Ex Parte Menon et al

Patent Trial and Appeal Board

Oct 18, 2013

11671379 (P.T.A.B. Oct. 18, 2013)

UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARKOFFICE
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
APPLICATION NO. FILING DATE FIRST NAMED INVENTOR ATTORNEY DOCKET NO. CONFIRMATION NO.
11/671,379 02/05/2007 Prem Menon GP-304285-FCAR-CHE 8890
65798 7590 10/21/2013
MILLER IP GROUP, PLC
GENERAL MOTORS CORPORATION
42690 WOODWARD AVENUE
SUITE 200
BLOOMFIELD HILLS, MI 48304
EXAMINER
WALKER, KEITH D
ART UNIT PAPER NUMBER
1735
MAIL DATE DELIVERY MODE
10/21/2013 PAPER
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.
PTOL-90A (Rev. 04/07)

UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
____________
BEFORE THE PATENT TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD
____________

Ex parte PREM MENON,
JOHN J. CONLEY, DAVID A. MASTEN,
and BRUCE J. CLINGERMAN
____________

Appeal 2012-003676
Application 11/671,379
Technology Center 1700
____________

Before ADRIENE LEPIANE HANLON, HUBERT C. LORIN, and
GEORGE C. BEST, Administrative Patent Judges.

BEST, Administrative Patent Judge.

DECISION ON APPEAL

Appeal 2012-003676
Application 11/671,379
2
On February 2, 2012, the Examiner finally rejected claims 1-4 and 15-
17 of Application 11/671,379 under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a) as obvious.
Appellants1 seek reversal of these rejections pursuant to 35 U.S.C. § 134(a).
We have jurisdiction under 35 U.S.C. § 6(b).
For the reasons set forth below, we REVERSE.
BACKGROUND
The ’379 application describes “a fuel cell system that employs wax
elements as passive control devices to control certain system components,
such as coolant fans, coolant pumps and valves in the system.” Spec.
¶ [0001]. In particular, the system uses expansion and contraction of the wax
to operate an electric switch to control various devices in the system. Id. at
¶ [0007].
Claim 1 is the only independent claim in the ’379 application and is
reproduced below:
1. (Previously Presented) A fuel cell system comprising:
a fuel cell stack including a stack of fuel cells; and
a cooling system for cooling the fuel cell stack,
said cooling system including a cooling line delivering
cooled cooling fluid to the stack and removing heated
cooling fluid from the stack,
said cooling system further including a wax element
device positioned within the cooling line,
said wax element device including
a container mounted to the cooling line,

1 GM Global Technology Operations LLC is identified as the real party in
interest. (Amended Appeal Brief (“App. Br.”) 3 (August 1, 2011).)
Appeal 2012-003676
Application 11/671,379
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a wax element positioned within the
container and a rod mounted to the wax
element and extending out of the cooling
line,
said wax element expanding and contracting
in response to temperature changes to the
cooling fluid,
said rod moving in response to the
expansion and contraction of the wax
element to provide control of at least one
fuel cell system device.
(App. Br. 7-8, 10 (Claims App’x) (some paragraphing and indentation
added, disputed limitations italicized).)
REJECTIONS
On appeal, the Examiner maintains the following rejection:
Claims 1-4 and 15-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a) as
obvious over Clingerman2 in view of Sliger.3 (Ans. 5.)
DISCUSSION
Appellants’ argue for reversal of the Examiner’s rejection based upon
the limitations in claim 1. (See App. Br. 5-9.) Therefore, our discussion is
limited to claim 1, and claims 2-4 and 15-17 stand or fall with claim 1.
Appellants admit the Clingerman describes a fuel cell assembly that
includes a fuel cell stack comprised of fuel cells. (App. Br. 5.) The fuel cell
assembly further includes a pair of coolant pumps. (Id.) The first coolant

