DETAILED ACTION
Examiner acknowledges receipt of amendment to application 18/184,575 filed on March 15, 2023. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Status of Claims
Claims 1-10 are still pending.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 6 and 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Pandey et al. US PGPUB 2025/0050772.
Regarding claim 6, Pandey discloses a charging station for electric vehicles [fig. 1, electric vehicle charging system 100/20; par. 17], comprising:
at least one fast charging point for electric vehicles [fig. 1, electric vehicle charging system 100/20; par. 11-12 & 17; vehicle charging station 20 which charges a vehicle, Examiner notes that (fast charging is being interpreted broadly since no specification, like a rate or type, such as Level 2 or Level 3 charging)]; and
at least one module for capture and storage of carbon dioxide from the ambient air [pars. 7, 12, 29 & 32-33; a carbon capture unit 70 captures carbon from the ambient air and stores it at least temporarily];
wherein the module can be heated by the waste heat produced during the fast charging of at least one electric vehicle at the at least one fast charging point [par. 29, 32-33; gas from the waste heat recover unit passes from the engine 10 to the waste recovery unit 50, which passes steam or hot water (fluid with heat) to the carbon capture unit (which has a filter, which is thus heated); pars. 11-12; the gas from the engine is generated by a vehicle charging station which charges a vehicle, Examiner notes that (fast charging is being interpreted broadly since no basis for comparison is provided)].
Regarding claim 9, Pandey discloses wherein the at least one module for capture and storage of carbon dioxide from the ambient air is connected to a collection tank for receiving and storing of CO2 [par. 29; passing the CO2 to another storage (a tank)].
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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.
Claims 1-4 and 7-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Pandey et al. US PGPUB 2025/0050772 in view of Amhamed et al. US PGPUB 2023/0256378.
Regarding claim 1, Pandey discloses a method for capture and storage of carbon dioxide from the ambient air [pars. 7, 12 & 29], the method comprising:
taking ambient air through a filter which captures carbon dioxide [pars. 7, 12, 29 & 32-33; a carbon capture unit 70 captures carbon from the ambient air, thus comprises a filter]; and
heating the filter wherein waste heat produced during fast charging of at least one electric vehicle at least at one fast charging point is utilized for the heating of the filter [par. 29, 32-33; gas from the waste heat recover unit passes from the engine 10 to the waste recovery unit 50, which passes steam or hot water (fluid with heat) to the carbon capture unit (which has a filter, which is thus heated); pars. 11-12; the gas from the engine is generated by a vehicle charging station which charges a vehicle, Examiner notes that (fast charging is being interpreted broadly since no specification, like a rate or type, such as Level 2 or Level 3 charging)].
Pandey does not explicitly disclose the carbon dioxide is captured through absorption.
Pandey does not explicitly disclose heating the filter in order to release the captured carbon dioxide.
However, Amhamed discloses a carbon capture system, powered by waste heat wherein the carbon dioxide is captured through absorption and which heats the filter in order to release the captured carbon dioxide [pars. 7, 33 & 42-45; waste heat from an A/C system is used to heat the filter 130; the carbon dioxide is removed using adsorption; heating the filter released the captured carbon dioxide].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Pandey to further include the carbon dioxide is captured through absorption and heating the filter in order to release the captured carbon dioxide for the purpose of using a method that allows CO2 to be selectively removed from ambient air and then released as needed using waste heat, which lowers energy costs, as taught by Amhamed (par. 32-33).
Regarding claim 2, Pandey does not explicitly disclose wherein the filter is heated to a temperature in the range of 60 to 150°C for the releasing of adsorbed carbon dioxide.
However, Amhamed as applied in claim 1 discloses wherein the filter is heated to a temperature in the range of 60 to 150°C for the releasing of adsorbed carbon dioxide [par. 33].
Regarding claim 3, Pandey does not explicitly disclose wherein the filter is subjected to reduced pressure for the releasing of adsorbed carbon dioxide.
However, Amhamed as applied in claim 1 discloses wherein the filter is subjected to reduced pressure for the releasing of adsorbed carbon dioxide [pars. 42-42; pressure swing approach which uses low pressure (vacuum) to recover the adsorbed CO2].
Regarding claim 4, Pandey discloses wherein the carbon dioxide is stored in a collection tank [par. 29].
Regarding claim 7, Pandey discloses wherein the at least one module for capture and storage of carbon dioxide from the ambient air contains a filter [pars. 7, 12, 29 & 32-33; a carbon capture unit 70 captures carbon from the ambient air, thus comprises a filter].
Pandey does not explicitly disclose the filter is adapted to adsorb carbon dioxide from the ambient air and to release it once more upon heating to a temperature in the range of 60 to 150°C.
However, Amhamed discloses a carbon capture system, powered by waste heat wherein the filter is adapted to adsorb carbon dioxide from the ambient air and to release it once more upon heating to a temperature in the range of 60 to 150°C [pars. 7, 33 & 42-45; waste heat from an A/C system is used to heat the filter 130; the carbon dioxide is removed using adsorption; heating the filter released the captured carbon dioxide, at a temperature of 100 C].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Pandey to further include the filter is adapted to adsorb carbon dioxide from the ambient air and to release it once more upon heating to a temperature in the range of 60 to 150°C for the purpose of using a method that allows CO2 to be selectively removed from ambient air and then released as needed using waste heat, which lowers energy costs, as taught by Amhamed (par. 32-33).
Regarding claim 8, Pandey discloses wherein the at least one module for capture and storage of carbon dioxide from the ambient air has a gas inlet and a gas outlet [fig. 2, par. 29; 70 receives gas through 71 and lets out CO2-free gas through 78], at least one fan and/or a blower for creating an air flow through the module [fig. 2, fan 71; pars. 32-34].
Pandey does not explicitly disclose a vacuum device for creating a partial vacuum in the module.
However, Amhamed discloses a carbon capture system, powered by waste heat, comprising a vacuum device for creating a partial vacuum in the module [pars. 7, 33 & 42-45; waste heat from an A/C system is used to heat the filter 130; the carbon dioxide is removed using adsorption; the captured carbon dioxide can be removed using a vacuum (par. 43)].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Pandey to further include a vacuum device for creating a partial vacuum in the module for the purpose of recovering adsorbed CO2, as taught by Amhamed (par. 43).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5 and 10 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.
With respect to claim 5, the following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowability: the prior art fails to further teach or suggest “wherein the electric energy for operating the at least one blower or the at least one fan is provided by a buffer battery of the fast charging point” in combination with all the other elements recited in claim 1.
With respect to claim 10, the following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowability: the prior art fails to further teach or suggest “a roof on which is arranged the at least one module for capture and storage of carbon dioxide from the ambient air, and beneath which are arranged the at least one fast charging point, at least one buffer battery” in combination with all the other elements recited in claim 6.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
Richter German Publication DE 10 2017 201 541 discloses an electric vehicle charging system which uses waste heat to heat tap water.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DAVID V HENZE-GONGOLA whose telephone number is (571)272-3317. The examiner can normally be reached M to F, 9am to 7pm.
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/DAVID V HENZE-GONGOLA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2859