DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
In view of the appeal brief filed on 10/7/2025, PROSECUTION IS HEREBY REOPENED. A new ground of rejection is set forth below.
To avoid abandonment of the application, appellant must exercise one of the following two options: (1) file a reply under 37 CFR 1.111 (if this Office action is non-final) or a reply under 37 CFR 1.113 (if this Office action is final); or, (2) initiate a new appeal by filing a notice of appeal under 37 CFR 41.31 followed by an appeal brief under 37 CFR 41.37. The previously paid notice of appeal fee and appeal brief fee can be applied to the new appeal. If, however, the appeal fees set forth in 37 CFR 41.20 have been increased since they were previously paid, then appellant must pay the difference between the increased fees and the amount previously paid.
A Supervisory Patent Examiner (SPE) has approved of reopening prosecution by signing below:
Claim Objections
Claim 20 is objected to because of the following informalities: “The method of claim 11” should be changed to –The method of claim 19--. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1, 4, 5, 9, 10, 11, 14, 15, 19, and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102a1 as being anticipated by Goolsbee et al. (2525667 – Goolsbee).
Goolsbee discloses an earth-boring tool, comprising:
Re claim 1:
a tool body 5 comprising at least one nozzle port 6 extending from an external surface to an internal fluid plenum (i.e., fig. 1); and
at least one fluid inlet sleeve 9 (i.e., fig. 2) disposed within the at least one nozzle port of the tool body, the at least one fluid inlet sleeve comprising a hollow cylinder having an angled longitudinal end at least partially located within the internal fluid plenum of the tool body (i.e., figs. 1-2), the angled longitudinal end comprising at least one planar, longitudinal end surface of the fluid inlet sleeve, the at least one planar, longitudinal end surface defining a fluid entry plane of the fluid inlet sleeve, the at least one planar, longitudinal end surface oriented at an angle within a range from greater than 0 degrees to less than 90 degrees relative to a plane to which a longitudinal axis of the fluid inlet sleeve is normal (i.e., figs. 1-2).
Re claim 4, the angle is within the range of about 30 degrees to about 60 degrees (i.e., figs. 1-2).
Re claim 5, the angle is about 45 degrees (i.e., figs. 1-2).
Re claim 9, a nozzle 7 disposed adjacent to the at least one fluid inlet sleeve 9 within the nozzle port 6 (i.e., fig. 1). Fig. 1 depicts the element 7 has size of bore reduced from top to bottom, thus it increases velocity of a fluid flow when the fluid passes through.
Re claim 10, the tool body further comprises an alignment mark (i.e., surface of port 6) on an external surface of the tool body 5 and wherein the at least one fluid inlet sleeve 9 comprises an alignment recess (i.e., bore of the sleeve 9) formed in another longitudinal end of the at least one fluid inlet sleeve opposite the longitudinal end (i.e., fig. 2).
Goolsbee discloses a fluid inlet sleeve, comprising:
Re claim 11:
a hollow cylinder 9 having an angled longitudinal end configured to be at least partially disposed within an internal fluid plenum of an earth-boring tool 5 (i.e., col. 1:6, “In boring well holes with rotary bits”), the angled longitudinal end comprising at least one surface, the at least one surface comprising a planar end surface of the fluid inlet sleeve 9 oriented at an angle within a range from 0 degrees to 90 degrees relative to a plane to which a longitudinal axis of the fluid inlet sleeve is normal (i.e., figs. 1-2), wherein the planar end surface of the fluid inlet sleeve lies within a fluid entry plane of the fluid inlet sleeve (i.e., fig. 2).
Re claim 14, the angle is within the range of about 30 degrees to about 60 degrees (i.e., figs. 1-2).
Re claim 15, the angle is about 45 degrees (i.e., figs. 1-2).
Goolsbee discloses a method, comprising:
Re claim 19:
disposing a nozzle 7 (i.e., fig. 1) within a nozzle port 6 of a body 5 of the earth-boring tool , the nozzle port extending from an external surface of the body and an internal fluid plenum within the body; and
disposing at least one fluid inlet sleeve 9 within the nozzle port of the body adjacent to the nozzle such that an angled longitudinal end of the at least one fluid inlet sleeve is at least partially located within the internal fluid plenum (i.e., figs. 1-2), the angled longitudinal end comprising at least one planar, longitudinal end surface of the fluid inlet sleeve oriented at an angle within a range from greater than 0 degrees and less than 90 degrees relative to a plane to which a longitudinal axis of the fluid inlet sleeve is normal (i.e., figs. 1-2), wherein the planar, longitudinal end surface of the fluid inlet sleeve lies within a fluid entry plane of the fluid inlet sleeve (i.e., fig. 2).
Re claim 20, disposing at least one fluid inlet sleeve 9 comprises aligning the at least one fluid inlet sleeve within the nozzle port 6 by aligning an alignment recess (i.e., bore of the sleeve 9) formed in the at least one fluid inlet sleeve 9 with an alignment mark (i.e., surface of the port 6) formed in the external surface of the body of the earth-boring tool (i.e., fig, 2).
Conclusion
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/YONG-SUK (PHILIP) RO/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3676