DETAILED ACTION
This is the first Office action on the merits of Application No. 18/978,143. Claims 1-13 are pending.
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 statements (IDS) submitted on 12/12/2024 and 12/5/2025 have been considered by the examiner.
Claim Objections
Claims 9-10 are objected to because of the following informalities:
In claim 9, lines 1-2, the phrase “the upper end of the first radiator” is referring back to claim 8 not claim 1 as currently written, it appears dependency could change to –claim 8--; and
In claim 10, lines 1-2, the phrase “the housing” is referring back to claim 2 not claim 1 as currently written, it appears dependency could change to –claim 2--.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention
Claims 1-7 and 10-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Quan (Chinese document CN210149159, cited on the IDS).
Regarding claim 1, Quan discloses a work vehicle comprising: a fuel cell module including a fuel cell stack (26) and a coolant pump (4); at least one fuel tank (39) to store fuel to be supplied to the fuel cell stack; a motor (52) connected to the fuel cell module; a vehicle frame (18) supporting the fuel cell module, the at least one fuel tank, and the motor, the vehicle frame rotatably supporting front wheels (33) and rear wheels (34); and a cooling system to circulate coolant via the coolant pump (4), the cooling system including: a first radiator (first radiator 1) on one side of the fuel cell module (left side); and a second radiator (second radiator 2) on another side of the fuel cell module (right side).
Regarding claim 2, Quan discloses the work vehicle according to claim 1, further comprising a front housing (44) supported by a front portion of the vehicle frame and covering the fuel cell module.
Regarding claim 3, Quan discloses the work vehicle according to claim 2, wherein a width of the front housing is narrower than a wheel spacing of the front wheels (Fig. 1).
Regarding claim 4, Quan discloses the work vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the cooling system includes a first flow path in which the coolant flows between the fuel cell stack and the first radiator (“the first radiator 1, de-ionized water filter 20, de-ionized water box (22) and cooling water inlet of the hydrogen fuel battery engine 32 are connected through said silica gel water pipe 19. form a de-ionized water cooling loop; the water outlet of the water pump 4”).
Regarding claim 5, Quan discloses the work vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the cooling system includes a second flow path in which the coolant flows between electrical equipment including the motor and the second radiator (“the second radiator 2, the water inlet of common water tank 3 and the water pump 4 through the common water pipe 5 are connected in turn, the first bidirectional DC/DC converter 26, the second bidirectional DC/DC converter 27, motor controller 13, DC/AC converter 11 and compressor 7 is connected with the common water pipe 5 heat conducting to form the common water cooling loop”).
Regarding claim 6, Quan discloses the work vehicle according to claim 5, wherein the electrical equipment includes a group of electrical circuits to convert direct current generated by the fuel cell to alternating current and supply the alternating current to the motor (e.g. 11).
Regarding claim 7, Quan discloses the work vehicle according to claim 1, wherein a front surface area of the first radiator is larger than a front surface area of the second radiator (Fig. 4 shows the radiators 1 and 2 have different sizes).
Regarding claim 10, Quan discloses the work vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the front housing includes at least one opening portion to allow airflow to reach the first radiator and/or the second radiator (Figs. 1 and 4).
Regarding claim 11, Quan discloses the work vehicle according to claim 10, wherein the fuel cell module is surrounded by a casing including sides and a top surface to guide the airflow from front to back (Fig. 4).
Regarding claim 12, Quan discloses the work vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the work vehicle is an agricultural machine (Fig. 1).
Regarding claim 13, Quan discloses the work vehicle according to claim 12, further comprising a power take-off shaft (50) driven by the motor.
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.
Claims 8-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Quan (Chinese document CN210149159, cited on the IDS).
Regarding claim 8, Quan discloses the work vehicle according to claim 1, wherein an upper end of the first radiator is higher than an upper end of the second radiator (Fig. 4, 2 appears shorter in the height direction). Quan does not explicitly state the first radiator is higher than an upper end of the second radiator.
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Quan to incorporate an upper end of the first radiator is higher than an upper end of the second radiator with a reasonable expectation of success as less surface area is needed for cooling on the second radiator.
Regarding claim 9, Quan discloses the work vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the upper end of the first radiator is higher than an upper end of the fuel cell module (Fig. 4, 1 appears higher than the fuel cell module). Quan does not explicitly state the upper end of the first radiator is higher than an upper end of the fuel cell module.
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Quan to incorporate the upper end of the first radiator is higher than an upper end of the fuel cell module with a reasonable expectation of success as more surface area is needed for cooling on the first radiator.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Won (US Patent Publication 20220209265) discloses a fuel cell vehicle with a second radiator.
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/LORI WU/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3655
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