DETAILED ACTION
Application 18/552678, “ELECTROCHEMICAL CELL EXHAUST MANAGEMENT SYSTEM”, is the national stage entry of a PCT application filed on 5/16/22, and claims priority from a foreign application filed on 5/21/21.
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
This Office Action on the merits is in response to communication filed on 8/6/26.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments filed on 8/6/26 have been fully considered, but are not persuasive.
Applicant argues that the combination of Ishihara and Lin fails to teach the presently claimed invention because Lin does not teach “a seal portion provided on at least one of the fuel gas flow passage surface and the oxidation gas flow passage surface”. More specifically, applicant argues that the seal of Lin (item 94) is formed on the membrane electrode assembly (item 90), thus being bonded to and/or part of the membrane electrode assembly, and is not a component of, and is therefore excluded from, the fuel cell separator.
In response, the argument is not found persuasive at least because it is not commensurate in scope with the actual requirements of the claim. Claim 1 as worded does not require that the seal portion is a component of the [fuel gas flow passage surface or the oxidation gas flow passage surface of] the separator. Instead, claim 1 requires that the seal portion is “provided on” the fuel gas flow passage surface or the oxidation gas flow passage surface of] separator. As illustrated in Lin Figure 6, the seal (94) is provided on the separator (item 3, including a fuel gas flow passage on item 97 and an oxidation gas flow passage on item 98); therefore, the actual requirements of the disputed limitation is indeed taught by Lin.
Moreover, applicant’s argument is apparently based on a difference in manufacturing technique, wherein the seal of applicant’s detailed description is affixed to the separator before being brought into contact with the membrane electrode assembly (comparing applicant’s Figure 6 and 7), whereas the Lin seal is affixed to the membrane electrode assembly before being brought into contact with the separator (comparing Lin Figures 3 and 4). However, it has been held that “[t]he patentability of a product does not depend on its method of production. If the product in the product-by-process claim is the same as or obvious from a product of the prior art, the claim is unpatentable even though the prior product was made by a different process”. Here, in either instance, the separator, seal and membrane electrode assembly wind up in the same unified separator-seal-MEA arrangement, teaching the same structure with respect to the claimed features (compare applicant’s Fig. 7 and Lin Fig. 4). Thus, Lin is not deficient with respect to the argued limitation in product claim 1, notwithstanding the difference in method of manufacture.
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 of this title, 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 1-5 and 7-9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being obvious over the combination of Ishihara (JP 2007073422; citations taken from machine translation) and Lin (US 2018/0166704).
Regarding claims 1, Ishihara teaches (e.g. Figs 3, 4) a separator (items item 3, including items 97+98) that is formed in a plate shape, constitutes a fuel cell (Fig. 4; title; it is noted that portions of the fuel cell which are not part of the claimed “a separator” are given only limited patentable weight because the claim is drawn to a separator, not a fuel cell), and is disposed so as to be adjacent to a membrane electrode assembly (item 90) including an electrolyte membrane (item 91) to which fuel gas and oxidation gas are fed (a non-limiting statement of intended use; for completeness of record, T017 describes flowing fuel gas and oxidation gas via the separator), the separator comprising: an anode separator (item 98) including a fuel gas flow passage surface on which a flow path of the fuel gas is formed; a cathode separator (item 97) including an oxidation gas flow passage surface on which a flow path of the oxidation gas is formed; a joint portion (item 99) that joins the anode separator and the cathode separator to each other (“the peripheral portions of the separator 98 and the cathode separator 97 are joined together”, T021); and a seal portion (item 94) provided on at least one of the fuel gas flow passage surface and the oxidation gas flow passage surface (see Fig. 4), extending along the joint portion (Fig. 4; T023) and formed so as to overlap the joint portion when viewed in a thickness direction of the separator (see Fig. 4).
Ishihara does not expressly teach that the joint portion extends so as to surround the flow path of the fuel gas and the flow path of the oxidation gas.
However, Ishihara does teach that the welded portion is “formed by irradiating a laser with the peripheral edge portions [of the separators 97 and 98]”, implying a peripherally extending welded joint, but only shows the separator schematically in the thickness direction.
