Ex Parte O

Patent Trial and Appeal Board

Jun 19, 2018

14171811 (P.T.A.B. Jun. 19, 2018)

UNITED STA TES p A TENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
APPLICATION NO. FILING DATE
14/171,811 02/04/2014
26096 7590 06/21/2018
CARLSON, GASKEY & OLDS, P.C.
400 WEST MAPLE ROAD
SUITE 350
BIRMINGHAM, MI 48009
FIRST NAMED INVENTOR
Jonathan Daniel O'Neill
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
United States Patent and Trademark Office
Address: COMMISSIONER FOR PATENTS
P.O. Box 1450
Alexandria, Virginia 22313-1450
www .uspto.gov
ATTORNEY DOCKET NO. CONFIRMATION NO.
73357US02;
67036-741PUS1
EXAMINER
VO,JIMMY
2457
ART UNIT PAPER NUMBER
1723
NOTIFICATION DATE DELIVERY MODE
06/21/2018 ELECTRONIC
Please find below and/or attached an Office communication concerning this application or proceeding.
The time period for reply, if any, is set in the attached communication.
Notice of the Office communication was sent electronically on above-indicated "Notification Date" to the
following e-mail address(es):
ptodocket@cgolaw.com
cgolaw@yahoo.com
PTOL-90A (Rev. 04/07)
UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
BEFORE THE PATENT TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD
Ex parte JONATHAN DANIEL O'NEILL 1
Appeal2017-009222
Application 14/171,811
Technology Center 1700
Before BRADLEY R. GARRIS, RAEL YNN P. GUEST, and
JANEE. INGLESE, Administrative Patent Judges.
GARRIS, Administrative Patent Judge.
DECISION ON APPEAL
Pursuant to 35 U.S.C. § 134, Appellant appeals from the Examiner's
rejection of claims 1-10 and 16-21 under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as unpatentable
over Pearson (US 2003/0111977 Al; June 19, 2003). We have jurisdiction
under 35 U.S.C. § 6.
We REVERSE.
1 Appellant is the Applicant, Hamilton Sunstrand Corporation, which is
identified as the real party in interest (App. Br. 1 ).
Appeal2017-009222
Application 14/171,811
Appellant claims a fuel cell assembly comprising a first fuel cell stack
26 in series with a variable resistor 32 and a second fuel cell stack 28 in
parallel with the first fuel cell stack (sole independent claim 1, Fig. 2).
Further details regarding this claimed subject matter are set forth in
representative claim 1, a copy of which taken from the Claims Appendix of
the Appeal Brief appears below.
1. A fuel cell assembly comprising:
a first fuel cell stack in series with a variable resistor;
a second fuel cell stack in parallel with said first fuel cell
stack and in series with a contactor; and
wherein a resistance level of said variable resistor is
adjusted in response to deactivating said contactor.
The Examiner finds that Pearson discloses a fuel cell assembly
comprising "a first fuel cell stack (see 'fuel cell stack 14'; [0033], Fig. 5) in
series with a variable resistor (see 'series resistance Rs varies ... '; [0034],
Fig. 5)" as required by claim 1 (Final Action 3). The Examiner also finds
that Pearson fails to disclose the claim 1 feature of a second fuel cell stack
parallel to the first fuel cell stack (id. at 4) but concludes that it would have
been obvious to provide Pearson's assembly with such a second fuel cell
stack (id. at 5).
Appellant challenges the Examiner's finding that Pearson discloses a
variable resistor in series with fuel cell stack 14. According to Appellant,
"Pearson discloses that the series resistance Rs depicted in Figure 5 is not a
variable resistor in series with fuel cell stack 14, but rather a symbolic
depiction of an internal resistance of the fuel cell stack 14 itself' (App. Br.
2
Appeal2017-009222
Application 14/171,811
3). Further in this regard, Appellant argues that "the fuel cell stack 14
cannot be in series with itself, as the Examiner seems to contend" (id.).
The Examiner responds by stating that the Rs symbol in Figure 5
depicts a variable resistor (Ans. 25) and that "whether it is internal or
external, it is still a variable resistor in series with the components of the fuel
cell stack and the fuel cell stack itself' (id.).
Appellant is correct that Rs represents the internal resistance of
Pearson's fuel cell stack 14 (see, e.g., Pearson ,r 34 ("fuel cell stack 14 can
be modeled as an ideal battery having ... a series resistance Rs"), ,r 71 ("the
internal resistance of Rs of the fuel cell stack 14"), ,r 75 ("the internal series
resistance Rs inherent in the fuel cell stack 14") ).
As indicated previously, the Examiner states "whether it is internal or
external, it is still a variable resistor in series with ... the fuel cell stack
itself' (Ans. 25). However, the Examiner does not explain how the internal
resistance Rs of fuel cell stack 14 would be "in series with ... the fuel cell
stack itself' (id.) and accordingly does not respond to Appellant's argument
that "the fuel cell stack 14 cannot be in series with itself' (App. Br. 3).
Moreover, we emphasize Appellant's correct observation that the Examiner
fails to provide any evidence that one with ordinary skill in this art would
interpret the internal resistance Rs of Pearson's fuel cell stack 14 to be in
series with the fuel cell stack itself (Reply Br. 3).
3
Appeal2017-009222
Application 14/171,811
Based on the record before us, Appellant has shown error in the
Examiner's finding that Pearson discloses a fuel cell stack in series with a
variable resistor as required by claim 1. For this reason, we do not sustain
the § 103 rejection of claims 1-10 and 16-21 as unpatentable over Pearson.
DECISION
The decision of the Examiner is reversed.
REVERSED
4