Bob Goozner's Solar Review

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 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 - October 28, 2009

Publication Day

    On Thursday, the USPTO issued 5,704 publications.

    Of the 5,704 publications,

    48 contained the word "photovoltaic";

    47 contained the phrase "solar cell";

   12 contained the term "biodiesel";

   12 contained the word "geothermal"; and

11 contained the phrase "wind turbine".

An interesting publication for today is that of Bogdan-Catalin Serban et al. of Honeywell, who developed a quantum dot solar cell with a bridge layer that can include an antibiotic, a sulfur-containing amino acid, a vitamin, and/or a vitamin analogue. See, U.S. Publication 20090260682.

Robert E. Goozner - October 22, 2009

Patent Day

    The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issues patents once a week, on Tuesday. On Tuesday, the USPTO issued 3,904 patents.

    Of the 3,904 patents issued,

16 contained the word "photovoltaic";

18 contained the phrase "solar cell";

   5 contained the term "biodiesel";

5 contained the word "geothermal"; and

4 contained the term "wind turbine".

An interesting patent for today is by Brian Sager and Martin Roscheisen of Nanosolar, who developed a photovoltaic thin-film cell produced from a metallic blend using high-temperature printing. See U.S. Patent 7,605,328.

Robert E. Goozner - October 20, 2009

Publication Day

    On Thursday, the USPTO issued 5,100 publications.

    Of the 5,100 publications,

    47 contained the word "photovoltaic";

    51 contained the phrase "solar cell";

   6 contained the term "biodiesel";

   6 contained the word "geothermal"; and

20 contained the phrase "wind turbine".

An interesting publication for today is that of Neil Dasgupta et al., who developed a quantum dot solar cell with quantum dot bandgap gradients. See, U.S. Publication 20090255580.

Robert E. Goozner - October 16, 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,

17 contained the word "photovoltaic";

   20 contained the phrase "solar cell";

   4 contained the term "biodiesel";

2 contained the word "geothermal"; and

10 contained the term "wind turbine".

An interesting patent for today is by Mary Ellen Siksa of IBM, who considered the ins and outs of potential energy (among other things) billing problems and developed a reconciliation subsystem for use with a system for recording, analyzing, verifying, and reporting of product used. See U.S. Patent 7,603,314.

Robert E. Goozner - October 14, 2009

Publication Day

    On Thursday, the USPTO issued 5,494 publications.

    Of the 5,494 publications,

    41 contained the word "photovoltaic";

    55 contained the phrase "solar cell";

   13 contained the term "biodiesel";

   12 contained the word "geothermal"; and

15 contained the phrase "wind turbine".

An interesting publication for today is that of Erwin Oser et al., who developed the conversion of heat energy into mechanical, electrical and/or thermal energy. See, U.S. Publication 20090249780.

Robert E. Goozner - October 9, 2009

Patent Day

    The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issues patents once a week, on Tuesday. On Tuesday, the USPTO issued 3,926 patents.

    Of the 3,926 patents issued,

15 contained the word "photovoltaic";

   12 contained the phrase "solar cell";

   2 contained the term "biodiesel";

4 contained the word "geothermal"; and

0 contained the term "wind turbine".

An interesting patent for today is by Woodson Wayne Samuel of Toyota, who developed an an electric charging roof on an automobile. See U.S. Patent 7,597,388.

Robert E. Goozner - October 7, 2009

Solar Decathlon Under Construction on DC Mall

The Solar Decathlon is going to start next weekend, but the teams are very busy setting up their houses. I rode my bicycle down to the DC mall today and took some pictures of the Solar Decathlon under construction.

Robert E. Goozner - October 3, 2009

Publication Day

    On Thursday, the USPTO issued 8,292 publications. This is over 2,000 more than usual (maybe due to a new quarter?).

    Of the 8,292 publications,

    57 contained the word "photovoltaic";

    50 contained the phrase "solar cell";

   14 contained the term "biodiesel";

   3 contained the word "geothermal"; and

16 contained the phrase "wind turbine".

An interesting trend to watch is the application of biotechnology to produce solar energy. Today's publication is therefore by Thomas E. Hanson of the University of Delaware, who developed the biosysntesis of metalloid containing nanoparticles by aerobic microbes. The micorbes are tellurite-resistant or selenite-resistant marine organisms capable of precipitating tellurium or selenium when grown aerobically See, U.S. Publication 20090246519.

Robert E. Goozner - October 1, 2009

Patent Day

    The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issues patents once a week, on Tuesday. On Tuesday, the USPTO issued 2,992 patents.

