Thursday, March 03, 2005

On a problem with patent citation analysis

One of the issues with the purported value of patent citations is that patents do not necessarily cite all pertinent prior art, or key pioneering prior art. Here, US 6,852,292 did not cite US 3,900,554 (to Richard K. Lyon, Aug., 1975), the fundamental patent on thermal deNOx using ammonia.

from a press release:

KleenAir Systems Inc. announced on March 3, 2005 that during February the US Patent office issued Patent No. US 6,852,292 covering the use of aqueous ammonia injection to reduce NOx emissions from the exhaust gases of combustion engines.


Until now, the company's issued patents have focused on the use of ammonia gas as the most efficient and cost-effective means of reducing NOx emissions through a technology called Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR), in which the company is the innovator for automotive retrofit applications. This technology requires the use of a pressurized container of ammonia gas.

The new patent extends the technology to include ammonia dissolved in water, very much like household cleaners found in almost every home and supermarket. This solution can be bottled in non-pressurized plastic containers to be refilled or replaced similar to window-washer cleaning fluid used in automobiles. For mass volume application for passenger vehicles the company believes this version of its technology to be more user-friendly for the average car owner.

In Europe, over 50 percent of the current production of automobiles is now diesel-powered, amounting to over 7 million new vehicles annually. The number of diesel vehicles in use throughout Europe is close to 100 million. In the United States, while diesel is primarily used for heavy duty trucks and buses, off-road construction equipment, stationary generators and marine applications, the major passenger car manufacturers are now planning to incorporate SCR technology in future offerings, particularly of pick-up trucks and SUVs.

"This patent is the result of several years of patient Research and Development at our facilities in California," said Lionel Simons, president of KleenAir Systems Inc., "and we anticipate that it will significantly broaden the market appeal of our technology in the years ahead." About KleenAir Systems Inc. March 3, 2005--KleenAir Systems Inc. (OTCBB:KAIR) announced today that during February the US Patent office issued Patent No. US 6,852,292 covering the use of aqueous ammonia injection to reduce NOx emissions from the exhaust gases of combustion engines.



Until now, the company's issued patents have focused on the use of ammonia gas as the most efficient and cost-effective means of reducing NOx emissions through a technology called Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR), in which the company is the innovator for automotive retrofit applications. This technology requires the use of a pressurized container of ammonia gas.

The new patent extends the technology to include ammonia dissolved in water, very much like household cleaners found in almost every home and supermarket. This solution can be bottled in non-pressurized plastic containers to be refilled or replaced similar to window-washer cleaning fluid used in automobiles. For mass volume application for passenger vehicles the company believes this version of its technology to be more user-friendly for the average car owner.

In Europe, over 50 percent of the current production of automobiles is now diesel-powered, amounting to over 7 million new vehicles annually. The number of diesel vehicles in use throughout Europe is close to 100 million. In the United States, while diesel is primarily used for heavy duty trucks and buses, off-road construction equipment, stationary generators and marine applications, the major passenger car manufacturers are now planning to incorporate SCR technology in future offerings, particularly of pick-up trucks and SUVs.

"This patent is the result of several years of patient Research and Development at our facilities in California," said Lionel Simons, president of KleenAir Systems Inc., "and we anticipate that it will significantly broaden the market appeal of our technology in the years ahead." About KleenAir Systems Inc.

The '292 does not cite 3,900,554.

1 Comments:

Blogger Pete Jackson said...

"number of diesel cars in europe amounts to 100 million"

I'm interested in this statistic- could you tell me where you sourced this information so i can chase them up for my own research???

Pete Jackson

pete.jackson@gyrointernational.com

3:40 AM  

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