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 .
Status of the Claims
Claims 1-6, 9-11, 16-22, 24-27, and 29-33 are rejected under 35 USC § 102 Rejection.
Claims 7, 8, 12-15, 23, and 28 are rejected under 35 USC § 103 Rejection.
Claims 1-32 are rejected under 35 USC § 101 Rejection.
Claims 21-23 are rejected under 35 USC § 112 Rejection.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claim 21-23 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
In claim 21 the language determining (measuring) is unclear, because it’s not clear how to gets a value by determining or measuring?
Claim Rejections - 35 USC §101
35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows:
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
Claims 1-32 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to abstract ideas without significantly more.
The new 2019 Revised Patent Subject Matter Eligibility Guidance published in the Federal Register (Vol. 84 No. 4, Jan 7, 2019 pp 50-57) has been applied and the claims are deemed as being patent ineligible.
The current 35 USC 101 analysis is based on the current guidance (Federal Register vol. 79, No. 241. pp. 74618-74633). The analysis follows several steps. Step 1 determines whether the claim belongs to a valid statutory class. Step 2A prong 1 identifies whether an abstract idea is claimed. Step 2A prong 2 determines whether any abstract idea is integrated into a practical application. If the abstract idea is integrated into a practical application the claim is patent eligible under 35 USC 101. Last, step 2B determines whether the claims contain something significantly more than the abstract idea. In most cases the existence of a practical application predicates the existence of an additional element that is significantly more.
Under Step 2A Prong 1, the independent claim 1 all include abstract ideas as highlighted (using a bold font) shown below.
“1. A method comprising determining a mechanical property of a rock sample taking into account (a) a respective amount of each of two or more constituent phases in the rock sample and (b) a corresponding mechanical property parameter associated with each of the two or more constituent phases.”
“19. A method comprising determining a value of an anisotropy parameter indicative of anisotropy in a rock sample based on a spectroscopic measurement obtained from the rock sample.”
“25. A method comprising:
providing spectroscopic measurement data obtained from a plurality of reference rock samples;
providing corresponding anisotropic parameter measurement data obtained from the same plurality of reference rock samples; and
fitting a spectroscopic calibration model to the spectroscopic measurement data and the corresponding anisotropic parameter measurement data, wherein the spectroscopic calibration model defines a relationship between the spectroscopic measurement data and the corresponding anisotropic parameter measurement data for the plurality of reference rock samples.”
The highlighted steps is considered to be equivalent of a mathematical concepts and mathematical steps.
Under step 2A prong 2,
The claims do not comprises any particular field of use and claims do not direct to any practical application.
The claims 1 and 19 do not comprises any additional steps or elements.
The steps of claim 25: “providing spectroscopic measurement data obtained from a plurality of reference rock samples” and “providing corresponding anisotropic parameter measurement data obtained from the same plurality of reference rock samples” just obtaining data, which is consider as an insignificant extrasolution data activity.
The spectroscopic measurement data is well-known and general steps of measured data in relevant technology field.
Under step 2B
The claims 1 and 19 do not comprises any additional steps or elements.
The steps of claim 25: “providing spectroscopic measurement data obtained from a plurality of reference rock samples” and “providing corresponding anisotropic parameter measurement data obtained from the same plurality of reference rock samples” just obtaining data, which is consider as an insignificant extrasolution data activity.
The spectroscopic measurement data is well-known and general steps of measured data in relevant technology or technical field.
The depended claims 2-5, 7, 11, 13, 19, and 21 are merely extend the details of the abstract idea of mathematical concepts, more particularly mathematical calculations or mental steps as recited.
The dependent claims 6, 8, 10, 12, 15, 22, 23, 27, 28, and 31 just additionally describe the type of data.
The depended claim 9, and 24 comprising describing the type of rock samples, which is insignificant additional steps/element.
The claims 20, and 26 additionally comprises infra-red spectroscopy, which is well-known sample measurement in relevant technological field.
Claims 16, 17, 29 and 30 additionally comprising the computer.