    Of the 2,992 patents issued,

18 contained the word "photovoltaic";

   13 contained the phrase "solar cell";

   1 contained the term "biodiesel";

3 contained the word "geothermal"; and

3 contained the term "wind turbine".

An interesting patent for today is by Teruo Sasagawa et al. of Qualcomm, who developed an integrated interferomic modulator and solar cell on a substrate. See U.S. Patent 7,595,926.

Robert E. Goozner - September 30, 2009

Publication Day

    On Thursday, the USPTO issued 5,812 publications.

    Of the 5,812 publications,

    39 contained the word "photovoltaic";

    47 contained the phrase "solar cell";

   5 contained the term "biodiesel";

   6 contained the word "geothermal"; and

12 contained the phrase "wind turbine".

An interesting publication for today is by Detlev Konigorski of Astrium in Ottobrunn, Germany, who developed a Zeppelin powered by solar cells. See, U.S. Publication 20090238741.

Robert E. Goozner - September 24, 2009

Patent Day

    The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issues patents once a week, on Tuesday. On Tuesday, the USPTO issued 3,729 patents.

    Of the 3,729 patents issued,

19 contained the word "photovoltaic";

   14 contained the phrase "solar cell";

   3 contained the term "biodiesel";

3 contained the word "geothermal"; and

7 contained the term "wind turbine".

An interesting patent for today is a biotech approach by Peter Peumans and Stephen R. Forrest of Princeton University, who developed photovoltaic cell devices which employ isolated photosynthetic complexes. See U.S. Patent 7,592,539.

Robert E. Goozner - September 22, 2009

Publication Day

    On Thursday, the USPTO issued 6,392 publications.

    Of the 6,392 publications,

    69 contained the word "photovoltaic";

    62 contained the phrase "solar cell";

   10 contained the term "biodiesel";

   13 contained the word "geothermal"; and

24 contained the phrase "wind turbine".

An interesting publication for today is by Robert R. Birge and Rekha Rangajaran of the University of Connecticut, who developed protein based photovoltaic cells using bacteriorhodopsin from Halobacterium salinarum. See, U.S. Publication 20090229669.

Happy New Year - Robert E. Goozner - September 18, 2009

Patent Day

    The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issues patents once a week, on Tuesday. On Tuesday, the USPTO issued 3,733 patents.

    Of the 3,733 patents issued,

19 contained the word "photovoltaic";

   11 contained the phrase "solar cell";

   1 contained the term "biodiesel";

3 contained the word "geothermal"; and

1 contained the term "wind turbine".

An interesting patent for today is by Kethinni Chittibabu et al. of Konarka, who developed a photovoltaic cell in the form of a fiber . See U.S. Patent 7,589,276.

Robert E. Goozner - September 15, 2009

Publication Day

    On Thursday, the USPTO issued 6,063 publications.

    Of the 6,063 publications,

    62 contained the word "photovoltaic";

    59 contained the phrase "solar cell";

   12 contained the term "biodiesel";

   12 contained the word "geothermal"; and

18 contained the phrase "wind turbine".

An interesting publication for today by Niesen Thomas and Volker Probst of Shell Oil Company, who developed a phtovoltaic device from a first layer of a chalkopyrite semiconductor of a first doping type; a second layer of intrinsic zinc oxide deposited by chemical vapour deposition; a third layer of zinc oxide semiconductor of a second doping type opposite to the first doping type. See, U.S. Publication 20090223556.

Robert E. Goozner - September 10, 2009

Patent Day

    The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issues patents once a week, on Tuesday. On Tuesday, the USPTO issued 3,730 patents.

    Of the 3,730 patents issued,

24 contained the word "photovoltaic";

   18 contained the phrase "solar cell";

   2 contained the term "biodiesel";

3 contained the word "geothermal"; and

3 contained the term "wind turbine".

An interesting patent for today is by Reinaldo Antonio Faget-Mora, who developed a system to produce electricity through geothermal energy . See U.S. Patent 7,584,614.

Robert E. Goozner - September 8, 2009

Publication Day

    On Thursday, the USPTO issued 6,447 publications.

    Of the 6,447 publications,

    56 contained the word "photovoltaic";

    62 contained the phrase "solar cell";

   19 contained the term "biodiesel";

   12 contained the word "geothermal"; and

13 contained the phrase "wind turbine".

Concerning biodiesel, soybeans are considered to be an imporatnt possible source of this fuel. An example is a publication by William H. Eby for Soyben Cultivar 7429331. See, U.S. Publication 20090214751.

Robert E. Goozner - August 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