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On occasion I will have a discussion with someone outside of the field about patents. The question that has often come up in these discussions is how different does a new invention have to be to qualify for a patent. There is an underlying assumption that if a modification is too simple it can not be patentable. I, of course, explain about the "obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art" standard, used in the U.S. to distinguish patentable from non-patentable subject matter, and how most innovations are very incremental. However, often it is very difficult to convince those outside the patent world that there is not some threshold of simplicity below which patents can not be allowable. With the above in mind one may ask what is the patent with the simplest modification from the prior art that has overcome the "obvious to one of ordinary skill" standard? I would submit US Patent 6645402 as a possible candidate for this honor. http://www.freepatentsonline.com/6645402.html Claim 1 reads 1. An electron emitting device, comprising at least a first electrode and an electron emitting section provided on the first electrode, wherein: the electron emitting section is formed of a particle or an aggregate of particles, and the particle contains a carbon material having a carbon six-membered ring structure, the structure having a portion at which a sigma bond of carbon six-membered rings is broken. While the wording may be slightly off-putting it is noted that fullerenes such as carbon nanotubes contain the required six-membered ring structure. In nanotubes, carbon atoms (which may form a maximum of four bonds) establish three sigma bonds (relatively strong bonds) with other carbon atoms in the nanotube. Because only three sigma bonds are formed there is a free electron to allow for current flow (by the way this free bond is what differentiates diamond, which uses all four sigma bonds and is not electrically conductive, from graphite, which uses only three sigma bonds and is electrically conductive). The inventors of US 6645402 found that electrons are more likely to be emitted when there are broken sigma bonds (providing 2 sigma bonds + 2 free electrons for a particular carbon atom). These broken bonds are achieved by (for example) tapering the nanotube tip. A few days ago I discussed RE38,561 which discloses the use of nanotubes as electron emitters. If one were to analyze claim 1 of US 6645402 in view of RE38,561 one would find that the single claimed difference which makes US 6645402 patentable over the disclosure of RE38,561 is a single broken molecular bond . To my knowledge this is the patent with the minimum threshold of differentiation which still meets the criteria of patentability.

Tags: bond, patent, electron, carbon, sigma

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7045811.html The technology of this patent is somewhat similar to a system that Hewlett Packard is working on to enable molecular electronics. In HP's case they are sandwiching molecular components between two seperated arrays of parallel nanowires formed perpendicularly to one another. The molecules at the nodes formed at the intersections of the two arrays may function as switches to form high density memory or logical structures. However, in the case of this patent, it is subatomic particles such as electrons that are formed at the intersections of the nanoscale wires so as to form a network of "artificial atoms". Claim 1 reads: 1. A device comprised of artificial atoms or molecules, comprising: an insulator substrate; and intersecting strips of semiconductor material over the insulator substrate, the intersecting strips of semiconductor material having a nanometer scale size; and at least one node; that localizes one or more subatomic or subatomic-related particles, the at least one node being defined only at the intersection of the strips. "Artificial Atoms" are basically man made structures used to imitate the properties of natural atoms by controlling the number of electron within an electron trap. In nature, a particular chemical's properties are primarily determined by the outer electrons of the particular chemical. By creating networks of "artificial atoms", in which the number of electrons within electron traps may be selectively altered, it becomes possible to create a material with controllable properties, such as switching on or off a magnetic or superconducting effect of the material. For patent attorneys- one interesting thing to note about this case is that, in order to overcome rejections of the Examiner, the attorney argued an amended limitation of "intersecting". Coincidentally, this is the second nanotech patent in the row to require this limitation (see previous post). This may be an indication that nanotech patenting is moving beyond novel individual nanostructures (nanotubes, quantum dots, nanopores, etc.) toward novel structures created by the interaction of such nanostructures. Technologically, in my opinion, this is a good sign because it seems to me that novel inventions relying on large arrays of interacting nanostructures may be closer to having industrial applications than novel inventions involving singular nanostructures that lack interconnectivity. Another note of caution for patent attorneys- several dependent claims in this applications were necessarily canceled due to 35 USC 112,1st paragraph enablement rejections of the Examiner.

Tags: patent, atom, electron, artificial, nanostructures

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7048999.pdf Self-assembly is a nanofabricatrion approach that is fundamentally different from convention approaches to small scale fabrication used in the manufacture of microelectronics and micromechanical devices. Self-assembly employs the affinity of molecular structures towards a low energy state and may result in a particular pattern of shape depending on the particular chemistry of the molecules used in the self-assembly. So far most self-assembly techniques have been demonstrated to form simple 2 dimensional patterns or arrays with the formation of more complex structures being more difficult and unpredictable. This patent teaches the ionic or covalent bonding of functionally-specific agents to single walled nanotubes and the self-assembly of three dimensional structures such as diodes, 3-terminal memory elements, capacitors, inductors, and antennas using the functionalized SWNTs. Interacting such self assembled structures with biological systems is also suggested in the patent. Claim 1 reads: 1. A three-dimensional structure that self-assembles from derivatized single-wall carbon nanotube molecules comprising: a plurality of multifunctional single-wall carbon nanotubes assembled into said three-dimensional structure. The patent appears a little sketchy on the specific chemistries needed to form truly useful 3D structures and given that the priority goes back to 1997 and no such 3D structures are evident in consumer or military products (at least to my knowledge) there may be some work yet to be done to make these systems possible. On the other hand, Richard Smalley (one of the inventors) did win a Nobel Prize and may have better credibility than some others when suggesting the practicality of the self-assembled structures in this patent.

