Patent decision

BL number

O/0521/24

Concerning rights in

GB2000986.6

Hearing Officer

Miss J Pullen

Decision date

6 June 2024

Person(s) or Company(s) involved

Derek Edward Bird

Provisions discussed

Patents Act 1977 sections 1(1)(b)&(c), section 3 and section 14(3)

Keywords

Industrial application, Inventive step, Sufficiency

Related Decisions

None

Summary

The application relates to a storage apparatus which holds a liquid which is subsequently heated until it forms a gas. This gas is subsequently released from the expansion chamber which creates energy to push a piston forward. The chamber is subsequently sealed, and the piston continues to operate on the pressure of the gas alone, until such point the temperature drops, and the gas reverts to vapour which is unable to drive the piston. The vapour somehow returns to the expansion chamber where it resides as a liquid ready to be reheated to begin the cycle again.

The Hearing Officer considered whether the invention was capable of industrial application and concluded that it was not, as the invention could not function in the manner described in the application without contravening well-established physical laws. The Hearing Officer also found it to be insufficient. The application was refused under sections 1(1)(c) and 14(3).

Full decision O/0521/24 266Kb