The claims do not improve the general functionality of a computer. The claims only incorporate the computer as a tool to implement the recited abstract idea. In this instance, the improvement lies in the abstract idea itself, and a claim for a new abstract idea is still an abstract idea, see MPEP 2106.05.
Claims 18 and 32 additionally comprising the computer program.
As recited in the MPEP, 2106.07(b), merely adding a generic computer components (processor and memory), or a programmed computer to perform generic computer functions does not automatically overcome an eligibility rejection. Alice Corp. Pty. Ltd. v. CLS Bank Int'l, 134S. Ct. 2347, 2359-60, 110 USPQ2d 1976, 1984 (2014). See also OIP Techs, v. Amazon.com, 788 F.3d 1359, 1364, 115 USPQ2d 1090, 1093-94.
Therefore claims 2-18, 20-24, and 26-32 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101.
In claims 18 and 32 the language “computer-readable medium” should be replace with “non-transitory computer-readable medium”.
Claims 18 and 32 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to non-statutory subject matter. The claims are drawn to “a computer-readable medium". The broadest reasonable interpretation of a claim drawn to a computer readable medium covers forms of non-transitory tangible media and transitory propagating signals per se in view of the ordinary and customary meaning of computer readable media, particularly when the specification is silent (see MPEP 2111.01). Because the broadest reasonable interpretation covers a signal per se, a rejection under 35 USC 101 is appropriate as covering non-statutory subject matter. See 351 OG 212, Feb 23 2010.
The Examiner suggests that Applicant amends the claims as follows: "non-transitory computer-readable medium".
Claim 30 is drawn to a “computer program ”.
The computer program are as taught includes the case where it is merely an implementation of software/instruction. Software in and of itself in non-statutory because is not belong to the statutory class, It is not clear how software is being implemented.
In order to overcome this rejection, the following language is suggested: “ a nonstatutory a computer program comprising instructions …”.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
Claims 1-6, 9-11, 16-22, 24-27, and 29-32 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Prioul et al., (US Pub.20170235016A1), hereinafter Prioul.
Regarding Claim 1, Prioul discloses a method comprising determining a mechanical property of a rock sample (method of determining subterranean stress properties, claim 1) taking into account
(a) a respective amount of each of two or more constituent phases in the rock sample (the measurements of the subterranean rock formation surrounding the first wellbore includes spectroscopy log data, claim 4; one or more laboratory measurements on core samples from well A can be used... In block 210, subset of inorganic and organic mineralogy weight fractions are measured using spectroscopy logs, para 0038; also see Fig. 2); and
(b) a corresponding mechanical property parameter associated with each of the two or more constituent phases (In block 212, a subset of the five TI anisotropic elastic moduli Cij are measured using sonic multipole logs para 0040; In block 214, using data from blocks 210 and 212, the rock physics transform Cij=Fint(Vm i) is built that uses the volume fractions of matrix minerals to compute several elastic moduli of an anisotropic VTI rock, in particular, C33 and C13... further detail is given below on how to build and calibrate the model., para 0041; also see Fig. 2).
Regarding Claim 2, Prioul discloses the method according to claim 1, wherein determining the mechanical property of the rock sample comprises evaluating a weighted sum of the mechanical property parameters associated with each of the two or more constituent phases, the mechanical property parameter associated with each constituent phase being weighted in the weighted sum by the amount of said constituent phase in the rock sample (The effective medium elastic coefficient C33 is given by Backus (1962) as the Reuss average of the individual components: C 33 =<c 33-1>-1=1/ Si=1 MVi m/c 33 i where c33 denotes the elastic coefficient of an individual component of the rock composition and the brackets <.> denote the volume weighted average of the quantity inside using the volume Vi m obtained from the M mineralogy measurements., para [0058]).
Regarding Claim 3, Prioul discloses the method according to claim 1 comprising:
determining the respective amount of each of the two or more constituent phases in the rock sample; and
calculating the mechanical property of the rock sample taking into account (a) the respective determined amount of each of the two or more constituent phases in the rock sample and (b) the corresponding mechanical property parameter associated with each of the two or more constituent phases (In block 212, a subset of the five TI anisotropic elastic moduli Cij are measured using sonic multipole logs' para [0040]; In block 214, using data from blocks 210 and 212, the rock physics transform
Cij=Fint(Vm i) is built that uses the volume fractions of matrix minerals to compute several elastic moduli of an anisotropic VTI rock, in particular, C33 and C13... further detail is given below on how to build and calibrate the model., para 0041; also see Fig. 2).
