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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 5/29/24 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 14-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Re claim 14, the claim recites in lines 12-13, “an average value or a median value of the insulation resistance values”. It is unclear whether this is the same as the average and median recited in lines 3-4.
Claims 15-17 are dependent on claim 14 and are therefore also rejected under 35 USC 112(b).
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.
Claim(s) 1 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Park et al., US 20220221500
Regarding claim 1, Park discloses a system for determining whether to replace an ion filter, the system comprising: a measurement unit configured for measuring an insulation resistance value of a fuel cell stack while a vehicle or a system is in operation (fig. 1; insulation resistance measurement 200); and a controller operatively connected to the measurement unit and configured to determine whether to replace the ion filter based on the insulation resistance value (Fig. 2; processor 130; ¶[0019]), wherein with one cycle from start to end of operation of the vehicle or the system, the controller is configured to determine a movement value based on the insulation resistance value measured at each of cycles, the movement value is a moving average or a moving median for an average value or a median value of the insulation resistance value (¶[0060]; average value of insulation resistance calculated), and the controller is configured to determine whether to replace the ion filter based on at least one of a size of the movement value or a change rate of the movement value (¶[0064]; difference value between average vale and resistance value is calculated therefore a size of the average value influences a failure condition; [0067]; user notified to replace ion filter).
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.
Claim 2 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Park et al., US 20220221500 in view of Loder et al., US 20220413034
Regarding claim 2, Park discloses wherein the controller is configured to determine whether a first condition for determining whether the size of the movement value is equal to or smaller than a preset threshold is satisfied (¶[0064). Park is silent in whether a second condition for determining whether the change rate of the movement value is smaller than a preset change rate is satisfied, and wherein in response that all of the first condition and the second condition are satisfied, the controller is configured to conclude that the ion filter needs to be replaced. Loder teaches a condition for determining whether the change rate of the movement value is smaller than a preset change rate is satisfied (¶[0104]; moving average compared to threshold), and wherein in response that all of the first condition and the second condition are satisfied, the controller is configured to conclude a fault in the system (¶[0104]; fault based on the moving average value). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the invention to incorporate the teaching of Loder into Park for the benefit of monitoring faults in the system with greater efficiency.
Claim 3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Park et al., US 20220221500 in view of Kim, US 20200075977
Regarding claim 3, Park is silent in wherein the controller is configured to count cases where the insulation resistance values measured in one cycle from the start to the end of operation of the vehicle or the system are within a predetermined range, and is configured to determine whether a third condition for determining whether a total count is greater than a preset counting value is satisfied, and wherein in response that all of the first condition, the second condition, and the third condition are satisfied, the controller is configured to conclude that the ion filter needs to be replaced. Kim teaches a controller is configured to count cases where the insulation resistance values measured in one cycle from the start to the end of operation of the vehicle or the system are within a predetermined range, and is configured to determine whether a third condition for determining whether a total count is greater than a preset counting value is satisfied, and wherein in response that the third condition are satisfied, the controller is configured to conclude that the ion filter needs to be replaced (¶[0041]-[0042]; abnormality of insulation resistance dependent on a number of times insulation resistance decreases). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the invention to incorporate the teaching of Kim into Park for the benefit of monitoring faults in the system with greater efficiency.
Claim 6, 14, 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Park et al., US 20220221500 in view of Wang et al., CN 102256130
Regarding claim 6, Park is silent wherein the movement value is determined based on expression values in which the average value or the median value of the insulation resistance values measured within one cycle is coded as a single digit number. Wang teaches expression values in which an average value or the median value measured within one cycle is coded as a single digit number (¶[0006] - “0, 1, 2, 3 are corresponding to the brightness values 0, 85, 170, 255”). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the invention to incorporate the teaching of Wang into Park for the benefit of providing a one digit value for a range of values so that a more simplified value can be obtained by the controller for processing.
Regarding claim 14, Park discloses a method of determining whether to replace an ion filter implemented by a controller configured to determine whether to replace the ion filter, the method comprising: determining, by the controller, an average value or a median value of insulation resistance values measured in one cycle from start to end of operation of a vehicle or a system (¶[0066]-[0067]; failure of insulation resistance due to an increase in ionic conductivity; ¶[0011]; processor calculate average value of insulation resistance); determining, by the controller, a plurality of movement values for the expression values; and determining, by the controller, whether to replace the ion filter based on at least one of a size of at least one of the movement values or a change rate of the movement values (¶[0067]; user notified to replace ion filter), wherein the movement value is a moving average or a moving median for an average value or a median value of the insulation resistance values (¶[0011]; processor calculates an average value of insulation resistance).
