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 .
Specification
The title of the invention is not descriptive. A new title is required that is clearly indicative of the invention to which the claims are directed.
The following title is suggested: A charging device that performs charging with lightning.
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 and 3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Chen Publication No. US 2020/0015342.
Regarding claim 1, Chen discloses a charging device that performs charging with lightning via a wire attached to a flying object [par. 0034] the charging device comprising:
a lightning rod [Fig. 1, a collecting element 102/electrically conductive element 103; par. 0052]; and
a charging circuit [Fig. 1, ultra capacitor array 110; par. 0052] connected between the lightning rod [Fig. 1, 102/103] and a ground [Fig. 1, G; par. 0056, 0057], wherein
a lower end of the wire dropped from the flying object and the lightning rod are brought close to each other to induce a lightning strike on the flying object or the wire, and a lightning surge is caused to flow to the charging circuit via the wire and the lightning rod [par. 0056: “When the collecting element 102 is collecting electricity, there is a potential difference across the ultra-capacitor array 110 and current flows into the array 110, thereby storing electrical energy in the array 110.”].
Regarding claim 3, Chen discloses that in the charging circuit, a plurality of capacitor groups each including a plurality of capacitors together in parallel is connected together in series [par. 0034, par. 0052].
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 2 is 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.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance of claim 2: The prior art does not disclose a launching unit that launches the lightning rod into a sky, wherein the lightning rod is launched in accordance with a timing at which the wire is dropped. This feature in combination with the rest of the claim limitations is not anticipated or rendered obvious by the prior art of record.
Conclusion
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DHARTI PATEL
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2836
/DHARTI H PATEL/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2838
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