Regarding Claim 4, Prioul discloses the method according to claim 3, wherein determining the respective amount of each of the two or more constituent phases in the rock sample comprises determining the amount of at least one constituent phase in the rock sample by a spectroscopic method, for example by an infra-red spectroscopic method such as Fourier Transform Infra-red (FTIR) spectroscopy (a subset of inorganic and organic mineralogy volume fractions Vm i is measured using DRIFTS (Diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy) technique on cuttings. In block 124, the rock physics model Cij=Fint(Vm i) is used to compute anisotropic elastic
properties from mineralogy volumes, para [0037]).
Regarding Claim 5, Prioul discloses the method according to claim 4, wherein determining the amount of the at least one constituent phase in the rock sample by the spectroscopic method comprises:
obtaining a spectroscopic measurement from the rock sample (the measurements of the subterranean rock formation surrounding the first wellbore includes spectroscopy log data, claim 4; one or more laboratory measurements on core samples from well A can be used... In block 210, subset of inorganic and organic mineralogy
weight fractions are measured using spectroscopy logs, para 0038; also see Fig. 2);and
determining the amount of the at least one constituent phase in the rock sample based on the spectroscopic measurement and a spectroscopic calibration model which defines a relationship between spectroscopic measurements and constituent phase amounts for rock samples (In block 214, using data from blocks 210 and 212, the rock physics transform Cij=Fint(Vm i) is built that uses the volume fractions of matrix minerals to compute several elastic moduli of an anisotropic VTI rock, in particular, C33 and C13... further detail is given below on how to build and calibrate the
model., para 0041; also see Fig. 2).
Regarding Claim 6, Prioul discloses the method according to claim 3, wherein the at least one constituent phase is a solid constituent phase such as a mineralogical phase or an organic phase(In block 212, a subset of the five TI anisotropic elastic moduli Cij are measured using sonic multipole logs' para [0040]; In block 214, using data from blocks 210 and 212, the rock physics transform Cij=Fint(Vm i) is built that uses the volume fractions of matrix minerals to compute several elastic moduli of an anisotropic VTI rock, in particular, C33 and C13... further detail is given below on how to build and calibrate the model., para 0041; also see Fig. 2).
Regarding Claim 9, Prioul discloses the method according to claim 1, wherein the rock sample is a cuttings sample (a subset of inorganic and organic mineralogy volume fractions Vm i is measured using DRIFTS (Diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy) technique on cuttings. In block 124, the rock physics model Cij=Fint(Vm i) is used to compute anisotropic elastic properties from mineralogy volumes, para [0037]).
Regarding Claim 10, Prioul discloses the method according to claim 1, wherein the amount of a constituent phase in the rock sample is a parameter indicative of a volume of the said constituent phase in the rock sample(In block 212, a subset of the five TI anisotropic elastic moduli Cij are measured using sonic multipole logs' para [0040]; In block 214, using data from blocks 210 and 212, the rock physics transform Cij=Fint(Vm i) is built that uses the volume fractions of matrix minerals to compute several elastic moduli of an anisotropic VTI rock, in particular, C33 and C13... further detail is given below on how to build and calibrate the model., para 0041; also see Fig. 2), such as a volume or a volume fraction of the said constituent phase in the rock sample(subset of inorganic and organic mineralogy volume fractions Vm i is measured using DRIFTS technique, para [0037]).
Regarding Claim 11, Prioul discloses the method according to claim 1, wherein the mechanical property of the rock sample is an elastic modulus such as a Young’s modulus, a shear modulus or a bulk modulus, or a dimensionless mechanical property ratio such as a Poisson’s ratio(calibrated models includes a rock physics model that relates mineralogy to elasticity, and wherein the determining of the one or more stress properties is based in part on applying the mineralogy data to the calibrated rock physics model to determine elasticity properties (such as elastic moduli), para [0007]).
