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 the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 19 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
Claim 1 is directed to a fluid transfer assembly including either a fuel cell or an internal combustion engine. Claims 19 and 20 depend from claim 1, and are directed to a vehicular propulsion system including the fluid transfer assembly of claim 1 (and therefore either the fuel cell or internal combustion engine), and further comprising a fuel cell that receives a hydrogen-based fluid from the fluid transfer assembly. Claims 19 and 20 therefore require a fuel cell to receive a hydrogen-based fluid from either a fuel cell or from an internal combustion engine, which is not supported in the original specification.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claim(s) 1-7, 9, 13 and 15-16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102a1 and/or 102a2 as being anticipated by JP 7399490 B2, which disclose:
A fluid transfer assembly comprising:
a fluid line comprising a hydrogen-based fluid stream (382, which leads from hydrogen tank 381 to injector 310); and
a Venturi lubricant injector (300, 340) fluidly connected to the fluid line and adapted to inject lubricant into the hydrogen-based fluid stream within the fluid line (“The ejector 340 utilizes the flow of hydrogen gas to suck in the water injected from the water injector 320 and the lubricating oil injected from the lubricating oil injector 330, and combine hydrogen gas, water, and lubricating oil. It is mixed. The basic configuration of the ejector 340 is substantially the same as the basic configuration of the ejector 70 of Embodiment 1 (see FIG. 4). “); and
an output reservoir comprising a vehicle powertrain component selected from a fuel cell or an internal-combustion engine (see the engine of FIG 12, where injector 300 is connected thereto), wherein the Venturi lubricant injector injects the lubricant into the hydrogen-based fluid stream upstream of the output reservoir (see FIG 12, the flows from 382 and 392 converge upstream of the engine).
2. The fluid transfer assembly of claim 1, wherein the hydrogen-based fluid stream has a composition of at least 90 vol. % hydrogen (this claim is given limited patentable weight because, as explained at MPEP 2115, including the material worked upon by a structure in a claim does not limit or make the apparatus claim patentable).
3. The fluid transfer assembly of claim 1, wherein the lubricant is an oil-based lubricant (this claim is given limited patentable weight because, as explained at MPEP 2115, including the material worked upon by a structure in a claim does not limit or make the apparatus claim patentable).
4. The fluid transfer assembly of claim 1, wherein the Venturi lubricant injector is fluidly connected to a lubricant reservoir (394).
5. The fluid transfer assembly of claim 1, wherein the fluid line comprises a split having a first fluid line section and a second fluid line section (the fluid line is split into a portion upstream of valve 384 and a portion downstream of valve 384).
6. The fluid transfer assembly of claim 5, wherein the fluid line further comprises a joint re-joining the first fluid line section and the second fluid line section (the valve 384 joins the two sections).
7. The fluid transfer assembly of claim 1, further comprising at least one valve (383, 384) operatively connected to the fluid line.
9. The fluid transfer assembly of claim 5, wherein the at least one valve is located at the split (valve 384 is located at the split).
13. The fluid transfer assembly of claim 1, wherein the Venturi lubricant injector comprises a first cross-section and a second cross-section, wherein the second cross-section has a smaller diameter than the first cross-section (see the small- and large-sized cross sections of the venturi, FIG 4).
15. The fluid transfer assembly of claim 1, wherein the Venturi lubricant injector maintains an internal pressure of at least 50 psi (“he hydrogen gas injection pressure of the hydrogen gas injection injector 30 is, for example, 0.5 to 1.0 MPa”).
16. A method of modifying fluid comprising: providing a fluid line (382, and that portion of injector 340 carrying hydrogen gas); flowing hydrogen-based fluid through the fluid line (from hydrogen tank 381 to injector 310); providing a Venturi lubricant injector (340; FIG 4) comprising a lubricant (from lubricant oil storage tank 394) and fluidly connected to the fluid line (e.g., see FIG 5); and injecting the lubricant from the Venturi lubricant injector into the hydrogen-based fluid stream within the fluid line (“The ejector 340 utilizes the flow of hydrogen gas to suck in the water injected from the water injector 320 and the lubricating oil injected from the lubricating oil injector 330, and combine hydrogen gas, water, and lubricating oil. It is mixed. The basic configuration of the ejector 340 is substantially the same as the basic configuration of the ejector 70 of Embodiment 1 (see FIG. 4). “).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claim(s) 7, 8, 12, 14 and 17-20 (19-20 as understood) is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over JP 7399490 B2.
