank 10 to cool and liquefy it; Pg. 9, paragraph 70, The hydrogen liquefaction unit 40 cools and liquefies gaseous hydrogen supplied from the outside through heat exchange with a refrigerant circulating continuously in the refrigerant circulation unit 20, and then fills the storage tank 10), wherein:
Y
=
ṁ
2
ṁ
where
ṁ
is a total flow rate of refrigerant through the second pipe set and
ṁ
2
is the flow rate of the refrigerant branched to the extended part of the second pipe set,
wherein Y is greater than zero and less than one (Shim, Pg. 10, paragraph 88-93, In the case of the liquid phase existing in the storage tank 10, since the temperature and pressure are higher than that of the gaseous refrigerant flowing into the storage tank 10, a cooling effect can be obtained. In this process, the flow rate of the refrigerant flowing from the refrigerant circulation unit 20 to the heat exchange tube 30 may be appropriately adjusted according to the measured value of the water level transmitter 60 installed in the storage tank 10. That is, the water level transmitter 60 may control the operation of the flow rate control valve 50 according to a preset value to stably adjust the amount of refrigerant transferred into the storage tank 10. In addition, the gaseous hydrogen supplied from the outside through the hydrogen liquefaction unit 40 may be liquefied by cooling by heat exchange with the refrigerant circulating in the refrigerant circulation unit 20, and then charged in the storage tank 10. As such, the hydrogen liquefaction and natural vaporization gas suppression system 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention cools the gaseous hydrogen supplied from the outside through heat exchange through the refrigerant circulation unit 20 and the hydrogen liquefaction unit 40. After being liquefied, the natural vaporized gas evaporated and vaporized from liquid hydrogen in the storage tank 10 at the same time as being liquefied in the storage tank 10 is efficiently circulated from the refrigerant circulation unit 20 to the heat exchange tube 30. can be reliquefied and stored. Therefore, it is possible to stably and efficiently liquefy gaseous hydrogen by utilizing the endothermic heat of the refrigerant circulation unit 20, as well as suppress the natural vaporization gas generation due to evaporation and vaporization in the storage tank 10, thereby reducing the storage loss of liquid hydrogen. can be minimized; Further, the teachings of Shim at least imply the flow rate is controlled based on the flow rate ration Y, wherein Y is greater than zero and less than one as Shim describes a continuous flow between both the liquefaction operation of the gaseous hydrogen and the cooling operation of the tank to enact both liquefaction of hydrogen and suppression of losses in the storage tank since it has been held in considering the disclosure of a reference, it is proper to take into account not only specific teachings of the reference but also the inferences which one skilled in the art would reasonably be expected to draw therefrom (MPEP 2144.01)), and
wherein the gaseous hydrogen is cooled step by step by the first heat exchanger, the second heat exchanger, and the third heat exchanger and liquefied into the liquid hydrogen (Shim, Pg. 9, paragraph 70, The hydrogen liquefaction unit 40 cools and liquefies gaseous hydrogen supplied from the outside through heat exchange with a refrigerant circulating continuously in the refrigerant circulation unit 20, and then fills the storage tank 10). Further, the cooling of the gaseous hydrogen in the second heat exchanger is a result of the modification relied upon in the rejection of claim 1.
However, Shim as modified does not disclose the gaseous hydrogen supplied through a gaseous hydrogen buffer tank.
Ishimaru teaches the gaseous hydrogen supplied through a gaseous hydrogen buffer tank (Fig. 1, raw material tank 1; Pg. 3, paragraph 35, The raw material tank 1 is a source of supply of the raw material gas, and stores the hydrogen gas at a normal temperature and pressure).
Therefore, it would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the hydrogen liquefaction system without pre-cooling of Shim as modified wherein the gaseous hydrogen supplied through a gaseous hydrogen buffer tank as taught by Ishimaru. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification to provide onsite storage of the feed gas to allow for improved rates of production.
