DETAILED ACTION
In response to remarks filed on 18 December 2025
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 18 December 2025 has been entered.
Status of Claims
Claims 1-25 are pending;
Claims 1 and 19 are currently amended;
Claims 2-18 and 20-25 were previously presented;
Claims 1-25 are rejected herein.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments filed on 18 December 2025 have been fully considered and they are moot since a new reference is being used to reject the claims in view of the new limitations presented by applicant.
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.
Claims 1, 2, 4, 5, 8-10, 12, 14 and 18-25 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bentley et al (U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2017/0194781) alone.
As to Claim 1, Bentley discloses an apparatus for securing to an outer surface of a segment of flexible body, comprising:
An outer clamp portion (82) locatable around a region of flexible body (12) and comprising a plurality of outer body members (Each element 82) that each include an inner surface (Annotated figure A, “inner surface of outer portion”); and
An inner clamp portion (84), locatable in an abutting relationship between the outer clamp portion (82) and said flexible body (12), comprising a plurality of inner body members (Each element 84) that each comprise an outer surface (Annotated figure A, “outer surface of inner portion”) that comprises a mating region (Annotated figure A, “mating region”) that corresponds to a like shape (Figures 3 and 5) of a corresponding mating region of the inner surface (Annotated figure A, “inner surface of outer portion”) of the outer clamp portion;
Wherein each mating region (Annotated figure A, “mating region”) comprises at least two clamping surface regions (Annotated figure A, “non-parallel clamping surfaces”) that in non-parallel imaginary planes extend through and includes a primary axis of the flexible body, and are locatable oblique to the primary axis when the inner clamp portion (84) is between the outer clamp portion (82) and the flexible body (22).
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Figure A. Clamp device (Bentley)
Although Bentley does not disclose that the flexible body is a flexible pipe body. One of ordinary skill in the art would recognize that the apparatus disclosed by Bentley would work equally well with flexible pipe bodies. Therefore, before the effective filing date of the invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to also use the apparatus of Bentley to clamp flexible pipe bodies since such modification would have yielded the predictable result of clamping a flexible body.
As to Claim 2, Bentley discloses the invention of Claim 1 (Refer to Claim 1 discussion). Bentley also discloses further comprising each clamping surface region (Annotated figure A, “non-parallel clamping surfaces”) comprises at least a portion of a lateral surface of a truncated right circular cone (Figure 5).
As to Claim 4, Bentley discloses the invention of Claim 1 (Refer to Claim 1 discussion). Bentley also discloses further comprising each inner body member (84) comprises a ring shaped element (Figures 3 and 5) comprising, in cross section, an inside surface that is flat or gently arcuate for abutting against an outer surface of the flexible pipe body (12) and providing a cylindrical or generally cylindrical abutment surface.
As to Claim 5, Bentley discloses the invention of Claim 1 (Refer to Claim 1 discussion). Bentley also discloses further comprising each inner body member (84) comprises a ring shaped element (Figures 3 and 5) comprising, in cross section, an outside surface that is inclined and constantly flares outwards from a first edge of the ring shaped element to a remaining edge of the ring shaped element (Figure 5).
As to Claim 8, Bentley discloses the invention of Claim 4 (Refer to Claim 4 discussion). Bentley also discloses further comprising each ring shaped element (Figures 3 and 5) comprises a plurality of arcuate ring portions (Figures 3 and 5) locatable end-to-end in a circle (Figures 3 and 5) and the combined outer surface of each ring portion provides said an outer surface (Figures 3 and 5).
As to Claim 9, Bentley discloses the invention of Claim 1 (Refer to Claim 1 discussion). Bentley also discloses further comprising each inner body member (84) comprises a finger shaped element (Figures 3 and 5) aligned substantially parallel to the primary axis of the flexible pipe (12) comprising, in cross section, an inside surface that is flat or gently arcuate (Figure 5) for abutting against an outer surface of the flexible pipe body (12).
As to Claim 10, Bentley discloses the invention of Claim 9 (Refer to Claim 9 discussion). Bentley also discloses further comprising each inner body member (84) comprises a finger shaped element (Figures 3 and 5) comprising, in cross section, an outside surface that is inclined and constantly flares outwards from a first end of the finger shaped element to a remaining end of the finger shaped element (Figure 5).
As to Claim 12, Bentley discloses the invention of Claim 1 (Refer to Claim 1 discussion). Bentley also discloses further comprising: at least one securing element (Figure 2) for securing a first outer body member (Top 82) to a further outer body member (Bottom 82) and, as the first and further outer body members are secured together, squeezing the inner clamp portion (84) between the outer clamp portion and the flexible pipe body (12).
As to Claim 14, Bentley discloses the invention of Claim 1 (Refer to Claim 1 discussion). Bentley also discloses further comprising each inner body member (84) comprises a ring shaped element (Figure 5) comprising, in cross section, an inside surface that is inclined and constantly flares outwards from a first edge of the ring shaped element to a remaining edge of the ring shaped element (Figure 5).
