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 .
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 34-36 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.
Claims 34-36 depend directly, or indirectly, from cancelled Claim 33 thus causing the claims to be indefinite. In the interest of advancing prosecution, Claims 34 and 36 are interpreted as dependent on Claim 32. Appropriate correction is required.
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 32, 34-37, 39, 41, 43, 45, 47-49, 51-52, 54-55, 61 and 64 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 2011/0183222 A1 (hereinafter “GIACOMINI-222”) in view of WO 2005024301 A1 (hereinafter “GIACOMINI-301”) and EP 1251314 A2 (hereinafter “GRIFFIN”).
Regarding Claim 32, GIACOMINI-222 discloses an appliance for heating food and/or for emitting heat to the surroundings, the appliance comprising: at least one provision unit (see at least 12) for providing hydrogen; and at least one reaction unit (18) for generating heat from the hydrogen, wherein: the reaction unit comprises a catalytic unit for flameless combustion of the hydrogen, the catalytic unit including at least one catalyst for catalyzing the hydrogen (see para. [0029]: “Provided for as a hydrogen catalytic burner 18 to produce thermal energy may be a burner as illustrated in document WO 2005/024301 of the applicant. Such burner is provided for the catalytic combustion of hydrogen with ignition of the reaction at ambient temperature without using a flame, reaction entirely below the temperature of formation of NOx, with exhaust product solely made up of hot moist air and heat entirely transferred to the heating water of a heating system, for example of the radiant type.”).
GIACOMINI-222 does not disclose a catalytic combustion chamber in which the catalyst is arranged, wherein the reaction unit has a mixing chamber into which the hydrogen and air is supplied and mixed with one another to form an air-hydrogen mixture, the mixing chamber including an inlet opening for the air, a hydrogen inlet for the hydrogen and a mixture outlet for the air-hydrogen mixture, and wherein the mixing chamber has a first section which tapers from the inlet opening towards the mixture outlet and a widening third section.
GIACOMINI-301 teaches a reaction unit (1) comprising a catalytic combustion chamber (3) in which the catalyst (4) is arranged, wherein the reaction unit has a mixing chamber (14) into which the hydrogen (see 19) and air (see 13) is supplied and mixed with one another to form an air-hydrogen mixture, the mixing chamber (14) including an inlet opening for the air (inherent), a hydrogen inlet (16) for the hydrogen and a mixture outlet (inherent) for the air-hydrogen mixture.
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It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify GIACOMINI-222 to further comprise a catalytic combustion chamber in which the catalyst is arranged, wherein the reaction unit has a mixing chamber into which the hydrogen and air is supplied and mixed with one another to form an air-hydrogen mixture, the mixing chamber including an inlet opening for the air, a hydrogen inlet for the hydrogen and a mixture outlet for the air-hydrogen mixture as taught and/or suggested by GIACOMINI-301, since GIACOMINI-222 makes reference to GIACOMINI-301 and since both GIACOMINI-222 and GIACOMINI-301 teach a reaction unit, it would have been obvious to one skilled in the art to substitute one reaction unit for the other to achieve the predictable result of producing an exhaust product solely made up of hot moist air and heat which can be transferred to a heating system.
GIACOMINI-222 in view of GIACOMINI-301 does not disclose wherein the mixing chamber has a first section which tapers from the inlet opening towards the mixture outlet and a widening third section.
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GRIFFIN teaches a catalytic burner/reaction unit (1) wherein a mixing chamber has a first section (indicated in annotated Fig. 1 above) which tapers from the inlet opening towards the mixture outlet and a widening third section (indicated in annotated Fig. 1 above).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to further modify GIACOMINI-222 in view of GIACOMINI-301 wherein the mixing chamber has a first section which tapers from the inlet opening towards the mixture outlet and a widening third section as taught and/or suggested by GRIFFIN, since all of the references disclose and/or teach a catalytic burner/reaction unit and the claimed structure of the mixing chamber describes a venturi mixer which is an old and very well-known mixing device commonly used to mix gaseous fuels with air or oxygen which would satisfactorily produce a hydrogen fuel and air mixture.
