Frank Acland of E-Cat World on the Cold Fusion Now! podcast

Frank Acland started E-CatWorld.com on April 4 in the year 2011 after Andrea Rossi had performed a public demonstration of his nickel-hydrogen-based steam generator named the Energy Catalyzer, or E-Cat.

“A Focardi-Rossi news conference was late in January of that year, and I became aware of it through some friends. I just got interested in it, and thought, why isn’t this being reported on more anywhere else?” he says.

“I thought it was a story worth following, and I thought it was worth putting out there, and once I started, I really haven’t been able to stop.”


Listen to Frank Acland on the Cold Fusion Now! podcast with Ruby Carat on our podcast page.


“To me, the story has never died. It’s become a long and winding road, but I’m just as interested now as I was then. So I haven’t stopped, and I don’t plan on stopping until there is some obvious resolution. Since I don’t know what the future holds, I’m just going to keep going until something happens where I can’t go any longer.”

Back in 2011, the Vortex-l mailing list was where speculative science and new energy talk happened. ColdFusionNow.org had been in existence barely a year, and rejected the belicose comments and unknowable claims. E-CatWorld.com stepped in to host the debate over Andrea Rossi’s technology, but even there, comments were quickly curbed to prevent all but the news and blow-by-blow of the engineering developments.

“I didn’t want to be administering a website that was full of acrimony and arguments, so I set up the rules that I was comfortable living with,” says Frank Acland, whose been actively screening the comments since.

“I wanted E-Cat World to be a place there this topic is taken seriously. I have always felt that Andrea Rossi came up with something important. I’ve never felt he’s been telling a big lie all years over what he’s done, though, obviously, he’s extremely secretive. So I just made it a policy that this would be a forum where we’re not going to argue over whether he’s a fraud or liar – that’s not what I wanted the website to be. I’ve set up moderation rules that are listed on my site and I’ve stuck to them.”

“I know there’s some people who don’t like the fact that certain comments are not allowed on the site. People can talk however they want to elsewhere. For me, it’s worked well.”

With over 3000 posts to-date, E-CatWorld maintains a hopeful outlook on a Rossi reactor. Frank Acland is not a scientist, but a librarian by training, and has catalogued the details of the E-Cat drama since it emerged through the Internet in 2011.

A visit with Andrea Rossi

It was 2017 when Frank Acland visited Andrea Rossi. “I received an invitation to come and visit with him in Florida in March, early 2017. He took me to his lab, and I believe it was in the actual Doral facility where he had been running that big machine for the yearlong period.”

“I never actually saw that unit. This was right in the middle of the lawsuit with Industrial Heat. He spent the year inside the shipping container, and this was shortly following the end of that test and when he was involved in litigation.”

“At that point, he was working on the Quark, it was a small machine that was on the desktop. The best picture of that has been published by Mats Lewan back in January. It was a little tabletop thing. We took measurements and he showed me calculations, and at that time, the COP was around 20,000 or something like that. That was at the beginning of when he had developed the first iteration of the plasma system, and that’s what he’s continuing to work on now.”


See QuarkX presentation and Mats Lewan’s presentation .pdf Nov 24, 2017.

E-Cat QX Claims: volume ≈ 1 cm3, thermal output 10-30 W, negligible input control power, internal temperature > 2,600° C, no radiation above background.


“It was fascinating of course, because I’d never seen an E-Cat in my life. I was a student and he was a tutor. He was showing me what he had, he was taking measurements with a spectrometer. He showed me how he calculates the energy in the plasma. Of course, this is not an area where I have any expertise at all. I was basically sitting there like he was the teacher and I was the student, and he was explaining how he was coming to his conclusions as to what the COP was.”

“So I saw it with my own eyes and I kind of followed along with his calculations. But this was in the early days, and I did notice there was a big control system on the desk, and he was putting some kind of secret waveform into his plasma, and I did not know what was in there.”

“He was measuring the energy on the plasma side of the control system, but he wasn’t measuring the input into the control system. So there was that issue.”

“I was basically there as someone who was following along, and thinking, ‘Wow, if this is true, it’s a really a very big deal.'”

“At the time that I went, before I went into the room, he pulled out a piece of paper and I signed an NDA. While I was there, I wasn’t taking photographs. I realized that this isn’t something I’m going to be able to go home and report about.”

“Later on that year was the presentation held in Stockholm, and he showed the same system, and then I asked him after that, OK now you’ve shown to to the world, is it OK if I report on what I witnessed? Basically, what I saw was what he showed in Stockholm.”


Videographer Eli Elliott and Andrea Rossi are seen in Miami, FL when Cold Fusion Now! visited and interviewed Andrea Rossi in 2012. Polaroid Photo: Ruby Carat


The MegaWatt IH Lawsuit

Frank Acland had visited the Doral location, but had never seen the MegaWatt unit. Andrea Rossi had abandoned the idea of a large energy generator and returned to the problem of controlling the reaction in a smaller reactor first.

Says Frank Acland, “I never saw the megawatt unit. All I learned about the megawatt unit is what he reported during that time, and what came out in the court case.”

“I think the megawatt unit actually worked, but it sounded like he had to be there constantly to keep it going, it needed constant care and attention. It was not something he could commercialize in that at that point in that format, but I believe he learned a lot from it.”


Photo: Rossi states that 1 megawatt energy catalyzer is being used for commercial heat production https://www.nextbigfuture.com/2015/03/rossi-states-that-1-megawatt-energy.html

“I think he was able to translate information he got from the big unit and start making small units, and he’s still perfecting it, so we’re not there yet.”

Why did Andrea Rossi give up on the possibility of $100 million dollars and support to develop the reactor offered by Industrial Heat? Frank Acland gave his take.

“I don’t much beyond what was reported in his blog and also what came out in court, but when Andrea Rossi made a deal with Industrial Heat, my sense is he probably thought they were going to be supporters of him, and that they would be working together. When they started working with other researchers – and I think this was the thing that upset him initially – was that they were not only supporting him and the E-Cat, but they were supporting other researchers.”

“I don’t think that sat well with him. As we know, from the very beginnings, he’s very circumspect about what he says about his technology. He probably told Industrial Heat things that he assumed were going to his supporters – and this was one of the complaints in the court case – that he was concerned that they were sharing things that he told them in confidence with other researchers. Maybe he felt like his IP was being violated or shared, and that was not what he was hoping for when the deal was initially struck.”

“That was not something that he had envisioned, and he wanted to fight to get out of it. I don’t remember the day when he started that lawsuit, but that’s when everything blew up.”


See Rossi v. Darden docket and case files here courtesy ColdFusionCommunity.net.


Frank Acland is still confident in Andrea Rossi’s ability to generate a reaction, but whether or not a technology will emerge from the Leonardo Corp. lab is another question.

Andrea Rossi stays the course

“My feeling is that yes, I think he has a very advanced technology. That may not be the consensus. I think a lot of people had hoped that following the press conference with Sergio Focardi, all of this would be out in the open by now, and we’d be using E-Cats in the business world, if not in our homes, but it’s been a long time.”

“But my impression is that Andrea Rossi has always had very big ambitions as an industrialist. As an industrialist, he is extremely secretive because probably – and I think he’s a very smart man whose worked extremely hard over these years – but, if somebody knew what they were doing, and knew the ins and outs of the E-Cat it would not be too difficult for them to replicate, and I think that’s something he definitely does not want to happen, because as an industrialist, this is not in his business interest to share this information.”

