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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 09 April 2026 has been entered.
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(s) 1-17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Li et al. (Chinese Patent Document CN111306378; hereinafter referred to as Li), and further in view of Hall et al. (U.S. Patent Application Publication Number 2017/0234837; hereinafter referred to as Hall).
With respect to claim 1, Li discloses and illustrates a structure suitable for use with a pipeline having a plurality of pipe sections (see Figures 1, 3, and 9), the structure shaped and dimensioned to couple at least two pipe sections (see Figures 1, 3, and 9), the structure comprising: a housing (upper half body 11 and lower half body 12) shaped and dimensioned to carry at least one device (integrated sensor 16) capable of receiving at least one detection signal associated with the pipeline (the sensor receives pressure or temperature signals), the detection signal being communicable within at least a portion of the pipeline (communication to at least wireless transmitter 17). Li fails to disclose the detection signal comprising an acoustic emission signal and being communicable within at least a portion of the pipeline, wherein the acoustic emission signal comprises a transient stress wave generated by a release of energy within the pipeline and propagating through the pipeline to the device, wherein the detection signal is capable of being received by an analyzer for analysis to determine at least one defect associable with the structural characteristic of the pipeline. However, Hall discloses an acoustic emission sensor (see at least paragraph [0018] of Hall) for detecting a stress wave, the stress wave that is caused due to a buckling of the structure under test (see at least paragraph [0069] of Hall), the energy released from said buckling of the structure (see at least paragraph [0066] of Hall), wherein the detection signal is capable of being received by an analyzer for analysis to determine at least one defect associable with the structural characteristic of the pipeline (see at least paragraph [0171] of Hall). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one skilled in the art at the time the invention was filed to utilize the acoustic sensor arrangement of Hall for the sensor arrangement in Li. One motivation to use the sensor arrangement from Hall with the system in Li is that the acoustic sensor arrangement is that in all cases, an advantage of the snap-through buckling actuator is that it can use a completely dry-contact point source on the inspection surface. This avoids the need to use a couplant gel or the like, although such a couplant could be used if desired (see at least paragraph [0077] of Hall).
With respect to claim 2, the structure according to claim 1, wherein the structure corresponds to a clamping structure capable of clamping at least two pipe sections such that the structure and the at least two pipe sections form an integral unit so that the device is securely installed on the pipeline without disrupting a pipeline passageway (see at least figure 3 of Li).
With respect to claim 3, the structure according to claim 1, wherein the housing is shaped and dimensioned in a manner so that at least one opening is defined (through hole 112 of Li), and wherein the device (sensor 16 of Li) is carried within the housing and the detection signal is receivable by the device via the opening wire in through hole (112 of Li).
With respect to claim 4, the structure according to claim 3, wherein the opening is shaped and dimensioned in a manner so as to accommodate an “O” ring (rubber ring 15) for impeding water seepage and leakage in respect of the device (see Figures 4 and 6 of Li).
With respect to claim 7, an inspection method for inspecting a pipeline, the pipeline including a plurality of pipe sections, the inspection method comprising: providing a structure capable of carrying at least one device configurable to receive at least one detection signal associable with the pipeline (see Figures 1-4 of Li), the detection signal being communicable within at least a portion of the pipeline (communicable to wireless transmitter 17 of Li); coupling at least two pipe sections using the structure so that a passageway is formed through the pipeline (see upper half body 11 and lower half body 12 of Li that hold a pipe therebetween). Li fails to disclose the detection signal comprising an acoustic emission signal and being communicable within at least a portion of the pipeline, wherein the acoustic emission signal comprises a transient stress wave generated by a release of energy within the pipeline and propagating through the pipeline to the device, wherein the detection signal is capable of being received by an analyzer for analysis to determine at least one defect associable with the structural characteristic of the pipeline. However, Hall discloses an acoustic emission sensor (see at least paragraph [0018] of Hall) for detecting a stress wave, the stress wave that is caused due to a buckling of the structure under test (see at least paragraph [0069] of Hall), the energy released from said buckling of the structure (see at least paragraph [0066] of Hall), wherein the detection signal is capable of being received by an analyzer for analysis to determine at least one defect associable with the structural characteristic of the pipeline (see at least paragraph [0171] of Hall). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one skilled in the art at the time the invention was filed to utilize the acoustic sensor arrangement of Hall for the sensor arrangement in Li. One motivation to use the sensor arrangement from Hall with the system in Li is that the acoustic sensor arrangement is that in all cases, an advantage of the snap-through buckling actuator is that it can use a completely dry-contact point source on the inspection surface. This avoids the need to use a couplant gel or the like, although such a couplant could be used if desired (see at least paragraph [0077] of Hall).