Regarding Claim 34, GIACOMINI-301 further teaches wherein the catalyst (4) is arranged in the catalytic combustion chamber (3) such that the catalyst forms a permeable partition that subdivides the catalytic combustion chamber into two sub-chambers (i.e., upstream and downstream of said catalyst 4).
Regarding Claim 35, GRIFFIN further teaches wherein the catalyst is permeable and is at least one of: (1) in the form of a lattice (see Figs. 4 & 5, reproduced below).
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It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to further modify GIACOMINI-222 in view of GIACOMINI-301 wherein the catalyst is permeable and is at least one of: (1) in the form of a lattice as taught and/or suggested by GRIFFIN, since all of the references teach a catalyst for flameless combustion of a fuel/air mixture, it would have been obvious to one skilled in the art to substitute one catalyst for the other to achieve the predictable result of generating flameless combustion of a fuel/air mixture.
Regarding Claims 36 and 37, GIACOMINI-301 further teaches wherein the catalytic combustion chamber (3) has a mixture inlet for an air-hydrogen mixture (see flow arrows 12), and an outlet opening for a catalytically heated air flow (see flow arrows at outlet chamber 17); wherein the mixture inlet is arranged on a first end of the catalytic combustion chamber in a longitudinal direction of the catalytic combustion chamber and the outlet opening is arranged on an opposite, second end of the catalytic combustion chamber (see Fig. 1).
Regarding Claim 39, GIACOMINI-301 further teaches wherein the reaction unit (1) comprises the catalytic unit, and wherein the reaction unit includes a temperature sensor (28; see also Pg. 14, Lns. 26-28: “a thermometer (28) for measuring the temperature in said mixing chamber (14) or at the inlet side (12) of the combustion chamber (3)”).
Regarding Claim 41, GIACOMINI-301 further teaches wherein the inlet opening is arranged on a first end (i.e., the upstream end) of the mixing chamber (14) in a longitudinal direction of the mixing chamber, the mixture outlet is arranged on an opposite, second end (i.e., the upstream end) of the mixing chamber (14) and the hydrogen inlet (16) is arranged between the first and second ends. NOTE also that GRIFFIN further teaches wherein the inlet opening is arranged on a first end (see the indicated “first section” in annotated Fig. 1 above) of the mixing chamber (i.e., the venturi mixer) in a longitudinal direction of the mixing chamber, the mixture outlet is arranged on an opposite, second end (see the indicated “third section” in annotated Fig. 1 above) of the mixing chamber and the fuel inlet (2) is arranged between the first and second ends.
Regarding Claim 43, GIACOMINI-301 further teaches wherein the reaction unit includes a fan (13) and/or a bypass air opening for supplying air into the mixing chamber (14) via the inlet opening.
Regarding Claim 45, GIACOMINI-301 further teaches comprising a controller configured to: provide for open-loop and/or closed-loop control of the mixing ratio of the air- hydrogen mixture (see Pg. 6, Lns. 10-19: “The flow rates of said fan 13, hydrogen and cooling water can be advantageously varied and controlled by apparatus well known per se and not further herein disclosed. The burner or combustor 1 operates as follows: In the mixing chamber 14 the air-hydrogen mixture is formed with a ratio less than 4% (start of the exploding range) for example 3.5% and being supplied to the burning or combustion chamber 3 in which, upon contacting the catalyzer 4, the hydrogen combustion/oxidation at a low temperature, for example in a 200- 450°C range and without forming flames is performed.”).
