Bob Goozner's Solar Review

Publication Day

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issues publications once a week, on Thursday. On Thursday, the USPTO issued 9,305 publications (that's alot).

Of the 9,305 publications issued,

96 contained the word "photovoltaic";

98 contained the phrase "solar cell";

107 contained the phrase "fuel cell";

20 contained the term "biodiesel";

17 contained the word "geothermal"; and

24 contained the term "wind turbine".

An interesting publication for today is by Ravi RAvi et al. of the Univeristy of Nebraska, who developed a live bioelectronic cell gated nanodevice. See U.S. Pub. 20100243984.

Robert E. Goozner - September 30, 2010

Patent Day

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issues patents once a week, on Tuesday. On Tuesday, the USPTO issued 3,963 patents. This is a low number, over 5,000 are usually issued. It could be due to the fiscal year ends at the end of the month.

Of the 3,963 patents issued,

21 contained the word "photovoltaic";

14 contained the phrase "solar cell";

49 contained the phrase "fuel cell";

4 contained the term "biodiesel";

4 contained the word "geothermal"; and

11 contained the term "wind turbine".

An interesting patent for today is by Ashutosh Tiwari and Michael R. Snure of The University of Utah, who developed enanostructured ZnO electrodes for efficient dye sensitized solar cells.
See U.S. Patent 7,804,142.

Robert E. Goozner - September 22, 2010

Patent Day

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issues patents once a week, on Tuesday. On Tuesday, the USPTO issued 5,047 patents.

Of the 4,898 patents issued,

31 contained the word "photovoltaic";

23 contained the phrase "solar cell";

69 contained the phrase "fuel cell";

6 contained the term "biodiesel";

6 contained the word "geothermal"; and

6 contained the term "wind turbine".

An interesting patent for today is by Sergey Lopatin et al. of Applied Materials, who developed electroplating on roll-to-roll flexible solar cell substrates.
See U.S. Patent 7,799,182.

Robert E. Goozner - September 22, 2010

Patent Day

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issues patents once a week, on Tuesday. On Tuesday, the USPTO issued 4,898 patents.

Of the 4,898 patents issued,

30 contained the word "photovoltaic";

21 contained the phrase "solar cell";

48 contained the phrase "fuel cell";

4 contained the term "biodiesel";

4 contained the word "geothermal"; and

7 contained the term "wind turbine".

An interesting patent for today is by Bulent M. Basol of Solopower, who developed semitransparent flexible thin film solar cells and modules.
See U.S. Patent 7,795,067.

Robert E. Goozner - September 14, 2010

Patent Day

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issues patents once a week, on Tuesday. On Tuesday, the USPTO issued 5,106 patents.

Of the 5,106 patents issued,

30 contained the word "photovoltaic";

30 contained the phrase "solar cell";

53 contained the phrase "fuel cell";

0 contained the term "biodiesel";

8 contained the word "geothermal"; and

10 contained the term "wind turbine".

An interesting patent for today is by Shawn P. Williams et al. of Plextronics, who developed heteroatomic regioregular poly(3-substitutedthiophenes) for photovoltaic cells.
See U.S. Patent 7,790,979.

Robert E. Goozner - September 7, 2010

Patent Day

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issues patents once a week, on Tuesday. On Tuesday, the USPTO issued 5,098 patents.

Of the 5,098 patents issued,

28 contained the word "photovoltaic";

25 contained the phrase "solar cell";

53 contained the phrase "fuel cell";

2 contained the term "biodiesel";

7 contained the word "geothermal"; and

7 contained the term "wind turbine".

An interesting patent for today is by Richard M. Swanson et al. of SunPower, who developed system for preventing the harmful polarization of solar cells.
See U.S. Patent 7,786,375.

Robert E. Goozner - August 31, 2010

Congress Disses Bicycles

    The jobs bill passed by Congress last week contains a $2.2 billion rescission of transportation funds from state (and DC) Departments of Transportation. That means the state and District agencies must give back $2.2 billion. If they choose, the DOT's can raid bike programs for the money to send back to Washington - unless local advocates speak up and make sure that doesn't happen.
    The states must report which program funds are affected by August 25th - so please act as soon as possible.
    If you want to send a letter to your local state-level decision maker, a template is below.

    "While I realize that you must make difficult decisions in determining where to make cuts in response to the Federal Highway Administration's August 13th notice of rescission of federal aid, I ask that you protect bicycle projects to the maximum extent possible.

