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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election with traverse of Group I, species A(i), B(ii) and C(iv), claims 1-4, 6-7, 9 and 14-15, in the reply filed on August 3, 2026 is acknowledged. The traversal is on the ground(s) that:
• The apparatus of Group III therefore uses, and is embodied by, the system of Group I. This is not found persuasive because it is well settled that unpatented claims are given the broadest, most reasonable interpretation and that limitations are not read into the claims without a proper claim basis therefor. In re Prater 415 F. 2d 1393, 162 USPQ 541 (CCPA 1969); In re Zeltz 893 F. 2d 319, 13 USPQ 1320.
• The apparatus of Group III is a means-plus-function counterpart of the method of Group II, reciting the same functions and covering the same corresponding structure.
This is not found persuasive because there is no control circuitry coupled to the first electrolyzer stack and configured to perform operations as required in Group I.
• The prior art applicable to one Group would be applicable to the others, and the Groups would not raise divergent non-prior-art issues under 35 U.S.C. 101 or 112.
This is not found persuasive because any differences in scope requires a different analysis which can lead to a different field of search and application of prior art.
The requirement is still deemed proper and is therefore made FINAL.
Accordingly, claims 5, 8, 10-13 (species), 16-18 (method) and 19-20 (apparatus) are withdrawn from consideration as being directed to a non-elected invention.
Drawings
The drawings were received on November 10, 2023. These drawings are acceptable.
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)(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.
Claim(s) 1-4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by WO 2025/006672 (‘672).
Regarding claim 1, WO ‘672 teaches a system (= an electrochemical system having one
or more electrochemical cells) [ρ [0036]] comprising:
• a first electrolyzer stack comprising a first plurality of electrolytic cells (= a stack of electrochemical cells 410B, 410C, 410D) [ρ [0056]]; and
• control circuit coupled to the first electrolyzer (= disclosed is a controller electrically coupled with a sensor network, a voltage/current source, and an electrochemical system having one or more electrochemical cells) [ρ [0036]] stack (= the system may comprise multiple cell stacks, and the cells may be connected in any suitable combination of series and parallel connections) [ρ [0036]] and configured to perform operations (= charge control operations applied to a stack) [ρ [0056]] comprising:
۰ determining that a first electrolytic cell in the first electrolyzer stack is associated with a first set of performance criteria that fails to satisfy one or more operating conditions (= cell 410C is below the required voltage) [ρ [0056]; and Fig. 4B];
۰ determining that a second electrolytic cell is associated with a second set of performance criteria that satisfies the one or more operating conditions (= cell 410B is at the required voltage) [ρ [0056]; and Fig. 4B]; and
۰ bypassing the first electrolytic cell and the second electrolytic cell (= whenever the system 100 determines that electrochemical cell 410C has reached the target voltage, all of the electrochemical cells 410B, 410C, 410D are bypassed) [ρ [0056]] in response to determining that the first electrolytic cell in the first electrolyzer stack is associated with the first set of performance criteria that fails to satisfy the one or more operating conditions and based on determining that the second electrolytic cell is associated with the second set of performance
criteria that satisfies the one or more operating conditions (= whenever the system 100
determines that electrochemical cell 410C has reached the target voltage, all of the electrochemical cells 410B, 410C, 410D are bypassed) [ρ [0056]].
Regarding claim 2, WO ‘672 teaches wherein the second electrolytic cell is in the first electrolyzer stack and is adjacent to the first electrolytic cell on a first side of the first electrolytic cell (=
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594
611
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[Fig. 4B].
Regarding claim 3, WO ‘672 teaches wherein the operations further comprise:
identifying a third electrolytic cell in the first electrolyzer stack that is adjacent to the first
electrolytic cell on a second side of the first electrolytic cell (= cell 410D) [ρ [0056]] in response
to determining that the first electrolytic cell in the first electrolyzer stack is associated with the
first set of performance criteria that fails to satisfy the one or more operating conditions (= cell 410C is below the required voltage) [ρ [0056]; and Fig. 4B].
Regarding claim 4, WO ‘672 teaches wherein the operations further comprise: determining that the third electrolytic cell is associated with a third set of performance criteria
that satisfies the one or more operating conditions (= cell 410D is at the required voltage) [Fig. 4B]; and bypassing the third electrolytic cell along with the first electrolytic cell and the second electrolytic cell (= in the example depicted in FIG. 4B, whenever the system 100 determines that electrochemical cell 410C has reached the target voltage, all of the electrochemical cells 410B, 410C, 410D are bypassed) [ρ [0056]] in response to determining that the first electrolytic cell in the first electrolyzer stack is associated with the first set of performance criteria that fails to satisfy the one or more operating conditions (= cell 410C is below the required voltage) [ρ [0056]; and Fig. 4B] and based on identifying the third electrolytic cell in the first electrolyzer stack that is adjacent to the first electrolytic cell on a second side of the first electrolytic cell (=
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613
627
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[Fig. 4b].