Regarding Claim 47, GIACOMINI-222 further discloses wherein the provision unit further comprises a compressor for compressing the generated hydrogen (see para. [0006]: “Equally known are devices with compressors for the storage of the generated hydrogen in containers under pressure. Also known is the accumulation of hydrogen in metal hydrides, wherein--in the hydrogen storage step--heat is developed and the hydrides require cooling while in the hydrogen transfer step they are heated.”).
Regarding Claim 48, GIACOMINI-222 further discloses wherein the provision unit comprises an electrolyzer (12) for generating hydrogen and a water supply (see 3 and “Potable Water” label) for supplying the electrolyzer with water, wherein the water supply includes a collection device for collecting water and/or a treatment device (13) for treating the water.
Regarding Claim 49, GIACOMINI-222 further discloses wherein the provision unit further comprises at least one accumulator (21) for storing the hydrogen, wherein the accumulator is in the form of a pressure accumulator and/or a metal hydride accumulator (see para. [0031]: “As observable from the drawing, connected parallel to the burner 18 is a fuel cell 19, wherein said parallel connection of the burner 18 and fuel cell 19 is connected, through a multiple-way valve 20 both with hydrogen outlet of the electrolyser 12 and outlet 21 for the hydrogen storage device represented by a tank under pressure or using metal hydrides, the hydrogen storage device 21 being fundamental for providing an energy carrier, i.e. a hydrogen carrier, upon demand by the fuel cell 19 and/or the burner 18 as an alternative to the supply of hydrogen directly by the electrolyser 12. Storage with metal hydrides would be preferable for space and safety reasons.”).
Regarding Claim 51, GIACOMINI-222 further discloses wherein the treatment device has at least one filter for filtering the water, wherein the at least one filter comprises at least one of a reverse osmosis filter, a prefilter, or a filter screen (see para. [0028]: “Supplied to the electrolyser 12 is water from the water supply system preliminarily demineralised in that the water must be free of impurities and ions not required for the electrolysis process, wherein--having considered the use of the generated hydrogen--advantageously provided for is a reverse osmosis demineralisation in a demineraliser 13.”).
Regarding Claim 52, GIACOMINI-222 further discloses wherein the water supply has at least one water tank for storing water, wherein the at least one water tank is in the form of an intermediate tank for storing the collected water and/or in the form of a pure water tank for storing the filtered water (see para. [0046]: “In practice, those skilled in the art may introduce various modifications and variants, such as for example providing for a demineralised water tank arranged between the demineraliser and the electrolyser, and so on and so forth, without departing from the scope of protection of the present invention, as described above and claimed in the attached claims.”).
Regarding Claim 54, GIACOMINI-222 further discloses further comprising at least one of a power supply for providing current (see 4), an energy accumulator, a current distributor for distributing the current, or a current converter.
Regarding Claim 55, GIACOMINI-222 further discloses further comprising at least one of: a computer unit for controlling an operation of the provision unit and/or the reaction unit; or an operating unit for operating the provision unit and/or the reaction unit (see para. [0017]: “A further advantage of the multipurpose hydrogen generator system according to the invention lies in providing for a control of the same assisted by a specific software, which is suitable to optimally manage the control of all controllable circuit devices and components, hence obtaining enhanced and inexpensive operating conditions and avoiding erroneous interventions by the user when adjusting the various components of the system.” See also Claim 11: “Hydrogen generator system according to claim 1, characterised in that it comprises a control device supported by a programmable software, which is suitable to manage in the most suitable manner all controllable circuit devices and components.”).
Regarding Claim 61, GIACOMINI-222 discloses a method for operating an appliance for heating food and/or for emitting heat to the surroundings, providing a source of hydrogen using at least one provision unit (12); and generating heat from the provided hydrogen using at least one reaction unit (18), wherein the reaction unit comprises a catalytic unit for flameless combustion of the hygrogen, the catalytic unit including at least one catalyst (see para. [0029]: “Provided for as a hydrogen catalytic burner 18 to produce thermal energy may be a burner as illustrated in document WO 2005/024301 of the applicant. Such burner is provided for the catalytic combustion of hydrogen with ignition of the reaction at ambient temperature without using a flame, reaction entirely below the temperature of formation of NOx, with exhaust product solely made up of hot moist air and heat entirely transferred to the heating water of a heating system, for example of the radiant type.”).