“I think that’s the reason he is being so guarded. He wants to make that possibility as slim as possible. I don’t know if that’s possible to happen. There are many people who realize there is something this LENR phenomenon, and mainstream science has dismissed this as being an area for people on the fringes of science.”

“When the day comes that they realize, ‘hey this is for real’, I think there will be an explosion in research and there will be people developing this technology in different ways all over the world, and at that point, it will be impossible to keep secrets.”

“But I don’t think Andrea Rossi is going to change his course. He’s made the decision on how he’s going to go about it and I think he’s going to stick to his guns.”

When asked if Andrea Rossi has heard about the Tadahiko Mizuno report, Frank Acland said “His standard response when it comes to questions like that is, ‘I never comment on my competitors.'”

“I don’t know what he thinks about the Mizuno report. Obviously, if they are using systems that he has experience with, then I’m sure he’s paying attention to it, and trying to maintain his advantage.”

“I think he might be able to learn from people, but I don’t think he’s going to collaborate with people. That’s just the way he’s operated all these years. I’m sure that he reads; I’m sure he pays close attention to what gets published. I don’t think he’s going to change his way of operating. He’s set his course and he’s going to do his best to stick to his course, and whether it’s successful or not , we’ll have to see.”

“I honestly think he has a very advanced technology. I do not know how successful his business plan will turn out to be. That’s yet to be seen. It’s still not entered the mainstream of business or industry. As he said recently, ‘he is in a pioneer phase’. So I think he’s working with select customers. I have no information about who any of his current customers are. There’s a great deal of mystery, even to me, though I’ve been following it closely for years.”

“I’m not really scouring the Internet – ‘oh, who could he be working with?’ Unless someone reveals themselves, I don’t think we’ll know. Until there is something to sell or on the market, it will take a customer speaking out to get more information.”

Optimism fuels the future

Several other labs have recently achieved increasing levels of excess heat from their heat generator designs, including Tadahiko Mizuno, who has reported kilowatt-sized excess heat.

“The encouraging thing about the Mizuno technology,” says Frank Acland, “is that he’s written a paper giving the instructions, saying exactly how he did it, and encouraging others to follow suit. And from what I’ve seen, there are numerous people who are interested in doing this or already are doing this.”

“Actually I read on your website Cold Fusion Now! that Mizuno said that he’s given reactors to 12 different groups to test out, and I’m very interested to learn what they report. I hope it won’t be too long. Mizuno himself said the he was going to reveal data, maybe at the ICCF-22 conference.”

“I also saw there was a group in Estonia called Deneum and they put a video out showing themselves doing the actual preparation.”

Ruby spoke up about the possible toxicity of nickel dust and that preparation of the mesh should be done in a glove box for maximum safety.

“Mizuno sad that nickel powder is very toxic, responded Frank, “I’m sure it’s important to take every safety recommendation.”

“Also, the Martin Fleischmann Memorial Project’s Alan Goldwater has published a live document talking about his preparations, I’m not sure what stage he’s at yet, but I’m encouraged!”

Energy 2.0 Society prepares for breakthrough

“The Energy2.0 Society is a small group of people mostly from Iowa, though one of our members is from Washington State. We formed in 2015 because we all felt like LENR was an important technology, and we all wanted to encourage more people to investigate it and learn more about it.”

“For quite a while, it’s been difficult to get this message out, there’s not really much that one could point to in terms of a third party saying yes, this is real and this works.”

“We’ve had some discussions recently about the development of the Mizuno technology and we’re hopeful that within the not-to-distant future, we’d like to have more meetings and discussions with people outside of the LENR community about what this technology can do, what its potential is, and what the implications are for society in general. But we haven’t had very much to hold up and say ‘look at this!’ We’ve been sort of watching and waiting, along with many other people following this technology. and we’re hoping that maybe in the next year or so, there will be more to talk about.”

“The cold fusion community is a very small community by the size of it, when you compare it to other things that people are interested in like politics, music, sports. I’d say there’s probably maybe 10,000 people around the world who follow it seriously. The solar industry is a huge industry, with many thousands of people working in it; it’s massive compared to cold fusion. But I think at some point, cold fusion will be where solar is right now.”

“Go to E-CatWorld.com and that’s where you can find everything I’ve published over the years, I think its over 3000 posts – it’s been a long time – and I’ve never tired of it yet. Someone’s got to do it!”

“Sometimes it’s a bit of chore, but most of the time it’s a labor of love.”


Listen to Frank Acland creator of E-CatWorld.com on the Cold Fusion Now! podcast with Ruby Carat on our podcast page.


Andrea Rossi EcatSK demo

“The EcatSK is available now for industrial applications. If you want safe, reliable, competitively priced heat, we encourage you to contact us.”

That was the announcement on the EcatSK demonstration broadcast live on the Network at http://www.ecatskdemo.com/ January 31, in an event dedicated to Swedish scientist Dr. Sven Kullander.

From the Press Release:

“The E-Cat SK produces kilowatts of energy while consuming only grams of inexpensive and abundant fuel (hydrogen, nickel, lithium) over a period of six months.”

A screenshot from EcatSKdemo.com shows:

Watch a video of the demo here on Youtube.

But videos don’t translate into the real, physical world, yet.

LENR bad-boy Andrea Rossi, inventor of the EcatSK, draws ire from working scientists in the CMNS field for his theatrics and demonstrations that have yet to be confirmed by the community-at-large. He does not attend conferences or meetings, does not publish in JCMNS, and has little contact with active CMNS researchers. Documents from the very public trial with former partner Industrial Heat showed a decidedly uncooperative Leonardo Corporation working outside the bounds of normal business expectation.

Listen to the Cold Fusion Now! podcast episodes with Abd ul-Rahmann Lomax, who documented the trial, and Mats Lewan, who authored An Impossible Invention, a book that follows the development of Andrea Rossi’s Ecat.

But if LENR had a Human Resources center, they would be hard-pressed to find anything that resembled a mainstream scientific organization. The people who would tread into the pariah science of cold fusion, conduct advanced nuclear research in basement labs at their own expense, banned from publishing any corroborated results, and derided by their peers adorned with money and fame – are by self-selection uniquely fashioned individuals, and that quality intensifies at the fringes of the fringe.

Andrea Rossi escaped the US with $10 million and moved his enterprise to Sweden, where the QuarkX and new EcatSK have been developed. The EcatSK reactive material based on nickel and light-hydrogen has had a long history of making big heat.

Precedence for excess heat from nickel-hydrogen systems

In August of 1989, University of Siena Professor of Physics Francesco Piantelli discovered the anomalous heat effect in Nickel-Hydrogen systems, and made exceptionally large output power in the process. His collaborations with Professors Sergio Focardi and Robert Habel began in 1990.

Mathieu Valat of MFMP (L) and Francesco Piantelli (R).

Seventeen years later, Andrea Rossi asked Dr. Focardi to evaluate his then-Energy Catalyzer, and got a positive review. The relationship continued through Sergio Focardi’s death in 2013.

Sergio Focardi portrait after October 6, 2011 demonstration of E-Cat.

Dismissed as a con man taking advantage of an elderly scientist, we believe this early LENR pioneer deserves more credit. Cold Fusion Now! accepts that Andrea Rossi can make a reaction happen, but has problems controlling the reaction to make a technology, just like everybody else in this field.