    Given the relatively small portion of transportation funding devoted to cycling, it is vital to protect those already-limited funds. Cycling is a more cost-effective, healthier, less environmentally damaging mode of transportation.

    As a transportation stakeholder and a citizen, I ask that when you sit down to determine how to meet the rescission requirements you carefully consider the needs of cyclists as transportation network users; the historic underfunding of cycling infrastructure; and the physical, social, and economic benefits of cycling. And I request that you protect funding for bicycle projects."

    This template can also be found here.

Publication Day

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issues publications once a week, on Thursday. On Thursday, the USPTO issued 6,347 publications.

Of the 6,347 publications issued,

87 contained the word "photovoltaic";

78 contained the phrase "solar cell";

85 contained the phrase "fuel cell";

16 contained the term "biodiesel";

24 contained the word "geothermal"; and

27 contained the term "wind turbine".

An interesting publication for today is by Jing-Meng Liu of Richtek Technology Corp., who developed an analog photovoltaic power circuit. See U.S. Pub. 20100207451.

Robert E. Goozner - August 20, 2010

Patent Day

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issues patents once a week, on Tuesday. On Tuesday, the USPTO issued 5,131 patents.

Of the 5,131 patents issued,

34 contained the word "photovoltaic";

22 contained the phrase "solar cell";

53 contained the phrase "fuel cell";

9 contained the term "biodiesel";

6 contained the word "geothermal"; and

14 contained the term "wind turbine".

An interesting patent for today is by Mark A. Eriksson et al. of Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation, who developed a quantum-well photoelectric device assembled from nanomembranes.
See U.S. Patent 7,776,642.

Robert E. Goozner - August 17, 2010

Chevy Volt - Nissan Leaf

        The two upcoming electric cars are the Chevy Volt and the Nissan Leaf. The Cevy Volt is expected to cost $41,000 and the Nissan Leaf is expected to cost $32,780. These are not inexpected cars.
        However the U.S. Government is planning to subsidize these cars with a $7,500 tax credit on each vehicle, which will help offset the price but still make the electric cars somewhat pricy. There is also another $2,500 tax credit for building the needed home charging station. That means there will be a $10,000 subsidy for each electric car.
        However, the range of these cars is limited. The Leaf has a range of 40 miles. Similary, the Volt has a range of 40 miles before the gasoline generator must be turned on. In other words, these cars are designed for relatively short commutes of 20 miles each way or less.
        However, for these short commutes there is an alternative - ride a bicycle to work. Myself, I have an 11 mile commute each way, which is about an hour on my bicycle. The commute is about an hour each way, which is a competitive time for the D.C. area.
        So my proposal is not to subsidize electric cars but to pay people not to drive to work and to take a bicycle, which takes much less energy than even an electric car. For example, a 10 mile (each way) commute would translate into about 1,000 miles per year. If the subsidy is $1 per mile, the $1,000 per year would more than cover the cost of purchasing and maintaining a bicycle over that period. Other benefits would include improved health, the 1,00 miles translating to an expenditure of about 40,000 calories.
        Therefore, if the Government is really looking to reduce energy consumption an dependence on foreign hydrocarbon sources, they may want to start thinking outside of the box in this fashion.

Patent Day

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issues patents once a week, on Tuesday. On Tuesday, the USPTO issued 5,095 patents.

Of the 5,095 patents issued,

28 contained the word "photovoltaic";

25 contained the phrase "solar cell";

53 contained the phrase "fuel cell";

5 contained the term "biodiesel";

9 contained the word "geothermal"; and

8 contained the term "wind turbine".

An interesting patent for today is by Steven Wojtczuk et al. of Spire Corporation (Roger Little, the CEO of Spire, is also listed as an inventor), who developed nanophotovoltaic devices.
See U.S. Patent 7,772,612.

Robert E. Goozner - August 11, 2010

Publication Day

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issues publications once a week, on Thursday. On Thursday, the USPTO issued 7,130 publications

Of the 7,130 publications issued,

84 contained the word "photovoltaic";

97 contained the phrase "solar cell";

94 contained the phrase "fuel cell";

18 contained the term "biodiesel";

21 contained the word "geothermal"; and

29 contained the term "wind turbine".

An interesting publication for today is by Grebory Parsons, who developed a nano-structured photovolaic solar cell with light harvesting rods. See U.S. Pub. 20100197073.

Robert E. Goozner - August 6, 2010

Patent Day

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issues patents once a week, on Tuesday. On Tuesday, the USPTO issued 5,070 patents.