GIACOMINI-222 does not disclose a catalytic combustion chamber in which the catalyst is arranged; wherein the mixing chamber includes an inlet opening for the air, a hydrogen inlet for the hydrogen, and a mixture outlet for the air-hydrogen mixture, and wherein the mixing chamber has a first section that tapers from the inlet opening toward the mixture outlet and a widening third section.
GIACOMINI-301 teaches a reaction unit (1) comprising a catalytic combustion chamber (3) in which the catalyst (4) is arranged, wherein the reaction unit has a mixing chamber (14) into which the hydrogen (see 19) and air (see 13) is supplied and mixed with one another to form an air-hydrogen mixture, the mixing chamber (14) including an inlet opening for the air (inherent), a hydrogen inlet (16) for the hydrogen and a mixture outlet (inherent) for the air-hydrogen mixture.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify GIACOMINI-222 to further comprise a catalytic combustion chamber in which the catalyst is arranged, wherein the reaction unit has a mixing chamber into which the hydrogen and air is supplied and mixed with one another to form an air-hydrogen mixture, the mixing chamber including an inlet opening for the air, a hydrogen inlet for the hydrogen and a mixture outlet for the air-hydrogen mixture as taught and/or suggested by GIACOMINI-301, since GIACOMINI-222 makes reference to GIACOMINI-301 and since both GIACOMINI-222 and GIACOMINI-301 teach a reaction unit, it would have been obvious to one skilled in the art to substitute one reaction unit for the other to achieve the predictable result of producing an exhaust product solely made up of hot moist air and heat which can be transferred to a heating system.
GIACOMINI-222 in view of GIACOMINI-301 does not disclose wherein the mixing chamber has a first section which tapers from the inlet opening towards the mixture outlet and a widening third section.
GRIFFIN teaches a catalytic burner/reaction unit (1) wherein a mixing chamber has a first section (indicated in annotated Fig. 1 above) which tapers from the inlet opening towards the mixture outlet and a widening third section (indicated in annotated Fig. 1 above).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to further modify GIACOMINI-222 in view of GIACOMINI-301 wherein the mixing chamber has a first section which tapers from the inlet opening towards the mixture outlet and a widening third section as taught and/or suggested by GRIFFIN, since all of the references disclose and/or teach a catalytic burner/reaction unit and the claimed structure of the mixing chamber describes a venturi mixer which is an old and very well-known mixing device commonly used to mix gaseous fuels with air or oxygen which would satisfactorily produce a hydrogen fuel and air mixture.
Regarding Claim 64, GIACOMINI-301 further teaches wherein the catalytic unit further includes a sensor chamber arranged between the mixing chamber (14) and the catalytic combustion chamber (see Pg. 14, Lns. 26-28: “a thermometer (28) for measuring the temperature in said mixing chamber (14) or at the inlet side (12) of the combustion chamber (3)”; the inlet side (12) comprises the sensor chamber which is arranged between the mixing chamber (14) and the catalytic combustion chamber (3)).
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Claims 38 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over GIACOMINI-222 in view of GIACOMINI-301 and GRIFFIN, as applied to the parent claim above, and further in view of US 2003/0031970 A1 (hereinafter “SHIMADA”).
Regarding Claim 38, GIACOMINI-222 in view of GIACOMINI-301 and GRIFFIN does not disclose wherein the reaction unit comprises the catalytic unit, the catalytic unit including an auxiliary heating system for heating and/or drying the catalyst.
SHIMADA teaches wherein a reaction unit (see Fig. 3) comprising a catalytic unit (see 7, 9), the catalytic unit including an auxiliary heating system (see 8) for heating and/or drying the catalyst.