Regarding Claim 16, Prioul discloses the method according to claim 1, wherein the steps of claim 1 is carried out by a computer(Such computer instructions can
be stored in a non-transitory computer readable medium (e.g., memory) and executed by the computer processor, para [0078]).
Regarding Claim 17, Prioul discloses, a computer program comprising instructions which, when the program is executed by a computer, cause the computer to carry out the steps of the method of claim 1 (Some of the methods and processes described above, as listed above, can be implemented as computer program logic for use with the computer processor, para [0078]).
Regarding Claim 18, Prioul discloses, a computer-readable medium storing the computer program according to claim 17 (Such computer instructions can
be stored in a non-transitory computer readable medium (e.g., memory) and executed by the computer processor, para [0078]).
Regarding Claim 19, Prioul discloses, a method comprising determining a value of an anisotropy parameter indicative of anisotropy in a rock sample based on a spectroscopic measurement obtained from the rock sample (a subset of inorganic and organic mineralogy volume fractions Vm i is measured using DRIFTS [Diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy] technique on cuttings. In
block 124, the rock physics model Cij=Fint(Vm i) is used to compute anisotropic elastic properties from mineralogy volumes, para [0037]).
Regarding Claim 20, Prioul discloses, the method according to claim 19, wherein the spectroscopic measurement is obtained by infra-red spectroscopy, for example Fourier Transform Infra-red (FTIR) spectroscopy (The subject disclosure relates to using mineralogy data measured from DRIFTS (Diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy), para 0005; subset of inorganic and organic mineralogy volume fractions Vm i is measured using DRIFTS technique, para [0037]).
Regarding Claim 21, Prioul discloses, the method according to claim 19, wherein determining (measuring) the value of the anisotropy parameter comprises:
obtaining a spectroscopic measurement from the rock sample (the measurements of the subterranean rock formation surrounding the first wellbore includes spectroscopy log data, claim 4; one or more laboratory measurements on core samples from well A
can be used... In block 210, subset of inorganic and organic mineralogy weight fractions are measured using spectroscopy logs, para [0038]; also see Fig. 2); and
determining the value of the anisotropy parameter based on the spectroscopic measurement and a spectroscopic calibration model which defines a relationship between spectroscopic measurements and the anisotropy parameter for rock samples (In block 214, using data from blocks 210 and 212, the rock physics transform Cij=Fint(Vm i) is built that uses the volume fractions of matrix minerals to compute several elastic moduli of an anisotropic VTI rock, in particular, C33 and C13... further detail is given below on how to build and calibrate the model., para 0041; also see Fig. 2).
Regarding Claim 22, Prioul discloses the method according to claim 21, wherein the anisotropy parameter is a mechanical anisotropy parameter indicative of mechanical anisotropy in the rock sample and the spectroscopic calibration model defines a relationship between spectroscopic measurements and mechanical anisotropy parameter measurements for rock samples (In block 214, using data from blocks 210 and 212, the rock physics transform Cij=Fint(Vm i) is built that uses the volume fractions of matrix minerals to compute several elastic moduli [mechanical parameter of an anisotropic VTI rock, in particular, C33 and C13... further detail is given below on how to build and calibrate the model., para 0041; also see Fig. 2).
Regarding Claim 24, Prioul discloses the method according to claim 19, wherein the rock sample is a cuttings sample (Claim 1, where determining mineralogy data by applying a mineralogy measurement process on cuttings gathered during a drilling process).