Further, Shim as modified does not disclose the first turbo expander to be located between the first heat exchanger and the second heat exchanger, and
a second turbo expander provided on another side of the second pipe set and on another side of the third pipe set, and located between the second heat exchanger and the third heat exchanger; and
wherein the first turbo expander and the second turbo expander are arranged in series in the closed-loop refrigeration cycle such that the refrigerant sequentially passes through the first turbo expander and the second turbo expander, and temperature and pressure levels of the refrigerant are sequentially reduced.
Higo teaches a turbo expander to be located between two heat exchangers (Fig. 1 of Higo depicts second expansion turbine 37 to be disposed between heat exchanger 9 and heat exchanger 12, heat exchanger 9 and heat exchanger 12 corresponding the first and second heat exchangers of the claimed invention, respectively, as both heat exchanger 9 and heat exchanger 12 are in thermal communication with all three pipe sets of Higo),
a turbo expander provided on another side of the second pipe set and on another side of the third pipe set, and located between the second heat exchanger and the third heat exchanger (Fig. 1 of Higo depicts third expansion turbine 38 to be provided on another side of the second pipe set B’ and on another side of third pipe set C’, and located between heat exchanger 12 and heat exchanger 17, heat exchanger 12 and heat exchanger 17 corresponding the second and third heat exchangers of the claimed invention, respectively, as heat exchanger 12 is in thermal communication with all three pipe sets of Higo and heat exchanger 17 is in thermal communication with the third pipe set and the first pipe set); and
wherein the first turbo expander and the second turbo expander are arranged in series in the closed-loop refrigeration cycle such that the refrigerant sequentially passes through the first turbo expander and the second turbo expander, and temperature and pressure levels of the refrigerant are sequentially reduced (Fig. 1 of Higo depicts second expansion turbine 37 and the third expansion turbine 38 are arranged in series in the closed-loop refrigeration cycle such that the refrigerant sequentially passes therethrough and temperature and pressure levels of the refrigerant are sequentially reduced; Further, the second expansion turbine 37 and the third expansion turbine 38 of Higo have the same structure as the claimed first and second turbo expanders and are capable of functioning in the manner claimed).
Shim as modified fails to teach disclose the first turbo expander to be located between the first heat exchanger and the second heat exchanger, a second turbo expander provided on another side of the second pipe set and on another side of the third pipe set, and located between the second heat exchanger and the third heat exchanger; and wherein the first turbo expander and the second turbo expander are arranged in series in the closed-loop refrigeration cycle such that the refrigerant sequentially passes therethrough and temperature and pressure levels of the refrigerant are sequentially reduced, however Higo teaches that it is a known method in the art of hydrogen liquefaction to include the first turbo expander to be located between the first heat exchanger and the second heat exchanger, a second turbo expander provided on another side of the second pipe set and on another side of the third pipe set, and located between the second heat exchanger and the third heat exchanger; and wherein the first turbo expander and the second turbo expander are arranged in series in the closed-loop refrigeration cycle such that the refrigerant sequentially passes therethrough and temperature and pressure levels of the refrigerant are sequentially reduced. This is strong evidence that modifying Shim as modified as claimed would produce predictable results (i.e. sufficient depressurization of the refrigerant to ensure adequate cooling compacity within the system to improve overall system efficiencies). Accordingly, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Shim as modified by Higo and arrive at the claimed invention since all claimed elements were known in the art and one having ordinary skill in the art could have combined the elements as claimed by known methods with no changes in their respective functions and the combination would have yielded the predictable result of sufficient depressurization of the refrigerant to ensure adequate cooling compacity within the system to improve overall system efficiencies. Further, the modification of references as described herein to include the second turbo expander located between the second heat exchanger and the third heat exchanger result in wherein the third heat exchanger cools the gaseous hydrogen that has passed through the second heat exchanger by heat exchange with the refrigerant that has passed through the second turbo expander (Shim, Pg. 8, paragraph 53, And the refrigerant circulation unit 20 flows the high-temperature high-pressure refrigerant and the low-temperature low-pressure refrigerant circulating along the first refrigerant circulation line 21 in opposite directions to exchange thermal energy with each other, so that the hydrogen supply line of the hydrogen liquefaction unit 40 At least one heat exchange unit 25 for cooling gaseous hydrogen supplied along (41) is provided).
