Bob Goozner's Solar Review

Publication Day

    On Thursday, the USPTO issued 6,417 publications.

    Of the 6,417 publications,

    77 contained the word "photovoltaic";

    82 contained the phrase "solar cell";

    71 contained the phrase "fuel cell";

    11 contained the term "biodiesel";

   14 contained the word "geothermal"; and

19 contained the phrase "wind turbine".

An interesting publication for today is that of Peter John Cousins, who developed a contact mask for inkjet printing on a solar cell substrate may be generated by creating a printing bitmap of contacts to be printed on the solar cell substrate. See U.S. Publication 20100075234.

I will be out of town next week, so a won't be able to upgrade the site until next Friday.

Robert E. Goozner - March 26, 2010

Patent Day

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issues patents once a week, on Tuesday. On Tuesday, the USPTO issued 4,852 patents.

Of the 4,852 patents issued,

26 contained the word "photovoltaic";

24 contained the phrase "solar cell";

41 contained the phrase "fuel cell";

6 contained the term "biodiesel";

8 contained the word "geothermal"; and

3 contained the term "wind turbine".

An interesting patent for today is by Tetsuo Uozumi of Nissan, who developed a vehicle equipped with a fuel cell system. See U.S. Patent 7,682,715.

Robert E. Goozner - March 24, 2010

Publication Day

    On Thursday, the USPTO issued 6,701 publications.

    Of the 6,701 publications,

    70 contained the word "photovoltaic";

    74 contained the phrase "solar cell";

    98 contained the phrase "fuel cell";

    17 contained the term "biodiesel";

   11 contained the word "geothermal"; and

29 contained the phrase "wind turbine".

An interesting publication for today is that of Stephen R. Forrest et al. of the University of Michigan, who developed polymer wrapped carbon nanotube near-infrared photovoltaic devices. See U.S. Publication 20100065829.

Robert E. Goozner - March 18, 2010

Patent Day

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issues patents once a week, on Tuesday. On Tuesday, the USPTO issued 4,867 patents.

Of the 4,867 patents issued,

19 contained the word "photovoltaic";

22 contained the phrase "solar cell";

48 contained the phrase "fuel cell";

4 contained the term "biodiesel";

3 contained the word "geothermal"; and

7 contained the term "wind turbine".

An interesting patent for today is by Robert D. Gunderman and John M. Hammond of NaturalNano Research, who developed an ultracapacitor having electrodes containing mineral microtubules. See U.S. Patent 7,679,883.

Robert E. Goozner - March 16, 2010

Publication Day

    On Thursday, the USPTO issued 5,897 publications.

    Of the 5,897 publications,

    58 contained the word "photovoltaic";

    63 contained the phrase "solar cell";

    77 contained the phrase "fuel cell";

    9 contained the term "biodiesel";

   11 contained the word "geothermal"; and

22 contained the phrase "wind turbine".

An interesting publication for today is that of John Rogers et al. of the University of Illinois, who developed a stretchable form of single crystal silicon for high performance on rubber substrates, which can potentially produce a flexible solar cell. See U.S. Publication 20100059863.

Robert E. Goozner - March 11, 2010

Patent Day

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issues patents once a week, on Tuesday. On Tuesday, the USPTO issued 3,958 patents.

Of the 3,958 patents issued,

20 contained the word "photovoltaic";

17 contained the phrase "solar cell";

34 contained the phrase "fuel cell";

4 contained the term "biodiesel";

6 contained the word "geothermal"; and

4 contained the term "wind turbine".

An interesting patent for today is by Martin Heeney et al. of Merck, who developed reactive mesogenic charge transport compounds that may be applicable in photovoltaic devices. See U.S. Patent 7,674,397.

Robert E. Goozner - March 10, 2010

Publication Day

    On Thursday, the USPTO issued 8,199 publications.

    Of the 8,199 publications,

    68 contained the word "photovoltaic";

    95 contained the phrase "solar cell";

    102 contained the phrase "fuel cell";

    14 contained the term "biodiesel";

   14 contained the word "geothermal"; and

26 contained the phrase "wind turbine".

An interesting publication for today is that of Robert Kerchner, who developed a solar crawling lawn mower. See U.S. Publication 20100057286.

Robert E. Goozner - March 5, 2010

Patent Day

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issues patents once a week, on Tuesday. On Tuesday, the USPTO issued 4,562 patents.

Of the 4,562 patents issued,

25 contained the word "photovoltaic";

24 contained the phrase "solar cell";

46 contained the phrase "fuel cell";

2 contained the term "biodiesel";

7 contained the word "geothermal"; and

4 contained the term "wind turbine".

An interesting patent for today is by Francois Gitzhofer et al. of Societe de Commercialisation des Produits de la Recherche Appliquee Socpra Sciences Et Genie S.E.C. (Canada), who developed a solid electrolyte fuel cell supported by an intergrated reformer. See U.S. Patent 7,670,703. Note the new category of fuel cells.

