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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 3/8/23 has been considered by the examiner.
Claim Objections
Claims 2, 3, 7-9, 12-15, 18 and 20 are objected to because of the following informalities: the claims recite “of claims 1”, “of any one of claims 1”, “of claims 4”, “of claims 10”, “of any one of claims 10”, “of claims 16” and “of claims 18”. Appropriate correction is required. Examiner suggests “of claim 1”, “of claim 1”, “of claim 4”, “of claim 10”, “of claim 10”, “of claim 16” and “of claim 18”.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 4-6 and 8-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 4 recites the limitation "the polymer" in lines 1-2. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 8 recites the limitation "the intrinsically-conductive polymer". There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 9 recites “an different charge from the charge within the plurality of nanoparticles”, which is indefinite. It is unclear what Applicant is intending to claim. Examiner notes claim 1 recites “capable of conducting or storing a charge”. Claim 9 further recites “a capacitance is formed in the region”, which is indefinite. It is unclear how capacitance is “formed in the region”.
Claim 9 recites the limitation "the region" in line 5. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 10 recites the limitation "the nanowires" in line 4. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 10 recites “selected from at least…90%, 99% of the overall capacitance”, which is indefinite. Examiner suggests the group language “selected from the group consisting of…and..”. Furthermore, there is insufficient antecedent basis for “the overall capacitance”. See also claims 14-15.
Claim 11 recites the limitation "The nanocapacitor of claim 10". There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. See also claims 12-15 that recite the nanocapacitor of claim 10. Examiner suggest “the nanocapacitor device”.
Claim 16 recites the limitation "the respective nanoparticle" in lines 4-5 and line 11. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Furthermore, the claim recites “on one side of the composite-nano-device” at line 6 and at the last line, which is indefinite.
Claim 16 recites the limitation "the composite device" in the last line. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 20 recites the limitation "the diameter of each nanoparticle" in line 2. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(d):
(d) REFERENCE IN DEPENDENT FORMS.—Subject to subsection (e), a claim in dependent form shall contain a reference to a claim previously set forth and then specify a further limitation of the subject matter claimed. A claim in dependent form shall be construed to incorporate by reference all the limitations of the claim to which it refers.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, fourth paragraph:
Subject to the following paragraph [i.e., the fifth paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112], a claim in dependent form shall contain a reference to a claim previously set forth and then specify a further limitation of the subject matter claimed. A claim in dependent form shall be construed to incorporate by reference all the limitations of the claim to which it refers.
Claim 14 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(d) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, 4th paragraph, as being of improper dependent form for failing to further limit the subject matter of the claim upon which it depends, or for failing to include all the limitations of the claim upon which it depends. The capacitance values of claim 14 do not appear to further limit the capacitance values of claim 10. Applicant may cancel the claim(s), amend the claim(s) to place the claim(s) in proper dependent form, rewrite the claim(s) in independent form, or present a sufficient showing that the dependent claim(s) complies with the statutory requirements.
Claim 15 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(d) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, 4th paragraph, as being of improper dependent form for failing to further limit the subject matter of the claim upon which it depends, or for failing to include all the limitations of the claim upon which it depends. The capacitance values of claim 15 do not appear to further limit the capacitance values of claim 10. Claim 15 appears to improperly broaden the subject matter of claim 10. Applicant may cancel the claim(s), amend the claim(s) to place the claim(s) in proper dependent form, rewrite the claim(s) in independent form, or present a sufficient showing that the dependent claim(s) complies with the statutory requirements.
To the extent the claims are understood in view of the 35 USC 112 rejections above, note the following prior art rejections.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102Ia)(1) as being anticipated by Ortac, US 2020/0274190 A1.
Ortac teaches nano-devices (or nano-components), composite-nano-devices, and methods of manufacturing and using the nano-devices and composite-nano-devices. The composite nano-component devices are made up of numerous connected nano/micro scale units (e.g., component), each unit essentially performing like a single device having all or some of the required components. As such, the cumulative effects of the numerous connected nano/micro scale units or components advantageously results in being comparable or much more effective than having a conventional macro device with individual macro units. In particular embodiments, each nano/micro scale unit (e.g., referred to herein as a nanocomponent) is either fully functional or nearly fully functional. The nano-components can be parallel (PINC) or serially connected. The components can be self-assembled into such configuration and connections of each component can be made using an addressable polymer such as deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), which in particular embodiments is metallized in order to improve conductivity (see FIG. 19 and Example 11) [0009].
The composite-nano-device comprises a first set and a second set of nano-devices wherein each of the first and second set has one or more single stranded oligonucleotides attached to the core forming a first pole and one or more single stranded oligonucleotides attached to the outer layer forming the second pole (FIG. 17). In one embodiment, in the first set, the single stranded oligonucleotide(s) attached to the core has an oligonucleotide sequence A, and the oligonucleotide(s) attached to the outer layer of the first set has an oligonucleotide sequence B, which is different from sequence A (FIG. 17). In another embodiment, in the second set, the single stranded oligonucleotide(s) attached to the core has an oligonucleotide sequence A′, which is complementary to A, and the oligonucleotide(s) attached to the outer layer of the second set has an oligonucleotide sequence B′, which is complementary to B (FIG. 17). In other embodiments, the first set and a second set of nano-devices are disposed within a chamber, wherein electrodes on the sides of the chamber have single stranded oligonucleotides attached thereto, wherein one electrode has a mixture of oligonucleotides A and A′ attached, and the other electrode has a mixture of oligonucleotides B and B′ attached. In a particular embodiment of the composite-nano-device, the first set and second set of nano-devices have self-assembled to form a lattice-like structure where the cores of substantially all of the nano-devices are connected with each other through a network of double stranded DNA produced by the hybridization of A and A′; and the outer layers of substantially all of the nano-devices are connected with each other through a network of double stranded DNA produced by the hybridization of B and B′. In particular embodiments, the core network is also connected with the electrode having said mixture of A and A′ oligonucleotides attached, and the outer layer network is connected to the electrode having said mixture of B and B′ oligonucleotides attached [0016].
