CTFR 18/799,585 CTFR 96876 585 DETAILED ACTION Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status 07-03-aia AIA 15-10-aia The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA. Response to Amendment The amendments filed February 06, 2026, have been entered. Accordingly, claims 1-20 are currently pending. Claims 1-8 are under examination. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 07-06 AIA 15-10-15 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 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. 07-20-aia AIA 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. 07-21-aia AIA Claim s 1-2, 4-5, and 7-8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jib et al (KR101939983B1) in view of Schwarze et al. (US20110101166A1) . In re Claim 1, Jib (Fig. 3) discloses A fuel distribution system (Fig. 3) comprising: a cryogenic vessel (100), the cryogenic vessel (100) part of a cryo-compressed hydrogen delivery assembly ([0086-0087]) ; a gaseous hydrogen fuel ([0086]: compressed hydrogen gas is stored in the fuel storage container 100); a thermosiphoning loop 1 (at least 522; See [0070-0071]: the temperature of the fuel stored in the fuel storage vessel 100 and opens the cryogenic fluid discharge opening / closing valve 522 according to the measured value, so that through the piping 520, the cryogenic fluid is discharged. Then, the operation of the fuel heater unit 531 is stopped so that the heat energy is no longer supplied to the fuel) to maintain a pressure of the cryogenic vessel 2 using an automatic valve (522) . However, Jib (Fig. 3) does not explicitly teach, a compressed natural gas tank. On the other hand, Jib (Fig. 1) teaches a compressed natural gas tank (100) . Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have taken the teachings of Jib (Fig. 3) and to have modified them by having the compressed natural gas tank as taught by Jib (Fig. 1) in order to have stored in a fuel storage tank for a vehicle using a cryogenic fluid of natural gas (See Jib [0025] and [0028]) , without yielding unpredictable results. Modified Jib does not explicitly teach a compressed natural gas delivery assembly the compressed natural gas tank holding a first portion of fuel; a gaseous hydrogen fuel tank for holding a second portion of fuel as part of a gaseous hydrogen delivery assembly. However, Schwarze teaches a compressed natural gas delivery assembly (10) a compressed natural gas tank holding a first portion of fuel (14; [0048]: the first supply apparatus 10 having a first fuel tank 14) ; a hydrogen fuel tank (18) for holding a second portion of fuel as part of a hydrogen delivery assembly ( (18; [0048]: the first supply apparatus 10 having a second fuel tank 18) . Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have taken the teachings of modified Jib and to have modified them by the compressed natural gas tank of modified Jib holding a first portion of fuel as taught by Schwarze; a gaseous hydrogen fuel of modified Jib in a gaseous hydrogen fuel tank for holding a second portion of fuel as part of a gaseous hydrogen delivery assembly of Schwarze, in order to have versatility in scenarios that requires a high combustible fuel and scenarios that required sustained fuel combustion (See Schwarze [0020]) , without yielding unpredictable results. In re Claim 2, Modified Jib teaches a vacuum vessel (110; See [0030]) , the vacuum vessel (110) including multilayer insulation ([0030]) , the cryogenic vessel (100) positioned within the vacuum vessel (110) . In re Claim 4, Jib as modified teaches wherein the thermosiphoning loop (at least 522) includes a heat exchanger 3 (531; See [0060] and [0070-0071]: the fuel is heated, the amount of vaporized fuel increases and the amount of supplied fuel can be increased. That is, when the demand for the fuel increases, the fuel heater unit 531 is operated to adjust the supply amount of the fuel.) to regulate cryo-compressed hydrogen fuel flow into and out of the cryogenic vessel 4 . In re Claim 5, Jib as modified teaches a regulator assembly (See [0090]: 521, 511, 512, 522 and related components) in fluid communication with the cryo-compressed hydrogen delivery assembly (See [0086-0087] and [0090]) . In re Claim 7, Jib as modified teaches wherein the cryogenic vessel (100) is a type-three vessel (See [0030]) including an aluminum liner ([0030]: aluminum layer) and a composite overwrap ([0030]: glass fiber layer) . In re Claim 8, Jib as modified teaches wherein a wall thickness of the cryogenic vessel ([0007]: thickness of 100) is determined based on a pressure rating associated with a cryo- compressed hydrogen fuel tank ([0007]: the thickness is based on the pressure of the fuel in the tank) used to store the cryo-compressed hydrogen fuel 5 . 07-21-aia AIA Claim 3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jib et al (KR101939983B1) as modified by Schwarze (US 20110101166) further in view of Collier et al. (US 5666923 A) . In re Claim 3, Modified Jib does not explicitly teach, wherein the compressed natural gas tank (Jib Fig. 1 100) is part of a compressed natural gas delivery assembly (Jib Fig. 1) that extends in a parallel arrangement with the cryo-compressed hydrogen delivery assembly (Jib Fig. 3 100) . On the other hand, Collier (Fig. 22) teaches wherein the compressed natural gas tank (CH4 tank of 16 corresponding to Jib Fig. 1: 100) is part of a compressed natural gas delivery assembly (16) that extends in a parallel arrangement with the cryo-compressed hydrogen delivery assembly (H2 tank of 16 corresponding to Jib Fig. 3 100)| (See Col 20:46-60) . Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have taken the teachings of Modified Jib and to have modified them by having the compressed natural gas tank of modified Jib part of a compressed natural gas delivery assembly of modified Jib that extends in a parallel arrangement with the cryo-compressed hydrogen delivery assembly of modified Jib as taught by Collier, in order to varied dynamically and controlled by control unit 14 as a function of output emissions and engine power. (See Collier Col 20:56-58), without yielding unpredictable results . 07-21-aia AIA Claim 6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jib (KR101939983B1) as modified by Schwarze (US 20110101166) further in view of Gustafson (US 5421160 A) . In re Claim 6, Modified Jib does not explicitly teach, a compressor to maintain the pressure of the cryogenic vessel. On the other hand, Gustafson teaches a compressor (38) to maintain the pressure of the cryogenic vessel 6 . Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have taken the teachings of Modified Jib and to have modified them by having a compressor as taught by Gustafson, in order to compress the vaporized gas and thereby build the pressure in the system (See Gustafson Col 2: 53-57) , without yielding unpredictable results. Response to Arguments The Remarks of February 06, 2026, have been fully considered but are not persuasive for the reasons below. Applicant argues On Pages 6-7 of the Remarks , that the examiner has not shown that amended claim 1 is obvious over Jib because there is allegedly no basis in the prior art for a gaseous hydrogen fuel tank for holding a second portion of fuel as part of a gaseous hydrogen delivery assembly required by the claims. This argument on the amendment is persuasive. First, it should be noted that applicant's amendments have changed the scope of the claimed invention, thereby necessitating a new grounds of rejection. Namely, claim 1 now requires a compressed natural gas delivery assembly, the compressed natural gas tank holding a first portion of fuel; a gaseous hydrogen fuel tank for holding a second portion of fuel as part of a gaseous hydrogen delivery assembly . In light of the above, the claim has been reconsidered, and the new grounds of rejection now incorporates teachings from Schwarze to arrive at the claimed invention. Conclusion 07-40 AIA 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 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 IBRAHIM M ADENIJI whose telephone number is (571)272-5939. The examiner can normally be reached 8:00-5:00 PM. Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Jianying Atkisson can be reached at 571-270-7740. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /IBRAHIM A. MICHAEL ADENIJI/Examiner, Art Unit 3763 /JOEL M ATTEY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3763 Application/Control Number: 18/799,585 Page 2 Art Unit: 3763 Application/Control Number: 18/799,585 Page 3 Art Unit: 3763 Application/Control Number: 18/799,585 Page 4 Art Unit: 3763 Application/Control Number: 18/799,585 Page 5 Art Unit: 3763 Application/Control Number: 18/799,585 Page 6 Art Unit: 3763 Application/Control Number: 18/799,585 Page 7 Art Unit: 3763 Application/Control Number: 18/799,585 Page 8 Art Unit: 3763 Application/Control Number: 18/799,585 Page 9 Art Unit: 3763 Application/Control Number: 18/799,585 Page 10 Art Unit: 3763 1 Becky Bahr, "loop thermosyphon – Heat and Mass Transfer," Fiveable, Edited 2024, https://fiveable.me/key-terms/heat-mass-transfer/loop-thermosyphon. 2 The recitation of " to maintain a pressure of the cryogenic vessel " recited in the claim has been considered a recitation of intended use. The prior art structure above is capable of performing as intended. It has been held that the recitation with respect to the manner in which a claimed apparatus is intended to be employed does not differentiate the claimed apparatus from a prior art apparatus satisfying the claimed structural limitation. (MPEP 2114). 3 Id. A system designed to transfer heat between two or more fluids (e.g. air and a cryogenic fluid) without mixing them, often used in conjunction with thermosyphons. 4 The recitation of " to regulate cryo-compressed hydrogen fuel flow into and out of the cryogenic vessel " recited in the claim has been considered a recitation of intended use. The prior art structure above is capable of performing as intended. It has been held that the recitation with respect to the manner in which a claimed apparatus is intended to be employed does not differentiate the claimed apparatus from a prior art apparatus satisfying the claimed structural limitation. (MPEP 2114). 5 The recitation of " used to store the cryo-compressed hydrogen fuel " recited in the claim has been considered a recitation of intended use. The prior art structure above is capable of performing as intended. It has been held that the recitation with respect to the manner in which a claimed apparatus is intended to be employed does not differentiate the claimed apparatus from a prior art apparatus satisfying the claimed structural limitation. (MPEP 2114). 6 The recitation of " to maintain the pressure of the cryogenic vessel " recited in the claim has been considered a recitation of intended use. The prior art structure above is capable of performing as intended. It has been held that the recitation with respect to the manner in which a claimed apparatus is intended to be employed does not differentiate the claimed apparatus from a prior art apparatus satisfying the claimed structural limitation. (MPEP 2114).
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