Regarding Claim 25, Prioul discloses a method comprising:
providing spectroscopic measurement data obtained from a plurality of reference rock samples (the measurements of the subterranean rock formation surrounding the first wellbore includes spectroscopy log data, claim 4; one or more laboratory measurements on core samples from well A can be used... In block 210, subset of inorganic and organic mineralogy weight fractions are measured using spectroscopy logs, para 0038; also see Fig. 2);
providing corresponding anisotropic parameter measurement data obtained from the same plurality of reference rock samples (In block 212, a subset of the five TI anisotropic elastic moduli Cij are measured using sonic multipole logs, such as from Schlumberger's Sonic Scanner and bulk density log(s), para [0040]; also see Fig. 2); and
fitting a spectroscopic calibration model to the spectroscopic measurement data and the corresponding anisotropic parameter measurement data, wherein the spectroscopic calibration model defines a relationship between the spectroscopic measurement data and the corresponding anisotropic parameter measurement data for the plurality of reference rock samples (In block 214, using data from blocks 210 and 212, the rock physics transform Cij=Fint(Vm i) is built that uses the volume fractions of matrix minerals to compute several elastic moduli of an anisotropic VTI rock, in particular, C33C33 and C13... further detail is given below on how to build and calibrate the
model., para [0041]; also see Fig. 2).
Regarding Claim 26, Prioul discloses the method according to claim 25, wherein the spectroscopic measurement data is infra-red spectroscopic measurement data, for example Fourier Transform Infra-red (FTIR) spectroscopic measurement data (The subject disclosure relates to using mineralogy data measured from DRIFTS (Diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy), para [0005]; subset of inorganic and organic mineralogy volume fractions Vm i is measured using DRIFTS technique, para [0037]).
Regarding Claim 27, Prioul discloses the method according to claim 25, wherein the anisotropic parameter measurement data is mechanical anisotropic parameter measurement data, for example mechanical indentation-based anisotropic parameter measurement data (a subset of the five TI anisotropic elastic moduli Cij are measured, para [0040]).
Regarding Claim 29, Prioul discloses the method according to claim 25, wherein the method is carried out by a computer(Such computer instructions can be stored in a non-transitory computer readable medium (e.g., memory) and executed by the computer processor, para [0078]).
Regarding Claim 30, Prioul discloses a computer program comprising instructions which, when the program is executed by a computer, cause the computer to carry out the steps of the method of claim 25(Such computer instructions can be stored in a non-transitory computer readable medium (e.g., memory) and executed by the computer processor, para [0078]).
Regarding Claim 31, Prioul discloses a data set comprising the spectroscopic measurement data and/or the anisotropic parameter measurement data of claim 25 and/or spectroscopic calibration model parameter data on which the spectroscopic calibration model of claim is parametrized (Claim 4, where the first wellbore includes spectroscopy log data and multipole sonic log data from the first wellbore, and wherein the calibrating of the rock physics model).
Regarding Claim 32, Prioul discloses a computer-readable medium storing the computer program according to claim 30 (Such computer instructions can be stored in a non-transitory computer readable medium (e.g., memory) and executed by the computer processor, para [0078]).
Claim 33 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by
KUILA et al. “Total porosity measurement in gas shales by the water immersion porosimetery (WIP) method.”, hereinafter Kuila.
Regarding Claim 33, Kuila discloses a method of determining a parameter indicative of a porosity of a rock sample by immersion porosimetry (Total porosity measurement in gas shales by the water immersion porosimetry (WIP) method, Title), the method comprising:
measuring a mass of the rock sample when the rock sample is saturated by and submerged in a liquid, thereby obtaining the saturated, submerged mass of the rock sample (the submerged weight of saturated sample in DI [deionized] water (SatWt_Sub) were measured, page 1119, section 3.3; also see Fig. 5);
measuring a mass of the rock sample in air when the rock sample is saturated by a liquid, thereby obtaining the saturated mass of the rock sample in air (The water saturated sample weight in air (SatWt_Air)... were measured, page 1119, section 3.3; also see Fig. 5);
measuring a mass of the rock sample in air when the rock sample is dry, thereby obtaining the dry mass of the rock sample in air (The dry weight of the sample (DryWt_Air) was measured, page 1119,119, section 3.3; also see Fig. 5); and
calculating the parameter indicative of the porosity of the rock sample based on the saturated, submerged mass of the rock sample, the saturated mass of the rock sample in air, the dry mass of the rock sample in air and the density of the liquid (The water-saturated bulk density (rho_B) of the sample is calculated using Eq.(2): [rho_B depends on SatWt_Air, SatWt_Sub, and density of water]...The anhydrous grain density (Rho_C) is determined from [equation 4, rho_C depends on DryWt_Air, SatWt_Sub and density of water]... The porosity (phi_WIP) of any sample measured by WIP is determined by the relationship: [phi_WIP depends on rho B and rho_C, which depend on
SatWt_Air, SatWt_Sub and DryWt_Air], page 1119, section 3.3).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claim 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Prioul in view of KUILA et al. “Total porosity measurement in gas shales by the water immersion porosimetery (WIP) method.”, hereinafter Kuila.