Moreover, in the fuel cell art, Lin teaches a fuel cell separator formed by joining cathode an anode separator plates (e.g. Fig. 2A-2C) having a joint portion (106 or 206). Lin further teaches that the joint portion 106 extends around the peripheral edge of the separator, so as to surround the flow path of the fuel gas and the flow path of the oxidation gas and seal the separator plate (see item 106 at Fig. 1A and 1B; paragraph [0022, 0028]; see also Lin claim 1 where the “bipolar plate” having a sealed periphery corresponds to the claimed separator).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention to extend the joint portion so as to surround the flow path of the fuel gas and the flow path of the oxidation gas, for the benefit of improving the sealing of the reactant gases as taught by Liu.
Regarding claim 2, the cited art remains as applied to claim 1. Ishihara further teaches wherein the seal portion is formed over an entire circumference of the joint portion (Figs. 3 and 4 and T023 teaches the gasket [sealed portion] formed over the welded portion [joint] for benefits such as to prevent corrosion of the joint), implying that the seal portion is formed over an entire circumference of the joint portion.
It is noted that Liu also teaches a seal 126 extending over the entire circumference of the separator plate (e.g. Figs. 1A and 1B), thus the requirement that the seal portion is formed over an entire circumference of the joint portion is found to be obvious over the cited art.
Regarding claim 3-5 and 7-9, the cited art remains as applied to claim 1 or 2. Ishihara further teaches wherein at least a part of the seal portion is formed at a position offset inward with respect to the joint portion overlapping as viewed in the thickness direction and at least a part of the seal portion is formed at a position offset outward with respect to the joint portion overlapping as viewed in the thickness direction (see Fig. 4 where the seal portion 94 includes a central protrusion contacting the weld/joint, an inwardly offset portion disposed closer to the membrane electrode assembly, and an outwardly offset portion disposed further from the membrane electrode assembly).
As to claim 5 and 9, the each of the cathode and anode seal portions include an outwardly offset portion, a central portion which abuts the weld/joint, and an inwardly offset portion as illustrated in Fig. 4.
Claims 6 and 10-16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being obvious over the combination of Ishihara (JP 2007073422; citations taken from machine translation) and Lin (US 2018/0166704) and Oku (US 2014/0011110).
Regarding claim 6 and 10-16, the cited art remains as applied to the appropriate base claim. Ishihara further teaches wherein the seal portion is provided on both the fuel gas flow passage surface and the oxidation gas flow passage surface (see Fig. 4), wherein the seal portions are arranged symmetrically (see Fig. 4), but does not appear to teach wherein the seal portion formed on the fuel gas flow passage surface and the seal portion formed on the oxidation gas flow passage surface are formed at positions offset from each other.
In the fuel cell art, Oku teaches that for a structure in which an end portion of a membrane electrode assembly is held by symmetrically arranged sealing gaskets, a pressure difference between the reactant gases can lead to unwanted deformation and durability loss (paragraph [0006]). As a solution, Oku teaches offsetting the sealing gaskets from one another (paragraph [0009]).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention to provide the seal portion formed on the fuel gas flow passage surface and the seal portion formed on the oxidation gas flow passage at possitions positions offset from each other for the benefit of reducing the unwanted deformation and durability loss which is associated with symmetrically arranged seal portions as taught by Oku.
Relevant or Related Art
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure, though not necessarily pertinent to applicant’s invention as claimed.
Fukuyama (JP 2007311079) a fuel cell separator comprising seal portion aligned with joint portion;
Ohs (US 2023/0268522) a fuel cell separator comprising seal portion aligned with joint portion;
Blunt (US 2017/0279133) a fuel cell separator with sealing gasket portions aligned with and offset from a welded joint portion.
Conclusion
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 JEREMIAH R SMITH whose telephone number is (571)270-7005. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri: 9 AM-5 PM (EST).
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Tiffany Legette-Thompson can be reached on (571)270-7078. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/JEREMIAH R SMITH/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1723
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