Robert E. Goozner - March 3, 2010

Publication Day

    On Thursday, the USPTO issued 7,196 publications.

    Of the 7,196 publications,

    71 contained the word "photovoltaic";

    61 contained the phrase "solar cell";

   22 contained the term "biodiesel";

   20 contained the word "geothermal"; and

15 contained the phrase "wind turbine".

An interesting publication for today is that of Hans Jurgen Richter et al. of Seagate Technology, who developed a photovoltaic device with an up-converting quantum dot layer and absorber. See U.S. Publication 20100043872.

Robert E. Goozner - February 25, 2010

Patent Day

    The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issues patents once a week, on Tuesday. On Tuesday, the USPTO issued 4,575 patents.

    Of the 4,575 patents issued,

23 contained the word "photovoltaic";

22 contained the phrase "solar cell";

6 contained the term "biodiesel";

4 contained the word "geothermal"; and

4 contained the term "wind turbine".

An interesting patent for today is by Eleni Karayianni et al. of Textronics, who developed an energy active composite yarn that can have electrical, optical, magnetic, mechanical, chemical, semiconductive, and/or thermal energy properties. See U.S. Patent 7,665,288.

Robert E. Goozner - February 24, 2010

Publication Day

    On Thursday, the USPTO issued 5,751 publications.

    Of the 5,751 publications,

    53 contained the word "photovoltaic";

    58 contained the phrase "solar cell";

   10 contained the term "biodiesel";

   12 contained the word "geothermal"; and

14 contained the phrase "wind turbine".

An interesting publication for today is that of Mi-Hwa Lim et al., who developed a stacked solar cell including a first semiconductor layer formed by sequentially stacking a positive (P) layer, an intrinsic (I) layer and a negative (N) layer, wherein the P layer comprises amorphous silicon carbide and at least one of the I and N layers comprises micro-crystalline silicon See U.S. Publication 20100037940.

Robert E. Goozner - February 19, 2010

Patent Day

    The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issues patents once a week, on Tuesday. On Tuesday, the USPTO issued 4,484 patents.

    Of the 4,484 patents issued,

22 contained the word "photovoltaic";

15 contained the phrase "solar cell";

4 contained the term "biodiesel";

6 contained the word "geothermal"; and

4 contained the term "wind turbine".

An interesting patent for today is by M.V.S. Chandrashekhar et al. of Cornell, who developed a Betavoltaic cell with high aspect ratio micromachined structures used to improve power density by providing large surface areas in a small volume. See U.S. Patent 7,663,288.

I missed a few days due to the bad weather, but now I'm back.

Robert E. Goozner - February 16, 2010

Publication Day

    On Thursday, the USPTO issued 7,322 publications.

    Of the 7,322 publications,

    57 contained the word "photovoltaic";

    63 contained the phrase "solar cell";

   14 contained the term "biodiesel";

   13 contained the word "geothermal"; and

20 contained the phrase "wind turbine".

An interesting publication for today is that of Richard L. McClary and Charles Y. Tomita of Solar Spectrum LLC, who developed a nano structure CdTe/CdS Photon Trapping Solar Cell (PTSC) having an ultra thin film stack construction.
See U.S. Publication 2010002487.

Robert E. Goozner - February 5, 2010

Patent Day

    The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issues patents once a week, on Tuesday. On Tuesday, the USPTO issued 4,469 patents.

    Of the 4,469 patents issued,

15 contained the word "photovoltaic";

8 contained the phrase "solar cell";

4 contained the term "biodiesel";

5 contained the word "geothermal"; and

7 contained the term "wind turbine".

An interesting patent for today is by James C. Perin, who developed a buoyancy vehicle apparatus to create electrical power. See U.S. Patent 7,656,051.

Robert E. Goozner - February 3, 2010

Publication Day

    On Thursday, the USPTO issued 6,158 publications.

    Of the 6,158 publications,

    57 contained the word "photovoltaic";

    59 contained the phrase "solar cell";

   19 contained the term "biodiesel";

   13 contained the word "geothermal"; and

19 contained the phrase "wind turbine".

An interesting publication for today is that of Steven A. Cashion et al., in cooperation with the DOE, who developed a concentrating photovoltaic solar panel.
See U.S. Publication 20100018570.

Robert E. Goozner - January 29, 2010

Patent Day

    The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issues patents once a week, on Tuesday. On Tuesday, the USPTO issued 3,776 patents.

    Of the 3,776 patents issued,

26 contained the word "photovoltaic";

16 contained the phrase "solar cell";

2 contained the term "biodiesel";

7 contained the word "geothermal"; and

4 contained the term "wind turbine".

An interesting patent for today is by Alan E. Delahoy of Energy Photovoltaics, who used sulfer to improve the performance of CIGS devices prepared by the evaporation of a single source ZIS type compound to form a buffer layer on the CIGS. See U.S. Patent 7,652,209.

