DETAILED ACTION
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements filed on 12/12/2024, 12/5/2025, 2/18/2026, and 5/8/2026 have been fully considered.
Priority
The foreign priority claim to JP2022-103778 filed on 6/28/2022 is acknowledged.
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 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.
Claim(s) 1, and 7-8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 as being unpatentable over Dutta (US 20210135584 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Dutta teaches an agricultural work vehicle (taught by paragraph 3 “an off-road vehicle may be associated with vehicle implements that perform work tasks, such as agriculture”) comprising:
a fuel cell power generation system (901 “vehicle energy system” taught by figure 1 and by paragraph 58 “The vehicle energy system 901 may incorporate a battery, fuel cell,”);
a first voltage conversion circuit to convert a voltage output from the fuel cell power generation system to output a first voltage (64 “transformers” and 66 “secondary converters” taught by figure 1); and
a second voltage conversion circuit to convert the voltage output from the fuel cell power generation system to output a second voltage higher than the first voltage (164 “transformers” and 166 “secondary converters” taught by figure 1).
Regarding claim 7, Dutta teaches the agricultural work vehicle according to claim 1, as set forth in the anticipation rejection above.
Dutta also teaches a first electronic controller configured or programmed to control the first voltage conversion circuit (31 “primary controller” taught in figure 1); and
a second electronic controller configured or programmed to control the second voltage conversion circuit (133 “secondary controller” taught by figure 1);
wherein the first voltage that is output from the first voltage conversion circuit is supplied to each of the first electronic controller and the second electronic controller (taught by figure 3A).
Regarding claim 8, Dutta teaches the agricultural work vehicle according to claim 1, as set forth in the anticipation rejection above.
Dutta also teaches the first voltage conversion circuit and the second voltage conversion circuit each include a DC-DC converter (taught by figure 1).
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 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.
Claim(s) 2-3, and 5-6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Dutta (US 20210135584 A1) in view of Murai (JP 2006278296 A).
Regarding claim 2, Dutta teaches the agricultural work vehicle according to claim 1, as set forth in the anticipation rejection above.
However, Dutta does not teach a temperature controller configured or programmed to cool or heat a fuel cell stack included in the fuel cell power generation system;
wherein the second voltage that is output from the second voltage conversion circuit is supplied to the temperature controller.
However, Murai teaches a temperature controller configured or programmed to cool or heat a fuel cell stack included in the fuel cell power generation system (60 “a radiator” and 61 “a heater” taught by figure 1);
wherein the second voltage that is output from the second voltage conversion circuit is supplied to the temperature controller (5 “DC-DC converter” taught in figure 1 and by the specification “a radiator 60 which is a load of the DC-DC converter 5”).
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 incorporated the temperature controller taught by Murai into the agricultural work vehicle of Dutta, with a reasonable expectation of success. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this incorporation because a fuel cell operates best in a temperature window, and a temperature controller can keep the fuel cell within that window.
Regarding claim 3, Dutta in view of Murai teaches the agricultural work vehicle according to claim 2, as set forth in the obviousness rejection above.
Murai also teaches the temperature controller includes a radiator to dissipate heat from cooling medium cooling the fuel cell stack (60 “a radiator” taught by figure 1); and
the second voltage that is output from the second voltage conversion circuit is supplied to the radiator (5 “DC-DC converter” taught in figure 1 and by the specification “a radiator 60 which is a load of the DC-DC converter 5”).
Regarding claim 5, Dutta in view of Murai teaches the agricultural work vehicle according to claim 2, as set forth in the obviousness rejection above.
Murai also teaches the temperature controller includes a heater to heat the fuel cell stack (61 “a heater” taught by figure 1); and
the second voltage that is output from the second voltage conversion circuit is supplied to the heater (taught by figure 1).
Regarding claim 6, Dutta teaches the agricultural work vehicle according to claim 1, as set forth in the anticipation rejection above.
Dutta does not teach an air conditioner;
wherein the second voltage that is output from the second voltage conversion circuit is supplied to the air conditioner.
Murai teaches an air conditioner; wherein the second voltage that is output from the second voltage conversion circuit is supplied to the air conditioner (63 “auxiliary machine” and 5 “DC-DC converter” taught by figure 1 and the specification “The auxiliary battery 62 is a battery for storing the electric power supplied from the DC-DC converter 5 and driving the auxiliary machine 63 based on the electric power. Examples of the auxiliary machine 63 include an air conditioner”).
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 incorporated the air conditioner taught by Murai into the agricultural work vehicle of Dutta, with a reasonable expectation of success. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this incorporation because an air conditioner can cool the cabin of the agricultural vehicle making a user much more comfortable and able to work for longer.
Claim(s) 4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Dutta (US 20210135584 A1) in view of Murai (JP 2006278296 A) and in further view of Abe (US 20230317980 A1).
Regarding claim 4, Dutta in view of Murai teaches the agricultural work vehicle according to claim 3, as set forth in the obviousness rejection above.
However, neither Dutta nor Murai teach a sub-radiator to dissipate heat from cooling medium cooling an onboard electrical component.
Abe teaches a sub-radiator to dissipate heat from cooling medium cooling an onboard electrical component. (803 “board cooling radiator” and 101 “fuel cell boost converter” taught by figure 1 and paragraph 28 “Board cooling circuit 800 includes board cooling water circulation path 801, board cooling water pump 802, and board cooling radiator 803. Board cooling water circulation path 801 is a pipe that allows circulation of cooling water therein to supply the cooling water to fuel cell boost converter 101”).
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 incorporated the sub-radiator taught by Abe into the agricultural work vehicle of Dutta in view of Murai, with a reasonable expectation of success. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this incorporation electrical components degrade at high temperatures and a sub-radiator cooling them would help prevent this degradation from happening.
Conclusion
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/NICHOLAS R. KANDAS/Examiner, Art Unit 3613
/JAMES A SHRIVER II/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3613
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