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 .
Response to Amendment
The preliminary amendment to the abstract dated 11/14/2024 is acknowledged.
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.
(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 1-2, 4, and 7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by WIPO Publication No. 2023/190993 to Tanaka et al. (hereinafter Tanaka).
Regarding claim 1, Tanaka teaches a thermoelectric conversion element (FIG. 1; 100, 11) made of a material that is able to be magnetized in any direction at zero magnetic field (Paragraph [0106]) and configured to exhibit an anomalous Nernst Effect (Paragraph [0050]).
Regarding claim 2, Tanaka teaches the thermoelectric conversion element according to claim 1, wherein magnetization of the material is 2 kilogauss or less at a predetermined temperature (Table3; Paragraph [0106]).
Regarding claim 4, Tanaka teaches the thermoelectric conversion element according to claim 1, wherein the material is a ferrimagnet (Paragraph [0050]).
Regarding claim 7, Tanaka teaches a thermoelectric conversion device (Fig. 1, 100) comprising:
a substrate (FIG. 1, 20); and
a plurality of thermoelectric conversion elements (FIG. 1, 11a) on the substrate, each of the plurality of thermoelectric conversion elements having a shape extending in one direction (FIG. 1, Y-axis), being made of a material that is able to be magnetized in any direction at zero magnetic field (Paragraph [0106]), and being configured to exhibit an anomalous Nernst effect (Paragraph [0050]), the plurality of thermoelectric conversion elements being arranged in parallel to one another in a direction perpendicular to the one direction (FIG. 1, X-axis), and electrically connected in series (Paragraph [0059]).
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 3 and 5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tanaka in view of “Magnetic properties of some gadolinium-Cobalt intermetallic compounds” to Katayama et al. (hereinafter Katayama; provided by Applicant on 11/14/2024).
Regarding claim 3, Tanaka teaches the thermoelectric conversion element according to claim 1.
Tanaka does not teach the material being an alloy made of a rare-earth element and Co.
However, Katayama teaches a magnetic material being made of a rare-earth element and Co (Table 1, Page 177).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the thermoelectric conversion element of Tanaka with the teachings of Katayama to provide a magnetic material made of a rare-earth element and Co due to its desirable magnetic characteristics.
Regarding claim 5, Tanaka teaches the thermoelectric conversion element according to claim 4.
Tanaka does not teach the ferrimagnet having a composition of R2Co7 where R is a rare-earth element.
However, Katayama teaches a magnetic material having a composition of R2Co7 where R is a rare-earth element (Table 1, Page 177).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the thermoelectric conversion element of Tanaka with the teachings of Katayama to provide a magnetic material having a composition of R2Co7 where R is a rare-earth element due to its desirable magnetic characteristics.
Claim 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tanaka in view of “Magnetic properties and magnetic entropy changes of MRE2Co7 compounds” to Zhong et al. (hereinafter Zhong).
Regarding claim 6, Tanaka teaches the thermoelectric conversion element according to claim 4.
Tanaka does not teach the ferrimagnet having a composition of R1(2-x)R2xCo7 where R1 and R2 are different rare-earth elements from each other and 0 < x < 2.
However, Zhong teaches a ferrimagnet having a composition of R1(2-x)R2xCo7 where R1 and R2 are different rare-earth elements from each other and 0 < x < 2 (Table 1).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the thermoelectric conversion element of Tanaka with the teachings of Zhong to provide a magnetic material with the desired composition due to its desirable magnetic characteristics.
Claims 8-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tanaka in view of U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2016/0155919 to Kinoshita et al. (hereinafter Kinoshita).
Regarding claim 8, Tanaka teaches the thermoelectric conversion device according to claim 7.
Tanaka does not teach two adjacent thermoelectric conversion elements of the plurality of thermoelectric conversion elements being made of a first material and a second material, respectively, and Nernst coefficients of the first and second material are opposite in sign to each other, and the plurality of thermoelectric conversion elements are arranged such that the plurality of thermoelectric conversion elements are magnetized in an identical direction.
However, Kinoshita teaches two adjacent thermoelectric conversion elements (FIG. 1; 1, 2) of a plurality of thermoelectric conversion elements being made of a first material and a second material, respectively, and Nernst coefficients of the first and second material are opposite in sign to each other (Paragraph [0019]), and the plurality of thermoelectric conversion elements are arranged such that the plurality of thermoelectric conversion elements are magnetized in an identical direction (Paragraph [0020]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the thermoelectric conversion device of Tanaka with the teachings of Kinoshita to provide two separate thermoelectric conversion element materials of opposite signed Nernst coefficients to increase the output electromotive force.