Tags: structure, patent, assembly, single, nanotube

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7048903.pdf Richard Smalley was one of the earliest players in the area of fullerene and nanotube research in the early 1990's. Smalley and his group at Rice University filed many patent applications in the '90s dealing with different fabrication methods and uses of nanotubes. However, because of long pendancy times and use of continuations it is only now that these fundamental nanotube patents are being issued. This particular patent has priority to Aug.8, 1996 and includes several broad claims such as: 1. A dispersion of single-walled carbon nanotubes in a liquid comprising an aqueous detergent solution. 2. A dispersion of single-wall carbon nanotubes in a liquid comprising a solvent selected from the group consisting of benzene, toluene, xylene, naphthalene, and combinations thereof. 3. A single-wall carbon nanotube coated with a coating material, wherein the coating material has a nanometer-scale thickness. 11. A rope or bundle of single-wall carbon nanotubes wherein the rope or bundle is coated with a coating material of nanometer-scale thickness. While these claims are very broad it is noted that they are limited to single walled nanotubes. Several commercial applications of nanotubes are now well underway in non-volatile memory, field emission displays, and polymer composites. However, many of the current applications employ the more easily manufactured multiwalled variety of nanotubes.

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http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7049823.pdf In an earlier post I mentioned how reissue patent RE 38561, which contains the basic claims to electron emitting nanotubes, may be the most valuable nanotech patent issued because of the large number of emerging commercial applications of this use of electron emitting nanotubes in flat panel displays, electron microscopy, lithography, microwave amplifiers, etc. US 7049823 provides an example of yet another new field of application for electron emitting nanotubes - a vacuum gauge. Claim 1 reads - 1. An ionisation vacuum gauge for measuring the residual pressure of a gaseous material in a container (10) comprising: an electron-emitting cathode (31), said cathode is formed by a plurality of nanotubes, distributed over a surface of said cathode, a grid (13; 33; 133; 133') for accelerating the electrons emitted by said cathode, a plate (15; 35) for collecting the ionised positive molecules of said gaseous material, said plate (35) disposed outside of said accelerating grid (33:133;133') and a galvanometer (21) connected to said plate for measuring the plate current to determine the value of the residual pressure inside the container. Ionisation vacuum gauges are actually fairly commonly used to enable low pressure lithography and microscopy environments. The use of nanotubes as an electron emitter in these devices provides advantages of lower power consumption, a high degree of directional control of the electron beam, and miniaturization.

Tags: electron, nanotubes, emitting, plate, gauge

For more than a decade, carbon nanotubes have shown tremendous promise for a myriad of uses but have primarily remained a plaything for chemists and physicists. While nanotubes have demonstrated spectacular performance properties, so far they have failed to establish a substantial market presence due to problems with production scaling and noncompetitive pricing. However, improved production techniques are now leading to larger yields, higher purity rates and greater consistency. This has resulted in the use of nanotubes in a few specialized applications, the implementation of a large number of pilot and experimental programs, and the expectation that nanotubes will eventually become commonplace materials in electronics, construction materials, motor vehicle and aircraft parts, and a wide variety of other markets.Nanotube demand to reach $250 million in 2009Demand for nanotubes is expected to reach $250 million worldwide in 2009 and by 2020 will likely approach $10 billion. (This forecast assumes continued success in production technology improvements to bring pricing to a competitive level.) Early successes will be in electronics, where performanceenhancing attributes offered by nanotubes will allow manufacturers of displays and other electronic components to meet increasingly demanding goals. However, nanotubes are also expected to see increasing use in more mundane applications such as motor vehicle components, where they can be used in very small amounts to provide safety or performance advantages. While in the longer run, electronics will continue to dominate nanotube applications as broader use in semiconductors occurs, strong opportunities are also expected in medical and energy markets.Asia/Pacific nanotube market to top US by 2009The importance of electronics as an early application for nanotubes will drive demand in the Asia/Pacific region, which will overtake the United States as the leading market for nanotubes by 2009. Strong growth is expected in South Korea, Japan and China. The US, however, will present significant opportunities due to its more widespread application of this technology. Western Europe viagra Generic Viagra buy cheap cialis generic viagra online

Tags: nanotube, electronic, application, market, expected