As to Claim 18, Bentley discloses a stopper clamp (Figure 1), swivel clamp or tether clamp comprising the apparatus as claimed in claim 1 (Refer to Claim 1 discussion).
As to Claim 19, Bentley discloses a method of securing to an outer surface of a segment of flexible pipe body at a desired longitudinal position along the flexible pipe body, the method comprising the steps of:
Providing an inner clamp portion (84), comprising a plurality of inner body members (Each element 84), in an abutting relationship with a cylindrical surface of a segment of flexible body (12);
Providing an outer clamp portion (82), comprising a plurality of outer body members (Each element 82), around the inner clamp portion (84); and
As the outer body members (Each element 82) are provided around the inner clamp portion (84) urging two clamping surface regions (Annotated figure A, “non-parallel clamping surfaces”) that in non-parallel imaginary planes extend through and include a primary axis of the flexible body (12), and are locatable oblique to the primary axis of the flexible body (12) into an abutting mating relationship (Figures 1 and 2), the shape of the clamping surface region (Annotated figure A, “non-parallel clamping surfaces”) of the inner body member corresponding to a like shape (Figures 3 and 5) of the clamping surface (Annotated figure A, “non-parallel clamping surfaces”) of the outer body member.
Although Bentley does not disclose that the flexible body is a flexible pipe body. One of ordinary skill in the art would recognize that the apparatus disclosed by Bentley would work equally well with flexible pipe bodies. Therefore, before the effective filing date of the invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to also use the apparatus of Bentley to clamp flexible pipe bodies since such modification would have yielded the predictable result of clamping a flexible body.
As to Claim 20, Bentley discloses the invention of Claim 19 (Refer to Claim 19 discussion). Bentley also discloses further comprising as the outer clamp portion (82) is urged in an axial direction away from a desired longitudinal position on the flexible pipe body (12), inhibiting axial motion via opposed clamping surface regions that are driven together via the urging force (Figure 2) thereby transferring axial force into radially inwards compressive force to effectively clamp the inner (84) and outer clamp portions (84) at said desired position (Figure 1).
As to Claim 21, Bentley discloses the invention of Claim 19 (Refer to Claim 19 discussion). Bentley also discloses further comprising providing the inner body members (84) by locating a plurality of ring shaped elements (Figures 3 and 5) around the flexible pipe body (12) in a coaxial spaced apart relationship (Figure 3).
As to Claim 22, Bentley discloses the invention of Claim 19 (Refer to Claim 19 discussion). Bentley also discloses further comprising providing the inner body members (84) by locating a plurality of finger shaped elements (Figures 3 and 5) side-by-side circumferentially around the flexible pipe body (12).
As to Claim 23, Bentley discloses the invention of Claim 19 (Refer to Claim 19 discussion). Bentley also discloses further comprising subsequent to the outer clamp portion (18) being secured around the inner clamp portion (84) at a desired longitudinal position, urging opposed inclined surfaces of opposed clamping surface regions (Annotated figure A, “non-parallel clamping surfaces”) of the inner (84) and outer body (82) members to ride along each other thereby urging at least one of the inner body members (84) against an outer sheath of the flexible pipe (12) body (Figure 1).
As to Claim 24, Bentley discloses the invention of Claim 23 (Refer to Claim 23 discussion). Bentley also discloses further comprising simultaneously urging a plurality of opposed clamping surface regions (Annotated figure A, “non-parallel clamping surfaces”) together along an axial extent of the inner (84) and outer clamp (82) portions thereby spreading out a radially inwards exerted clamping force caused by axial force being applied to the outer clam portion.
As to Claim 25, Bentley discloses the invention of Claim 19 (Refer to Claim 19 discussion). Bentley also discloses further comprising applying a preload pressure to the inner and outer clamp portions by securing (Figure 2) a first outer body member (Top 82) to a further outer body member (Bottom 82) around a segment of flexible pipe body (12) thereby securing the inner and outer clamp portions at a desired longitudinal position.
Claims 3, 6, 7, 11, 15 and 16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bentley et al (U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2017/0194781) in view of Reynolds (U.S. Patent No. 5,437,311).
As to Claim 3, Bentley discloses the invention of Claim 1 (Refer to Claim 1 discussion). However, Bentley is silent about each clamping surface region comprises at least one flattened V-shaped surface. Reynolds discloses clamping surface regions (16, 17) comprising at least one flattened V-shaped surface. Before the effective filing date of the invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to make each clamping surface region comprises at least one flattened V-shaped surface since a change in the shape of a prior art device is a design consideration within the skill of the art.
As to Claim 6, Bentley discloses the invention of Claim 1 (Refer to Claim 1 discussion). However, Bentley is silent about further comprising each inner body member comprises a ring shaped element comprising, in cross section, an outside surface that is V-shaped having a thinner thickness at respective edges of the ring shaped element and a greatest thickness at a central region of the ring shaped element. Reynolds discloses an inner body member (20) comprising a ring shaped element (Each triangle) comprising, in cross section, an outside surface that is V-shaped having a thinner thickness (Left 17, Right 17 of one of the triangles) at respective edges of the ring shaped element and a greatest thickness (Central 16 of the triangle) at a central region of the ring shaped element. Before the effective filing date of the invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to make each inner body member comprise a ring shaped element comprising, in cross section, an outside surface that is V-shaped having a thinner thickness at respective edges of the ring shaped element and a greatest thickness at a central region of the ring shaped element since a change in the shape of a prior art device is a design consideration within the skill of the art.