Moreover, Shim as modified does not disclose wherein the first heat exchanger, the second heat exchanger, the third heat exchanger, the first turbo expander, and the second turbo expander are disposed within a cold box.
Turney teaches heat exchangers and expanders of a hydrogen liquefaction system to be disposed within a cold box (Fig. 3, cold-box 1, precooling system 20, liquefying system 30; Col. 10, lines 22-33, HLU 10 preferably comprises a precooling system 20, a liquefying system 30, a primary refrigeration system 70, a secondary refrigeration system (60, 62,64), and a thermal insulator such as a cold-box 10, which provides thermal insulation for certain equipment within HLU 10 that will be exposed to temperatures below freezing. Precooling system 20 and liquefying system 30 preferably include heat exchangers configured to operate at cryogenic temperatures and exchange heat between two or more stream via indirect heat exchange. The types of heat exchangers used in certain embodiments can be chosen appropriately by one of ordinary skill in the art).
Therefore, it would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Shim as modified wherein the first heat exchanger, the second heat exchanger, the third heat exchanger, the first turbo expander, and the second turbo expander are disposed within a cold box as taught by Turney. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification to provide thermal insulation for certain equipment within hydrogen liquefaction unit that will be exposed to temperatures below freezing to improve overall system efficiencies (Turney, Col. 10, lines 25-27).
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491
519
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Greyscale
Annotated Fig. 1 of Shim
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588
516
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Annotated Fig. 1 of Higo
Regarding claim 8, Shim as modified discloses an integrated lossless liquid hydrogen storage system (Shim, Fig. 1, hydrogen liquefaction and natural gas suppression system 1; Abstract, a heat exchange tube provided so that the low-temperature and low-pressure refrigerant converted from the refrigerant circulation unit circulates inside the storage tank, and configured to cool and liquefy the BOG evaporated and vaporized from the liquid hydrogen in the storage tank, by the endothermic action of the refrigerant circulating inside the heat exchange tube), comprising:
the liquid hydrogen storage tank for storing liquefied liquid hydrogen supplied from the first pipe set of the hydrogen liquefaction system according to Claim 1 (Shim, Fig. 1, storage tank 10; Pg. 9, paragraph 70, The hydrogen liquefaction unit 40 cools and liquefies gaseous hydrogen supplied from the outside through heat exchange with a refrigerant circulating continuously in the refrigerant circulation unit 20, and then fills the storage tank 10; see the combination of references used in the rejection of claim 1 above), and
wherein the extended part of the second pipe set of the hydrogen liquefaction system branches and extends to the liquid hydrogen storage tank, and the refrigerant flowing through the extended part of the second pipe set exchanges heat with the liquid hydrogen stored in the liquid hydrogen storage tank to absorb evaporation heat of the liquid hydrogen (Shim, Fig. 1, heat exchanger tube 30, refrigerant inlet line 31; Pg. 9, paragraph 63-65, The heat exchange tube 30 serves to cool and liquefy the naturally vaporized gas evaporated and vaporized from the liquid hydrogen in the storage tank 10 by the endothermic action of the refrigerant converted and separated in the refrigerant circulation unit 20. To this end, the refrigerant in the low-temperature and low-pressure state of the refrigerant circulation unit 20 is circulated to the inside of the storage tank 10. That is, the refrigerant circulating in the heat exchange tube 30 in the refrigerant circulation unit 20 absorbs the heat of the naturally vaporized gas generated in the storage tank 10 to cool and liquefy it).
