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 .
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 03/04/2026 has been entered.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments with respect to claim(s) 14, 16-18, and 20-22 have been considered, but are moot because a new interpretation of the prior art is being applied as it relates to obviousness as detailed below.
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 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.
Examiner suggests incorporating more claim language (such as, but not limited to, the dart being formed using multiple, distinctly structured elements) in light of the specification to overcome the prior art rejection and advance prosecution, preferably towards an allowance.
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of group I (i.e., claims 14-18 and 20-22) in the reply filed on 06/17/2025 is acknowledged. Claims 23-27, 34, 39, 41, 43 and 45 are withdrawn.
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) 52 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Pabon (US Publication Number 2018/0223627 A1; herein “Pabon”).
In regard to claim 52, Pabon discloses: An actuation dart for deployment down a tubing string (i.e., tubing comprising 610) installed within a wellbore (112) and provided with one or more valve assemblies (140) including respective shoulders (i.e., of 210/220) having a longitudinal portion and a radial portion (as shown in figures 6 | see paragraphs [0028-0032]), the actuation dart comprising:
a dart body (510) extending along a longitudinal direction (as shown in figures 6) and adapted to be carried down the tubing string to the valve assembly via fluid flow (paragraphs [0028-0032]), the dart body comprising:
an abutment portion shaped (i.e., portion/section of 510 contacting bottom of 210, as shown in figure 6A) and sized to releasably engage the shoulder of the one or more valve assemblies to enable shifting the valve assembly in an open configuration (see paragraphs [0028-0032] and transitioning from figure 6A to figure 6B), the abutment portion comprising:
a longitudinal surface (i.e., surface(s) corresponding to the longitudinal length of the abutment portion) extending along the longitudinal direction and adapted to cooperate with the longitudinal portion of the shoulder (see paragraphs [0028-0032] and transitioning from figure 6A to figure 6B), and
a radial surface (i.e., radially extending surface from the top end of 510) extending transversely relative to the longitudinal surface to enable 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 (see paragraphs [0028-0032] and transitioning from figure 6A to figure 6B), and
wherein the abutment portion extends radially outwardly relative to other parts of the dart body (i.e., such as compared to the top pointed end of 510 — as shown in figures 6).
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim(s) 14 and 16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Themig et al. (US Publication Number 2014/0246209 A1; herein “Themig”) in view of Pabon (US Publication Number 2018/0223627 A1; herein “Pabon”).
In regard to claim 14, Themig discloses: An actuation dart (24 | “The sealing device may be a fluid conveyable plug, such as a ball, dart, etc. It can be free from connection to surface to facilitate operations” — paragraph [0027]) for deployment down a tubing string (15) installed within a wellbore and provided with one or more valve assemblies (paragraphs [0029-0043] and figures 1), comprising:
a dart body (i.e., arbitrary upper half section of dart 24) adapted to be carried down the tubing string to the valve assembly via fluid flow (paragraphs [0029-0043]), the dart body comprising:
a shifting head (i.e., arbitrary lower half section of dart 24 which makes contact with the sleeve 22) provided at a first end of the dart body, the shifting head being configured to engage and shift the valve assembly in an open configuration (figure 1C) to enable fluid injection in a reservoir surrounding the wellbore (paragraphs [0029-0043] and figures 1), and
wherein the shifting head comprises an abutment portion to define an abutment surface adapted to come into planar contact with a complimentary shaped portion of the valve assembly (i.e., portion making contact with the shifting valve sleeve 22) to prevent further downhole movement of the actuation dart relative to the valve assembly and enable shifting the valve assembly in the open configuration (see disclosure corresponding to figures 1), the abutment portion being adapted to releasably (via deformation) engage the valve assembly to allow the actuation dart to flow further downhole (paragraphs [0029-0043] and figures 1).
However, Themig is silent in regard to: the dart body comprising:
wherein the shifting head comprises an abutment portion protruding outwardly therefrom at an angle to define an abutment surface adapted to come into planar contact with a complementarily shaped portion 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.
Nonetheless, Pabon teaches a downhole actuation device (i.e., dart) which allows for selectively controlling a sleeve valve (abstract and figures 4-6), similar to that of Themig. Pabon teaches its dart body (510) comprising:
a shifting head (as shown in the annotated figure 6A below);
wherein the shifting head comprises an abutment portion (i.e., portion/section of 510 contacting bottom of 210, as shown in figure 6A) protruding outwardly therefrom at an angle (as defined by Examiner and shown in the annotated figure 6A below) to define an abutment surface (i.e., surface of portion/section of 510 contacting bottom of 210, as shown in figure 6A) adapted to come into planar contact with a complementarily shaped portion (i.e., bottom end of 210/220 shaped portion) of the valve assembly (140) to prevent further downhole movement of the actuation dart relative to the valve assembly and enable shifting the valve assembly in the open configuration — see paragraphs [0028-0032] and transitioning from figure 6A to figure 6B.
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Therefore, it would have been considered obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention (AIA ), to modify the dart, as taught by Themig, to include for the dart to be shaped, as taught by Pabon, in light of simple substitution of a known downhole actuation dart since Pabon expressly teaches that a dart body having sections are known alternatives (further supported by MPEP 2143, section I, subsection B).
In regard to claim 16, in view of the modification of the preceding claim, Themig further discloses: wherein the abutment portion (as taught by both Themig and Pabon) is configured to compress inwardly when engaged with the valve assembly via pressure exerted on the actuation dart via fluid flow, thereby enabling the actuation dart to disengage from the valve assembly and allow the actuation dart to flow further downhole along the tubing string (paragraphs [0029-0043] and figures 1 — Themig).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 17-18 and 20-22 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
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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/NEEL GIRISH PATEL/Primary Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3676