Of the 5,070 patents issued,

33 contained the word "photovoltaic";

17 contained the phrase "solar cell";

54 contained the phrase "fuel cell";

4 contained the term "biodiesel";

8 contained the word "geothermal"; and

6 contained the term "wind turbine".

An interesting patent for today is by Keith Rutledge, who developed an energy conversion system for hydrogen generation.
See U.S. Patent 7,765,961.

Robert E. Goozner - August 4, 2010

Publication Day

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issues publications once a week, on Thursday. On Thursday, the USPTO issued 6,134 publications

Of the 6,134 publications issued,

77 contained the word "photovoltaic";

76 contained the phrase "solar cell";

78 contained the phrase "fuel cell";

13 contained the term "biodiesel";

13 contained the word "geothermal"; and

20 contained the term "wind turbine".

An interesting publication for today is by Vasilis Fthenakis and Wenming Wang under a DOE contract, who developed a process and method for separating tellurium from cadmium waste. See U.S. Pub. 20100189612.

Robert E. Goozner - July 23, 2010

Patent Day

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issues patents once a week, on Tuesday. On Tuesday, the USPTO issued 4,133 patents.

Of the 4,133 patents issued,

15 contained the word "photovoltaic";

20 contained the phrase "solar cell";

47 contained the phrase "fuel cell";

3 contained the term "biodiesel";

7 contained the word "geothermal"; and

5 contained the term "wind turbine".

An interesting patent for today is by Gerald D. Miller, who developed a solar powered aerial vehicle.
See U.S. Patent 7,762,495.

Robert E. Goozner - July 27, 2010

Publication Day

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issues publications once a week, on Thursday. On Thursday, the USPTO issued 5,777 publications

Of the 5,777 publications issued,

58 contained the word "photovoltaic";

57 contained the phrase "solar cell";

66 contained the phrase "fuel cell";

11 contained the term "biodiesel";

7 contained the word "geothermal"; and

20 contained the term "wind turbine".

An interesting publication for today is by Turketap Ozturk, who developed a hydromechanical pendular generator generating electricity on vessels by making use of the energy of waves. See U.S. Pub. 20100181772.

Robert E. Goozner - July 23, 2010

Patent Day

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issues patents once a week, on Tuesday. On Tuesday, the USPTO issued 5,072 patents.

Of the 5,072 patents issued,

29 contained the word "photovoltaic";

12 contained the phrase "solar cell";

59 contained the phrase "fuel cell";

8 contained the term "biodiesel";

5 contained the word "geothermal"; and

7 contained the term "wind turbine".

An interesting patent for today is by Francois J. Henley of Silicon Genesis Corporation, who developed a method and structure for fabricating solar cells using a layer transfer process.
See U.S. Patent 7,759,220.

Robert E. Goozner - July 21, 2010

Publication Day

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issues publications once a week, on Thursday. On Thursday, the USPTO issued 5,197 publications

Of the 5,197 publications issued,

57 contained the word "photovoltaic";

54 contained the phrase "solar cell";

77 contained the phrase "fuel cell";

15 contained the term "biodiesel";

7 contained the word "geothermal"; and

11 contained the term "wind turbine".

An interesting publication for today is by Siegfried F. Karg of IBM, who developed a nanowire multijunction solar cell. See U.S. Pub. 20100175748.

Robert E. Goozner - July 15, 2010

Patent Day

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issues patents once a week, on Tuesday. On Tuesday, the USPTO issued 5,094 patents.

Of the 5,094 patents issued,

26 contained the word "photovoltaic";

24 contained the phrase "solar cell";

55 contained the phrase "fuel cell";

5 contained the term "biodiesel";

9 contained the word "geothermal"; and

6 contained the term "wind turbine".

An interesting patent for today is by Robert Paul Johnson, who developed a solar-powered, liquid-hydrocarbon-fuel synthesizer. See U.S. Patent 7,752,845.

Robert E. Goozner - July 14, 2010

Publication Day

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issues publications once a week, on Thursday. On Thursday, the USPTO issued 5,139 publications.

Of the 5,139 publications issued,

49 contained the word "photovoltaic"; (I think that's also a record)

46 contained the phrase "solar cell";

59 contained the phrase "fuel cell";

12 contained the term "biodiesel";

3 contained the word "geothermal"; and

11 contained the term "wind turbine".

