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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group I (Claims 1-6, 12 and 13) in the reply filed on 08/19/2026 is acknowledged.
Accordingly, claims 1-6, 12 and 13 remained pending and claims 7-11 are withdrawn from further consideration.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
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.
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, 3-6, 12 and 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim et al. (US 11,404,222 B2) in view of Eskandarian et al. (US 2025/0367461 A1).
RE claim 1, Kim teaches a transpiration-driven power generation device (see claim 1) with improved washing resistance and conductivity (intended use), the transpiration-driven power generation device comprising: a power generation part (fiber membrane); a first electrode (see claim 1 and Fig. 21) contacting the power generation part; a second electrode contacting the power generation part and spaced apart from the first electrode (see Fig.21); and a connection circuit (see col.6 line 20) electrically connecting the first electrode and the second electrode to each other (col.6 lines 20-25), wherein the power generation part includes a power generation material including poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)-poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) (see claim 9).
Kim does not teach the power generation part including silk yarns and the power generation part includes a divinyl sulfone (DVS) as a crosslinker.
Eskandarian teaches power generation part including silk yarns (¶ 123) and the power generation part includes a divinyl sulfone (DVS) as a crosslinker (¶ 132). Eskandarian suggests that the material can be adjusted to improve conductivity (¶ 123). Eskandarian further suggests that divinyl sulfone as a crosslinker can be used to improve the adhesion/mechanical/electrical properties (¶ 132).
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 Kim by having the power generation part including silk yarns and the power generation part includes a divinyl sulfone (DVS) as a crosslinker, as taught by Eskandarian, for the same reasons as discussed above.
RE claim 3/1, Kim in view of Eskandarian has been discussed above. Kim in view of Eskandarian further teaches the power generation material is applied on the silk yarns (see Kim’s claim 13 for adsorption material is bound and coated to a surface of each fiber. Further, Eskandarian disclosed silk yarns as noted above in claim 1).
RE claim 4/1, Kim in view of Eskandarian has been discussed above. Kim further teaches the first electrode contacting the power generation part is formed on a wet surface of the power generation part wet with water, wherein the second electrode spaced from the first electrode is formed on a dry surface of the power generation part free of water (col.6: 20-30).
RE claim 5/4, Kim in view of Eskandarian has been discussed above. Kim further teaches the power is generated from a potential difference between a potential of the first electrode and a potential of the second electrode due to a difference between wetness of the first electrode and wetness of the second electrode contacting the wet surface and the dry surface, respectively, wherein the generated power is output through the connection circuit (see claims 2-5).
RE claim 6/5, Kim in view of Eskandarian has been discussed above. Kim further teaches liquid absorbed on the wet surface is a liquid in which NaCl is dissolved (col.26: 15-20).
RE claim 12/1, Kim in view of Eskandarian has been discussed above. Kim further teaches a wearable device (col.13: 28-32) comprising: the transpiration-driven power generation device having improved washing resistance and conductivity according to claim 1 (discussed above); and a power storage device connected to the connection circuit of the power generation device and configured to power therefrom (col.27: 30-40).
Kim does not teach the power storage device further includes a power conversion unit configured to convert the received power into usable electricity.
Eskandarian teaches the power storage device further includes a power conversion unit configured to convert the received power into usable electricity (see ¶ 208 for four capacitors can be used to deliver voltage from battery pack), doing so allows pre-determined value to be deliver (¶ 209).
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 Kim by having the power storage device further includes a power conversion unit configured to convert the received power into usable electricity, as taught by Eskandarian, for the same reasons as discussed above.
RE claim 13/1, Kim in view of Eskandarian has been discussed above. Kim further teaches a floating structure on a sea (col.26: 50-55) comprising: the transpiration-driven power generation device having improved washing resistance and conductivity according to claim 1 (discussed above); and a power storage device connected to the connection circuit of the power generation device and configured to power therefrom (col.27: 30-40), wherein the power storage device further includes a power transmission unit configured to transmit electric energy stored in the power storage device to a load (see col.27: 35-40 for energy being stored in the storage system and used to drive electronic device. Therefore, a transmission unit is necessary for power to be present in order to transmit energy from storage to load).
Claim 2 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim in view of Eskandarian as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Jin et al. (US 2019/0336942 A1).
RE claim 2/1, Kim in view of Eskandarian has been discussed above. Kim does not teach a covalent bond is formed between the PSSs of the PEDOT:PSSs via the DVS.
Jin evidenced that covalent bond is well-known for cross linking structure to improve the performance of the product that adsorbs and desorbs moisture (¶ 85).
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 Kim in view of Eskandarian by having a covalent bond is formed between the PSSs of the PEDOT:PSSs via the DVS, as suggested by Jin, for the same reasons as discussed above.
Conclusion
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/THOMAS TRUONG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2834
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