Robert E. Goozner - January 26, 2010

Patent Day

    The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issues patents once a week, on Tuesday. On Tuesday, the USPTO issued 3,473 patents.

    Of the 3,473 patents issued,

13 contained the word "photovoltaic";

20 contained the phrase "solar cell";

3 contained the term "biodiesel";

7 contained the word "geothermal"; and

3 contained the term "wind turbine".

An interesting patent for today is by Mark Alan Shirk et al. of Blue Earth Energy, Inc, who developed cryogenic and thermal source cogeneration method for converting energy from a heat source, through a cryogenic heat transfer process, into mechanical and/or electrical energy. See U.S. Patent 7,647,774.

Robert E. Goozner - January 19, 2010

Publication Day

    On Thursday, the USPTO issued 5,921 publications.

    Of the 5,921 publications,

    55 contained the word "photovoltaic";

    52 contained the phrase "solar cell";

   13 contained the term "biodiesel";

   17 contained the word "geothermal"; and

18 contained the phrase "wind turbine".

An interesting publication for today is that of Jae-Man Choi et al., who developed a dye-sensitized solar cell with enhanced photoelectric conversion efficiency.
See U.S. Publication 20100009494.

Robert E. Goozner - January 14, 2010

Patent Day

    The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issues patents once a week, on Tuesday. On Tuesday, the USPTO issued 3,651 patents.

    Of the 3,651 patents issued,

19 contained the word "photovoltaic";

14 contained the phrase "solar cell";

2 contained the term "biodiesel";

5 contained the word "geothermal"; and

6 contained the term "wind turbine".

An interesting patent for today is by Todd R. Narkis et al. of the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation, who developed a carbon nanotube Schottky barrier photovoltaic cell. See U.S. Patent 7,645,933.

Robert E. Goozner - January 13, 2010

Publication Day

    On Thursday, the USPTO issued 5,554 publications.

    Of the 5,554 publications,

    64 contained the word "photovoltaic";

    54 contained the phrase "solar cell";

   3 contained the term "biodiesel";

   8 contained the word "geothermal"; and

18 contained the phrase "wind turbine".

An interesting publication for today is that of Craig Eldershaw of Palo Alto Research Incorporated, who developed solar cell fabrication using an extrusion mask. See U.S. Publication 20100003812.

Robert E. Goozner - January 7, 2010

Patent Day

    The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issues patents once a week, on Tuesday. On Tuesday, the USPTO issued 4,299 patents.

    Of the 4,299 patents issued,

21 contained the word "photovoltaic";

18 contained the phrase "solar cell";

6 contained the term "biodiesel";

5 contained the word "geothermal"; and

7 contained the term "wind turbine".

An interesting patent for today is by Philip Michael Conner of Sunengy Pty Limited, who developed a solar collector arrangement includes a number of assemblies, which are immersed or partially immersed in a pond of water. See U.S. Patent 7,642,450.

Robert E. Goozner - January 5, 2010

Publication Day

    On Thursday, the USPTO issued 8,098 publications.

    Of the 8,098 publications,

    77 contained the word "photovoltaic";

    60 contained the phrase "solar cell";

   16 contained the term "biodiesel";

   16 contained the word "geothermal"; and

27 contained the phrase "wind turbine".

An interesting publication for today is that of Joseph T. Smith et al. of Northrop Grumman, who developed a high-efficiency lateral multi-junction tandem solar cell. See U.S. Publication 20090320913.

HAPPY NEW YEAR
Robert E. Goozner - December 31, 2009

BICYCLES IN MUNICH - MAY 2009
Munich Bicycles

TRAILS END IN MUNICH - MAY 2009
Munich Beer

BICYCLES IN BERLIN- MAY 2008
Berlin Bicycles

TRAILS END IN BERLIN - MAY 2008

Patent Attorney Office River-Vu

Patent Lawyer View

My law firm, Young & Thompson, moved into nice new offices at the northern edge of Old Town Alexandria, Virginia. Somehow I was given a prestigious (but not corner) office with a view of the Potomac river.

Although you can barely see it, the Alexandria boathouse is at the end of Madison street, and one can see the rowing team practice in the late afternoon.

AACHEN GEOTHERMAL ENERGY

The Goozner Solar Review arises from my long standing interest in all forms of alternative energy. This not only includes solar energy, but all kinds of energy that are non-carbon based. Above, you see me in front of the geothermal project at the University of Aachen (Germany). The geothermal energy is obtained by sinking a shaft about 1km straight into the ground, and exploiting the temperature gradient between the abyss and the surface. This shaft will supply most of the energy used by the University.

LINKS

Solar Decathlon	Department of Energy	Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy	National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)
United States Patent And Trademark Office	Gooznews	Young & Thompsom