Park is silent in deriving, by the controller, a plurality of expression values in which the average value or the median value of the insulation resistance values measured at each of cycles is coded as a single digit number. Wang teaches expression values in which an average value or the median value measured is coded as a single digit number (¶[0006] - “0, 1, 2, 3 are corresponding to the brightness values 0, 85, 170, 255”). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the invention to incorporate the teaching of Wang into Park for the benefit of providing a one-digit value for a range of values so that a more simplified value can be obtained by the controller for processing.
Regarding claim 20, Park discloses a storage medium configured to store computer-readable instructions, wherein the instructions are executed by a processor, and wherein the processor is configured to perform operations of: determining an average value or a median value of insulation resistance values measured in one cycle from start to end of operation of a vehicle or a system (¶[0066]-[0067]; failure of insulation resistance due to an increase in ionic conductivity); ; determining movement values for the expression values and determining whether to replace the ion filter based on at least one of a size of at least one of movement values or a change rate of the movement values(¶[0067]; user notified to replace ion filter), wherein the movement value is a moving average or a moving median for an average value or a median value of the insulation resistance values (¶[0011]; processor calculates an average value).
Park is silent in deriving a plurality of expression values in which the average value or the median value of the insulation resistance values measured at each of cycles is coded as a single digit number. Wang teaches expression values in which an average value or the median value measured is coded as a single digit number (¶[0006] - “0, 1, 2, 3 are corresponding to the brightness values 0, 85, 170, 255”). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the invention to incorporate the teaching of Wang into Park for the benefit of providing a one-digit value for a range of values so that a more simplified value can be obtained by the controller for processing.
Claim 15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Park et al., US 20220221500 in view of Wang et al., CN 102256130 in view of Loder et al., US 20220413034
Regarding claim 15, Park discloses determining whether a first condition for determining whether the size of the movement value is equal to or smaller than a preset threshold is satisfied (¶[0064). Park is silent in whether a second condition for determining whether the change rate of the movement value is smaller than a preset change rate is satisfied, and concluding, in response that all of the first condition and the second condition are satisfied, that the ion filter needs to be replaced. Loder teaches a condition for determining whether the change rate of the movement value is smaller than a preset change rate is satisfied (¶[0104]; moving average compared to threshold), and wherein in response that all of the first condition and the second condition are satisfied, the controller is configured to conclude a fault in the system (¶[0104]; fault based on the moving average value). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the invention to incorporate the teaching of Loder into Park for the benefit of monitoring faults in the system with greater efficiency.
Claim 16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Park et al., US 20220221500 in view of Wang et al., CN 102256130 in view of Kim, US 20200075977
Regarding claim 16, Park is silent in counting cases where the insulation resistance values measured in one cycle from the start to the end of operation of the vehicle or the system are within a predetermined range, and determining whether a third condition for determining whether a total count is greater than a preset counting value is satisfied, and concluding, in response that all of the first condition, the second condition, and the third condition are satisfied, that the ion filter needs to be replaced. Kim teaches e controller is configured to count cases where the insulation resistance values measured in one cycle from the start to the end of operation of the vehicle or the system are within a predetermined range, and is configured to determine whether a third condition for determining whether a total count is greater than a preset counting value is satisfied, and wherein in response that the third condition are satisfied, the controller is configured to conclude that the ion filter needs to be replaced (¶[0041]-[0042]; abnormality of insulation resistance dependent on a number of times insulation resistance decreases). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the invention to incorporate the teaching of Kim into Park for the benefit of monitoring faults in the system with greater efficiency.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4, 5, 7-13, 17-19 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Regarding claim 4, prior art does not disclose or suggest: “wherein, in response that the insulation resistance values measured in one cycle are equal to or smaller than a preset number, the controller does not determine whether the third condition is satisfied based on the insulation resistance values measured in the corresponding one cycle” in combination with all the limitations of claim 4.
Regarding claim 7, prior art does not disclose or suggest: “wherein five expression values are stored by being converted into one 5-digit number, ten expression values are stored by being converted into one 10-digit number, or nineteen expression values are stored by being converted into one 19-digit number” in combination with all the limitations of claim 7.
Regarding claim 8, prior art does not disclose or suggest: “wherein the expression values are stored in a preset first number, the controller is configured to determine the movement value based on the expression values stored in the preset first number, the controller is configured to determine whether to replace the ion filter based on a consecutive preset second number of the movement values, and the preset first number is greater than the preset second number” in combination with all the limitations of claim 8.
Regarding claim 17, prior art does not disclose or suggest: wherein the determining of the movement values includes: determining the movement value based on a preset first number of the expression values; and determining whether to replace the ion filter based on a consecutive preset second number of the movement values” in combination with all the limitations of claim 17.
Conclusion
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/FEBA POTHEN/Examiner, Art Unit 2858