Regarding claim 9, Shim as modified discloses the integrated lossless liquid hydrogen storage system according to Claim 8 (see the combination of references used in the rejection of claim 8 above),
wherein, after the refrigerant flowing through the extended part of the second pipe set exchanges heat with the liquid hydrogen stored in the liquid hydrogen storage tank to absorb the evaporation heat of the liquid hydrogen, the refrigerant is retrieved to the hydrogen liquefaction system (Shim, Fig. 1, refrigerant outlet line 32; Pg. 9, paragraph 66, Here, the heat exchange tube 30 is connected to communicate with the first refrigerant circulation line 21 of the refrigerant circulation unit 20 by the refrigerant inlet line 31 and the refrigerant outlet line 32).
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed July 10th, 2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant argues on Pg. 8-9 (as numbered by Applicant) of the Remarks, “As noted above, the Examiner rejected claims 1 and 8-9 under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as allegedly being obvious over Shim in view of Ishimaru and Higo and further in view of Tumey. With this amendment, claim 1 is amended to recite, inter alia, "wherein a flow rate of the refrigerant branched to an extended part of the second pipe set is controlled based on a flow rate ratio Y to selectively perform a liquefaction operation for the gaseous hydrogen and a cooling operation for a liquid hydrogen storage tank, wherein:
Y
=
ṁ
2
ṁ
, where is a total flow rate of refrigerant
ṁ
through the second pipe set and is the flow rate of the refrigerant branched to the extended part
ṁ
2
of the second pipe set, wherein Y is greater than zero and less than one." Support for these amendments can be found at least in paragraphs [0034]-[0036] of the originally-filed specification, and in FIG. 2. Shim, Ishimaru, Higo, and Tumey fail to teach or suggest that "a flow rate of the refrigerant branched to an extended part of the second pipe set is controlled based on a flow rate ratio Y" where Y is a ratio of the flow rate of the refrigerant branched to the extended part of the second
pipe set to the total flow rate of refrigerant through the second pipe set, and where Y is greater than zero and less than one. In the rejection to claim 8, the Examiner alleges that Shim discloses an extended part of the second pipe set of the hydrogen liquefaction system branches and extends to the liquid
hydrogen tank. Office Action, pp. 11 and 12. Further, as noted above, in the interview, the Examiner alleged that the flow control valve 50 of Shim selectively controls a flow rate ratio of refrigerant through the alleged branch portion of Shim. However, Shim is silent as to the flow rate ratio. In fact, Shim does not disclose that flow rate ratio has any role in controlling a flow rate of refrigerant branched to an extended part of the second pipe set and the storage tank 10. Rather, Shim discloses that a water level transmitter of the storage tank 10 transmits a control signal to the flow control valve 50 to thereby control a flow rate of refrigerant flowing to the storage tank 10. While Shim may effect a flow of refrigerant to the storage tank that results in a flow rate ratio, it is not controlled based on a flow rate ratio. Further, the claim requires that the flow rate ratio Y, and thus the flow rate of the refrigerant branched to the extended part of the second pipe set, is greater than 0. Shim is also silent as to this element. There is no teaching or suggestion in Shim that a flow rate of the refrigerant branched to an extended part of the second pipe set is controlled to achieve a non-zero flow rate through the refrigerant branch. While there is discussion in Shim regarding controlling the flow rate control valve 50 based on a signal from the water level transmitter, there is no range provided for a flow rate ratio, as defined in the claim. Applicant notes that none of the Ishimaru, Higo, and Tumey have been cited to teach "an extended part of the second pipe set" or any aspect of a flow rate of refrigerant therethrough.
Further, Ishimaru, Higo, and Tumey are silent at to a flow rate of the refrigerant branched to an
extended part of the second pipe set. These references therefore fail to cure the deficiencies of Shim. For at least these reasons, claim 1 is patentable over the combination of Shim, Ishimaru, Higo, and Tumey. Applicant therefore respectfully requests withdrawal of the rejection to claim 1 under 35 U.S.C. § 103 and allowance of the claim. It follows that claims 8 and 9 are also allowable, at least due to their dependence on claim 1, and Applicant therefore requests withdrawal of the rejections to those claims and allowance of the claims.”