Mats Lewan, author of An Impossible Invention, a book on the development of the Ecat, writes on his blog, that the new device “uses only minute amounts of abundant elements such as hydrogen, nickel, lithium and aluminium”.

Has this fuel changed from previous mixtures?

Nickel is a catalyst for the fuel

In Analysis of New Rossi PCT filing based on US Patent 9,115,913 issued 25Aug15 patent lawyer David French writes:

Among the embodiments are those in which the fuel mixture includes lithium and lithium aluminum hydride, those in which the catalyst includes a group 10 element, such as nickel in powdered form, or in any combination thereof.

In other embodiments, the catalyst in powdered form, has been treated to enhance its porosity. For example, the catalyst can be nickel powder that has been treated to enhance porosity thereof. [In those embodiments that include an electrical resistor, the].The apparatus can also include an electrical energy source, such as a voltage source and/or current source in electrical communication with the [resistor.] heat source.

Among the other embodiments are those in which the fuel wafer includes a multi-layer structure having a layer of the fuel mixture in thermal communication with a layer containing the electrical resistor. heat source.

In yet other embodiments, the fuel wafer includes a central heating insert and a pair of fuel inserts disposed on either side of the heating insert.

Read full article Analysis of New Rossi PCT filing based on US Patent 9,115,913 issued 25Aug15 by David French for more on brackets.

Furthermore,

The powder in the fuel mixture consists largely of spherical particles having diameters in the nanometer to micrometer range, for example between 1 nanometer and 100 micrometers. Variations in the ratio of reactants and catalyst tend to govern reaction rate and are not critical. However, it has been found that a suitable mixture would include a starting mixture of 50% nickel, 20% lithium, and 30% LAH. Within this mixture, nickel acts as a catalyst for the reaction, and is not itself a reagent. While nickel is particularly useful because of its relative abundance, its function can also be carried out by other elements in column 10 of the periodic table, such as platinum or palladium.

Reproductions of the Rossi Ecat have been conducted world-wide, with mixed results. The successful fuel recipe with the combinations and concentrations of critical elements is still unknown.

“Any element that reacts with hydrogen appears to support LENR – titanium, nickel, zirconium have all been explored. The big challenge is to find out what it is about those hydrides that is unique and makes it possible to initiate a nuclear reaction.” says Dr. Edmund Storms, a nuclear chemist and LENR researcher. “Rossi found that nickel is important, but there’s a certain lack of understanding of what Rossi did.”

“Rossi identified nickel as being where the nuclear reaction was occurring. But that is actually not the material he was using initially; he was using a nickel catalyst. A nickel catalyst is not pure nickel. It’s nickel that has been applied to some inert substrate. That’s the way catalysts work.”

Edmund Storms spoke with Ruby on the Cold Fusion Now! podcast and gave a tutorial on catalysts.

“There’s an acting metal that can break the hydrogen bond, and then, there’s an inert substrate on which the hydrogen atom can diffuse, causing what’s called spillover hydrogen. It’s that spillover hydrogen that is active for the reaction, not the hydrogen in the nickel. So there’s reason to think the nickel is not where the action is.”

Historical example of catalytic fusion

An example is found in the work of Les Case, a chemical engineer with four degrees from MIT who discovered what he called catalytic fusion using palladium and deuterium systems. Case found that a catalyst made by depositing palladium – in finely divided form – on charcoal, could be made nuclear active.

Graphic: Les Case in 1998 from http://www.angelfire.com/scifi2/zpt/case.html

Ten years ago, Case wrote, “I discovered that using certain standard commercial catalysts, one could get this fusion to occur under reproducible, mild conditions. This is the catalyst that I’ve set upon as being about the most effective that I currently have available. This is a standard palladium on activated carbon catalyst. One-half percent by weight of palladium loaded on this activated carbon— this is the key. You change this just a little bit and it doesn’t work— at all! But if you stay within the approved ranges, it works basically all the time.” -Infinite Energy Magazine July 1999

This was the experiment eventually reproduced by a team at SRI International led by Dr. Michael McKubre that also correlated the excess heat with the nuclear product Helium-4.

“Now, people said, ok the reaction is happening on the finely divided palladium,” continues Storms. “but that’s not necessarily true. The reaction could also be happening in the charcoal.”

“The charcoal cracks a lot. Look at it on a scanning electron microscope and you can see the cracks. All the charcoal has to do is allow the hydrogen atoms being generated at the palladium to diffuse across the surface to find a crack where the nuclear reaction occurs.”

This hypothesis is supported by the fact that when the source of charcoal, made from a particular coconut collected from a South Pacific island, was no longer available, Case could not get the reaction to work ever again; no other charcoal would work in his device.

“We have to be very careful in imagining where this nuclear reaction actually occurs. Even in palladium, in the electrolytic experiments, it only occurs very near the surface. And the surface of the cathode is not pure palladium, it’s a very complex alloy, and it’s also complex metalgraphically, so there’s a lot of stuff going on there, that has no relationship whatsoever to how people imagine palladium to look.”

According to Edmund Storms, there is no reason to believe that the nuclear reaction was occurring in the palladium itself, and likewise, the same situation would apply to the nickel-hydrogen reactions.

If Andrea Rossi has found the right mix of elements to catalyze and control the reaction, only time will tell as we wait for confirmation.

Mats Lewan on the Cold Fusion Now! podcast

Mats Lewan is a science and technology journalist and author of An Impossible Invention, the true story of an Energy Source that could Change the World, a book detailing the early demonstrations of Andrea Rossi’s Energy Catalyzer. He joins Ruby on the Cold Fusion Now! podcast where he discusses his assessment of the LENR technology challenge.

Mats Lewan has a Master of Science in Engineering Physics from the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockhom and spent fifteen years working as technology reporter for the magazine Ny Teknik. He also attended the Innovation Journalism Program at Stanford University in California and while there, reported for CBS-CNET News in San Francisco.

Mats Lewan was one of the few journalists chronicling Andrea Rossi’s early work as it was evaluated by Dr. Sergio Focardi, physicist at the University of Bologna and former Director of the University of Bologna branch of the Italian National Institute of Nuclear Physics. Mats is currently working with Stockholm School of Economics on a project about The Internet and its Effects on Innovation and the Swedish Economy, and Energiforsk (The Swedish Energy Research Centre) on Digitalisation in the Energy Industry. Find more on Mats work at http://matslewan.se/.

Listen to episode 10 with Mats Lewan and host Ruby Carat at our podcast page https://coldfusionnow.org/cfnpodcast/ or subscribe in iTunes.

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Abd ul-Rahman Lomax on the Cold Fusion Now! podcast

Abd ul-Rahman Lomax created the blog coldfusioncommunity.net and spent the bulk of 2017 using it to document the Andrea Rossi-Industrial Heat lawsuits.

In episode 09 of the Cold Fusion Now! podcast, he talks with Ruby about the dream partnership that ended with suspicion and the drama of a Miami, Florida trial court.

Abd ul-Rahman Lomax sat in Richard Feynman’s lectures at Cal Tech in 1961 through 1963. In 2009, he began challenging Wikipedia about their bias regarding cold fusion. Since then, he’s been involved in the cold fusion/LENR field. He was published in the 2015 special LENR issue of Current Science journal on the correlation of excess heat and the production of helium with the paper Replicable cold fusion experiment: heat/helium ratio [.pdf].

