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 .
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)(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) 1-4, 6, 8-9, 13 and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by US 2011/0185728 A1 (hereinafter “MEYERS”).
Regarding Claims 1-4, 6, 8-9, 13 and 15, MEYERS discloses a heat storage device, comprising: a heat storage member (i.e., heat extraction piping, as described in para. [0021]: “Embodiments of the receiver panels 30 may include heat extraction piping attached to the back surface of the receiver panel 30.”); and a metal layer (32) disposed over and bonded to the heat storage member (see again para. [0021]: “Embodiments of the receiver panels 30 may include heat extraction piping attached to the back surface of the receiver panel 30.” Bolding and italics mine.), the metal layer containing a protrusion-and-recess-shaped object (see 34), wherein the protrusion-and-recess-shaped object has a height of 100 nm or more and 1,000 nm or less (see para. [0022]: “The height 38 of the thermally conductive nanostructures 34 may range from about 0.1 µm to about 10 µm in one such embodiment.”); wherein the heat storage member contains any one of water, paraffin, oil, fibers, sand, and salts (see the included English translation: “heat transfer fluid comprises a synthetic oil, molten salt, an organic fluid, water or air.”); further comprising a metal oxide in contact with the protrusion-and-recess-shaped object (see para. [0020]: “The substrate 32 may consist of a metal or other suitable thermally conductive or heat absorbent material. Examples of metals that the substrate 32 may consist of are INCONEL.RTM., nickel, aluminum overcoated with aluminum oxide, or titanium overcoated with titanium oxide.”); wherein the metal oxide contains a plate-like crystal containing alumina as a main component (see again para. [0020]: “The substrate 32 may consist of a metal or other suitable thermally conductive or heat absorbent material. Examples of metals that the substrate 32 may consist of are INCONEL.RTM., nickel, aluminum overcoated with aluminum oxide, or titanium overcoated with titanium oxide.” i.e., Alumina is an aluminum oxide comprising a plate-like crystal structure); wherein a material of the metal layer contains any one selected from nickel, chromium, and zinc (see again para. [0020]: “The substrate 32 may consist of a metal or other suitable thermally conductive or heat absorbent material. Examples of metals that the substrate 32 may consist of are INCONEL.RTM., nickel, aluminum overcoated with aluminum oxide, or titanium overcoated with titanium oxide.”); wherein the heat storage member (14) contains a heat storage material (see para. [0018]: “The central receiver 14 is heated to a high temperature (e.g., 500 degrees Centigrade or higher) whereupon the heat is generally extracted by flowing a heat transfer fluid through or proximate to the receiver 14. The heat transfer fluid may include synthetic oil, molten salt, organic fluid, water, or air.”) and a substrate (32) disposed between the metal layer (34) and the heat storage material; wherein the substrate is composed of any one of metals, glass, ceramic materials, wood, paper, and resins (see para. [0020]: “The substrate 32 may consist of a metal or other suitable thermally conductive or heat absorbent material.”); an article (10), comprising the heat storage device according to Claim 1; and a medium to be heated by the heat storage device (see again para. [0018]: “The central receiver 14 is heated to a high temperature (e.g., 500 degrees Centigrade or higher) whereupon the heat is generally extracted by flowing a heat transfer fluid through or proximate to the receiver 14. The heat transfer fluid may include synthetic oil, molten salt, organic fluid, water, or air.”); a solar heat utilization system (10), comprising the heat storage device according to Claim 1.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim(s) 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over MEYERS in view of CN 111249757 A (hereinafter “FANG”).
Regarding Claim 5, MEYERS does not disclose wherein the heat storage device has a surface with an average surface roughness Ra' of 1 nm or more and 50 nm or less, and has a specific surface area Sr of 1.0 or more and 3.0 or less.
