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 .
Priority
Acknowledgement has been made of applicant’s claim for priority under 35 USC 119 (e).
Information Disclosure Statement
The Information Disclosure Statement (IDS) filed 3/25/2024 has been placed in the application file and the information referred to therein has been considered.
Drawings
The drawings received 3/25/2024 are acceptable for examination purposes.
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.
Claims 1, 4, 5, 12, 13, 17-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a1) as being anticipated by Bahar (US 2017/0198947).
Bahar discloses all the elements of claims 1, 4, 5, 7, 12, 13, 17-20 [0035, 0049, 0051, 0056, 0094].
Hence, claims 1, 4, 5, 7, 12, 13, 17-20 are anticipated.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 2, 3, 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bahar (US 2017/0198947) as applied to claim 1, in view of Golben (US 4884953).
Bahar discloses a heating device, but does not disclose the limitations of claims 2, 3, 16. Golben teaches a heat engine/pump powered by hot water heated preferably by solar energy (1:18).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skilled in the art at the time the invention was made to use solar energy to heat Bahar’s heat pump, as taught by Golben, for the benefit of heating Bahar’s heat pump.
Claims 6-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bahar (US 2017/0198947) as applied to claim 1, in view of Bahar (US 2015/0241091).
Bahar discloses a cationic exchange membrane [0042]. Bahar does not disclose the limitations of 6-11.
Regarding claim 6, Bahar ‘091 teaches a cationic exchange membrane made of a perfluorosulfonic acid ionomer [0036].
Regarding claim 7, Bahar ‘091 teaches the ionomer is a supported ionomer having a support layer coupled thereto [0039].
Regarding claim 8, Bahar ‘091 teaches the support material is configured in the ionomer [0039].
Regarding claims 9-11, Bahar ‘091 teaches a fibrous medium such as fiberglass, ceramic fiber or polymer fiber can also be suitable. Additionally, the ionomer can be cast with fiber reinforcement in the solution such as fiber glass, or PTFE fiber, or polymeric fiber or ceramic fiber etc. In essence the idea is to reinforce the ionomer before assembly and/or during operation when solvated. Thinner membranes reduce the distance ions need to travel and as a result enhance performance. Reinforcing the membrane allows for ultra-thin membranes to be formed well below 25 microns in thickness or indeed 10 microns in thickness and ultimately less than one micron in thickness.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skilled in the art the time the invention was made to the use the membrane of Bahar ‘091 as the membrane of Bahar for the benefit of forming a thin membrane in the electrochemical compressor of Bahar.
Claim 14 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bahar (US 2017/0198947) as applied to claim 1, in view of Gregory (US 3300341).
Bahar does not disclose the body of water selected from the group consisting of: ocean, sea, river and lake. Gregory teaches a heat exchange system that uses a coolant from sea water, for example, when used in marine applications (2:65). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skilled in the art the time the invention was made to the use coolant water of Bahar from the sea, as taught by Gregory, when the application of Bahar is used in a marine application.
Claim 15 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bahar (US 2017/0198947) as applied to claim 1, in view of Johnson (US 2012/0064419).
Bahar does not disclose further comprising a battery and wherein the electricity produced by the electrochemical-expander is stored in said battery. Johnson teaches a heat engine, in which useful electrical energy generated by the engine is stored within a battery [0040]. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skilled in the art the time the invention was made to store the electrical energy generated by Bahar in a battery, as taught by Johnson, for the benefit of storing the energy for future use.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CYNTHIA KYUNG SOO WALLS whose telephone number is (571)272-8699. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F until 5pm.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Jonathan Leong can be reached at 571-270-1292. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/CYNTHIA K WALLS/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1751