Listen to episode 09 at our podcast page https://coldfusionnow.org/cfnpodcast/ or subscribe in iTunes.

Patreon supports creators like us, and we do need your help to pay the bills. Go to our homepage on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/coldfusionnow and join the effort to bring the voices of breakthrough energy to visibility in this noisy world.

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Analysis of New Rossi PCT filing based on US Patent 9,115,913 issued 25Aug15

On August 25, 2015 a US patent issued to Leonardo Corporation on an invention by Andrea Rossi. Discussion of this patent is available in previous postings on ColdFusionNow.org here:

Analysis of Rossi US Patent 9,115,913 Issued 25Aug15 Part 1
Analysis of Rossi US Patent 9,115,913 Issued 25aug15 Part 2

This US patent, US 9,115,913, was filed directly before the US Patent Office by Andrea Rossi on March 14, 2012 and thereafter assigned to Leonardo Corporation, both of Miami Beach, Florida. This filing was unusual in that it was not laid-open for public examination – “published” – as of 18 months from its earliest filing date, as is typical for virtually all countries around the world.

This publication procedure applies even for the United States in respect of the bulk of American applications. Instead, the applicant in this case took advantage of a special provision in US law that allows a request for non-publication to be made if supported by a certification that the invention disclosed in the application has not been and will not be the subject of an application filed in or destined for another country that provides for publication at eighteen months after filing.

The attorney for Rossi and Leonardo Corporation, knowing that this US application was going to issued patent in August, 2015, filed a statement before this occurred withdrawing the above certification and thereby freeing-up the possibility of filing patents for the same invention abroad. As a consequence, a PCT application was filed on July 28, 2015. That PCT application was published as part of the PCT filing procedure on February 4, 2016. A summary of key data from this application is as follows:

________________________________________

Pub. No.: WO/2016/018851
Application No.: PCT/US2015/042353
Publication Date: 04.02.2016
Filing Date: 28.07.2015

IPC: F24J 1/00 (2006.01)
F MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
24 HEATING; RANGES; VENTILATING
J PRODUCTION OR USE OF HEAT NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
1 Apparatus or devices using heat produced by exothermal chemical reactions other than by combustion

Applicants: ROSSI, Andrea [US/US]; (US)
Inventors: ROSSI, Andrea; (US)
Agent: OCCHIUTI, Frank; (US)
Priority Data: 61/999,582 01.08.2014 US

Title (EN) FLUID HEATER
(FR) DISPOSITIF CHAUFFANT POUR FLUIDE

Abstract:
(EN)An apparatus for heating fluid includes a tank for holding fluid to be heated, and a fuel wafer in fluid communication with the fluid. The fuel wafer includes a fuel mixture including reagents and a catalyst, and an electrical resistor or other heat source in thermal communication with the fuel mixture and the catalyst.
https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=WO2016018851

This is Rossi’s patent assault on the World. This is an extension of the US patent of August 25, 2015, and it is an upgraded rewrite. This document has the potential of producing patents in over 100 countries around the World. This includes further patents in the US.

Patents are relevant for two reasons:

• the “story” that they contain, and
• the potential monopoly that they may generate.

This published application is relevant for both.

Addressing the description of the drawings and instructions for building a working system, I have compared the disclosure in the US patent to the disclosure in the published PCT application. For convenience, I will reproduce that comparison now in its entirety. Square brackets indicate deletion. Black upright text represents the original text in the US patent and italics represents the changes added to that original text to produce the published PCT application.

Rossi US patent amended in italics to produce Published PCT Application of 6Feb16

FLUID HEATER

CROSS – REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application claims the benefit of the August 1, 2014 priority date of U.S. Application No. 61/999,582, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE
This disclosure relates to heat transfer systems, and in particular to devices for transferring heat to a fluid.

BACKGROUND
Many heat transfer systems use hot fluids as a heat transfer medium. Such systems include a heat generator for generating heat, a heat transfer medium in thermal communication with the energy source, and a pump to move the heated medium to wherever the heat is needed. Because of its high heat capacity and its abundance, a common heat transfer fluid is water, both in its liquid and gas phase.

A variety of heat generators are in common use. For instance, in nuclear power plants, nuclear fission provides energy for heating water. There also exist solar water heaters that use solar energy. However, most heat transfer sources rely on an exothermal chemical reaction, and in particular, on combustion of some fuel.

SUMMARY
In one aspect, the invention features an apparatus for heating fluid, the apparatus including a tank for holding fluid to be heated, and a fuel wafer in fluid communication with the fluid, the fuel wafer including a fuel mixture including reagents and a catalyst, and a heat source, [for example an electrical resistor], or ignition source in thermal communication with the fuel mixture and the catalyst.

The heat source or ignition source can be an electrical resistor, or a heat source that relies on either heat from combustion, such as combustion of natural gas, or a heat source that relies on inductive heating.

Among the embodiments are those in which the fuel mixture includes lithium and lithium aluminum hydride, those in which the catalyst includes a group 10 element, such as nickel in powdered form, or in any combination thereof.

In other embodiments, the catalyst in powdered form, has been treated to enhance its porosity. For example, the catalyst can be nickel powder that has been treated to enhance porosity thereof. [In those embodiments that include an electrical resistor, the].The apparatus can also include an electrical energy source, such as a voltage source and/or current source in electrical communication with the [resistor.] heat source.

Among the other embodiments are those in which the fuel wafer includes a multi-layer structure having a layer of the fuel mixture in thermal communication with a layer containing the electrical resistor. heat source.

In yet other embodiments, the fuel wafer includes a central heating insert and a pair of fuel inserts disposed on either side of the heating insert.

A variety of tanks can be used. For example, in some embodiments, the tank includes a recess for receiving the fuel wafer therein. Among these are embodiments in which the tank further includes a door for sealing the recess. In yet other embodiments the tank includes a radiation shield.

Also included among the embodiments are those that further include a controller in communication with the voltage source. Among these are controllers that are configured to [cause] vary the voltage in response to temperature of the fluid to be heated.

In another aspect, the invention features an apparatus for heating a fluid, the apparatus including means for containing the fluid, and means for holding a fuel mixture containing a catalyst and a reagent, and means for initiating a reaction sequence mediated by the catalyst to cause an exothermic reaction.

Another aspect of the invention is a composition of matter for generating heat, the composition including a mixture of porosity-enhanced nickel powder, lithium powder, and lithium aluminum powder, and a. A heat source in thermal communication with the mixture can be used for initiating a nickel catalyzed exothermic reaction.

Yet another aspect features a for generating heat. The composition includes a fuel mixture and a catalyst. The catalyst comprises a group 10 element.

Embodiments include those in which the catalyst comprises nickel. Among these are embodiments in which the nickel is in the form of nickel powder and those in which the nickel powder has been treated to enhance porosity thereof.

Another aspect of the invention is a method of heating a fluid, the method including placing a mixture of nickel powder, lithium powder, and lithium aluminum hydride in thermal communication with the fluid; and heating the mixture, thereby initiating an exothermic reaction in the mixture.