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It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to further modify GIACOMINI-222 in view of GIACOMINI-301 and GRIFFIN to further comprise wherein the reaction unit comprises the catalytic unit, the catalytic unit including an auxiliary heating system for heating and/or drying the catalyst as taught and/or suggested by SHIMADA, since such a modification would activate the catalyst before the introduction of the hydrogen/air mixture, and thus the hydrogen/air mixture can be much more reliably burned (see SHIMADA, para. [0028]).
Claims 42 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over GIACOMINI-222 in view of GIACOMINI-301 and GRIFFIN, as applied to the parent claim above, and further in view of DE 10019414 A1 (hereinafter “BIRK”).
Regarding Claim 42, GIACOMINI-222 in view of GIACOMINI-301 and GRIFFIN does not disclose wherein the mixing chamber further has a constant-diameter second section between the first section and the third section, the hydrogen inlet being arranged in the region of the second section.
BIRK teaches a mixing chamber for mixing two gases wherein the mixing chamber has a constant-diameter second section (3a) between a first section (indicated in annotated Fig. 5 below) and a third section (indicated in annotated Fig. 5 below), a gas inlet (5) being arranged in the region of the second section.
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It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to further modify GIACOMINI-222 in view of GIACOMINI-301 and GRIFFIN wherein the mixing chamber further has a constant-diameter second section between the first section and the third section, the hydrogen inlet being arranged in the region of the second section as taught and/or suggested by BIRK, since GIACOMINI-301, GRIFFIN and BIRK all teach a mixing chamber for mixing two gases, it would have been obvious to one skilled in the art to substitute one mixing chamber for the other to achieve the predictable result of producing a gaseous mixture, in the present case a hydrogen-air fuel mixture.
Claims 44, 46, 65-66 and 68 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over GIACOMINI-222in view of SUGIMOTO as applied to the parent claim above, and further in view of WO 2005026675 A2 (hereinafter “JOSHI”).
Regarding Claims 44 and 46, GIACOMINI-222 in view of GIACOMINI-301 and GRIFFIN does not disclose wherein the reaction unit includes a sensor for determining a mixing ratio of the air-hydrogen mixture.
JOSHI teaches a method of detecting catalyst module overheating in a catalytic combustion system wherein the reaction unit (4-26; Fig. 4A) includes a sensor (4-72) for determining a mixing ratio of the air-fuel mixture (“[00037] FIG. 4 A illustrates an exemplary linear schematic representation of a combustor 4-26 including various sensors for detecting overheating of catalyst 4-10. FIG. 4 A illustrates a two stage catalyst including stages 4-9 and 4-10. The exemplary system could also be employed with a single stage catalyst 4-10. In general, regardless of the number of serial stages, inlet thermocouples are disposed at 4-72, outlet thermocouples at 4-70, and interstage thermocouples (if applicable) at 4-74. As will be described in greater detail below, upon detection of overheating temperatures the system may decrease the temperature of catalyst 4- 10. For example, the system may control and alter the catalyst fuel flow to combustor 4-26 via catalyst fuel valve 4-60 thereby influencing the temperature of catalyst 4-10. In particular, the fuel flow to the catalyst 4-10 through fuel valve 4-60 may be controlled, for example, by a feedback measurement of the catalyst inlet or catalyst 4-10 temperature thereby influencing the temperature of catalyst 4-10 and the position of the homogeneous combustion wave 4-30. Further, the airflow 4-7 may be varied and managed through bypass valves, bleed valves, inlet guide vanes, or the like to vary the temperature of catalyst 4-10.”; i.e., the modulation of the hydrogen fuel supply and/or airflow will indirectly determine the mixing ratio of the air-fuel mixture); wherein the reaction unit has a hydrogen valve (4-60) that is actuatable by the controller and via which a hydrogen inflow into the mixing chamber can be controlled (see again para. [00037] quoted above).