2 U.S. Patent No. 6,743,539 B2, issued June 1, 2004.
3 U.S. Patent No. 3,771,088, issued Nov. 6, 1973.
Appeal 2012-003676
Application 11/671,379
4
pump moves coolant through a high temperature coolant loop and the fuel
cell stack. (Id.) The second coolant pump moves coolant fluid through a low
temperature coolant loop. (Id.) Clingerman’s fuel cell assembly further
comprises a first temperature sensor that measures a temperature near the
fuel cell stack and a second temperature sensor that measures the
temperature of the coolant in the low temperature coolant loop. (Id.) The
Examiner further found that Clingerman describes the use of data from the
second temperature sensor to control the operation of a fan. (Ans. 5 (citing
Clingerman col. 5, ll. 1-30).)
Appellants also admit that Sliger describes an electrical switch having
a pair of electrical contacts on a piston. (App. Br. 5.) The piston moves
based on the expansion and contraction of a thermally expansive wax-based
material. (Id.) Movement of the piston makes and breaks electrical contacts.
(Id.)
Appellants argue that the rejection should be reversed for several
reasons. This appeal, however, may be resolved by consideration of a single
argument: Appellants argue that the Examiner has not established a prima
facie case of obviousness because the prior art does not describe or suggest
the positioning of the wax element device in the cooling line that circulates
coolant through the fuel cell stack. (App. Br. 6-7.) In response to this
argument, the Examiner identified the thermostat in Clingerman’s low
temperature coolant loop as the cooling fluid sensor within a line that
delivers coolant to a fuel cell stack. (Ans. 7 (“This element is the
temperature sensor 48 . . . and is taught by Clingerman as in the coolant loop
for the fuel cell (Abstract; Fig. 1; 4:20-35).”).)
The Examiner’s argument is based upon a misapprehension of the
structure of Clingerman’s fuel cell assembly. Clingerman expressly
Appeal 2012-003676
Application 11/671,379
5
describes temperature sensor 48 as located within the low temperature
coolant loop. Clingerman Figure 1; col. 4, ll. 7-34. The low temperature
coolant loop, however, does not supply coolant to the fuel cell stack. Id.
Rather, the low temperature coolant loop circulates coolant through various
components of the fuel cell power plant, including a motor, a motor
controller, and electrical components. Id. at col. 4, ll. 7-12. Clingerman
expressly describes supply of the coolant to the fuel cell stack via the high
temperature coolant loop, not the low temperature coolant loop. Id. at col. 2,
ll. 45-52; col. 3, ll. 20-29.
Due to the Examiner’s faulty understanding of Clingerman’s
structure, the Examiner has neither made factual findings nor articulated
reasons why a person of ordinary skill in the art would have positioned
Sliger’s wax element sensor in a coolant line that provides coolant to and
removes coolant from the fuel cell stack.4
Because the Examiner’s rejection is based upon an erroneous factual
determination, we reverse the rejection of claim 1 as obvious over

4 We note that Clingerman describes monitoring coolant temperature within
the high temperature coolant loop. Information regarding the coolant
temperature is used to control the position of a diverter valve that directs a
variable portion of the coolant to a radiator. See Clingerman, col. 2, l. 53-
col. 3, l. 45. The Examiner did not argue that a wax element sensor could be
used in this application, and we express no opinion in that regard.
We also express no opinion regarding the contents of U.S. Patent No.
4,262,274 or U.S. Patent No. 4,225,841, which were not identified by the
Examiner as being part of the basis for rejection of the ’379 application’s
claims. See In re Hoch, 428 F.2d 1341, 1342 n.3 (CCPA 1970) (“Where a
reference is relied on to support a rejection . . . there would appear to be no
excuse for not positively including the reference in the statement of the
rejection.”).
Appeal 2012-003676
Application 11/671,379
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Clingerman and Sliger. The remaining claims in the ’379 application depend
from claim 1. Thus, we also reverse the rejection of these claims.
CONCLUSION
For the reasons set forth above, we reverse the Examiner’s rejection of
claims 1-4 and 15-17 of the ’379 application as obvious over the
combination of Clingerman and Sliger.

REVERSED

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