These and other features of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed description and the accompanying figures, in which:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 shows a heat transfer system having a heat source;

FIG. 2 is a cut-away view of the heat source in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a cross-section of the wafer for use in the heat source of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 shows an exemplary resistor in the central layer of the wafer shown in FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 shows the heat source of FIG. 1 operating with a conventional furnace.

FIG. 6 shows plural heat sources like that in FIG. 2 connected in series.

FIG. 7 shows plural heat sources like that in FIG. 2 connected in parallel.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Referring to FIG. 1, a heat transfer system 10 includes a pipe 12 for transporting a heated fluid in a closed loop between a heat source 14 and a thermal load 16. In most cases, for example where there is hydraulic resistance to be overcome, a pump 18 propels the heated fluid. However, in some cases, such as where the heated fluid is steam, the fluid’s own pressure is sufficient to propel the fluid. A typical thermal load 16 includes radiators such as those commonly used for heating interior spaces.

As shown in FIG. 2, the heat source 14 is a tank 20 having a lead composite shield, an inlet 22 and an outlet 24 , both of which are connected to the pipe 12 . The interior of the tank 20 contains fluid to be heated. In many cases, the fluid is water. However, other fluids can be used. In addition, the fluid need not be a liquid fluid but can also be a gas, such as air.

The tank 20 further includes a door 26 that leads to a receptacle 28 protruding into the tank 20 . Radiating fins 30 protrude from walls of the receptacle 28 into the tank 20 . To maximize heat transfer, the receptacle 28 and the fins 30 are typically made of a material having high thermal conductivity, such as metal. A suitable metal is one not subject to corrosion, such as stainless steel.

The receptacle 28 holds a multi-layer wafer 32 for generating heat. A voltage source 33 is connected to the wafer 32 , and a controller 35 for controlling the voltage source 33 in response to temperature of fluid in the tank 12 as sensed by a sensor 37.

As shown in FIG. 3, the multilayer fuel wafer 32 includes a heating section 34 sandwiched between two fuel sections 36 , 38 . The heating section 34 features a central layer 40 made of an insulating material, such as mica, that supports a resistor 42. It should be noted that other heating sources can be used, including heat sources that rely on combustion of, for example, natural gas, as well as heat sources that rely on electrical induction. The use of gas thus avoids the need to have a source of electrical energy for initiating the reaction.

FIG. 4 shows an exemplary central layer 40 having holes 44 through which a resistive wire 42 has been wound. This resistive wire 42 is connected to the voltage source 33 . First and second insulating layers 46 , 48 , such as mica layers, encase the central layer 40 to provide electrical insulation from the adjacent fuel sections 36 , 38.

Each fuel section 36 , 38 features a pair of thermally conductive layers 50, 52, such as steel layers. Sandwiched between each pair of conductive layers 50, 52 is a fuel layer 54 that contains a fuel mixture having nickel, lithium, and lithium aluminum hydride [LiAlH.sub.4] LiAlH4 (“LAH”), all in powdered form. Preferably, the nickel has been treated to increase its porosity, for example by heating the nickel powder to for times and temperatures selected to superheat any water present in micro-cavities that are inherently in each particle of nickel powder. The resulting steam pressure causes explosions that create larger cavities, as well as additional smaller nickel particles.

The entire set of layers is welded together on all sides to form a sealed unit. The size of the wafer 32 is not important to its function. However, the wafer 32 is easier to handle if it is on the order of 1/3 inch thick and 12 inches on each side. The steel layers 50, 52 are typically 1 mm thick, and the mica layers 40, 48 , which are covered by a protective polymer coating, are on the order of 0.1 mm thick. However, other thicknesses can also be used.

In operation, a voltage is applied by the voltage source 33 to heat the resistor 42 . Heat from the resistor 42 is then transferred by conduction to the fuel layers 54 , where it initiates a sequence of reactions, the last of which is reversible. These reactions, which are catalyzed by the presence of the nickel powder, are: [<del datetime=”2016-05-14T22:30:44+00:00″>3LiAlH.sub.4.fwdarw.Li.sub.3AlH.sub.6+2Al+3H.sub.2 2Li.sub.3AlH.sub.6.fwdarw.6LiH+2Al+3H.sub.2 2LiH+2Al.fwdarw.2LiAl+H.sub.2]

3LiAlH4- Li3AlHs + 2A1 + 3H2
2Li3AlHs- 6LiH + 2A1 + 3H2
2LiH + 2A1 – 2LiAl + H2

Once the reaction sequence is initiated, the voltage source 33 can be turned off, as the reaction sequence is self-sustaining. However, the reaction rate may not be constant. Hence, it may be desirable to turn on the voltage source 33 at certain times to reinvigorate the reaction. To determine whether or not the voltage source 33 should be turned on, the temperature sensor 37 provides a signal to the controller 35 , which then determines whether or not to apply a voltage in response to the temperature signal. It has been found that after the reaction has generated approximately 6 kilowatt hours of energy, it is desirable to apply approximately 1 kilowatt hour of electrical energy to reinvigorate the reaction sequence.

Eventually, the efficiency of the wafer 32 will decrease to the point where it is uneconomical to continually reinvigorate the reaction sequence. At this point, the wafer 32 can simply be replaced. Typically, the wafer 32 will sustain approximately 180 days of continuous operation before replacement becomes desirable.

The powder in the fuel mixture consists largely of spherical particles having diameters in the nanometer to micrometer range, for example between 1 nanometer and 100 micrometers. Variations in the ratio of reactants and catalyst tend to govern reaction rate and are not critical. However, it has been found that a suitable mixture would include a starting mixture of 50% nickel, 20% lithium, and 30% LAH. Within this mixture, nickel acts as a catalyst for the reaction, and is not itself a reagent. While nickel is particularly useful because of its relative abundance, its function can also be carried out by other elements in column 10 of the periodic table, such as platinum or palladium.

FIGS. 5-7 show a variety of ways to connect the heat source 14 in FIG. 1.

In FIG. 5, the heat source 14 is placed downstream from a conventional furnace 56 . In this case, the controller 35 is optionally connected to control the conventional furnace. As a result, the conventional furnace 56 will remain off unless the output temperature of the heat source 14 falls below some threshold, at which point the furnace 56 will start. In this configuration, the conventional furnace 56 functions as a back-up unit.

In FIG. 6, first and second heat sources 58 , 60 like that described in FIGS. 1-4 are connected in series. This configuration provides a hotter output temperature than can be provided with only a single heat source 58 by itself. Additional heat sources can be added in series to further increase the temperature.

In FIG. 7, first and second heat sources 62 , 64 like that described in FIGS. 1-4 are connected in parallel. In this configuration, the output volume can be made greater than what could be provided by a single heat transfer unit by itself. Additional heat transfer units can be added in parallel to further increase volume.

In one embodiment, the reagents are placed in the reaction chamber at a pressure of 3-6 bar and a temperature of from 400 C to 600 C. An anode is placed at one side of the reactor and a cathode is placed at the other side of the reactor. This accelerates electrons between them to an extent sufficient to have very high energy, in excess of 100 KeV. Regulation of the electron energy can be carried out by regulating the electric field between the cathode and the anode.

