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 .
The claims filed 1/16/26 are acknowledged; claims 1-3 and 5-10 are currently pending.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claim(s) 1-3 5-10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Gatherar et al. (US 20030145999) in view of Lockwood (US 9611717)
CLAIM 1: Gatherar discloses a valve arrangement for a wellhead of a hydrocarbon well. The valve arrangement comprises: a valve (valves in valve block 44) comprising connection elements configured to mount sealingly and removably the valve in a port of a wellhead (10) (see Figs. 1, 2), an actuator device (see paragraph 0017) configured to actuate the valve to move the valve between a closed position and an open position. The actuator device comprising: a housing (see Fig. 2) with at least one first port (to connect to 32) extending through a sidewall of the housing into a through channel (Fig. 1, 2), and a control device (“controls system”) arranged to control the movement of the valve. Wherein the at least one first port (32) is a bleed off port and the at least one first port leads into the first part of the through channel so that there is fluid communication between the valve and the first port via the first part of the through channel (see Fig. 1).
Gatherar fails to disclose the actuator device comprising: a housing having a through channel extending between a first end, at which the valve is mounted, and a second end, the housing comprising at least one first port extending through a sidewall of the housing and leading into the through channel, an actuator rod movably arranged in the through channel and configured to open the valve by the actuator rod being movable between at least a first position and a second position, a control device arranged to control the movement of the actuator rod such that the actuator rod is retractable while the valve is in an open position, wherein the through channel comprises a first part and a second part, and the first part and the second part are separated by a separation device that is arranged in the through channel in a sealing manner, wherein the first part of the through channel is delimited by the valve at one end and by the separation device at the other end, wherein in either the first or the second position, the actuator rod is configured to engage the valve to configure the valve to the open position, wherein the at least one first port has fluid communication with the wellhead through the valve in the open position, and wherein the fluid communication of the at least one first port with the wellhead is blocked by the valve in the closed position.
Lockwood discloses a wellhead assembly with a valve.
Lockwood discloses an actuator device for a valve assembly (32) comprising: a housing (see Fig. 2A) having a through channel extending between a first end, at which the valve is mounted, and a second end (see Fig. 2A), the housing comprising at least one first port (46) extending through a sidewall of the housing and leading into the through channel (see Fig. 2A). An actuator rod (92) movably arranged in the through channel and configured to open the valve by the actuator rod being movable between at least a first position and a second position (see Figures). A control device (90) arranged to control the movement of the actuator rod such that the actuator rod is retractable while the valve is in an open position, wherein the through channel comprises a first part and a second part, and the first part and the second part are separated by a separation device (61) that is arranged in the through channel in a sealing manner, wherein the first part of the through channel is delimited by the valve at one end and by the separation device at the other end (see Fig. 2A). Wherein in either the first or the second position, the actuator rod is configured to engage the valve to configure the valve to the open position, wherein the at least one first port has fluid communication with the wellhead through the valve in the open position, and wherein the fluid communication of the at least one first port with the wellhead is blocked by the valve in the closed position (see Figs. 2A and 2B showing open and closed).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Gatherar with the valve of Lockwood with a reasonable expectation of success as the substitution of one known valve for another in which the valve of Lockwood would still function in the same manner of controlling fluid flow while allowing for bleed lines (see col. 1, lines 42-58).
CLAIM 2: The actuator rod is located inside the first part of the through channel (see Lockwood, Fig. 2A).
CLAIM 3: The actuator rod is configured without a through bore in the longitudinal direction thereof (see Lockwood; no discussion of bore).
CLAIM 5: The separation device is movable inside the through channel in a sealing manner (see Figs 2A to 2B showing movement).
CLAIM 6: The separation device comprises a piston that is movable inside the through channel in a sealing manner, wherein the piston is part of the actuator device and the actuator rod is connected to the piston (see Fig. 2A).
CLAIM 7: The control device is configured to control a movement of the piston and thereby control the movement of the actuator rod connected to the piston (see Fig. 2A, connecting all parts).
CLAIM 8: A chamber is formed in the second part of the through channel and the chamber is delimited by the movable piston and a fixed end member, wherein the housing comprises at least one second port leading into the chamber (see Ig. 2A showing two ports).
CLAIM 9: The second port is connectable to a hydraulic fluid source (52, see Fig. 2A). Wherein the chamber and the second port are parts of the control device arranged to control the movement of the piston, by means of hydraulic fluid entering the chamber and exerting a force to move the piston and the actuator rod to engage the valve and to configure the valve to the open position (the hydraulic fluid can be used to move the piston).
CLAIM 10: Gatherar-Lockwood fails to disclose the control device is an electrical control device that controls the movement of the piston.
Examiner takes official notice that electrical control devices are well known in the art as means of actuating valve parts.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective date of the claimed invention to modify the control device of the Gatherar-Lockwood combination to be electrical with a reasonable expectation of success as the substitution one known control system for another to activate the movement of the valve parts.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 1/16/26 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant asserts the cited art, specifically Lockwood, fails to disclose the limitation of “a control device arranged to control the movement of the actuator rod such that the actuator rod is retractable while the valve is maintained in an open position.” Applicant appears to interpret this limitation to mean the rod and the valve are separated when the rod is retracted. This is not consistent with the broadest reasonable interpretation of the claim. The claim language merely requires the rod being capable of being retracted while the valve is open. It does not require the separation or speak to the state of the valve after the retraction. Further, the relationship between the rod and the valve should not be discussed in the functional language of the control device. The control device of Lockwood is arranged to retract the rod with no respect to the valve’s position. If Applicant wants to claim a structural relationship between the rod and valve, it needs to be positively claimed in structural terms of those two elements.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to PATRICK F LAMBE whose telephone number is (571)270-1932. The examiner can normally be reached M-Th 10-4.
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/PATRICK F LAMBE/Examiner, Art Unit 3676
/TARA SCHIMPF/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3676