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.
Claim(s) 15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over WO 2025/006672 (‘672) as applied to claims 1-4 above, and further in view of KR 102265486 (‘486).
Regarding claim 15, WO ‘672 teaches the system of at least claims 1-4 as applied above. WO ‘672 does not explicitly teach wherein the first set of performance criteria comprises at least one of pinhole formation, catalyst degradation or dissolution, porous transport layer (PTL) coating degradation, current through the first electrolytic cell, or bipolar plate degradation; and wherein the one or more operating conditions comprise at least one of a pinhole formation threshold, maximum catalyst degradation or dissolution value, porous transport layer (PTL) coating degradation threshold, maximum current threshold, or a bipolar plate degradation threshold.
WO ‘672 teaches that disclosed is a controller operable to control the charging and/or discharging operations applied to one or more electrochemical cells in a manner that provides improved selection and control of desired electrochemical processes, or prevents or avoids cell damage by providing improved control to avoid an overvoltage condition and/or an undervoltage condition (ρ [0031]).
KR ‘486 teaches that:
In order to solve the problems of the aforementioned prior art and to satisfy requirements, one embodiment of the present invention aims to solve the technical problem of providing a fuel cell module, a fuel cell module system, an electrolysis module, an electrolysis module system, a fuel cell-electrolysis composite module, and a fuel cell-electrolysis composite module system, wherein in the event of a failure in a specific cell stack in a fuel cell or electrolysis module system composed of a plurality of fuel cell cells or electrolysis cell stacks, the power and fuel bypass function is provided to enable the continuation of power production of the entire fuel cell module or fuel cell system or electrolysis of the electrolysis module or electrolysis of the electrolysis module system by bypassing the supply fuel and output power or input power of the said cell stack (ρ [0010]).
Specifically, a control unit (100) receives a signal, such as a temperature, voltage, current, or hydrogen gas detection signal, measured by a sensor (S) configured in a faulty fuel cell stack (13), and detects whether there is a fault in the received signal, and then short-circuits the input terminal and output terminal of the faulty fuel cell stack (13) by a bypass switch (63) connected in parallel with the fuel cell stack (11) [ρ [0047]].
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the first set of performance criteria and the one or more operating conditions taught by WO ‘672 with wherein the first set of
performance criteria comprises at least one of pinhole formation, catalyst degradation or dissolution, porous transport layer (PTL) coating degradation, current through the first electrolytic cell, or bipolar plate degradation; and wherein the one or more operating conditions comprise at least one of a pinhole formation threshold, maximum catalyst degradation or dissolution value, porous transport layer (PTL) coating degradation threshold, maximum current threshold,1 or a bipolar plate degradation threshold. The person with ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification because failures
occur in electrolysis cell stacks as taught by KR ‘486 in [0010] where sensing current would have detected whether there is a fault in the received signal indicating a faulty cell of the stack as taught by KR ‘486 in [0047].
Allowable Subject Matter
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Claim 6 defines over the prior art of record because the prior art does not contain any language that teaches or suggests the system of claim 2, wherein the operations for bypassing the first electrolytic cell and the second electrolytic cell comprise closing a single switch that is associated with the first electrolytic cell for routing current from a first bipolar plate of the second electrolytic cell around a second bipolar plate of the first electrolytic cell to a third bipolar plate of the first electrolytic cell, the single switch preventing current from passing through an individual bipolar plate of the second electrolytic cell to the second bipolar plate when the single switch is closed.
Claims 7, 9 and 14 define over the prior art of record because the prior art does not contain any language that teaches or suggests the system of claim 1, further comprising: a second electrolyzer stack comprising a second plurality of electrolytic cells coupled to the
control circuitry, the second plurality of electrolytic cells comprising the second electrolytic cell, and the first electrolyzer stack being electrically coupled in parallel with the second electrolyzer stack.
Therefore, a person skilled in the art would not have been motivated to adopt the above conditions, and a prima facie case of obviousness cannot be established.
Claims 6-7, 9 and 14 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but
would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base
claim and any intervening claims.
Citations
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Kwon et al. (US Patent Application Publication No. 2012/0043820 A1) is cited to teach
that exemplary embodiments provide for a fuel cell system that enables bypassing to effectively isolate a defective cell, bundle, or stack from other normal cells, bundles, or stacks so that the defective cell, bundle, or stack does not influence the other normal cells, bundles, or stacks, and a method for driving the same (page 1, [0008]).
WO 99/05729 (‘729) is cited to teach a bypass apparatus (page 3, line 22, to page 4, line 10).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to EDNA WONG whose telephone number is (571) 272-1349. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday, 7:00 AM- 3:30 PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s
supervisor, Luan Van can be reached at (571) 272-8521. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/EDNA WONG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1795
1 The cell’s resistance (from electrodes, wiring, and solution) limits the maximum current before excessive heating or voltage drop occurs.
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