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 .
This action is in response to amendment filed 5/18/2026. Currently, claims 16-19 have been added, claims 1-19 are pending and claims 7-9 and 13-15 are withdrawn.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claims 1-6, 10-12 and 16-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kraft et al. (US Publication No.: 2023/0140947 hereinafter “Kraft”) in view of Hunt (US Publication No.: 2011/0120669) and further in view of Seddegh et al. (US Publication No.: 2022/0404103 hereinafter “Seddegh”).
With respect to claim 1, Kraft discloses a latent heat storage unit (Fig. 4) comprising: a ceramic part (Para 0021) made of a polycrystalline body (Abstract and Para 0021-0022) and having a closed space formed therein (Fig. 4, housing has enclosed space 10); and a metal part provided in the closed space (Para 0115, storage material can be aluminum-silicon alloy).
Kraft is silent to the phase change material containing 50% or more silicon by mass.
Hunt teaches a metal heat storage part that contains 50% silicon (Para 0038, 50-50 atomic percentage of aluminum and silicon). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to have modified the mass percentage of silicon of Kraft to have 50% as taught by Hunt to have a desired melting point temperature with a relatively low cost in materials (Para 0038-0039).
Kraft is silent to the ceramic part contains mullite.
Seddegh teaches a ceramic part that contains mullite (Para 0043). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to have modified the ceramic material of Kraft to contain mullite as taught by Seddegh to have a material depending upon desired operating parameters (Para 0043).
With respect to claim 2, Kraft discloses a latent heat storage unit (Fig. 4) comprising: a ceramic part (Para 0021) made of a polycrystalline body (Abstract and Para 0021-0022) and having a closed space formed therein (Fig. 4, housing has enclosed space 10); and a phase change material provided in the closed space and containing silicon (Para 0115, storage material can be aluminum-silicon alloy).
Kraft is silent to a melting point of the phase change material is 1100° C. or higher.
Hunt teaches the weight ratios of silicon can vary to have a higher melting temperature of 1100° C. or higher (Fig. 4, 60% and higher Si has 1100° C. or higher melting temperature and Para 0037). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to have modified the mass weight of the silicon of Kraft to be at 60% or higher for a melting point of 1100° C. or higher as taught by Hunt to have a desired melting point of a heat storage material with a relatively low cost in materials (Para 0037 and 0039).
Kraft is silent to the ceramic part contains mullite.
Seddegh teaches a ceramic part that contains mullite (Para 0043). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to have modified the ceramic material of Kraft to contain mullite as taught by Seddegh to have a material depending upon desired operating parameters (Para 0043).
With respect to claim 3, Kraft, Hunt and Seddegh teach the latent heat storage unit as claimed in claim 2 as discussed above. Hunt also teaches wherein the phase change material contains 50% or more silicon by mass (Para 0038, 50-50 atomic percentage of aluminum and silicon). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to have modified the mass percentage of silicon of Kraft to have 50% as taught by Hunt to have a desired melting point temperature with a relatively low cost in materials (Para 0038-0039).
With respect to claim 4, Kraft, Hunt and Seddegh teach the latent heat storage unit as claimed in claim 1 as discussed above. Hunt also teaches wherein the phase change material contains 99% or more silicon by mass (Para 0037 and Fig. 4, 99% and higher Si has over 1200° C. or higher melting temperature). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to have modified the mass weight of the silicon of Kraft to be at 99% or higher for a melting point of over 1200° C. as taught by Hunt to have a desired melting point of a heat storage material with a relatively low cost in materials (Para 0037 and 0039).
With respect to claim 5, Kraft, Hunt and Seddegh teach the latent heat storage unit as claimed in claim 1 as discussed above. Kraft also discloses wherein the ceramic part further contains one or more selected from a group consisting of mullite, aluminum oxide, cordierite, anorthite, sillimanite, silicon nitride, boron nitride, aluminum nitride, a composite of aluminum nitride and boron nitride, silicon carbide, tungsten carbide, boron carbide, molybdenum disilicide, and tungsten disilicide (Para 0021-0022).