Regarding claim 8, JP 7399490 B2 does not disclose wherein the at least one valve (as mapped above in claim 7) comprises a gate valve, a check valve, or a butterfly valve. However gate valves and butterfly valves were well-known in the art before the effective filing date (taken as admitted prior art because Applicant did not traverse the prior assertion of well-known status as required of MPEP 2144.03 C), and it would have been obvious to embody the at least one valve as a gate valve or butterfly valve in order to control flow as required generically of the JP 7399490 B2 reference.
Regarding claim 12, JP 7399490 B2 does not disclose the material of the fluid line as claimed, however JP 7399490 B2 does disclose a similar hydrogen-handling component 43 to be made of a hydrogen stable material comprising a metal. To prevent failure of the fluid line from handling hydrogen, it would have been obvious to form it of a hydrogen-resistant metal, as similarly taught regarding component 43.
Regarding claim 14, JP 7399490 B2 does not disclose a check valve along the lubricant line as claimed. However it was notoriously well-known in the art to provide a check valve along a lubricant line (i.e., downstream of the reservoir) (taken as admitted prior art because Applicant did not traverse the prior assertion of well-known status as required of MPEP 2144.03 C), and it would have been obvious to prevent backflow in the lubricant line of JP 7399490 B2 by using a check valve therein as claimed. (Note that for purposes of claim 14, this obvious check valve is read as the valve of claim 7.)
Regarding claims 17 and 18, JP 7399490 B2 does not disclose the claimed flowrates, however it was well-known in the art before the effective filing date to use such flow rates (taken as admitted prior art because Applicant did not traverse the prior assertion of well-known status as required of MPEP 2144.03 C) and it would have been obvious to use the claimed flowrates in order to provide a demanded fuel flow rate with a commensurate amount of lubricant.
Regarding claims 19 and 20, JP 7399490 B2 discloses a vehicular propulsion system comprising the fluid transfer assembly of claim 1 (“For example, the present invention may be applied not only to vehicles such as automobiles, but also to aircraft, ships, and other fuel injection devices for hydrogen internal combustion engines.”), but, as understood, does not disclose the vehicular propulsion system further to comprise an output reservoir comprising a fuel cell that receives the hydrogen-based fluid stream from the fluid transfer assembly. However fuel cells that receive hydgrogen based fluid streams as understood were well-known in the art before the effective filing date (official notice), and it would have been obvious to use such a hydrogen fuel cell with the JP 7399490 B2 system as claimed in order to provide clean electricity for the vehicle.
Claim(s) 5-7 and 9-11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over JP 7399490 B2 in view of Choi (US 2015/0337773).
Regarding claims 5-7 and 9-11 (as an alternative to the anticipation analyses of claims 5 and 6), Choi teaches that it was known in the art before the effective filing date to create a bypass along a similar fluid line (110) using a split having a first fluid line section (from 300 through 23 and to 400) and a second fluid line section (from 300 to 220, 210 and 400) (claim 5), a joint (400) re-joining the first fluid line section and the second fluid line section (claim 6), and at least one valve (300) operatively connected to the fluid line and located at the split (claims 7 and 9), a solenoid (310) located at the split and adapted to selectively move hydrogen-based fluid stream into one of the first fluid line section or the second fluid line section through selective actuation of the valve (see para. 0036; note that the actuator is capable of moving hydrogen as claimed) (claims 10 and 11), wherein the solenoid allows control of the valve by a user or by an automated system (the solenoid itself is capable of allowing such control, as it is actuated by an electric current that must be provided by a user or an automated system). To similarly create a bypass along the flow line of JP 7399490, it would have been obvious to use a split, valve and solenoid actuator at the split, and a joint as taught by Choi.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 9/17/26 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant’s arguments regarding claim 19 are moot in view of the new grounds of rejection.
Applicant argues that the fuel supply system depicted in FIG 15 “shows only tanks and valves upstream of the fuel injection device, with no fuel cell or internal-combustion engine forming part of, or connected to, the fluid handling structure itself” (Remarks, p. 6). In response, the Examiner agrees that Figure 15 shows the components upstream of injector 300. The Examiner also points out that the components downstream of injector 300 (including an internal combustion engine), are shown in FIG 12.
Applicant argues that mixing of the hydrogen gas with lubricating oil occurs in injector 340, which is distinct from fluid line 382. In response, the fluid line is seen include the space within the injector 340 that carries the hydrogen gas.
Conclusion
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 WILLIAM M MCCALISTER whose telephone number is (571)270-1869. The examiner can normally be reached M-F from 7am to 6pm.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, CRAIG SCHNEIDER, can be reached at telephone number 571-272-3607, or Kenneth Rinehart can be reached at 571-272-4881. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/WILLIAM M MCCALISTER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3753
10/7/26