Regarding Claim 7, Prioul discloses the method according to claim 3, wherein determining the respective amount of each of the two or more constituent phases in the rock sample (the measurements of the subterranean rock formation surrounding the first wellbore includes spectroscopy log data, claim 4; one or more laboratory measurements on core samples from well A can be used... In block 210, subset of inorganic and organic mineralogy weight fractions are measured using spectroscopy logs, para 0038; also see Fig. 2) comprises:
Prioul does not disclose:
determining a parameter indicative of the porosity of the rock sample, for example by a water immersion porosimetry (WIP) method; and
determining the amount of at least one liquid phase in the rock sample based on the parameter indicative of the porosity of the rock sample.
Kuila discloses determining a parameter indicative of the porosity of the rock sample, for example by a water immersion porosimetry (WIP) method (Total porosity measurement in gas shales by the water immersion porosimetry (WIP) method, Title); and
determining the amount of at least one liquid phase in the rock sample (the submerged weight of saturated sample in DI [deionized] water (SatWt_Sub) were measured, page 1119, section 3.3; also see Fig. 5) based on the parameter indicative of the porosity of the rock sample (The porosity (фwir) of any sample measured by WIP is determined by the relationship:
The porosity measured by WIP is the total water accessible porosity, including water adsorbed on clay surfaces, which includes the interlayer space in the expandable clay minerals and external surfaces of crystallites in non-expandable clay species (i.e. clay-bound water), see page 1119, section 3.3).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to modify Prioul with the disclosing of Kuila for the purpose of using a water immersion porosimetry in order to provide a safe, simple, low-cost, and non-destructive method for measuring a material's total porosity.
Claim 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Prioul, as applied above and further in view of Wood (US Pub. 20090103677), [hereinafter Wood].
Regarding Claim 8, Prioul discloses the method according to claim 7, but does not disclose wherein the at least one liquid phase is a hydrocarbon phase or an aqueous phase such as water.
Wood discloses the at least one liquid phase is a hydrocarbon phase or an aqueous phase such as water(para [0007], where carbonate rock texture produces spatial variations in permeability and capillary bound water volumes); (para [0015], where NMR logging tools use large magnets to strongly polarize hydrogen nuclei in water and hydrocarbons).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to modify Prioul with the disclosing of Wood for the purpose of using liquid phase is a hydrocarbon phase or an aqueous phase such as water to provide more efficient extraction process.
Claim 12-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Prioul, as applied above and further in view of Shi (CN103257081A), [hereinafter Shi].
Regarding Claim 12, Prioul discloses the method according to claim 1 further Prioul does not disclose comprising taking into account an anisotropy factor associated with the rock sample when determining the mechanical property.
Shi discloses comprising taking into account an anisotropy factor associated with the rock sample when determining the mechanical property (para [0175], where mineral rock mechanical properties, composition and orientation arrangement of mineral is affecting one factor strength of rock anisotropy; para [0177], where the various rock mechanical properties as a function of fluid saturation amplitude and rock mineral components, structure, cementing and pore fracture density comparison, comparison result display, different lithology anisotropic strength and porosity fracture density has a certain correlation,…, condition with small Young modulus change amplitude of possibly
a large Poisson's ratio and Biot change amplitude. anisotropic and incomplete corresponding pore fracture density, indicates differences in different directions pore fracture density is not the only factor anisotropy).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to modify Prioul with the disclosing of Shi for the purpose of using anisotropy factor associated with the rock sample to improves hydraulic fracturing design.