An interesting publication for today is by Tai-Ran Hsu et al. of San Jose State U. who developed a hybrid-powered zero-emission vehicle using human, electric, and solar power inputs integrated fibrous photovoltaic device. See U.S. Pub. 20100170727.

Robert E. Goozner - July 8, 2010

Patent Day

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issues patents once a week, on Tuesday. On Tuesday, the USPTO issued 5,090 patents.

Of the 5,090 patents issued,

32 contained the word "photovoltaic";

30 contained the phrase "solar cell";

49 contained the phrase "fuel cell";

1 contained the term "biodiesel";

5 contained the word "geothermal"; and

8 contained the term "wind turbine".

An interesting patent for today is by Nicholas Audet and Blagovest Levitcharsky of 5N Plus Inc., who developed a method for producing cadmium telluride from elemental cadmium and elemental tellurium. See U.S. Patent 7,749,480.

Robert E. Goozner - July 6, 2010

In Re Bilski

        The Uninted States Supreme Court issued its decision yesterday for In Re Bilski , which can be found here. The decision affirmed the CAFC decision of the necessity of the machine or transformation test.
        The Washinngton Post interpreted it as not ruling out business method patents.
        On the other hand, PatentlyO felt that it was a repudiation of State Street Bank.
    GoozNews believes that the decision might weaken biotech patents.
      The New York noted (which I agree with) that the decision was a bit murky.
        I've been perusing the decision, in which there is a concurring opinion. By being less than totally clear, it appears that the Supreme Court is signalling that if business method patents are to be permissible, this should be addressed in the Patent Act (whenever it is next revised).

Patent Day

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issues patents once a week, on Tuesday. On Tuesday, the USPTO issued 5,093 patents.

Of the 5,093 patents issued,

31 contained the word "photovoltaic";

30 contained the phrase "solar cell";

55 contained the phrase "fuel cell";

2 contained the term "biodiesel";

7 contained the word "geothermal"; and

7 contained the term "wind turbine".

An interesting patent for today is by Anna H.Dyson et al. of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, who developed concentrating type solar collection and daylighting system within glazed building envelopes. See U.S. Patent 7,745,723.

Robert E. Goozner - June 29, 2010

Publication Day

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issues publications once a week, on Thursday. On Thursday, the USPTO issued 8,364 publications (This could be a new record).

Of the 8,364 publications issued,

82 contained the word "photovoltaic"; (I think that's also a record)

71 contained the phrase "solar cell";

92 contained the phrase "fuel cell";

25 contained the term "biodiesel";

22 contained the word "geothermal"; and

23 contained the term "wind turbine".

An interesting publication for today is by Venkata Adiseshaiah Bhagavatula and David John McEnroe of Corning, who developed an integrated fibrous photovoltaic device. See U.S. Pub. 20100158242.

Robert E. Goozner - June 24, 2010

Patent Day

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issues patents once a week, on Tuesday. On Tuesday, the USPTO issued 4,163 patents.

Of the 4,163 patents issued,

22 contained the word "photovoltaic";

17 contained the phrase "solar cell";

38 contained the phrase "fuel cell";

2 contained the term "biodiesel";

8 contained the word "geothermal"; and

8 contained the term "wind turbine".

An interesting patent for today is by Gary Lepp et al. of JD Holding, who developed a vanadium redox battery incorporating multiple electrolyte reservoirs. See U.S. Patent 7,740,977.

Tar balls seem to be an interesteing topic of late, since they are starting to cover the Gulf Coast. So I did a quick patent search of the term "tar ball" and did not find anything of particular relevance. See here. If anyone (small inventor) has a good idea how to get rid of these tar balls please get in touch with me and I will consider representing you as part of my pro bono docket.

Robert E. Goozner - June 22, 2010

Publication Day

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issues publications once a week, on Thursday. On Thursday, the USPTO issued 7,412 publications.

Of the 7,412 publications issued,

82 contained the word "photovoltaic"; (I think that's also a record)

71 contained the phrase "solar cell";

96 contained the phrase "fuel cell";

23 contained the term "biodiesel";

11 contained the word "geothermal"; and

28 contained the term "wind turbine".

An interesting publication for today is by Kenji Kawano et al. of Matsushita Electric Works, who developed an organic photovoltaic device. See U.S. Pub. 20100147385.

Robert E. Goozner - June 18, 2010

Patent Day

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issues patents once a week, on Tuesday. On Tuesday, the USPTO issued 5,039 patents.