As to Claim 7, Bentley discloses the invention of Claim 1 (Refer to Claim 1 discussion). However, Bentley is silent about further comprising each inner body member comprises a ring shaped element comprising, in cross section, an outside surface comprising a plurality of flattened V-shaped surfaces. Reynolds discloses an inner body member (20) comprises a ring shaped element comprising, in cross section, an outside surface comprising a plurality of flattened V-shaped surfaces (16, 17). Before the effective filing date of the invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to make each inner body member comprise a ring shaped element comprising, in cross section, an outside surface comprising a plurality of flattened V-shaped surfaces since a change in the shape of a prior art device is a design consideration within the skill of the art.
As to Claim 11, Bentley discloses the invention of Claim 9 (Refer to Claim 9 discussion). However, Bentley is silent about further comprising each inner body member comprises a finger shaped element comprising, in cross section, an outside surface that is V-shaped having a thinner thickness at respective ends of the finger shaped element and a greatest thickness at a central region of the finger shaped element or that comprises an undulating-shaped surface. Reynolds discloses each inner body member (20) comprises a finger shaped element comprising, in cross section, an outside surface that is V-shaped (16, 17) having a thinner thickness at respective ends (Left 17, Right 17 of one of the triangles) of the finger shaped element and a greatest thickness at a central region (Central 16 of the triangle) of the finger shaped element or that comprises an undulating-shaped surface. Before the effective filing date of the invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to make each inner body member comprise a finger shaped element comprising, in cross section, an outside surface that is V-shaped having a thinner thickness at respective ends of the finger shaped element and a greatest thickness at a central region of the finger shaped element or that comprises an undulating-shaped surface since a change in the shape of a prior art device is a design consideration within the skill of the art.
As to Claim 15, Bentley discloses the invention of Claim 1 (Refer to Claim 1 discussion). However, Bentley is silent about further comprising each inner body member comprises a ring shaped element comprising, in cross section, an inside surface that is V-shaped having a thinner thickness at respective edges of the ring shaped element and a greatest thickness at a central region of the ring shaped element. Reynolds discloses each inner body member (20) comprises a ring shaped element comprising, in cross section, an inside surface that is V-shaped (16, 17) having a thinner thickness at respective edges (Left 17, Right 17 of one of the triangles) of the ring shaped element and a greatest thickness at a central region (Central 16 of the triangle) of the ring shaped element. Before the effective filing date of the invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to make each inner body member comprise a ring shaped element comprising, in cross section, an inside surface that is V-shaped having a thinner thickness at respective edges of the ring shaped element and a greatest thickness at a central region of the ring shaped element since a change in the shape of a prior art device is a design consideration within the skill of the art.
As to Claim 16, Bentley discloses the invention of Claim 1 (Refer to Claim 1 discussion). However, Bentley is silent about further comprising each inner body member comprises a ring shaped element comprising, in cross section, an inside surface comprising a plurality of flattened V-shaped surfaces. Reynolds discloses each inner body member (20) comprise a ring shaped element comprising, in cross section, an inside surface comprising a plurality of flattened V-shaped surfaces (16, 17). Before the effective filing date of the invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to make each inner body member comprises a ring shaped element comprising, in cross section, an inside surface comprising a plurality of flattened V-shaped surfaces since a change in the shape of a prior art device is a design consideration within the skill of the art.
Claims 13 and 17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bentley et al (U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2017/0194781) in view of Harrop et al (U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2018/0252334).
As to Claim 13, Bentley discloses the invention of Claim 12 (Refer to Claim 12 discussion). However, Bentley is silent about at least one still further outer body member, disposed circumferentially between the first and further outer body members, each pivotally connected to two adjacent outer body members. Harrop discloses further comprising at least one still further outer body member (82), disposed circumferentially between the first and further outer body members (Figure 5), each pivotally connected to two adjacent outer body members (Figure 5). Before the effective filing date of the invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to provide at least one still further outer body member, disposed circumferentially between the first and further outer body members, each pivotally connected to two adjacent outer body members. The motivation would have been to provide more articulations in the outer clamp member.
As to Claim 17, Bentley discloses a module comprising the apparatus as claimed in Claim 1 (Refer to Claim 1 discussion). However, Bentley is silent about further comprising at least one buoyancy element secured to the outer clamp portion, or comprising the outer clamp portion. Harrop discloses further comprising at least one buoyancy element (74) secured to the outer clamp portion, or comprising the outer clamp portion. Before the effective filing date of the invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to provide at least one buoyancy element secured to the outer clamp portion, or comprising the outer clamp portion. The motivation would have been to taut the flexible body.
Conclusion
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/EDWIN J TOLEDO-DURAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3678