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It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to further modify GIACOMINI-222 in view of GIACOMINI-301 and GRIFFIN wherein the reaction unit includes a sensor for determining a mixing ratio of the air-hydrogen mixture; wherein the reaction unit has a hydrogen valve that is actuatable by the controller and via which a hydrogen inflow into the mixing chamber can be controlled as taught and/or suggested by JOSHI, since such a modification would prevent said catalyst exceeding a preselected temperature (i.e., would prevent catalyst overheating).
Regarding Claim 65, GIACOMINI-222 in view of GIACOMINI-301 and GRIFFIN does not disclose wherein the sensor for determining the mixing ratio of the air-hydrogen mixture is arranged in the sensor chamber.
JOSHI teaches a method of detecting catalyst module overheating in a catalytic combustion system wherein a sensor (4-72) for determining the mixing ratio of the air-hydrogen mixture is arranged in the sensor chamber (indicated in annotated Fig. 4A above; as mentioned above in the discussion of Claims 44 & 46, the modulation of the hydrogen fuel supply and/or airflow based on the feedback from temperature sensor 4-72 will indirectly determine the mixing ratio of the air-fuel mixture).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to further modify GIACOMINI-222 in view of GIACOMINI-301 and GRIFFIN wherein the sensor for determining the mixing ratio of the air-hydrogen mixture is arranged in the sensor chamber as taught and/or suggested by JOSHI, since such a modification would prevent said catalyst exceeding a preselected temperature (i.e., would prevent catalyst overheating).
Regarding Claim 66, JOSHI further teaches further comprising a controller connected to a temperature sensor (4-72; see also para. [00083]: “Such exemplary control methods and systems for catalytic combustion systems, including a bypass valve and/or bleed valve system, are described in U.S. Patent Application Nos. 10/071,749 and 60/440,940, which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.” U.S. Patent Application No. 60/440,940 discloses a controller).
Regarding Claim 68, JOSHI further teaches wherein the controller is configured to control a fan and/or a hydrogen valve (“[00037] FIG. 4 A illustrates an exemplary linear schematic representation of a combustor 4-26 including various sensors for detecting overheating of catalyst 4-10. FIG. 4 A illustrates a two stage catalyst including stages 4-9 and 4-10. The exemplary system could also be employed with a single stage catalyst 4-10. In general, regardless of the number of serial stages, inlet thermocouples are disposed at 4-72, outlet thermocouples at 4-70, and interstage thermocouples (if applicable) at 4-74. As will be described in greater detail below, upon detection of overheating temperatures the system may decrease the temperature of catalyst 4- 10. For example, the system may control and alter the catalyst fuel flow to combustor 4-26 via catalyst fuel valve 4-60 thereby influencing the temperature of catalyst 4-10. In particular, the fuel flow to the catalyst 4-10 through fuel valve 4-60 may be controlled, for example, by a feedback measurement of the catalyst inlet or catalyst 4-10 temperature thereby influencing the temperature of catalyst 4-10 and the position of the homogeneous combustion wave 4-30. Further, the airflow 4-7 may be varied and managed through bypass valves, bleed valves, inlet guide vanes, or the like to vary the temperature of catalyst 4-10.”).
Claim 50 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over GIACOMINI-222 in view of GIACOMINI-301 and GRIFFIN, as applied to Claim 49 above, and further in view of WO 2011/060953 A2 (hereinafter “VANDENBORRE”).
Regarding Claim 50, GIACOMINI-222 in view of GIACOMINI-301 and GRIFFIN does not explicitly disclose wherein the at least one accumulator is in the form of a main accumulator and an intermediate accumulator, wherein the intermediate accumulator is configured to store the hydrogen generated by the electrolyzer prior to compression by a compressor of the provision unit and the main accumulator is configured to store the hydrogen that has been compressed by the compressor.