With respect to claim 8, Li discloses and illustrates a structure suitable for use with a pipeline comprising a pair of pipe sections (see Figures 1, 3, and 9), the structure comprising: an inner surface of a shape and dimension to conform to outer surfaces of the pair of pipe sections (upper half body 11 and lower half body 12; see Figure 3); and a housing disposed on an outer portion of the structure, the housing shaped and dimensioned to carry a first inspection device (integrated sensor 16; the sensor receives pressure or temperature signals), and configured to allow the first inspection device to receive a detection signal associated with the pipeline (communication to at least wireless transmitter 17 from sensor 16). Li fails to disclose the detection signal comprising an acoustic emission signal and being communicable within at least a portion of the pipeline, wherein the acoustic emission signal comprises a transient stress wave generated by a release of energy within the pipeline and propagating through the pipeline to the device, wherein the detection signal is capable of being received by an analyzer for analysis to determine at least one defect associable with the structural characteristic of the pipeline. However, Hall discloses an acoustic emission sensor (see at least paragraph [0018] of Hall) for detecting a stress wave, the stress wave that is caused due to a buckling of the structure under test (see at least paragraph [0069] of Hall), the energy released from said buckling of the structure (see at least paragraph [0066] of Hall), wherein the detection signal is capable of being received by an analyzer for analysis to determine at least one defect associable with the structural characteristic of the pipeline (see at least paragraph [0171] of Hall). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one skilled in the art at the time the invention was filed to utilize the acoustic sensor arrangement of Hall for the sensor arrangement in Li. One motivation to use the sensor arrangement from Hall with the system in Li is that the acoustic sensor arrangement is that in all cases, an advantage of the snap-through buckling actuator is that it can use a completely dry-contact point source on the inspection surface. This avoids the need to use a couplant gel or the like, although such a couplant could be used if desired (see at least paragraph [0077] of Hall).
With respect to claim 9, the structure according to claim 8, further wherein the structure is configured to clamp the pair of pipe sections such that, upon clamping, the structure and the pair of pipe sections form an integral unit without disrupting the pipeline passageway (see at least figure 3 of Li).
With respect to claim 10, the structure of claim 8, further comprising an opening in the inner surface of the structure (through hole 112 of Li), wherein when the first inspection device is disposed within the housing, the detection signal is receivable by the first inspection device from within the pipeline via the opening (see at least Figure 4 and 6 of Li as the wire in the through hole enables the signal to get to the transmitter 17).
With respect to claim 11, the structure of claim 10, further wherein an “O” ring is disposed within the opening (rubber ring 15, see Figures 4 and 6 of Li).
With respect to claims 5, 6, 12, and 13, neither reference explicitly discloses the use of more than one sensing device on the ring arrangement. However, Hall does disclose the use of more than one sensing device (see Figure 23 of Hall, 622 and 624) It would have been obvious to one skilled in the art at the time the invention was filed to provide more than one sensor in order to obtain a more complete picture of the pipe as a single sensor might not be able to detect situations around a circumference of the pipe. With a similar thought process, one of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to place multiple sensors around the entire perimeter of the pipe in order to obtain a complete picture of the pipe at one time, thus orthogonal placement of the sensors would be advantageous to get a more complete measurement in a single pass or operation of the sensor.
With respect to claim 14, neither reference explicitly discloses the use of a layer of polytetrafluoroethylene seal tape. However, it would have been obvious to one skilled in the art at the time the invention was filed to use polytetrafluoroethylene seal tape since the device is used for pipes that are fitted together, and to provide a means to ensure the pipe is fitted together well and not prone to leaks at the seams. Thus, the use of polytetrafluoroethylene seal tape would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to help seal the seams and prevent pipe damage from lakes at the seams or where pipe sections are screwed together or attached.
With respect to claims 15 and 16, neither reference explicitly discloses a heat insulation or an explosion proof material. However, it would have been obvious to one skilled in the art at the time the invention was filed to utilize various materials would ensure that the housing and structure are able to withstand the environment for which they are being used and therefore the use of heat insulation (claim 15) and an explosion proof material (claim 16) would be obvious choices in the device is used in a high heat, high pressure environment to ensure the device can operate as intended.
With respect to claim 17, none of the references explicitly discloses a cable gland and a conduit for positioning cables. However, it would have been obvious to one skilled in the art at the time the invention was filed to utilize a cable gland since the device is used on pipes, which are often underground. One of ordinary skill in the art would want to use a means to position and guide cables if attached to the device to ensure the device is able to operate as intended and get signals from the device to any other equipment as needed.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1-17 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on the combination of references applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to RODNEY T FRANK whose telephone number is (571)272-2193. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9am-5:30pm.
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/RODNEY T FRANK/Examiner, Art Unit 2855
April 30, 2026
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