Having described the invention, and a preferred embodiment thereof, what I claim as new and secured by letters patent is:

[Note: The following text is based on automatic Optical Character Recognition processes. Please use the PDF version for legal matters]

CLAIMS
1. An apparatus for heating fluid, said apparatus comprising a tank for holding fluid to be heated and a fuel wafer in fluid communication with sai fluid, said fuel wafer including a fuel mixture including reagents and a catalyst, and an ignition source in thermal communication with said fuel mixture and said catalyst, wherein the ignition source is selected from the group consisting of an induction heater, an electrical resistor, a heater that relies on natural gas combustion, and a heater that relies on combustion of fuel.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said ignition source comprises an electrical resistor.
3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said ignition source comprises an induction heater.
4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said ignition source obtains heat from combustion of natural gas.
5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said fuel mixture comprises lithium and lithium aluminum hydride.
6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said catalyst comprises nickel powder.
7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said nickel powder has been treated to enhance porosity thereof.
8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said catalyst comprises a group 10 element.
9. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a voltage source in electrical communication with said ignition source.
10. The apparatus of claim 2, further comprising a voltage source in electrical communication with said ignition source.
11. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said fuel wafer comprises a multi -layer structure having a layer of said fuel mixture in thermal communication with a layer containing said ignition source.
12. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein said fuel wafer comprises a multi -layer structure having a layer of said fuel mixture in thermal communication with a layer containing said ignition source.
13. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said fuel wafer comprises a central heating insert and a pair of fuel inserts disposed on either side of said heating insert.
14. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said tank comprises a recess for receiving said fuel wafer therein.
15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein said tank further comprises a door for sealing said recess.
16. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said tank comprises a radiation shield.
17. The apparatus of claim 9, further comprising a controller in communication with said voltage source.
18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein said controller is configured to cause vary said voltage in response to temperature of said fluid to be heated.

19. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein said tank is configured for holding fluid to be heated, wherein said fuel wafer is configured to be in thermal communication with said fluid, wherein said resistor is configured to be coupled to a voltage source, wherein said apparatus further comprises a controller in communication with said voltage source, and a temperature sensor, wherein said fuel mixture comprises lithium, and lithium aluminum hydride, wherein said catalyst comprises a group 10 element, wherein said controller is configured to monitor a temperature from said temperature sensor, and, based at least in part on said temperature, to reinvigorate a reaction in said fuel mixture, wherein reinvigorating said reaction comprises varying a voltage of said voltage source.
20. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein said catalyst comprises nickel powder.
21. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein said nickel powder has been treated to enhance porosity thereof.
22. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein said fuel wafer comprises a multi -layer structure having a layer of said fuel mixture in thermal communication with a layer containing said electrical resistor.
23. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein said fuel wafer comprises a central heating insert and a pair of fuel inserts disposed on either side of said heating insert.
24. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein said tank comprises a recess for receiving said fuel wafer therein.
25. The apparatus of claim 24, wherein said tank further comprises a door for sealing said recess
26. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein said tank comprises a radiation shield.
27. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein said reaction in said fuel mixture is at least partially reversible.
28. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein said reaction comprises reacting lithium hydride with aluminum to yield hydrogen gas.

29. An apparatus for heating a fluid, said apparatus comprising means for containing said fluid, and means for holding a fuel mixture containing a catalyst and a reagent, and means for initiating a reaction sequence mediated by said catalyst to cause an exothermic reaction.
30. The apparatus of claim 29 , wherein said catalyst that comprises a group 10 element and a reagent comprises lithium and lithium aluminum hydride, said apparatus further comprising means for periodically reinvigorating said reaction sequence.

31. A composition of matter for generating heat, sai composition comprising a mixture of porosity-enhanced nickel powder, lithium powder, and lithium aluminum powder.

32. A composition of matter for generating heat, sai composition comprising a fuel mixture and a catalyst, said catalyst comprising a group 10 element.
33. The composition of claim 32, wherein said catalyst comprises nickel.
34. The composition of claim 32, wherein said catalyst comprises nickel powder.
35. The composition of claim 34, wherein said nickel powder has been treated to enhance porosity thereof.

36. A method of heating a fluid, said method comprising placing a mixture of nickel powder, lithium powder, and lithium aluminum hydride in thermal communication with said fluid; and heating said mixture, thereby initiating an exothermic reaction in said mixture.

Analysis of the PCT Published Application

The “Detailed Description” is the story portion of the patent disclosure, which should enable skilled workman to put the invention into use. The claims represent the proposed monopoly that the applicant aspires to obtain. At this stage in the patenting process, when we are addressing simply an application, these claims may be considered to be a “wish list”. The claims, however, are a useful guide to what the inventor thinks is important in the story.

The story has only modest changes over those contained in the disclosure of the US patent. The most significant change is the broadening of the means for heating the fuel to include not only an electrical resistor, but also other specific means:

The heat source or ignition source can be an electrical resistor, or a heat source that relies on either heat from combustion, such as combustion of natural gas, or a heat source that relies on inductive heating.”

This change shows up in the claims.

Here is Claim 1 of the issued US patent:

1. An apparatus for heating fluid, said apparatus comprising a tank, an electrical resistor, and a fuel wafer,
wherein said tank is configured for holding fluid to be heated,
wherein said fuel wafer is configured to be in thermal communication with said fluid,
wherein said fuel wafer includes a fuel mixture that includes reagents and a catalyst,
wherein said electrical resistor is in thermal communication with said fuel mixture and said catalyst,
wherein said resistor is configured to be coupled to a voltage source,
wherein said apparatus further comprises a controller in communication with said voltage source, and a temperature sensor,
wherein said fuel mixture comprises lithium, and lithium aluminum hydride,
wherein said catalyst comprises a group 10 element,
wherein said controller is configured to monitor a temperature from said temperature sensor, and, based at least in part on said temperature, to reinvigorate a reaction in said fuel mixture,
wherein reinvigorating said reaction comprises varying a voltage of said voltage source.

This claim has a “loophole” in the sense that if heating could be provided by mechanism other than an electrical resistor, then the claim would be avoided. This “loophole” has been closed in the revised disclosure and new proposed set of claims that are included in the PCT filing. In fact, this new set of claims represents a fresh “wish list” that has not been whittled down by a patent examiner before a patent office. Significantly, this PCT application can re-enter the United States at any time up to February 1, 2017. This will allow Rossi and Leonardo Corporation to get “another bite at the apple” before the US Patent Office.

On exiting the PCT in 2017 the owners of this application will be entitled to make National Entry patent filings in the over 100 countries who are members of the PCT. Accordingly, this application represents a possible World initiative by Rossi and Leonardo Corporation to control the heat generation process described in the above patent disclosure. In fact, National Entry applications already been made before the European Patent Office and in Australia, both on March 16, 2016.

Applications published by the PCT system are accompanied by a preliminary, nonbinding, Search Report. In this case, the Search Report identifies relevant Prior Art here:

https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/docservicepdf_pct/id00000032223758/ISR/WO2016018851.pdf

The code is at the bottom. The symbol “X” means that a claim actually describes something that is already known. This, if true, will knock the claim out. The symbol “Y” means that the claim describes an obvious variant on something that is already known. This is an arguable ground for rejection that could prove troublesome. And the symbol “A” means that the document is closely related, but not relevant to examination.

The PCT Searcher/Examiner also provides a rather lengthy analysis here:

https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/docservicepdf_pct/id00000032229115/WOSA/WO2016018851.pdf

This is a US Patent Office Searcher/Examiner providing his opinion. Although he is doing so on behalf of the WIPO as part of the PCT system, there is a good probability that this opinion is exceptionally lengthy because of the reluctance by the US Patent Office to endorse or allow many patent applications directed to “Cold Fusion”.

