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 .
Response to Amendment
The Amendment filed 03/23/2026 has been entered. Claims 1-20 are pending in the application.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 03/23/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. The Applicant argues on page 7 of the arguments filed:
“As noted above, independent claims 1, 17, and 20 have been amended to recite, "emit electromagnetic radiation associated with the quantumly entangled particles into a subterranean strata from BB environment associated with the wellbore." Neither Habif nor Bhongale teach this limitation. Specifically, in Bhongale, the entangled particles never leave the fiber optic cable within the wellbore. Thus, the limitation not taught by Habif, as noted by the Office Action, are not taught by Bhongale. Applicant asserts that independent claims 1, 17, and 20 and their corresponding dependent claims are allowable. Applicant therefore requests withdrawal of the rejection of claims 1, 2, 4, 5, 8, 9, and 11-20 under 35 U.S.C. § 103.”.
The Examiner respectfully disagrees. Based on the broadest reasonable interpretation of the limitation “emit electromagnetic radiation associated with the quantumly entangled particles into a subterranean strata from the wellbore;” of claim 1, the electromagnetic radiation does not need to exit the fiber optic cable nor exit the wellbore for its emission to be emitted “into a subterranean strata from the wellbore”. As shown in Fig. 1 of Bhongale (and supporting paragraphs 0017-0018), the light source emission is going downward into the wellbore therefore is indeed being emitted “into a subterranean strata” as subterranean strata is layers of rock, soil, or sediment located beneath the Earth's surface. Furthermore, this emission is indeed “from the wellbore” as the wellbore is the medium through which the emission is being traveled downward into the subterranean strata.
Therefore, the Examiner asserts that Habif in view of Bhongale discloses the claimed limitation of independent claims 1,17 and 20. Hence, the prior art rejection from the previously filed Non-Final rejection has been maintained.
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.
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) 1,2,4,5,8-9 and 11-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Habif (US 20180038956 A1) in view of Bhongale et al. (US 20160363690 A1), hereinafter Bhongale.
Regarding claim 1, Habif discloses [Note: what Habif fails to clearly disclose is strike-through]
A method comprising:
(see Fig. 1, quantum enhanced radar system 100 including a quantum source 104) configured to:
generate quantumly entangled particles (see Fig. 1, entanglement generation module 104 generates quantumly entangled particles, further see paragraph 0016, “a quantum entangled pair (state) is generated by an entanglement generation module/device 104. The quantum entangled state pair comprises of a signal photon 105 and an idler photon 106.”); and
emit electromagnetic radiation associated with the quantumly entangled particles(see Fig. 1, radar 102 emits electromagnetic radiation 103 associated with the quantumly entangled particles, further see paragraph 0016, “The signal photon 105 is entangled (combined) with the transmitted (outgoing) EM signal 103 by a combiner 107 and sent towards the target.”);
accessing data indicative of detected reflections of the electromagnetic radiation associated with the quantumly entangled particles (see paragraph 0018, “The idler photon 106 is sent to an entanglement detection module 108 directly or stored in a quantum memory 114 for access by the entanglement detection module (quantum illumination receiver) 108. The return signal includes the signal photon 105, the radar return pulse and may include some noise 112. The return signal is measured in the quantum illumination receiver 108, to verify that the signal photon 105 from the entangled pair is still in the return state. That is, the signal photon 105 is compared with the idler photon 106 (directly received from the entanglement generation module 104 or accessed from the quantum memory 114. If the signal photon 105 in the return pulse is not measured (not matched with the idler photon 106), there is a strong indication that the return pulse being processed is the result of (DRFM) spoofing. Accordingly, the radar/ladar system attempts to search for the “real” return pulse.”); and
identifying properties of the environment based on a comparison of the detected reflections of the electromagnetic radiation associated with the quantumly entangled particles to corresponding idler signals of the quantumly entangled particles (see Fig. 2, further see paragraph 0020, “FIG. 2 illustrates a quantum illumination concept for target detection, according to some embodiments of the present invention. As shown, a quantum entangled state, which includes a signal photon 205 and an idler photon 206, is generated by an entanglement source. The signal photon 205 is sent towards a target 210 and the idler photon 206 is sent directly towards a quantum illumination receiver 208 or stored in a quantum memory to be accessed by the receiver 208. The signal photon 205 bounces back from the target 210 toward a quantum illumination receiver 208. Typically, a small return signal and high background noise are returned. In some embodiments, the quantum illumination receiver distinguishes the weak signal photon from the strong radar return by capitalizing on the initial entanglement between the signal and idler photons.”).
