Appeal 2007-2192
Application 11/004,487
Appellants' claimed invention is directed to a fuel cell system
comprising a fuel cell stack assembly which receives a hydrogen stream to
produce an electric current. Each of the fuel cell stacks has a first
operational state that produces an electric current and a second operational
state that does not produce an electric current. The system also comprises a
control system that regulates the operational states of the fuel cell stacks
responsive to the magnitude of an applied load.
Appealed claims 1-3, 6-13, 16, 18, 23, 28-36, 39-41, 51, 53, 56 and
58-60 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 102(b) as being anticipated by
Horiuchi. The appealed claims also stand rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a)
as follows:
(a) claims 15, 17 and 44-50 over Horiuchi in view of Tanokura,
(b) claims 19-20 and 24-25 over Horiuchi in view of Kenji,
(c) claims 37, 38, 42, 43, 52, 54 and 55 over Horiuchi in view of
Walsh, and
(d) claim 57 over Horiuchi in view of Okamato.
We have thoroughly reviewed the respective positions advanced by
Appellants and the Examiner. In so doing, we find that the Horiuchi
reference cited by the Examiner fails to describe the subject matter of claim
1 within the meaning of § 102. Since the additional references cited by the
Examiner under § 103 do not remedy the basic deficiency of Horiuchi
regarding the subject matter of claim 1, we will not sustain any of the
Examiner's rejections.
We agree with Appellants that Horiuchi discloses a system of fuel cell
stacks comprising a control system that is responsive to an abnormality
signal generated by a fuel cell stack that is out of order or, abnormal.
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Last modified: September 9, 2013