It is important to note that, although the greater part of the claims have been criticized in the above opinion, claims numbers 19 through 28 have not been challenged. There is a very good prospect, therefore, that these claims will eventually be present in patents that will be granted not only in the United States but elsewhere in the world. Based on a quick comparison, these claims, particularly claim 19 which dominates the others, appear to parallel the claims that have already been allowed in the US patent granted August 25, 2016.

David French is a retired patent attorney and the principal and CEO of Second Counsel Services. Second Counsel provides guidance for companies that wish to improve their management of Intellectual Property. For more information visit: www.Second-Counsel.com.

Analysis of Rossi US Patent 9,115,913 issued 25Aug15 Part 1

Part 1

Due to the length of analysis involved, this posting is divided into parts. This present part is Part 1. Reference to Part 2 is made here.

On August 25, 2015 a US patent issued to Leonardo Corporation on an invention by Andrea Rossi. This US patent, US 9,115,913, is part of a series of applications filed by Andrea Rossi variously in Italy, before the European and United States Patent Offices, and under the Patent Cooperation Treaty. However, this specific application, unusually, and not like the others, was filed directly before the US Patent Office by Andrea Rossi on March 14, 2012 using a new attorney. It was thereafter assigned to a company originally formed by Andrea Rossi, Leonardo Corporation, both of Miami Beach, Florida. Further assignments may have occurred, but they were not, as of August 25, 2015, available for review over the Internet at the United States Patent Office – US PTO.

The application leading to this August 25th patent was unusual in that it was not laid-open for public examination – “published” – as of 18 months from its earliest filing date, as is typical for virtually all countries around the world. This publication procedure applies even for the United States in respect of the bulk of American applications. Instead, the applicant in this case took advantage of a special provision in US law summarized as follows:

37 C.F.R. 1.213 Nonpublication request.

• (a) If the invention disclosed in an application has not been and will not be the subject of an application filed in another country, or under a multilateral international agreement, that requires publication of applications eighteen months after filing, the application will not be published under 35 U.S.C. 122(b) and § 1.211 provided:
o (1) A request (nonpublication request) is submitted with the application upon filing;
o (2) The request states in a conspicuous manner that the application is not to be published under 35 U.S.C. 122(b);
o (3) The request contains a certification that the invention disclosed in the application has not been and will not be the subject of an application filed in another country, or under a multilateral international agreement, that requires publication at eighteen months after filing; and
o (4) The request is signed in compliance with § 1.33(b).

Such a request was filed on Rossi’s behalf at the time of filing.

The following is a correction to what was published earlier on the prospect for foreign filings corresponding to Rossi’s US patent of August 25th, 2015, No 9,115,913.

There is a possibility, probably a likelihood, that Rossi patent applications have been filed outside the US for inventions disclosed in US patent 9,115,913. This would likely be in the form of an application under the Patent Cooperation Treaty.

Rossi filed a NonPublication request under 35USC122(b)(2) with his application when it was filed on March 14, 2012. But this section goes on to provide:

(ii) An applicant may rescind a request made under clause (i) at any time.

(iii) An applicant who has made a request under clause (i) but who subsequently files, in a foreign country or under a multilateral international agreement specified in clause (i), an application directed to the invention disclosed in the application filed in the Patent and Trademark Office, shall notify the Director of such filing not later than 45 days after the date of the filing of such foreign or international application. A failure of the applicant to provide such notice within the prescribed period shall result in the application being regarded as abandoned.

Rossi filed a letter at the US Patent Office on July 27, 2015 withdrawing the non-publication request.

The consequence is that Rossi may have, and probably has, filed corresponding patent applications in other countries as early as June 12, 2015. This could be done on a bulk basis using the PCT. Filings made earlier that that would invalidate the US patent.

All filings made from June 12, 2015 or later would be subject to the novelty requirements of the national laws of each country applied as of the actual filing date in each country. In Europe any disclosures prior to the local filing date would qualify as prior art. Canada, Australia, South Korea and prospectively a number of other countries will shelter applications for up to one year for “self-originating” disclosures that can be traced to the applicant.

The Lugano Report released in October 6, 2014 contained a speculation that at least part of the “fuel” in the Lugano apparatus consisted of Lithium Aluminum Hydride (page 28). Lithium was also included in the initial fuel mixture. Claim 1 in Rossi’s August 25, 2015 US patent specifies for a fuel that includes both Lithium and Lithium Aluminum Hydride. The claim also stipulates for a control circuit that reheats the fuel using an electrical resistor when the reaction needs “rejuvenation”. Dependent claims add further limitations.

It is an unresolved question whether Applications filed by Rossi in countries not providing a grace period will be able to survive exposure to the prior art. Even where there is a grace period, Rossi applications will be exposed to the disclosures of independent origin arising from others.

A filing, for example under the PCT, will not normally be published until 18 months from its filing dated. Therefore some time will likely pass before the extent of such filings is known.

Quality of the disclosure

Unlike other applications filed on behalf of Rossi, and indeed many patent applications filed around the world, the disclosure in this case is relatively short and to the point. This is a sign of good patent draftsmanship. The patent disclosure contains no discussion of theory. In fact, some readers will find this disappointing; but the reality is that it is not required for an inventor to disclose a theory supporting why an invention works. It is enough for the disclosure to provide sufficient direction to enable a skilled workman in the field to reproduce the useful results promised by the disclosure.

This patent has the signs of having been drafted by a particularly competent patent attorney. The preamble section under the titles Field of Disclosure and Background are about as short as you could ever expect. In fact, under Field of Disclosure the text simply provides: “This disclosure relates to heat transfer systems, and in particular to devices for transferring heat to a fluid.” The Background section that follows contains a mere 7 sentences divided into 2 paragraphs. Compare this with the bulk of US and other national patents that have extensive content in these sections. Elaborate content in these two portions of a patent disclosure is not required. What is key is to describe how to build something that is useful and then to identify the features of what is disclosed which are novel, inventive and over which the applicant wishes to obtain exclusive rights. Too few inventors ever understand these principles.

Before leaving this portion of the disclosure it is important to remark that these statements do not define the invention. They are not binding on the scope of the exclusive rights being granted. They are merely guidelines to get a reader started in reviewing the entire patent document. The “invention” for which the patent has been granted is defined in the one or more patent “claims” that conclude the patent document. The invention in this case is not about a novel arrangement for “transferring heat to a fluid”. The novelty that supports the validity of the patent claims resides elsewhere.

Further, the Summary of the Invention portion of the disclosure is not binding on the scope of monopoly established by the claims. It is the claims that count. However, in this particular case, the drafting attorney has simply used the text of the claims in order to generate the Summary of the Invention. A simple comparison will show that one is derived from the other. This is good patent practice.

The Patent Claims

A patent is all about obtaining exclusive rights. Those rights are defined in the “claims” which appear as numbered sentences usually at the end of the patent document. Each numbered claim is actually the completion of a preamble statement such as: “I claim” or, as in Canada, “The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive right is claimed are as follows”. Each claim completes the preamble by listing elements which are interrelated in a specific way to define something that is new, something that has never before been “available to the public.” This last phrase can be understood to include any obvious variants on things explicitly previously available to the public.