FANG teaches a solar energy photo-thermal converting material which has a surface with an average surface roughness Ra' of 1 nm or more and 50 nm or less, and has a specific surface area Sr of 1.0 or more and 3.0 or less (see included English translation: “Further, for functional surface roughness the hydrothermal carbon layer surface has any one kind of or the combination of more than two of carbonyl, benzoquinonyl and hydroxyl groups in the hydrothermal carbon layer is 5 to 100nm, the specific surface area of the hydro-carbon layer is 1 to 5m2/g.”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify MEYERS wherein the heat storage device has a surface with an average surface roughness Ra' of 1 nm or more and 50 nm or less, and has a specific surface area Sr of 1.0 or more and 3.0 or less as taught and/or suggested by FANG, since such a modification would provide a surface exhibiting a high solar energy conversion efficiency in light-to-heat conversion applications.
Claim(s) 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over MEYERS in view of WO 2017073564 A1 (hereinafter “AKIYAMA”).
Regarding Claim 7, MEYERS does not disclose wherein the metal layer is bonded to the heat storage member with an adhesive layer.
AKIYAMA teaches a thermal-optical conversion element wherein the metal layer (1) is bonded to the heat storage member (7) with an adhesive layer (9; see the included English translation: “As for the heat-light conversion element C of the third embodiment and the heat-light conversion element D of the fourth embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, the base 1 and the heat-absorbing member 7 are interposed via the adhesive layer 9. It is good to make the structure pasted.”).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify MEYERS wherein the metal layer and the heat storage member are bonded with an adhesive layer as taught and/or suggested by AKIYAMA, since MEYERS does not specify how said metal layer and heat storage member are bonded (i.e., attached) and AKIYAMA teaches the use of adhesives which provide a means of bonding (i.e., attaching) said metal layer and the heat storage member.
Claim(s) 10-11 and 16-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over MEYERS in view of US 4,316,048 (hereinafter “WOODALL”).
Regarding Claims 10-11 and 16-17, MEYERS discloses an article (10) and the heat storage device according Claim 1.
MEYERS does not disclose a heat insulator; and a heat dissipation device; a solar photovoltaic power generation system; and a solar photovoltaic power generation cell disposed between the heat storage device and the heat insulator.
WOODALL teaches a concentrated solar energy receiver (see Fig. 1) comprising a heat insulator (4; see Col. 3, Lns. 27-30: “The material 3 is encased in an efficient heat retaining housing 4 to minimize loss. The housing 4 is designed to retain the energy in such a manner that only the portion selected for release is emitted.”); and a heat dissipation device (see 5-6); a solar photovoltaic power generation system (see 5, 6 and 7; i.e., powered by solar energy); and a solar photovoltaic power generation cell (see again 5, 6 and 7) disposed between a heat storage device (3) and the heat insulator (4).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify MEYERS to further comprise a heat insulator; and a heat dissipation device; a solar photovoltaic power generation system; and a solar photovoltaic power generation cell disposed between the heat storage device and the heat insulator as taught and/or suggested by WOODALL, since this structure provides a controlled release such that only the energy that can be efficiently used by a photovoltaic device is permitted to escape and the storage device continues to retain all unused energy for other useful heating purposes.
Claim(s) 14 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over MEYERS in view of FR 3016875 A1 (hereinafter “OLLIER”).
Regarding Claim 14, MEYERS discloses the heat storage device according to Claim 1.
MEYERS does not disclose the intended use of said heat storage device with an artificial satellite.
OLLIER teaches a textured surface structure for refractory photonic structures, in particular for solar thermal absorbers for use with an artificial satellite (see the provided English translation: “Other applications may arise from the realization of surfaces with controlled optical properties for thermal control, for example satellites”).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify MEYERS for use of said heat storage device with an artificial satellite as taught and/or suggested by OLLIER, since artificial satellites can make productive use of said heat storage device for purposes such as maintaining operational temperatures of said artificial satellite or components thereof and/or for other heat transfer purposes.
Claim(s) 18-21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 2008/0152941 A1 (hereinafter “HATANAKA”) in view of US 20170075044 A1 (hereinafter “WATANABE”) and US 4148294 A (hereinafter “SCHERBER”).
