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 § 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.
Claims 1, 2 and 3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 2016/0060773 A1 to Sekimoto et al. (Sekimoto) in view of US 2017/0167035 to Lee et al. (Lee).
As to claim 1, Sekimoto teaches a carbon dioxide reduction device comprising an oxidation electrode formed of a film (11/13/14) on a transparent substrate (15) that receives light from the outside, an oxidation bath (305) that holds an electrolytic solution (308) in which the oxidation electrode (11/13/14) is immersed, a reduction electrode (301), a reduction bath (302) which holds an electrolytic solution (307) in which the reduction electrode (301) is immersed, the electrolytic solution (307) subjected to bubbling (309) with carbon dioxide from the outside and an electrolyte membrane (306) that is disposed between the oxidation bath (305) and the reduction bath (302) and a conductive wire (312) connecting the oxidation electrode (11/13/14) and the reduction electrode (301) (Paragraphs 0045-0062; Figures 2A and 3).
However, Sekimoto fails to further teach that the apparatus comprises a thermoelectric element. However, Lee also discusses photoelectrochemical apparatus and teaches that the apparatus should further comprise a thermoelectric element (101) on the conductive path between the anode (201) and the cathode (205) in order to form a hybrid device that can maximize the efficiency of the energy use (Abstract; Paragraph 0015 and 0034-0038; Figure 2). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to add a thermoelectric element to the conductive wire of Sekimoto in order to maximize the energy use efficiency as taught by Lee.
Lee further teaches that the thermoelectric element includes a heat absorbing plate (101) facing towards the anode electrode (201) capable of receiving at least a portion of light passed through the anode electrode (and thus the transparent substrate of the combination), and converting the light into heat, a heat radiation plate (103) that faces the heat absorbing plate (101) and radiates the heat of the heat absorbing plate (101), a thermoelectric material (105) interposed between the heat absorbing plate (101) and the heat radiation plate (103) (Paragraphs 0034-0038; Figure 2) thus when located in the conductive wire (312) of the apparatus of Sekimoto forming a high potential side connected to the oxidation electrode and a low potential side connected to the reduction electrode.
As to claim 2, the combination of Sekimoto and Lee teaches the apparatus of claim 1. Sekimoto further teaches that the apparatus includes a solar cell comprising a cathode electrode (12a) connected to the oxidation electrode (11/13/14) and including an anode electrode (12b) connected to the reduction electrode (301) through a conductive wire (312) (Paragraphs 0045-0062; Figures 2A and 3), the anode electrode (12b) thus connected to the thermoelectric element of the combination.
As to claim 3, the combination of Sekimoto and Lee teaches the apparatus of claim 2. Sekimoto further teaches the solar cell (12a/12b) is formed on a surface of the transparent substrate (15) such that that surface of the transparent substrate (15) is not exposed to the electrolyte (307) and such that the solar cell (12a/12b) is exposed to the electrolyte (307) (Paragraphs 0045-0062; Figures 2A and 3).
Conclusion
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/CIEL P CONTRERAS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1794