With respect to claim 6, Kraft, Hunt and Seddegh teach the latent heat storage unit as claimed in claim 1 as discussed above. Kraft also discloses wherein the ceramic part contains a material that generates heat when energized (Para 0021-0022).
With respect to claim 10, Kraft, Hunt and Seddegh teach the latent heat storage unit as claimed in claim 2 as discussed above. Hunt also teaches wherein the phase change material contains 99% or more silicon by mass (Para 0037 and Fig. 4, 99% and higher Si has over 1200° C. or higher melting temperature). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to have modified the mass weight of the silicon of Kraft to be at 99% or higher for a melting point of over 1200° C. as taught by Hunt to have a desired melting point of a heat storage material with a relatively low cost in materials (Para 0037 and 0039).
With respect to claim 11, Kraft, Hunt and Seddegh teach the latent heat storage unit as claimed in claim 3 as discussed above. Kraft also discloses wherein the ceramic part further contains one or more selected from a group consisting of mullite, aluminum oxide, cordierite, anorthite, sillimanite, silicon nitride, boron nitride, aluminum nitride, a composite of aluminum nitride and boron nitride, silicon carbide, tungsten carbide, boron carbide, molybdenum disilicide, and tungsten disilicide (Para 0021-0022).
With respect to claim 12, Kraft, Hunt and Seddegh teach the latent heat storage unit as claimed in claim 2 as discussed above. Kraft also discloses wherein the ceramic part contains a material that generates heat when energized (Para 0021-0022).
With respect to claim 16, Kraft, Hunt and Seddegh teach the latent heat storage unit as claimed in claim 1 as discussed above. Kraft does not disclose wherein the ceramic part has a plurality of closed spaces formed therein, and respective portions of the phase change material are disposed in one-to-one correspondence in the closed spaces.
Seddegh teaches a housing that has a plurality of closed spaces for a phase change material (Para 0144 and Fig. 1c, multiple closed spaced 108). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to have modified the cavity of Kraft with multiple cavities for the phase change material as taught by Seddegh to provide a uniform temperature profile during storage of thermal energy (Para 0030).
With respect to claim 17, Kraft, Hunt and Seddegh teach the latent heat storage unit as claimed in claim 16 as discussed above. Seddegh also teaches wherein the plurality of closed spaces are regularly arranged along two directions orthogonal to each other in a plane parallel to a pair of principal surfaces of the ceramic part (Fig. 3b shows multiple closed spaces 108 arranged in two directions).
With respect to claim 18, Kraft, Hunt and Seddegh teach the latent heat storage unit as claimed in claim 1 as discussed above. Seddegh also teaches wherein the ceramic part is 100% mullite (Para 0043).
Claim 19 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kraft et al. (US Publication No.: 2023/0140947 hereinafter “Kraft”) in view of Hunt (US Publication No.: 2011/0120669), Seddegh et al. (US Publication No.: 2022/0404103 hereinafter “Seddegh”) and further in view of Vaidyanathan et al. (US Publication No.: 2005/0039885 hereinafter “Vaid”).
With respect to claim 19, Kraft, Hunt and Seddegh teach the latent heat storage unit as claimed in claim 1 as discussed above. Kraft does not disclose wherein the ceramic part contains yttrium oxide as a sintering aid.
Vaid teaches a ceramic part containing yttrium oxide as a sintering aid (Para 0042). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to have modified the ceramic of Kraft with yttrium oxide as a sintering aid as taught by Vaid to have a sintering aid based on the melting point of the ceramic material (Para 0042).
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim 1 have been considered but are moot because the newly added reference Seddegh teaches the newly added claim limitation of the ceramic part contains mullite.
Conclusion
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 nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) 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 mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CLAIRE E ROJOHN III whose telephone number is (571)270-5431. The examiner can normally be reached 9:00-5:00 M-F.
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/CLAIRE E ROJOHN III/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3763
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