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 § 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.
Claim(s) 1, 2, 7, 9 and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 2009/0114367 to Handa.
In Reference to Claim 1
Handa discloses:
A hydrogen power system comprising a hydrogen-powered power plant, an exhaust coupled to the power plant for emitting exhaust fluid from the power plant, a hydrogen storage container coupled to the power plant, see paragraph [0023] and an exhaust fluid temperature control system, said exhaust fluid temperature control system comprising:
a first heat exchanger 31,
a second heat exchanger 32 adapted to exchange heat energy with the hydrogen storage container or with hydrogen inside the hydrogen storage container, fluid conduits adapted to enable circulation of coolant fluid between the first and second heat exchangers, and
a circulation pump (fluid circulation pump, see fig.4A) adapted to control circulation of said coolant fluid through said fluid conduits.
Handa does not disclose:
a first heat exchanger 31 adapted to exchange heat energy with the exhaust fluid thereby cooling the exhaust fluid such that the amount of water vapour is reduced by condensation of water vapour,
Handa discloses all of the structural limitations of claim 1. As all of the structural limitations are disclosed, “a first heat exchanger 31 adapted to exchange heat energy with the exhaust fluid thereby cooling the exhaust fluid such that the amount of water vapour is reduced by condensation of water vapour” is capable of being executed. The recitation of the intended use of a claimed invention must result in a structural difference between the claimed invention as the prior art to patentably distinguish the claimed invention from the prior art. As Handa is capable of performing the intended use of the claimed invention, and the recitation of the intended use does not result in a structural difference, Handa discloses all of the limitations of claim 1.
At the time claimed invention was filed it would have been obvious to an artisan of ordinary skill to recognized that Handa is capable of cooling the exhaust fluid such that the amount water vapour is reduced by condensation of water vapour.
In Reference to Claim 2
Handa discloses:
the power plant comprises a hydrogen fuel cell or a hydrogen-powered internal combustion engine, see paragraph [0029].
In Reference to Claim 7
Handa discloses:
wherein said hydrogen storage container comprises a plurality of hydrogen storage tanks, see paragraph [0034].
In Reference to Claim 9
Handa discloses:
A vehicle comprising the hydrogen power system according to claim 1, wherein the vehicle is powered at least by said hydrogen-powered power plant, see paragraph [0023].
In Reference to Claim 10
Handa discloses:
wherein the vehicle is a heavy-duty vehicle (vehicle, see paragraph [0022]).
Claim(s) 11 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 2009/0114367 to Handa in view of US 2012/0174984 to Brooks et al. (Brooks).
In Reference to Claim 11
Handa does not disclose:
wherein the heavy-duty vehicle comprises one of a truck, a bus, or construction equipment.
Brooks discloses:
wherein the heavy-duty vehicle comprises one of a truck, a bus, or construction equipment, see paragraph [0044].
At the time claimed invention was filed it would have been obvious to an artisan of ordinary skill to recognized that the vehicles of Handa would encompass vehicles like busses trucks or construction, combine the teachings of Brooks with Handa, since this would enable the practitioner of the primary reference to practice the advantage of applying the teachings of Handa to multiple vehicles such as heavy duty.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 3-6, 8 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. primarily because the prior art of record cannot anticipate Applicant’s claimed invention by a single reference nor render Applicant’s claimed invention obvious by the combination of more than one reference.
Furthermore, the prior art of record does not teach “wherein said exhaust temperature control system further comprises: a temperature sensor adapted to measure a temperature of the hydrogen storage container or of hydrogen inside the hydrogen storage container, and an electronic control unit adapted to control the circulation pump based on at least an input from the temperature sensor.” as within the context of the claimed invention as disclosed and within the context of the other limitations present in claim 3;
The prior art of record does not teach “wherein the second heat exchanger is integrated in the hydrogen storage container such that a wall of the second heat exchanger is exposed to hydrogen inside the hydrogen storage container.” as within the context of the claimed invention as disclosed and within the context of the other limitations present in claim 5; and
The prior art of record does not teach “wherein the temperature control system further comprises a compressor adapted to form a heat pump together with at least the first heat exchanger and the second heat exchanger, said heat pump being adapted such that the first heat exchanger is an evaporator and such that the second heat exchanger is a condenser.” as within the context of the claimed invention as disclosed and within the context of the other limitations present in claim 6.
The prior art of record does not teach “a water tank adapted to receive water condensed from the exhaust fluid by the first heat exchanger.” as within the context of the claimed invention as disclosed and within the context of the other limitations present in claim 8.
Therefore, the prior art of record cannot anticipate Applicant’s claimed invention by a single reference nor render Applicant’s claimed invention obvious by the combination of more than one reference.
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ANTHONY AYALA DELGADO whose telephone number is (571)270-3452. The examiner can normally be reached on Mon-Fri 8:00-5:00.
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, Mark III Laurenzi can be reached on (571) 270-7878. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/ANTHONY AYALA DELGADO/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3746
Prosecution Insights