VANDENBORRE teaches a hydrogen production and supply provision unit wherein the at least one accumulator is in the form of a main accumulator (10) and an intermediate accumulator (8), wherein the intermediate accumulator is configured to store the hydrogen generated by the electrolyzer (4) prior to compression by a compressor (9) of the provision unit and the main accumulator (10) is configured to store the hydrogen that has been compressed by the compressor (9).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to further modify GIACOMINI-222 in view of GIACOMINI-301 and GRIFFIN wherein the at least one accumulator is in the form of a main accumulator and an intermediate accumulator, wherein the intermediate accumulator is configured to store the hydrogen generated by the electrolyzer prior to compression by a compressor of the provision unit and the main accumulator is configured to store the hydrogen that has been compressed by the compressor as taught and/or suggested by VANDENBORRE, since such a modification would provide a means to raise the pressure of said hydrogen as needed for a given application. It is old and well known that hydrogen has an incredibly wide flammability range (ranging from 4% to 75% in air) and a very fast flame speed. If hydrogen and air are premixed at low pressures, there is a risk of the flame traveling backward into the supply line. Therefore, supplying hydrogen at sufficient pressure to avoid the risk of flashback is desirable and beneficial.
Claim 53 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over GIACOMINI-222 in view of GIACOMINI-301 and GRIFFIN, as applied to Claim 48 above, and further in view of CN 202991232 U (hereinafter “XU”).
Regarding Claim 53, GIACOMINI-222 in view of GIACOMINI-301 and GRIFFIN does not disclose wherein the water supply includes at least one anti- frost device for avoiding frost damage.
XU teaches an appliance which generates hydrogen fuel gas from water via electrolysis comprises: wherein the water supply (3) includes at least one anti-frost device (10) for avoiding frost damage.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to further modify GIACOMINI-222 in view of GIACOMINI-301 and GRIFFIN wherein the water supply includes at least one anti- frost device for avoiding frost damage as taught and/or suggested by XU, since such a modification would provide a means of ensuring that said water supply is maintained at or above a given temperature such as for example above the freezing temperature in order to ensure that said water can flow through said provision unit.
Claim 62 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over GIACOMINI-222 in view of GIACOMINI-301 and GRIFFIN, as applied to Claim 61 above, and further in view of CN 205717363 U (hereinafter “FENG”).
Regarding Claim 62, GIACOMINI-222 in view of GIACOMINI-301 and GRIFFIN does not disclose further comprising: switching the appliance to an operating setting in which the hydrogen is consumed by the reaction unit; and after termination of the operating setting, switching the appliance to a production setting in which the hydrogen is produced using the at least one provision unit.
FENG teaches an appliance which generates hydrogen fuel gas from water via electrolysis further comprising: switching (see switch 5) the appliance to an operating setting in which the hydrogen is consumed by the reaction unit (see 2); and after termination of the operating setting (i.e., turning off switch 5), switching the appliance to a production setting (see switch 9) in which the hydrogen is produced using the at least one provision unit (11).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to further modify GIACOMINI-222 in view of GIACOMINI-301 and GRIFFIN to further comprise: switching the appliance to an operating setting in which the hydrogen is consumed by the reaction unit; and after termination of the operating setting, switching the appliance to a production setting in which the hydrogen is produced using the at least one provision unit as taught and/or suggested by FENG, since such a modification would provide a user friendly means of controlling both the reaction unit and the provision unit independently thereby providing the user with greater control over said appliance.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 67 and 69 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.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure because the references are either in the same field of endeavor or are reasonably pertinent to the particular problem with which the applicant was concerned. Please see form PTO-892 (Notice of References Cited) attached to, or included with, this Office Action.
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 extension fee 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 date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JORGE A PEREIRO whose telephone number is (571)270-3932 and whose fax number is (571) 270-4932. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F 9:00 - 5:00 EST.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Helena Kosanovic can be reached at (571) 272-9059. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/JORGE A PEREIRO/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3799
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