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 .
Election/Restrictions
Claim 19 and 20 withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected species, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election of Species II, corresponding to instant Fig. 3, was made without traverse in the reply filed on 04 December 2025.
Claim Objections
Claims 1-14 are objected to because of the following informalities: Claim 1 recites: “at least one upper seal” and then subsequently recites: “wherein at least one upper seal” The subsequent recitation should recite: “wherein the at least one upper seal.” Appropriate correction is required. Claims 2-14 are similarly objected to due to their dependency.
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) 1-3, 8-10 and 14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by U.S. 2,817,230 to McCully. McCully discloses a system (see entire reference) including a sealing sleeve (12) having a hollow-cylindrical shape and configured to extend axially across a tubing union (24) from a lower tubing to a upper tubing (as recited in instant dependent claims 2 and 3) disposable about the tubing union (24) joining a lower tubing and an upper tubing; at least one lower seal (28, 29) disposable proximate a lower end of the tubing union between the sealing sleeve and the lower tubing; a least one upper seal (28, 29) disposable proximate an upper end of the tubing union between the sealing sleeve and the upper tubing, and wherein the at least one upper seal, the at least one lower seal, and the sealing sleeve form a pressure test cavity about the tubing union; and a fluid path (30, 31) that extends through the sealing sleeve (as recited in instant dependent claim 14) and configured to provide fluid communication between the pressure test cavity and a pressure test port (32); and a support housing (10, 11) disposable about the sealing sleeve, wherein the support housing is configured to restrain outward expansion of the sealing sleeve in response to pressure increasing within the pressure test cavity (as recited in instant independent claim 1); wherein the support housing includes a base portion (10) and a lid portion (11) each having a half hollow cylindrical shape, and wherein the base portion and the lid portion are configured to clamp about the tubing union in a locked position via a locking/fastening elements/mechanism (18, 19, 20, 21) (as recited in instant dependent claims 8 and 9); and further including at least one seal support (22, 23, 26, 27) disposable approximate the upper seal, the lower seal, or some combination thereof, wherein the at least one seal support is configured to restrain axially outward expansion of the upper seal, the lower seal or some combination thereof in response to pressure increasing within the pressure test cavity (as recited in instant dependent claim 10).
Claim(s) 1-3, 8-10 and 14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by U.S. 3,371,521 to Hauk. Hauk discloses a system (see entire reference, in particular Fig. 3), including a sealing sleeve (48) having a hollow-cylindrical shape and configured to extend axially across a tubing union (10, 11, 12) from the lower tubing to the upper tubing (as recited in instant dependent claims 2 and 3) disposable about the tubing union joining a lower tubing (11) and an upper tubing (10); at least one lower seal (52) disposable proximate a lower end of the tubing union between the sealing sleeve and the lower tubing; a least one upper seal (52) disposable proximate an upper end of the tubing union between the sealing sleeve and the upper tubing, and wherein the at least one upper seal, the at least one lower seal, and the sealing sleeve form a pressure test cavity about the tubing union; and a fluid path (88, 89) that extends through the sealing sleeve (as recited in instant dependent claim 14) and configured to provide fluid communication between the pressure test cavity and a pressure test port (59); and a support housing (13, 14) disposable about the sealing sleeve, wherein the support housing is configured to restrain outward expansion of the sealing sleeve in response to pressure increasing within the pressure test cavity (as recited in instant independent claim 1); wherein the support housing includes a base portion (13) and a lid portion (14) each having a half hollow cylindrical shape, and wherein the base portion and the lid portion are configured to clamp about the tubing union in a locked position via a locking/fastening elements/mechanism (see Figs. 1 and 2) (as recited in instant dependent claims 8 and 9); and further including at least one seal support (71, 72) disposable approximate the upper seal, the lower seal, or some combination thereof, wherein the at least one seal support is configured to restrain axially outward expansion of the upper seal, the lower seal or some combination thereof in response to pressure increasing within the pressure test cavity (as recited in instant dependent claim 10).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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) 4-6 and 12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. 3,371,521 to Hauk as applied to claims 1 and 10 above. Hauk discloses a system having all of the elements stated previously. Hauk does not explicitly disclose the material properties of the sealing sleeve, the specific shapes/types of upper/lower seals and their material properties, or the material properties of the at least one seal support recited in instant dependent claims 4-6 and 12. However, Hauk does disclose that the sealing sleeve is a molded rubber body, and the term “rubber” is employed denotes not only natural and synthetic rubbers but also various deformable equivalents thereof formed of suitable plastics and physical aspects of the sleeve are chosen in order to aid in prevention of extrusion of rubber in response to the extremely high pressures, and physical modifications of the sleeve portions to include grooves/cut-shaped portions (68, 69) to increase amount of loading and lengthening the sleeve’s life, and that enormous pressure is contained during pressure testing requiring “great strength” of the support housing, thus inherently a stiff material, and associated elements thereof, and O-rings (91) are employed (see Fig. 8) in other aspects of the system (see col 5 to col. 11). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art as of the effective filing date of the instant invention to employ the specific recited materials and associated material properties of the associated elements and physical shape aspects of the sleeve and seals recited in instant dependent claims 4-16 and 12, modifying the system disclosed by Hauk, depending on the overall pressure values applied to test the tubing union, ensuring the sealing of the entire system is performed. In addition, the instant disclosure fails to disclose any specific scientific reasons or engineering purposes to the recited aspects in instant dependent claims 4-6 and 12, and it has been held to be within the general skill of a worker in the art to select a known material on the basis of its suitability for the intended use as a matter of obvious design choice. In re Leshin, 227 F.2d 197, 125 USPQ 416 (CCPA 1960). As such, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art as of the effective filing date of the instant invention to choose the appropriate materials and physical aspects of the recited system elements recited in instant dependent claims 4-6 and 12, through routine experimentation of trying different materials and physical aspects, to provide the adequate sealing and pressure testing of the tubing union to required specifications/values.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 15-18 and 21 are allowed.
Claim 11 is objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Applicant is invited to review PTO form 892 accompanying this Office Action listing Prior Art relevant to the instant invention cited by the Examiner.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Primary Examiner John Fitzgerald whose telephone number is (571) 272-2843. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday from 7:00 AM to 3:30 PM E.S.T. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner's supervisor John Breene, can be reached at telephone number (571) 272-4107. Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, Applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice. The central fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/JOHN FITZGERALD/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2855