Of the 5,039 patents issued,

34 contained the word "photovoltaic";

20 contained the phrase "solar cell";

55 contained the phrase "fuel cell";

2 contained the term "biodiesel";

7 contained the word "geothermal"; and

8 contained the term "wind turbine".

An interesting patent for today is by Bulent M. Basol et al. of SoloPower, who developed composition control to thin compound semiconductor films for radiation detector and photovoltaic applications. See U.S. Patent 7,736,913.

Robert E. Goozner - June 15, 2010

Publication Day

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issues publications once a week, on Thursday. On Thursday, the USPTO issued 7,706 publications (This may be a new record high.).

Of the 7,706 publications issued,

108 contained the word "photovoltaic"; (I think that's also a record)

92 contained the phrase "solar cell";

84 contained the phrase "fuel cell";

16 contained the term "biodiesel";

13 contained the word "geothermal"; and

93 contained the term "wind turbine".

An interesting publication for today is by Javier Coloma Calahorra and Luis Palomo Marroyo, who developed an anti-theft device for solar panels. See U.S. Pub. 20100141424.

Robert E. Goozner - June 11, 2010

Patent Day

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issues patents once a week, on Tuesday. On Tuesday, the USPTO issued 5,058 patents.

Of the 5,058 patents issued,

24 contained the word "photovoltaic";

26 contained the phrase "solar cell";

52 contained the phrase "fuel cell";

3 contained the term "biodiesel";

5 contained the word "geothermal"; and

4 contained the term "wind turbine".

An interesting patent for today is by Craig Leidholm et al. of Nanosolar, who developed solar cells with conductive barrier layers and foil substrates. See U.S. Patent 7,732,229.

Robert E. Goozner - June 9, 2010

Publication Day

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issues publications once a week, on Thursday. On Thursday, the USPTO issued 6,886 publications.

Of the 6,886 publications issued,

95 contained the word "photovoltaic"; (I think that's a record)

80 contained the phrase "solar cell";

103 contained the phrase "fuel cell";

17 contained the term "biodiesel";

19 contained the word "geothermal"; and

93 contained the term "wind turbine".

An interesting publication for today is by Bertrand J. Williams and Bret A. Raymis, who developed a solar power array with maximized panel power extraction. See U.S. Pub. 20100133911.

Robert E. Goozner - June 4, 2010

Patent Day

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issues patents once a week, on Tuesday. On Tuesday, the USPTO issued 5,067 patents.

Of the 5,067 patents issued,

38 contained the word "photovoltaic";

27 contained the phrase "solar cell";

52 contained the phrase "fuel cell";

11 contained the term "biodiesel";

10 contained the word "geothermal"; and

13 contained the term "wind turbine".

An interesting patent for today is by Lawrence Curtin, who developed a hydrogen absorption rod coupled to a photovoltaic cell. See U.S. Patent 7,727,373.

Robert E. Goozner - June 1, 2010

Publication Day

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issues publications once a week, on Thursday. On Thursday, the USPTO issued 6,161 publications.

Of the 6,161 publications issued,

72 contained the word "photovoltaic";

86 contained the phrase "solar cell";

62 contained the phrase "fuel cell";

9 contained the term "biodiesel";

9 contained the word "geothermal"; and

30 contained the term "wind turbine".

An interesting publication for today is by Chang Chen and Yue Ma, who developed a method for increasing solar cell efficiency with silver nanowires. See U.S. Pub. 20100129949.

Robert E. Goozner - May 28, 2010

Crashed Again

    What I have discoverd is that if you store a PowerPoint slide show in your Google documents and then paste it into your web site using Kompozer, evil things happen. So once again I have lost alot of searches and have had to reconstitute my index page ab initio. So for my future slide shows I'll have to figure out a way to make them public in a less damaging fashion. Drop me a line if you can explain what is happening.

    So I am starting up again with about 6 weeks of searches being lost, which I regret.

Patent Day

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issues patents once a week, on Tuesday. On Tuesday, the USPTO issued 5,077 patents.

Of the 5,077 patents issued,

24 contained the word "photovoltaic";

19 contained the phrase "solar cell";

52 contained the phrase "fuel cell";

4 contained the term "biodiesel";

8 contained the word "geothermal"; and

8 contained the term "wind turbine".

An interesting and very relevant patent for today is by Kenneth M. Cowan of Shell, who developed a method for sealing a pipe in a well. See U.S. Patent 7,723,271.

Robert E. Goozner - May 25, 2010

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
Aachen Geothermal

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