Regarding claim 9, Tanaka in view of Kinoshita teaches the thermoelectric conversion device according to claim 8, wherein Tanaka further teaches the first material and the second material being different ferrimagnets from each other (Paragraph [0050]).
Claims 10-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tanaka in view of U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2022/0336724 to Noda et al. (hereinafter Noda) and Kinoshita.
Regarding claim 10, Tanaka teaches a thermoelectric conversion device (FIG. 1, 100) comprising:
a first substrate (FIG. 1, 20);
a plurality of first thermoelectric conversion elements (FIG. 1, 11a) on the first substrate, each of the plurality of first thermoelectric conversion elements having a shape extending in one direction (FIG. 1, Y-axis), being made of a first material that is able to be magnetized in any direction at zero magnetic field (Paragraph [0106]), and being configured to exhibit an anomalous Nernst effect (Paragraph [0050]), the plurality of first thermoelectric conversion elements being arranged in parallel to one another in a direction perpendicular to the one direction (FIG. 1, X-axis).
Tanaka does not teach a second substrate; and a plurality of second thermoelectric conversion elements on the second substrate, each of the plurality of second thermoelectric conversion elements having a shape extending in the one direction, being made of a second material that is able to be magnetized in any direction at zero magnetic field, and being configured to exhibit the anomalous Nernst effect, the plurality of second thermoelectric conversion elements being arranged in parallel to one another in a direction perpendicular to the one direction, wherein Nernst coefficients of the first material and the second material are opposite in sign to each other, and the plurality of first thermoelectric conversion elements and the plurality of second thermoelectric conversion elements are connected alternately and electrically in series such that the plurality of first thermoelectric conversion elements and the plurality of second thermoelectric conversion elements are magnetized in an identical direction.
However, Noda teaches a thermoelectric conversion device with a second substrate (FIG. 2, 12) upon which a second thermoelectric conversion element is placed (FIG. 2, S2), such that in view of Tanaka a plurality of second thermoelectric conversion elements (Tanaka FIG. 1, 11a) are on the second substrate, each of the plurality of second thermoelectric conversion elements having a shape extending in the one direction (Tanaka FIG. 1, Y-axis), being made of a material that is able to be magnetized in any direction at zero magnetic field (Tanaka Paragraph [0106]), and being configured to exhibit the anomalous Nernst effect (Tanaka Paragraph [0050]), the plurality of second thermoelectric conversion elements being arranged in parallel to one another in a direction perpendicular to the one direction (FIG. 1, X-axis).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the thermoelectric conversion device of Tanaka with the teachings of Noda to provide a second substrate with a plurality of second thermoelectric conversion elements to increase the output electromotive force.
Tanaka in view of Noda does not teach the plurality of second thermoelectric conversion elements being made of a second material, wherein Nernst coefficients of the first material and the second material are opposite in sign to each other, and the plurality of first thermoelectric conversion elements and the plurality of second thermoelectric conversion elements being connected alternately and electrically in series such that the plurality of first thermoelectric conversion elements and the plurality of second thermoelectric conversion elements are magnetized in an identical direction.
However, Kinoshita teaches the plurality of second thermoelectric conversion elements being made of a second material, wherein Nernst coefficients of the first material and the second material are opposite in sign to each other (FIG. 1; 1, 2; Paragraph [0019]), and the plurality of first thermoelectric conversion elements and the plurality of second thermoelectric conversion elements being connected alternately and electrically in series such that the plurality of first thermoelectric conversion elements and the plurality of second thermoelectric conversion elements are magnetized in an identical direction (Paragraph [0020]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the thermoelectric conversion device of Tanaka in view of Noda with the teachings of Kinoshita to provide two separate thermoelectric conversion element materials of opposite signed Nernst coefficients to increase the output electromotive force.
Regarding claim 11, Tanaka in view of Noda and Kinoshita teaches the thermoelectric conversion device according to claim 10, wherein Tanaka further teaches the first material and the second material being different ferrimagnets from each other (Paragraph [0050]).
Conclusion
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/JOSHUA KIEL M RODRIGUEZ/Examiner, Art Unit 2834
/TULSIDAS C PATEL/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2834
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