Bob Goozner's Solar Review

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

Patent Day

    The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issues patents once a week, on Tuesday. On Tuesday, the USPTO issued 4,119 patents to end the decade.

    Of the 4,119 patents issued,

26 contained the word "photovoltaic";

13 contained the phrase "solar cell";

6 contained the term "biodiesel";

3 contained the word "geothermal"; and

7 contained the term "wind turbine".

An interesting patent for today is by Charles L. Bennett of Lawrence Livermore, who developed a solar thermal powered aircraft powered by heat energy from the sun. A Rankine-Brayton hybrid cycle heat engine is carried by the aircraft body for producing power. See U.S. Patent 7,637,457.

Robert E. Goozner - December 29, 2009

Publication Day

    On Thursday, the USPTO issued 6,433 publications.

    Of the 6,433 publications,

    73 contained the word "photovoltaic";

    60 contained the phrase "solar cell";

   8 contained the term "biodiesel";

   12 contained the word "geothermal"; and

17 contained the phrase "wind turbine".

An interesting publication for today is that of Ulrich Schindler et al. of Leonhard Kurz Stiftung & Co, who developed a polymer-based solar cell. See U.S. Publication 20090314340.

Israel Prioritizes Green Patents

    In a move that echos the recent USPTO decision to prioritize green patents, Israel's Patent Office has adopted a new policy that encourages "green" inventions, and will prioritize environment-friendly applications by examining them within three months. See Ynet news.
    It is hard to imagine the USPTO issuing a patent in three months.

    Happy holidays to all.

Robert E. Goozner - December 24, 2009

Patent Day

    The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issues patents once a week, on Tuesday. On Tuesday, the USPTO issued 2,604 patents (This is fewer than usual, probably due to the holiday season and the snow).

    Of the 2,604 patents issued,

14 contained the word "photovoltaic";

13 contained the phrase "solar cell";

2 contained the term "biodiesel";

5 contained the word "geothermal"; and

1 contained the term "wind turbine".

An interesting patent for today is by Fengyan Zhang et al. of Sharp, who developed a photovoltaic structure with a conductive nanowire array electrode. See U.S. Patent 7,635,600.

Robert E. Goozner - December 22, 2009

Publication Day

    On Thursday, the USPTO issued 5,918 publications.

    Of the 5,918 publications,

    50 contained the word "photovoltaic";

    64 contained the phrase "solar cell";

   14 contained the term "biodiesel";

   16 contained the word "geothermal"; and

18 contained the phrase "wind turbine".

An interesting publication for today is that of Munir H. Nayfeh et al. working under a NSF grant, who developed silicon nanoparticle photovoltaic devices where a film containing luminescent silicon nanoparticles is optically coupled to the solar cell. See U.S. Publication 20090308441.

Robert E. Goozner - December 18, 2009

Patent Day

    The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issues patents once a week, on Tuesday. On Tuesday, the USPTO issued 3,945 patents.

    Of the 3,945 patents issued,

13 contained the word "photovoltaic";

19 contained the phrase "solar cell";

0 contained the term "biodiesel";

5 contained the word "geothermal"; and

8 contained the term "wind turbine".

An interesting patent for today is by Neelkanth G. Dhere and Ankur A. Kadam of the University of Central Florida, who developed thin film solar cells by selenization sulfurization using diethyl selenium as a selenium precursor. See U.S. Patent 7,632,701.

Robert E. Goozner - December 16, 2009

Publication Day

    On Thursday, the USPTO issued 7,006 publications.

    Of the 7,006 publications,

    70 contained the word "photovoltaic";

    68 contained the phrase "solar cell";

   18 contained the term "biodiesel";

   16 contained the word "geothermal"; and

15 contained the phrase "wind turbine".

An interesting publication for today is that of Andrea Baccini et al. of Applied Materials, who developed a next genreation screen prining system adapted to perform a screen printing process within a portion of a crystalline silicon solar cell production line in which a substrate is patterned with a desired material. See U.S. Publication 20090305441.

Robert E. Goozner - December 4, 2009

Accelerated Examination for Green Technologies

    The United States Patent and Trademark Office yesterday permitted petitions to make special for accelerated examination of green technologies. A copy of the Federal Register Notice can be found here.
    There are a number of caveats in the Federal Register Notice. There cannot be more than 3 independent and 20 total claims. The applicant must agree to verbally elect if there is a restriction requirement.   The petition must be filed before the first action (including election/restriction requirement).
    On the other hand, there is no fee required for the petition.
    Since it now frequently takes years before a solar energy patent application receives an action on the merits, this route to accelerated examination is very welcome.

Robert E. Goozner - December 9, 2009

Patent Day

    The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issues patents once a week, on Tuesday. On Tuesday, the USPTO issued 3,919 patents.

    Of the 3,919 patents issued,

10 contained the word "photovoltaic";

20 contained the phrase "solar cell";

2 contained the term "biodiesel";

6 contained the word "geothermal"; and

2 contained the term "wind turbine".

An interesting patent for today is by James C Kim and Sungsoo Yi of Sundiode, Inc., who developed a solar cell having an active region with nanostructures having energy wells. See U.S. Patent 7,629,532.

Robert E. Goozner - December 8, 2009

Publication Day

    On Thursday, the USPTO issued 7,645 publications.

    Of the 7,645 publications,

    70 contained the word "photovoltaic";

    70 contained the phrase "solar cell";

   19 contained the term "biodiesel";

   15 contained the word "geothermal"; and

28 contained the phrase "wind turbine".

An interesting publication for today is that of Shingo Okubo et al. of Air Liquide, who developed methods and compositions for depositing a tellurium containing film on a substrate. This can be applicable to CdTe photovoltaics. See U.S. Publication 20090299084.