Regarding Claims 18-21, HATANAKA discloses a method comprising: a first step of forming a protrusion-and-recess shape of a metal oxide (see paras. [0030]-[0031]: “In Step (1), at least one surface of the aluminum substrate is anodized to form a micropore-having anodized film on the surface of the aluminum substrate. FIG. 1A shows that an anodized film 14a having micropores 16a was formed on the surface of an aluminum substrate 12a in Step (1).”; Anodized aluminum is aluminum that has been electrochemically treated to create a durable, corrosion-resistant aluminum oxide layer on its surface.); a second step of forming, on the protrusion-and-recess shape of the metal oxide, a metal layer (see 12a, 12b) having a protrusion-and-recess shape corresponding to the protrusion-and-recess shape of the metal oxide (see at least Figs. 1A-1D); and wherein in the first step, an aluminum-containing film is subjected to immersion treatment in hot water (see end of para. [0138] and para. [0139]: “Step (3)--Anodizing Step Then, the substrate was immersed in the electrolytic solution of the type and concentration shown in Table 1 to perform anodization through direct current electrolysis under such conditions as the voltage, temperature, average flow rate and treatment time shown in Table 1, thereby growing the anodized film in the depth direction. Those of the same types as the various apparatuses described for Step (1) were used.”); further comprising, after the second step, a step of removing at least part of the metal oxide (see end of para. [0139] and para. [0140]: “Step (4)--Step of Removing a Part of the Anodized Film Above the Inflection Points in Micropore Cross Section The anodized film was subjected to film dissolution treatment in order to remove a part of the anodized film above the inflection points in cross section of the micropores after the end of Step (3) so that the micropores may each have an approximately straight tube shape in cross section. More specifically, the aluminum substrate having the anodized film formed thereon was treated under such conditions as the type and concentration of the treatment solution, temperature, flow rate and immersion time shown in Table 1.”); wherein the protrusion-and-recess-shape of the metal layer (see again 12a, 12b) has a height of 100 nm or more and 1,000 nm or less (see para. [0068]: “The anodized film formed has a thickness of preferably 1 to 300 µm, more preferably 5 to 150 µm and even more preferably 10 to 100 µm.”).
HATANAKA does not disclose after the first step, said second step, and a third step of bonding a heat storage member to a surface of the metal layer opposite to the protrusion-and-recess shape.
WATANABE teaches a layered structure used in the solar art wherein after a first step of forming a metal oxide layer, a second step follows of forming a metal layer on said metal oxide layer (see para. [0017]: “The production method of the present invention includes, in the order: a step of depositing a first metal oxide layer on a transparent substrate (first metal oxide layer forming step); a step of depositing a second metal oxide layer by a DC sputtering method on the first metal oxide layer (second metal oxide layer forming step); and a step of depositing a metal layer immediately on the second metal oxide layer (metal layer forming step).”).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify HATANAKA wherein said second step occurs after said first step as taught by WATANABE, since both HATANAKA and WATANABE teach a method of forming a layered structure comprising a metal oxide layer and a metal layer, it would have been obvious to one skilled in the art to substitute one method of forming these two layers for the other in order to achieve the predictable result of producing the layered structure.
SCHERBER teaches a solar collector employing a similar protrusion-and-recess shaped metal/metal oxide comprising a step of bonding a heat storage member (see 20) to a surface of the metal layer (10) opposite to the protrusion-and-recess shape (see 12; see also Col. 2, Lns. 40-42: “The faces of the sheets 22 directed toward the glass plate 18 are anodized and nickel plated as described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.”).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify HATANAKA for use in a solar heating comprising a third step of bonding a heat storage member to a surface of the metal layer opposite to the protrusion-and-recess shape as taught by SCHERBER, since such a modification would make productive use of said protrusion-and-recess shaped metal/metal oxide structure for solar heating purposes because SCHERBER teaches that such a structure is known to exhibit high absorptance and low emittance when exposed to solar radiation.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 12, 22 and 23 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.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed on January 05, 2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. See the rejection(s) above.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure because the references are either in the same field of endeavor or are reasonably pertinent to the particular problem with which the applicant was concerned. Please see form PTO-892 (Notice of References Cited) attached to, or included with, this Office Action.
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any extension fee pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JORGE A PEREIRO whose telephone number is (571)270-3932 and whose fax number is (571) 270-4932. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F 9:00 - 5:00 EST.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Steven B. McAllister can be reached at (571) 272-6785. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/JORGE A PEREIRO/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3799