DETAILED ACTION
Status of Claims
Claims 1-2 and 4-13 are pending.
Claim 3 is cancelled.
Claims 5-9 and 11-13 are withdrawn from consideration.
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
It is initially noted that the response to the restriction requirement did not explicitly indicate an election with traverse, however, the Applicant appears to argue the restriction requirement so the election will be treated as an election with traverse.
Applicant's election with traverse of Group I, claims 1-2, 4 and 10 in the reply filed on 16 July 2026 is acknowledged. The traversal is on the ground(s) that there is not lack of unity. This is not found persuasive because Groups I and II include the feature of raised portions of a solid oxide fuel cell as described in the Office action dated 19 May 2026. This feature does not make a contribution over the prior art.
The requirement is still deemed proper and is therefore made FINAL.
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim(s) 1-2, 4 and 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Di Iorio et al. (US 2011/0253548) in view of Liu et al. (US 2019/0088970).
Regarding claim 1, Di Iorio discloses a solid oxide fuel cell [0001] (= a solid oxide electrochemical cell) comprising:
A hydrogen electrode (e.g. anode, 14) [0068], [0077] (= a solid hydrogen electrode that oxidizes hydrogen into water through a reaction with oxygen ions during power generation);
An electrolyte (8) (e.g. yttriated zirconia) [0068] (= a solid electrolyte that is stacked on a first surface of the solid hydrogen electrode and that conducts oxygen ions during power generation);
An oxygen electrode (e.g. cathode, 16) [0077] (= a solid oxygen electrode that is stacked on a second surface of the solid electrolyte membrane opposite to a surface thereof in contact with the first surface and that reduces oxygen in air into oxygen ions during power generation),
Wherein the anode has a plurality of protrusions ([0037], Figure 4) (= wherein the solid hydrogen electrode includes, in the first surface, a plurality of first raised portions raised in a direction toward the solid electrolyte and first intermediate portions each located between two adjacent ones of the plurality of first raised portions),
The electrolyte includes raised portions stacked on the first protrusions of the anode (= the solid electrolyte includes second raised portions stacked on the first raised portions and second intermediate portions stacked on the first intermediate portions),
The cathode has raised portions stacked on the protrusions of the electrolyte (Figures 1-2 and 4) (= the solid oxygen electrode includes third raised portions stacked on the second raised portions and third intermediate portions stacked on the second intermediate portions).
Regarding the claimed pitch, Di Iorio discloses the dimensions including L2 10 µm – 1 mm, L1 10 µm – 1 mm, L3 10 µm – 1 mm which equates to a pitch of 40 µm – 4 mm which overlaps the claimed range (70 to 110 µm). The layers of the anode, cathode and electrolyte of Di Iorio do not include a gap therebetween.
Di Iorio fails to disclose a thickness of the second raised portions over tops of the first raised portions is smaller than a thickness of the second intermediate portions.
In the same or similar field of solid oxide fuel cells (title), Liu discloses a variable thickness electrolyte in contact between an anode and a cathode (abstract). Liu discloses varying the electrolyte thickness to maintain an even temperature across the electrolyte surface during operation [0007], [0030].
Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to produce a cell comprising a thickness of the second raised portions over tops of the first raised portions is smaller than a thickness of the second intermediate portions because Liu discloses that the electrolyte layer may have a variable thickness to maintain an even temperature across the electrolyte surface during operation [0007], [0030]. It would have been obvious to modify the electrolyte of Di Iorio to control the temperature of the fuel cell. Selecting the raised portions to be thicker than the intermediate portions is an obvious engineering design choice.
Regarding claim 2, Di Iorio discloses wherein the first raised portions are shaped to extend in a straight line in a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the first raised portions are raised such that each two adjacent ones of the first raised portions are separated by an equal distance (Figures 2 and 4).
Regarding claims 4 and 10, Di Iorio discloses heights including H1 and P1 within the micron range (between 5 micron and 1.5 mm) [0066]. The first raised portions necessarily overlap with the claimed range therefore a prima facie case of obviousness exists.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
US 2016/0097137 – fuel cell stack
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/Stefanie S Wittenberg/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1795
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