Robert E. Goozner - December 4, 2009

Patent Day

    The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issues patents once a week, on Tuesday. On Tuesday, the USPTO issued 3,928 patents.

    Of the 3,928 patents issued,

17 contained the word "photovoltaic";

11 contained the phrase "solar cell";

5 contained the term "biodiesel";

5 contained the word "geothermal"; and

5 contained the term "wind turbine".

An interesting patent for today is by Eun Sung Lee et al.. of Samsung Electronics Co., who developed a dye having a dispersant function and a solar cell formed from the same. See U.S. Patent 7,626,115.

Robert E. Goozner - December 2, 2009

Patent Day

    The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issues patents once a week, on Tuesday. On Tuesday, the USPTO issued 3,924 patents.

    Of the 3,924 patents issued,

15 contained the word "photovoltaic";

20 contained the phrase "solar cell";

2 contained the term "biodiesel";

4 contained the word "geothermal"; and

4 contained the term "wind turbine".

An interesting patent for today is by Kethinni Chittibabu et al. of Konarka Technologies, who developed a photovoltaiccell in the form of a fiber. See U.S. Patent 7,622,667.

Robert E. Goozner - November 24, 2009

Publication Day

    On Thursday, the USPTO issued 5,640 publications.

    Of the 5,640 publications,

    65 contained the word "photovoltaic";

    53 contained the phrase "solar cell";

   10 contained the term "biodiesel";

   9 contained the word "geothermal"; and

22 contained the phrase "wind turbine".

An interesting publication for today is that of Adrian Winoto, who developed coating compositions for ink jet printing suitable for the manufacture of photovoltaic cells. See U.S. Publication 20090283304.

Robert E. Goozner - November 19, 2009

Patent Day

    The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issues patents once a week, on Tuesday. On Tuesday, the USPTO issued 3,941 patents.

    Of the 3,941 patents issued,

15 contained the word "photovoltaic";

14 contained the phrase "solar cell";

5 contained the term "biodiesel";

3 contained the word "geothermal"; and

3 contained the term "wind turbine".

An interesting patent for today is by Igor Levitsky et al. of the State University of New York, who developed hybrid solar cells based on nanostructured semiconductors and organic materials. See U.S. Patent 7,618,838.

Robert E. Goozner - November 17, 2009

More Solar Decathlon Pictures

I finally got around to working up the pictures I took on the first Saturday of the Solar Decathlon. The pictures include those of the winning German house as well as the Spanish house and (my favorite) the hurricane proof Louisiana House.

Robert E. Goozner - November 13, 2009

Publication Day

    On Thursday, the USPTO issued 5,666 publications.

    Of the 5,666 publications,

    51 contained the word "photovoltaic";

    38 contained the phrase "solar cell";

   5 contained the term "biodiesel";

   10 contained the word "geothermal"; and

15 contained the phrase "wind turbine".

An interesting publication for today (and I didn't know this was a problem) is that of Stefan Martetschlager and Gerald Ortner, who developed a device for protecting a photovoltaic plant against rodent bite damage by using ultrasonics. See U.S. Publication 20090278669.

Robert E. Goozner - November 12, 2009

Patent Day

    The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issues patents once a week, on Tuesday. On Tuesday, the USPTO issued 3,932 patents.

    Of the 3,932 patents issued,

26 contained the word "photovoltaic";

17 contained the phrase "solar cell";

4 contained the term "biodiesel";

1 contained the word "geothermal"; and

8 contained the term "wind turbine".

An interesting patent for today is by Horiuchi Tamotsu of Mitsubishi Paper Mills, who developed an organic dye having a specific structure, and a photoelectric conversion material containing the dye suitable for use in a solar cell. See U.S. Patent 7,615,640.

Well I am back from Europe now, which was sort of cold and wet in thet Ruhr district of Germany, but alot of fun.

Robert E. Goozner - November 10, 2009

Patent Day

    The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issues patents once a week, on Tuesday. On Tuesday, the USPTO issued 3,905 patents.

    Of the 3,905 patents issued,

13 contained the word "photovoltaic";

19 contained the phrase "solar cell";

   2 contained the term "biodiesel";

3 contained the word "geothermal"; and

8 contained the term "wind turbine".

An interesting patent for today is by George Y McLean of IMI Intelligent Medical Implants, who (in a medical application) developed a retinal prosthesis that incorporates a photovoltaic device. See U.S. Patent 7,610,098.

Robert E. Goozner - November 3, 2009

Publication Day

    On Thursday, the USPTO issued 6,077 publications.

    Of the 6,077 publications,

    56 contained the word "photovoltaic";

    63 contained the phrase "solar cell";

   25 contained the term "biodiesel";

   8 contained the word "geothermal"; and

10 contained the phrase "wind turbine".

An interesting publication for today is that of James R. Oyler, who developed a process for production of biofuels from algae can include cultivating an oil-producing algae, extracting the algal oil, and converting the algal oil to form biodiesel. See, U.S. Publication 20090269839.

Robert E. Goozner - October 30, 2009

Patent Day

    The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issues patents once a week, on Tuesday. On Tuesday, the USPTO issued 3,910 patents.

    Of the 3,910 patents issued,

15 contained the word "photovoltaic";

15 contained the phrase "solar cell";

   4 contained the term "biodiesel";

10 contained the word "geothermal"; and

5 contained the term "wind turbine".

An interesting patent for today is by Toyumura Fumitaka et al. of Canon, who developed a solar cell assembly including a plurality of solar cells is formed on a common substrate. See U.S. Patent 7,612,283.

I am leaving for Europe shortly and will probably not be updating the web site until sometime next week.

Robert E. Goozner - October 28, 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