However, this argument is not persuasive as the amended claims only require that a flow rate ratio exists between the total flow rate of the refrigerant and the refrigerant branched to the extended part of the second pipe set and that the flow rate ratio is non-zero. Shim discloses a system that simultaneously uses the refrigerant flow for liquefaction of the hydrogen gas supplied to the system and cooling of the liquid hydrogen stored in the tank, this at least implies the flow rate ratio between the refrigerant supplied for liquefaction of the hydrogen and the refrigerant supplied for cooling the liquid hydrogen in the tank is non-zero since it has been held in considering the disclosure of a reference, it is proper to take into account not only specific teachings of the reference but also the inferences which one skilled in the art would reasonably be expected to draw therefrom (MPEP 2144.01) (Shim, Pg. 10, paragraph 88-93, In the case of the liquid phase existing in the storage tank 10, since the temperature and pressure are higher than that of the gaseous refrigerant flowing into the storage tank 10, a cooling effect can be obtained. In this process, the flow rate of the refrigerant flowing from the refrigerant circulation unit 20 to the heat exchange tube 30 may be appropriately adjusted according to the measured value of the water level transmitter 60 installed in the storage tank 10. That is, the water level transmitter 60 may control the operation of the flow rate control valve 50 according to a preset value to stably adjust the amount of refrigerant transferred into the storage tank 10. In addition, the gaseous hydrogen supplied from the outside through the hydrogen liquefaction unit 40 may be liquefied by cooling by heat exchange with the refrigerant circulating in the refrigerant circulation unit 20, and then charged in the storage tank 10. As such, the hydrogen liquefaction and natural vaporization gas suppression system 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention cools the gaseous hydrogen supplied from the outside through heat exchange through the refrigerant circulation unit 20 and the hydrogen liquefaction unit 40. After being liquefied, the natural vaporized gas evaporated and vaporized from liquid hydrogen in the storage tank 10 at the same time as being liquefied in the storage tank 10 is efficiently circulated from the refrigerant circulation unit 20 to the heat exchange tube 30. can be reliquefied and stored. Therefore, it is possible to stably and efficiently liquefy gaseous hydrogen by utilizing the endothermic heat of the refrigerant circulation unit 20, as well as suppress the natural vaporization gas generation due to evaporation and vaporization in the storage tank 10, thereby reducing the storage loss of liquid hydrogen. can be minimized). Further, although Shim does not explicitly disclose a flow rate ratio or control based on the flow rate ratio, control of the flow between the refrigerant supplied for liquefaction of the hydrogen and the refrigerant supplied for cooling the liquid hydrogen in the tank based on the non-zero ratio is at least implied as the simultaneous liquefaction and cooling operations of Shim as modified cannot occur if zero refrigerant is supplied to the branch 30. Further, the only time in Shim where zero flow to the branch 30 is suggested is when the system is stopped which further implies there is always flow to branch 30 during system operations since it has been held in considering the disclosure of a reference, it is proper to take into account not only specific teachings of the reference but also the inferences which one skilled in the art would reasonably be expected to draw therefrom (MPEP 2144.01) (Shim, Pg. 9, paragraph 76-77, The flow rate control valve 50 includes a refrigerant circulation unit 20 and a heat exchange tube (30) is installed in the middle of the refrigerant inlet line 31 connected to pass through. That is, the flow rate control valve 50 may block the flow of the gaseous refrigerant into the heat exchange tube 30 through the refrigerant inlet line 31 under the control of a separate controller when the system is stopped). See the rejection of claim 1 above.
The rejection of independent claim 1 is maintained. The rejections of dependent claims 8-9 are also maintained for at least the reasons described herein.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DEVON T MOORE whose telephone number is 571-272-6555. The examiner can normally be reached M-F, 7:30-5.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Frantz Jules can be reached at 571-272-6681. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/DEVON MOORE/Examiner, Art Unit 3763 September 02nd, 2026
/FRANTZ F JULES/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3763
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