A patent can have multiple claims restating the exclusive rights over and over again with more specific detail. As a convenient compressed mode, a 2nd claim can refer-back to an earlier claim thereby adopting all of its limitations. A dependent claim, such as Claim 2, may appear to be very short. However, it is longer than Claim 1 from which it depends since it adopts all of the limitations listed in Claim 1.

It is a basic principle that if a competitor does not infringe Claim 1 then they cannot infringe any of the claims dependent on Claim 1. Therefore, for infringement purposes, it may be sufficient to stop the analysis after reading Claim 1. If you do not infringe there is no need to go further.

On the other hand, if Claim 1 is infringed, then the only recourse for a competitor is to demonstrate that Claim 1 is invalid. If this were to be achieved, then the exercise must move to Claim 2, which may be valid, and which may be infringed, or not. Dependent claims that accumulate many limitations from prior claims have a higher probability of being valid, but a lower probability of being infringed. To avoid infringement, all a competitor has to demonstrate is that they do not use every element stipulated within the claim under consideration.

The Rossi Claims

The claims of this particular patent are relatively concise, and are listed as follows:

1. An apparatus for heating fluid, said apparatus comprising a tank, an electrical resistor, and a fuel wafer,

wherein said tank is configured for holding fluid to be heated,

wherein said fuel wafer is configured to be in thermal communication with said fluid,

wherein said fuel wafer includes a fuel mixture that includes reagents and a catalyst,

wherein said electrical resistor is in thermal communication with said fuel mixture and said catalyst,

wherein said resistor is configured to be coupled to a voltage source,

wherein said apparatus further comprises a controller in communication with said voltage source, and a temperature sensor,

wherein said fuel mixture comprises lithium, and lithium aluminum hydride,

wherein said catalyst comprises a group 10 element,

wherein said controller is configured to monitor a temperature from said temperature sensor, and, based at least in part on said temperature, to reinvigorate a reaction in said fuel mixture,

wherein reinvigorating said reaction comprises varying a voltage of said voltage source.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said catalyst comprises nickel powder.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein said nickel powder has been treated to enhance porosity thereof.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said fuel wafer comprises a multi-layer structure having a layer of said fuel mixture in thermal communication with a layer containing said electrical resistor.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said fuel wafer comprises a central heating insert and a pair of fuel inserts disposed on either side of said heating insert.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said tank comprises a recess for receiving said fuel wafer therein.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein said tank further comprises a door for sealing said recess.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said tank comprises a radiation shield.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said reaction in said fuel mixture is at least partially reversible.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein said reaction comprises reacting lithium hydride with aluminum to yield hydrogen gas.

Technically, to be valid, claims must not read-on arrangements that do not work. But analysis on this basis is complex. To be addressed on another occasion.

The challenge for competitors wishing to build a competing device that does not infringe is to ensure that their devices are not described by Claim 1. If Claim 1 describes their arrangement, then they will be an infringer. They can avoid infringement by ensuring that their product omits at least one of the features listed in Claim 1.

In a sense, the challenge for a competitor is to invent an arrangement that works but does not fall within the language of Claim 1. On the other hand, the challenge for a patent applicant and his attorney is to produce a valid statement of exclusive rights in Claim 1 that cannot be avoided by competitors wishing to market a competing product.

Analyzing Claim 1 for infringement we note the necessary requirement: “wherein said fuel mixture comprises lithium, and lithium aluminum hydride”. Is it essential that lithium be present, apart from being a component of lithium aluminum hydroxide? Did Dr Parkhomov include lithium in his mixture? Apparently not: “640 mg Ni + 60 mg LiAlH4”. This suggests that lithium may not be necessary in order to obtain an LENR effect. But if the presence of elemental lithium enhances the generation of excess energy, then this is an invention in its own right, and merits the granting of patent exclusivity.

On the other hand, if it turns out that elemental lithium need not be present in order to achieve the useful, commercially relevant effect, then this claim has an “loophole”. Patent applicants and their attorneys are expected to labor long and hard in order to draft claims that do not have a “loophole”.

Addressing another possible loophole, if the lithium aluminum hydride serves only as a source of hydrogen, is it essential for the aluminum to be present? Other sources of hydrogen could include magnesium hydride – MgH2; calcium hydride – CaH2; sodium borohydride – NaBH4 and lithium borohydride – LiBH4 as examples. Cf “Thoughts on attending ICCF-19 in Padua by David French”.

We may search Claim 1 for further limitations that may be unnecessarily specific or over limiting. For example, heat is provided to the “fuel” by the presence of an “electrical resistor [which] is in thermal communication with said fuel mixture and said catalyst”. While this language is so vague as to be difficult to visualize, the disclosure outlines a structure described as follows:

“multilayer fuel wafer 32 includes a heating section 34 sandwiched between two fuel sections 36, 38. The heating section 34 features a central layer 40 made of an insulating material, such as mica, that supports a resistor 42. FIG. 4 shows an exemplary central layer 40 having holes 44 through which a resistive wire 42 has been wound”,

And:

“The entire set of layers is welded together on all sides to form a sealed unit. The size of the wafer 32 is not important to its function. However, the wafer 32 is easier to handle if it is on the order of 1/3 inch thick and 12 inches on each side.”

This gives some understanding as to the meaning of the words in the claim. The disclosure does not necessarily limit the words in the claim. The Disclosure is only intended to be exemplary. Claim 1 clearly stipulates for the presence of an electrical resistor. This could be in the form of resistance wire wrapped around mica sheeting, or it could be a “resistor” of another form.

The claim language is to be read as broadly as the natural meaning of the words and is not necessarily limited by the examples given in the preceding patent disclosure, unless the disclosure requires this. In this case, “electrical resistor”, while not tied to a specific structure, does limit the character and function of this component.

Furthermore, the presence of an electrical resistor is emphasized by the additional limitations stipulating:

“wherein said resistor is configured to be coupled to a voltage source,

“wherein said apparatus further comprises a controller in communication with said voltage source, and a temperature sensor,

“wherein said controller is configured to monitor a temperature from said temperature sensor, and, based at least in part on said temperature, to reinvigorate a reaction in said fuel mixture,

“wherein reinvigorating said reaction comprises varying a voltage of said voltage source.”

Taking this portion of the claim as defining the novel aspect of invention, the invention may really be all about a mechanism for controlling the generation of heat within the wafer.

If the purpose of having a heated core within the wafer is to start an LENR reaction, this might possibly be achieved by simply providing the wafer with a core plate of conductive metal which is heated externally. (Aluminum or copper may spring to mind, but these have a low melting temperature. Aluminum nitride has a melting point of 2200°C). While this might start an LENR reaction, if the use of a resistive heater facilitates controlling the rate or level of the LENR reaction, then that in itself might be a basis for the granting of patent rights. Otherwise, the stipulation for the necessary presence of a “resistor” may also qualify as a “loophole”.

These observations are not exhaustive. They are offered merely as examples. The challenge for competitors is to invent configurations that do not infringe.

This ends Part 1 of the analysis. Further parts of the analysis to follow subsequently will address inferences that can be made from the dependent claims, considerations on the treatment of the nickel, and speculations as to the types of reactions that may be occurring. Additionally, the prospect that further inventions are present in this disclosure, which have not been claimed, and the consequences, will also be explored.

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