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 .
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim(s) 1-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jones et al. (US 2009/0129203, hereafter Jones) in view of JP 2001506768 (hereafter JP’768)
With respect to claim 1, Jones teaches an acoustic transmitter system (acoustic transmitter section 16, transmitter 251), comprising: a carrier (recess 183); a sound emitting member (disc assembly 51) secured to the carrier, and an actuator configured to transmit energy to the sound emitting member. (par. 29-31, 52-55, Figs. 1, 10)
Jones does not explicitly teach the sound emitting member comprising: a first mass coupled to the carrier by a first spring; and a second mass coupled to the first mass by a second spring.
JP’768 teaches an acoustic transmitter system (emitter 11) comprising a waveguide (13) which can have a variety of configurations, including one which includes a first mass coupled to the carrier by a first spring; and a second mass coupled to the first mass by a second spring. (translation, page 14, claim 15)
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to modify the structure of Jones to include a series of springs and masses, as taught by JP’768, in order to control the transmitted vibrations in a predictable way.
With respect to claim 11, Jones teaches a method for making acoustic measurements in a wellbore environment, the method comprising: disposing an acoustic receiver (receiver section 20) into a wellbore; disposing an acoustic transmitter system (transmitter section 16, transmitter 251) into the wellbore, the acoustic transmitter system comprising: a carrier (recess 183); a sound emitting member (disc assembly 51) secured to the carrier, and an actuator configured to transmit energy to the sound emitting member; emitting an acoustic wave from the sound emitting member into the wellbore in response to the energy transmitted from the actuator; and receiving a received acoustic wave, at the receiver, in response to the emitted acoustic wave. (par. 29-31, 52-55, Figs. 1, 10)
Jones does not explicitly teach the sound emitting member comprising: a first mass coupled to the carrier by a first spring; and a second mass coupled to the first mass by a second spring.
JP’768 teaches an acoustic transmitter system (emitter 11) comprising a waveguide (13) which can have a variety of configurations, including one which includes a first mass coupled to the carrier by a first spring; and a second mass coupled to the first mass by a second spring. (translation, page 14, claim 15)
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to modify the structure of Jones to include a series of springs and masses, as taught by JP’768, in order to control the transmitted vibrations in a predictable way.
With respect to claims 2 and 12, Jones, as modified by JP’768, teaches a pressure compensation medium (borehole fluid) at least partially disposed within the carrier, wherein at least one of the first mass and the second mass is in contact with the pressure compensation medium. (Jones, par. 54, Fig. 10)
With respect to claims 3 and 13, Jones, as modified by JP’768, teaches at least one of the first mass and the second mass is in contact with a wellbore fluid. (Jones, par. 54, Fig. 10)
With respect to claims 4-5 and 14-15, Jones, as modified by JP’768, teaches wherein the energy transmitted by the actuator comprises at least one periodic movement having an amplitude, and wherein at least one of the first spring and the second spring is configured to provide a preload to the actuator that compresses the actuator by a compression length that is greater than the amplitude, wherein the at least one of the first spring and the second spring provides the preload to the actuator when the actuator is not actuating. (Jones, par. 56, Fig. 10)
With respect to claims 6 and 16, Jones, as modified by JP’768, teaches wherein the energy transmitted by the actuator comprises at least one periodic movement having a first actuating frequency and a second actuating frequency. (Jones, par. 56, Fig. 10)
With respect to claims 7 and 17, Jones, as modified by JP’768, teaches wherein the sound emitting member is configured to emit an acoustic wave into an environment at least partially surrounding the acoustic transmitter system, and wherein the acoustic wave comprises a first frequency and a second frequency, wherein at least one of the first and the second frequency is within a predefined range from at least one of the first actuating frequency and the second actuating frequency. (Jones, par. 49, Fig. 10)
With respect to claims 8 and 18, Jones, as modified by JP’768, teaches wherein the first mass and the second mass are in a stacked configuration. (Jones, Fig. 10)
With respect to claims 9 and 19, although Jones, as modified by JP’768, does not explicitly teach wherein the first mass, the second mass, and the second spring are made of one integral part, the method of construction and attachment of the structures is a matter of design choice, having no claimed impact on the operation of the device and therefore the claimed arrangement would be obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed.
With respect to claims 10 and 20, although Jones, as modified by JP’768, does not explicitly teach wherein the second spring has a thickness that is less than a first thickness of the first mass and a second thickness of the second mass, the relative thickness of the structures would be dependent upon the other parameters of the invention and the intended environment and therefore could best be determined through routine experimentation.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed September 18, 2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant argues that Jones, as modified by JP ‘768, does not teach the claimed configuration of a first mass coupled to the carrier by a first spring. The examiner is not persuaded. JP ‘768 teaches that a sound emitting member in an acoustic transmitter system can have a wide variety of configurations including those with springs connected to masses, as taught by the cited embodiment. Although it is not explicitly stated by this embodiment, because the method of attachment to the carrier is not addressed, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art to include a spring to connect the first mass to the carrier, as is taught by some of the other embodiments, in order to provide additional spring action in the acoustic transmitter.
In response to applicant’s argument that there is no teaching, suggestion, or motivation to combine the references, the examiner recognizes that obviousness may be established by combining or modifying the teachings of the prior art to produce the claimed invention where there is some teaching, suggestion, or motivation to do so found either in the references themselves or in the knowledge generally available to one of ordinary skill in the art. See In re Fine, 837 F.2d 1071, 5 USPQ2d 1596 (Fed. Cir. 1988), In re Jones, 958 F.2d 347, 21 USPQ2d 1941 (Fed. Cir. 1992), and KSR International Co. v. Teleflex, Inc., 550 U.S. 398, 82 USPQ2d 1385 (2007). In this case, both Jones and JP ‘768 teach sound emitting members having a plurality of elements. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art to consider the teachings of JP ‘768 regardless of the environment in which it is used. Applicant’s arguments with respect to the environment in which they are used are not persuasive, as one having ordinary skill in the art would be aware of these differences and capable of adjusting the structure to account for them.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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 Jill E Culler whose telephone number is (571)272-2159. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:30-5:00.
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/JILL E CULLER/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2853