The nano-capacitor comprises an inner spherical core forming a first electrode; a separator layer comprising a dielectric material, wherein said separator layer is positioned between the inner core and the outer layer; and an outer layer forming a second electrode that is opposite from the first electrode (see, e.g., FIG. 13). The composite-nano-capacitor-device comprises a plurality of invention nano-capacitors, wherein each nano-capacitor is attached to at least 2 nanowires (see, e.g., FIGS. 7-9); and a plurality of nanowires, wherein said plurality of nano-capacitors are integrated in parallel by the nanowires connected to metal contacts (see, e.g., FIG. 13) [0018-0019].
Other advantages with the nanocapacitor include, among others: parallel connection of numerous nano scale capacitors; high capacitance of ultracapacitors; overcoming the high voltage of conventional capacitors; extreme charge/discharge speeds of ultracapacitors; extreme life-time/reliability of ultracapacitors; and the safety and extreme lifetime of ultracapacitors; safe and low cost materials will store extreme energy density due to nano scale gap between electrodes and extreme surface area; extreme recharge rates; high stability and safety; and essentially “infinite” lifetime. In the case of the invention PINC nanocapacitor configuration, the effective electrode surface area increases dramatically while maintaining a very short distance of electrodes, therefore, one can still benefit from short distance between the electrodes and having an extremely long electrode surface area increasing capacitance. As the simulation in Example 14 and FIGS. 20 and 21 shows, it is contemplated herein to charge a capacitor much faster up to do theoretical levels of femtoseconds. In other embodiments, when the nanocapacitors are connected in parallel, the composite device will still be charged extremely fast, such as several orders of magnitude faster than seconds [0026-0027].
See also [0059-0060]. The term “nanowire” or “nanowires” refers to any material on a nano-scale level that is able to conduct an electric current, such as a metallo-nucleic acid, and the like. As used herein, the phrase “metallo-nucleic acid” refers to any hybrid of a conducting metal such as silver, gold, and the like; and any nucleic acid such as DNA, RNA, and the like. An exemplary nanowire for use herein is the silver-DNA hybrid nanowire and can be made as set forth in Kondo et al. (2017), Nature Chemistry, Vol. 9, Oct/2017: pages 956-960; Published Online: Jul. 3, 2017; DOI: 10.1038/NCHM.2808; which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety for all purposes. Another silver-DNA hybrid nanowire contemplated for use herein is described and can be made as set forth in Braun et al., (Feb/1998) Nature, Vol 391, pgs. 775-778; which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety for all purposes [0062]. See also [64-66], [0068-0069] and [0071].
In the case of capacitors, the previous improvements have focused on reducing the distance between the two electrodes and again increasing the charge capacity. However, increasing energy density by improving the porosity, thus effective thickness of the electrode does not always directly translate to energy capacity. In traditional capacitors, the electrodes can hold a great deal of charge, however the distance cannot be reduced much by existing materials. New generation capacitors try to increase the charge density of electrodes. Then, to reduce the distance they use a double layer. Use of double layers causes a very thin voltage barrier that generates an electric field. Since the electric field is inversely proportional with the distance, that very little layer helps to improve capacitance. However, the problem is that you cannot increase the total voltage, and thus the charge it carries because the double layer breaks when using high voltages. Provided is composite-capacitor that utilizes nano-unit (regular) capacitors, preferably connected in parallel, instead of a large super capacitor. In particular embodiments, the nano-capacitors are connected in parallel using nanowires as described herein. An advantage contemplated herein is the potential to reach high voltage capacity and high energy density. It has been found that it does not help to separately increase the energy density of two separate electrodes because they become three dimensional and the distance between two electrodes starts to become significant for the farther sides of the electrodes. Trying to solve that problem by using a double layer, which is limited by the total voltage still cannot address the high capacity need of the capacitors, as they become much lower energy density than batteries. The nano-capacitor comprises an inner spherical core forming a first electrode; a separator layer comprising a dielectric material, wherein said separator layer is positioned between the inner core and the outer layer; and an outer layer forming a second electrode that is opposite from the first electrode. In particular embodiments of the nano-capacitor, the first and/or second electrode is a metal selected from the group consisting of gold, silver, iron and platinum., and the like, such that the first and second electrodes can comprise the same or different metals. Thus, those of skill in the art will understand that the first electrode “and” second electrode; as well as the first electrode “or” the second electrode is a metal selected from the group consisting of gold, silver, iron and platinum., and the like. In particular embodiments of the nano-capacitor, the dielectric material forming the separator layer is an oxide selected from the group consisting of MgO, TiO.sub.2, SiO.sub.2, or any mixture thereof, and the like. The composite-nano-capacitor-device comprising a plurality of invention nano-capacitors, wherein each nano-capacitor is attached to at least 2 nanowires; and a plurality of nanowires, wherein said plurality of nano-capacitors are integrated in parallel by the nanowires connected to metal contacts [0076-0079]. See also [0124-0125].
See at least Figures 20 and 21 that show capacitance. Thus, the claims are anticipated.
Conclusion
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/TRACY M DOVE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1725