DETAILED ACTION
Claims 14, 16-18, 20-27, 34, 39, 41, 43, 45, and 52 are pending.
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
Applicant’s election without traverse of group I (i.e., claims 14, 16-18, and 20-22) in the reply filed on 06/17/2025 is acknowledged.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 14, 16-18, 20-22, and 52 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
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.
Claim(s) 14, 16-17, and 52 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Fripp et al. (US Publication Number 2020/0355054 A1; herein “Fripp”).
In regard to claim 14, Fripp discloses: An actuation dart (200) for deployment down a tubing string (i.e., comprising 114) installed within a wellbore (106) and provided with one or more valve assemblies (e.g., 300 — paragraphs [0020-0048, 0055-0073] and figures 1-3 and 5-6), comprising:
a dart body (202) adapted to be carried down the tubing string to the valve assembly via fluid flow (paragraphs [0020-0048, 0055-0073] and figures 1-3 and 5-6), the dart body comprising:
a shifting head provided at a first end (i.e., lower arbitrary end section) of the dart body (i.e., as annotated in the figure 2B below), the shifting head being configured to engage (i.e., structurally and functionally) and shift the valve assembly in an open configuration (i.e., as shown in figure 5C) to enable fluid injection in a reservoir surrounding the wellbore (paragraphs [0020-0048, 0055-0073]), and
wherein the shifting head comprises a rabbeted edge (i.e., as shown in the annotated figure 2B below) defining an abutment portion protruding outwardly from the shifting head at an angle (as shown in figure 2B), the rabbeted edge including a planar abutment surface extending generally transversely relative to a downhole direction of travel of the actuation dart (i.e., as shown in the transitioning from figure 5A to figure 5B) and being adapted to come into planar contact with a complementarily shaped portion (414) of the valve assembly to prevent further downhole movement of the actuation dart relative to the valve assembly and enable shifting the valve assembly in the open configuration, the abutment portion being adapted to releasably engage the valve assembly to allow the actuation dart to flow further downhole (paragraphs [0040, 0071-0073]).
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In regard to claim 16, Fripp further discloses: wherein the abutment portion is configured to compress inwardly when engaged with the valve assembly via pressure exerted on the actuation dart via fluid flow, thereby enabling (i.e., allowing after engagement) the actuation dart to disengage (i.e., via at least dissolving) from the valve assembly and allow the actuation dart to flow further downhole along the tubing string (paragraphs [0040, 0071-0073]).
In regard to claim 17, Fripp further discloses: wherein the dart body further comprises a dart tail (i.e., as shown in the annotated in figure 2B below) connected (i.e., by virtue of being monolithic) to the shifting head, the dart tail comprising an engagement surface (i.e., outer radial surface) adapted to engage (i.e., structurally and functionally) an inner surface (i.e., radial inner surface) of the tubing string in order to guide the actuation dart as it is carried down the wellbore (paragraphs [0020-0048, 0055-0073]).
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In regard to claim 52, Fripp discloses: An actuation dart (200) for deployment down a tubing string (i.e., comprising 114) installed within a wellbore (106) and provided with one or more valve assemblies (e.g., 300) including respective shoulders (i.e., corresponding to 414) having a longitudinal portion and a radial portion (paragraphs [0020-0048, 0055-0073] and figures 1-3 and 5-6), the actuation dart comprising:
a dart body (202) extending along a longitudinal direction and adapted to be carried down the tubing string to the valve assembly via fluid flow (paragraphs [0020-0048, 0055-0073] and figures 1-3 and 5-6), the dart body comprising:
an abutment portion (i.e., comprising the rabbeted edge(s), as shown in the annotated figure 2B below) shaped and sized to releasably engage (i.e., structurally and functionally) the shoulder of the one or more valve assemblies to enable shifting the valve assembly in an open configuration (i.e., as shown in figure 5C), the abutment portion having a rabbeted edge (i.e., as shown in the annotated figure 2B below) comprising:
a longitudinal surface (i.e., arbitrary radial outer longitudinal surface(s)) extending along the longitudinal direction and adapted to cooperate with the longitudinal portion of the shoulder (as shown in figure 2B), and
a radial surface (i.e., radial surface corresponding to the rabbeted edge) extending transversely relative to the longitudinal surface (i.e., as shown in the annotated figure 2B below), the radial surface being adapted to come into planar contact with the radial portion of the shoulder and prevent further downhole movement of the actuation dart relative to the one or more valve assemblies (paragraphs [0020-0048, 0055-0073]),
wherein the abutment portion extends radially outwardly relative to other parts of the dart body (paragraphs [0020-0048, 0055-0073]).
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Allowable Subject Matter
Claim(s) 18 and 20-22 is/are 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
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). 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 NEEL PATEL whose telephone number is (469)295-9168. The examiner can normally be reached M-F, 9:00AM-5:00PM CST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Tara Schimpf can be reached at (571) 270-7741. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/NEEL GIRISH PATEL/Primary Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3676
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