Regarding Claim 13, Prioul discloses the method according to claim 12, but Prioul does not disclose further comprising determining the anisotropy factor associated with the rock sample.
Shi do not explicitly discloses determining the anisotropy factor associated with the rock sample, but Shi discloses how the orientation arrangement of mineral is affecting one factor strength of rock anisotropy (see para [00175]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to modify Prioul with the disclosing of Shi for the purpose of determining anisotropy factor associated with the rock sample to improves hydraulic fracturing design.
Regarding Claim 14, Prioul and Shi disclose the method according to claim 13, but Prioul does not disclose wherein the anisotropy factor is a mechanical anisotropy factor.
Shi discloses the anisotropy factor is a mechanical anisotropy factor (para [0175], where mineral rock mechanical properties, composition and orientation arrangement of mineral is affecting one factor strength of rock anisotropy).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to modify Prioul with the disclosing of Shi for the purpose of using mechanical anisotropy factor in order to improves hydraulic fracturing design.
Claim 15 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Prioul, in view of SHI (CN103257081A), [hereinafter Shi], as applied above and further in view of
Jelinek , V ., “Characterization of the magnetic fabric of rocks”, hereinafter Jelinek.
Regarding Claim 15, Prioul and Shi disclose the method according to claim 13, but do not disclose wherein the anisotropy factor is a magnetic anisotropy factor.
Jelinek disclose the anisotropy factor is a magnetic anisotropy factor (Abstract, where system of magnetic susceptibility anisotropy factors which is sufficient in the majority of practical applications for characterizing the magnetic fabric of rocks).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to modify combination of Prioul and Shi with the disclosing of Jelinek for the purpose of using a magnetic anisotropy factor in order to provide a fast, cost-effective, and sensitive method for revealing and quantifying the rock's internal fabric.
Claims 23 and 28 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Prioul, as applied above and further in view of Ameen et al.(US Pat.7126340B1), hereinafter Ameen.
Regarding Claim 23, Prioul discloses the method according to claim 21, wherein
the spectroscopic calibration model defines a relationship between spectroscopic measurements and magnetic anisotropy parameter measurements for rock samples (In block 214, using data from blocks 210 and 212, the rock physics transform Cij=Fint(Vm i) is built that uses the volume fractions of matrix minerals to compute several elastic moduli of an anisotropic VTI rock, in particular, C33 and C13... further detail is given below on how to build and calibrate the model., раrа [0041]; also see Fig. 2).
Prioul does not disclose the anisotropy parameter is a magnetic anisotropy parameter indicative of magnetic anisotropy in the rock sample.
Ameen is in the field of characterizing microfractures in rock samples (Abstract) and discloses the anisotropy parameter is a magnetic anisotropy parameter indicative of magnetic anisotropy in the rock sample (the mean microfracture orientation and its direction can be determined from AMS [anisotropyotropy of magnetic susceptibility ] measurements on samples, col 6, lines 38-40).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to modify Prioul with the disclosing of Ameen for the purpose of using the magnetic anisotropy parameters to provide a rapid and precise measurement of the statistical
three-dimensional orientation of the grains in the oriented rock samples (see Ameen, col 7, lines 25-30).
Regarding Claim 28, Prioul discloses the method according to claim 25, but does not disclose wherein the anisotropic parameter measurement data is magnetic anisotropic parameter measurement data, for example anhysteric magnetic susceptibility-based magnetic anisotropic parameter measurement data.
Ameen disclose the anisotropic parameter measurement data is magnetic anisotropic parameter measurement data, for example anhysteric magnetic susceptibility-based magnetic anisotropic parameter measurement data (the mean microfracture orientation and its direction can be determined from AMS [anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility] measurements on samples, col 6, lines 38-40).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to modify Prioul with the disclosing of Ameen for the purpose of using the magnetic anisotropy parameters to provide a rapid and precise measurement of the statistical
three-dimensional orientation of the grains in the oriented rock samples (see Ameen, col 7, lines 25-30).
Conclusion
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/KALERIA KNOX/
Examiner, Art Unit 2857
/MICHAEL J DALBO/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2857
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