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 .
Applicant’s filing of claims 1-20 on 1/3/24 is acknowledged. Claims 1-20 are pending and are under examination.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 1/3/24 and 10/16/24 are acknowledged. Accordingly, the information disclosure statements are being considered by the examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 10-11, 15 and 16-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claims 10 and 15 are rejected because each claim merely recites a use, e.g., “using” or “used to,” without any active, positive steps delimiting how this use is actually practiced. See MPEP 2173.05(q).
Claim 16 is rejected because the scope of the preamble is unclear. The term, e.g., “comprising:” should be included to clearly show the scope of the preamble.
Claim Interpretation
The Office asserts that terms and phrases like “configured to” and “wherein” constitute recitations of intended use language for purposes of examination. The Office asserts that in the examined claims reciting such “configured to” language, the claim language that follows such recitations does not necessarily denote structure MPEP 2173.05(g). The functional limitation was evaluated and considered, for what it fairly conveys to a person of ordinary skill in the art. Similarly, a “wherein” clause may have a limiting effect on a claim if the language limits the claim to a particular structure. MPEP 2111.04. The determination of whether a “wherein” clause is a limitation in a claim depends on the specific facts of the case. While all words in each claim are considered in judging the patentability of the claim language, including functional claim limitations, not all limitations provide a patentable distinction.
During patent examination, the examined claims must be given their broadest reasonable interpretation consistent with the specification, unless a term has been given a special definition in the specification (“BRI”). See MPEP 2111.
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.
Claims 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Samec et al. (“Samec,” US Pub. No. 2019/0390548).
As to claim 1, Samec discloses a fluid sampling tool (170) locatable in a borehole extending in a subterranean formation and for sampling formation fluid including a chemically active component from the formation (e.g., [0026] et seq.), comprising: a sample chamber (e.g., 305 in [0030] et seq.) comprising a fluid inlet and an interior, wherein the interior comprises a substrate (e.g., sample side, [0040] et seq.) and a reagent (e.g., scavenger volume 418, [0040] et seq.) attached to the substrate, and wherein the reagent is configured to react with the chemically active component of the formation fluid to form a reaction product (e.g., [0040] et seq.); a probe (e.g., [0028] et seq.) extendable to engage the subterranean formation from the borehole; and a pump (e.g., [0025] et seq.) operable to pump a sample of the formation fluid in from the formation through the probe and into the sample chamber.
As to claim 2, Samec discloses a sensor operable to detect the reaction product such that the presence and concentration of the chemically active component in the formation fluid sample in the sample chamber is determinable by a processor based on a signal from the sensor. See e.g., [0027] et seq.
As to claim 3, Samec discloses the sensor comprises at least one of an optical, electrical, or acoustic sensor in e.g., [0026] et seq.
As to claim 4, Samec discloses the sensor is located in the fluid sampling tool in e.g., [0027] et seq.
As to claim 5, Samec discloses more than one sample chamber in e.g., [0030] et seq.
As to claim 6, Samec discloses at least two sample chambers comprise different reagents configured to react to different chemically active components in e.g., [0030] et seq.
As to claim 7, Samec discloses the sample chamber further comprises a compensating fluid in the interior configured to decrease a flow rate of the formation fluid sample into the interior and dissipate the formation fluid sample in the sample chamber in e.g., [0030] et seq.
As to claim 8, Samec discloses a valve operable to control flow of the formation fluid sample into the sample chamber in e.g., [0027] et seq.
As to claim 9, Samec teaches a method for sampling formation fluid from a subterranean formation, comprising: inserting fluid sampling tool into a borehole extending in the formation; extending a probe from the fluid sampling tool into contact with the formation; operating a pump of the fluid sampling tool to pump the formation fluid in from the formation through the probe to collect a formation fluid sample; flowing the formation fluid sample into a sample chamber comprising a fluid inlet and an interior, wherein the interior comprises a substrate and a reagent attached to the substrate; and reacting a chemically active component of the formation fluid sample with the reagent in the sample chamber to form a reaction product from which a presence and concentration of the chemically active component in the formation fluid sample is determinable. See e.g., [0014] et seq., and MPEP 2112.02.
As to claim 10, Samec teaches detecting, using a sensor, the reaction product; and determining, using a processor, the presence and concentration of the chemically active component in the formation fluid in the sample chamber based on the detection by the sensor in e.g., [0027] et seq.
As to claim 11, Samec teaches the sensor comprises at least one of an optical, electrical, or acoustic sensor in e.g., [0026] et seq.
As to claim 12, Samec teaches collecting more than one formation fluid sample and placing the formation fluid samples in different sample chambers in e.g., [0030] et seq.
As to claim 13, Samec teaches reacting different chemically active components in the formation fluid samples with different reagents in different sample chambers in e.g., [0030] et seq.
As to claim 14, Samec teaches decreasing a flow rate of the formation fluid sample into the sample chamber using a compensating fluid in the sample chamber interior; and dissipating the formation fluid sample in the sample chamber using the compensating fluid in e.g., [0033] et seq.
As to claim 15, Samec teaches controlling the flow of the formation fluid sample into the sample chamber using a valve in e.g., [0027] et seq.
As to claim 16, Samec discloses a fluid sample chamber locatable in a borehole extending in a subterranean formation and for sampling formation fluid including a chemically active component from the formation, comprising a sample chamber comprising a fluid inlet and an interior, wherein the interior comprises a substrate and a reagent attached to the substrate, and wherein the reagent is configured to react to the chemically active component of the formation fluid such that a presence and concentration of the chemically active component is determinable in e.g., [0018] et seq.
As to claim 17, Samec discloses a sensor operable to detect the presence and concentration of the chemically active component in the formation fluid sample in the sample chamber based on a reaction with the reagent in e.g., [0022] et seq.
As to claim 18, Samec discloses the sensor comprises at least one of an optical, electrical, or acoustic sensor in e.g., [0026] et seq.
As to claim 19, Samec discloses a compensating fluid in the interior configured to decrease a flow rate of the formation fluid sample into the interior and dissipate the formation fluid sample in the sample chamber in e.g., [0028] et seq.
As to claim 20, Samec discloses a valve operable to control flow of the formation fluid sample into the sample chamber in e.g., [0027] et seq.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to LORE RAMILLANO JARRETT whose telephone number is (571)272-7420. The examiner can normally be reached Monday to Friday.
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.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Lyle Alexander can be reached at 571-272-1254.
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.
/LORE R JARRETT/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1797
6/27/2026
Prosecution Insights