Bhongale discloses,
deploying, within a wellbore, a quantum sensor comprising a quantum source (see Fig. 1, downhole optical sensor system 12, further see paragraph 0017, “The downhole optical sensor system 12 includes an interface 66 coupled to a fiber optic cable 44 for distributed downhole sensing”, further see paragraph 0018, “In at least some embodiments, the fiber optic cable 44 terminates at surface interface 66 with an optical port adapted for coupling the fiber(s) in cable 44 to a light source and a detector. The light source transmits light pulses along the fiber optic cable 44, which contains scattering impurities. As each pulse of light propagates along the fiber, some of the pulse is scattered back along the fiber from every point on the fiber. The optical port communicates the backscattered light to the detector. As will be explained in greater detail below, the detector responsively produces electrical measurements from backscattered light attributes (e.g., phase shift) corresponding to different points along the fiber 44. In at least some embodiments, the detector may comprise an interferometer to measure, for example, the phase shift. From the light attributes, the value of a downhole parameter sensed by the fiber at the location of the back-reflection or backscatter is determined. As described here, the light is reflected back by impurities along the entire length of the fiber. Thus the entire fiber acts as a sensor—a distributed sensor.”) configured to:
generate quantumly entangled particles while disposed within the wellbore (see Figs. 5 and 6A, further see paragraph 0037, “The two beams coming out of a NDOPA are quantum entangled. This means that performing any measurement on one of the beams affects the other, even if they are spatially separated. Entanglement is a completely quantum concept and does not occur in classical systems. The above parametric amplifier examples are commercially available and/or can be devised in the laboratory by well understood and documented techniques.”); and
emit electromagnetic radiation associated with the quantumly entangled particles into a subterranean strata from the wellbore (see Fig. 1, where the optical radiation from the light source is emitted “into a subterranean strata from the wellbore”, further see paragraph 0018, “In at least some embodiments, the fiber optic cable 44 terminates at surface interface 66 with an optical port adapted for coupling the fiber(s) in cable 44 to a light source and a detector. The light source transmits light pulses along the fiber optic cable 44, which contains scattering impurities. As each pulse of light propagates along the fiber, some of the pulse is scattered back along the fiber from every point on the fiber. The optical port communicates the backscattered light to the detector. As will be explained in greater detail below, the detector responsively produces electrical measurements from backscattered light attributes (e.g., phase shift) corresponding to different points along the fiber 44.”).
It would have been obvious to someone with ordinary skill in the art prior to the
effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the features as disclosed by Bhongale into the invention of Habif. Both references are considered analogous arts to the claimed invention as they both disclose a quantum sensor comprising a quantum source to generate quantumly entangled particles within an environment. Habif fails to specifically disclose that the sensor is deployed in a wellbore environment where the electromagnetic radiation is emitted “into a subterranean strata from the wellbore”. Such features are disclosed by Bhongale. Therefore, it is known in the art to utilize the sensor design as disclosed by Habif in a wellbore environment where the sensor is used to performed downhole sensing. The combination of would be obvious with a reasonable expectation of success in order to efficiently detect target data in a well-bore while minimizing the effects of noise.
Regarding claim 2, Habif further discloses
The method of claim 1, wherein the quantum sensor further comprises a quantum detector configured to capture the data indicative of detected reflections of the electromagnetic radiation associated with the quantumly entangled particles (see Fig. 2, quantum illumination receiver 208, further see paragraph 0020, “FIG. 2 illustrates a quantum illumination concept for target detection, according to some embodiments of the present invention. As shown, a quantum entangled state, which includes a signal photon 205 and an idler photon 206, is generated by an entanglement source. The signal photon 205 is sent towards a target 210 and the idler photon 206 is sent directly towards a quantum illumination receiver 208 or stored in a quantum memory to be accessed by the receiver 208. The signal photon 205 bounces back from the target 210 toward a quantum illumination receiver 208. Typically, a small return signal and high background noise are returned. In some embodiments, the quantum illumination receiver distinguishes the weak signal photon from the strong radar return by capitalizing on the initial entanglement between the signal and idler photons.”).
Regarding claim 4, Habif further discloses
The method of claim 1, wherein the quantum sensor is deployed into the wellbore after a completion phase of the wellbore (see paragraph 0015, “Turning now to the figures, FIG. 1 shows a well 10 equipped with an illustrative embodiment of a downhole optical sensor system 12 with which parametric amplification may be employed. A drilling rig has been used to drill and complete the well 10 in a typical manner, with a casing string 54 positioned in the borehole 16 that penetrates into the earth 18. The casing string 54 includes multiple tubular casing sections (usually about 30 feet long) connected end-to-end by couplings 60. (FIG. 1 is not to scale. Typically the casing string includes many such couplings.) Within the well 10, a cement slurry 68 has been injected into the annular space between the outer surface of the casing string 54 and the inner surface of the borehole 16 and allowed to set. A production tubing string 24 has been positioned in an inner bore of the casing string 54.”).
Regarding claim 5, the combination of Habif and Bhongale discloses [Note: what Habif and Bhongale fails to clearly disclose is strike-through]
The method of claim 1,
Regarding Claim 5, Bhongale discloses that the sensor is utilized after the well has been completed (see paragraph 0015). Although Bhongale fails to clearly disclose that the quantum sensor is deployed into the wellbore during a completion phase of the wellbore, only a limited number of possibilities are possible (i.e. the sensor is deployed before the completion phase, during a completion phase or after the completion phase). Accordingly, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to deploy the quantum sensor into the wellbore during a completion phase of the wellbore. It would have been obvious to do so with a reasonable expectation of success in order to efficiently detect target data in a wellbore prior to completing construction of the wellbore to minimize wellbore construction defects. See In re KSR Int’l Co. v. Teleflex Inc., 550 U.S, 82 USPQ2d 1385 (2007).
Regarding claim 8, Habif further discloses
The method of claim 1, wherein the quantum sensor operates within a signal-to-noise ratio that is based on an ability to discriminate the detected reflections of the electromagnetic radiation associated with the quantumly entangled particles from detected electromagnetic radiation that is not associated with the quantumly entangled particles (see paragraph 0018, “The idler photon 106 is sent to an entanglement detection module 108 directly or stored in a quantum memory 114 for access by the entanglement detection module (quantum illumination receiver) 108. The return signal includes the signal photon 105, the radar return pulse and may include some noise 112. The return signal is measured in the quantum illumination receiver 108, to verify that the signal photon 105 from the entangled pair is still in the return state. That is, the signal photon 105 is compared with the idler photon 106 (directly received from the entanglement generation module 104 or accessed from the quantum memory 114. If the signal photon 105 in the return pulse is not measured (not matched with the idler photon 106), there is a strong indication that the return pulse being processed is the result of (DRFM) spoofing. Accordingly, the radar/ladar system attempts to search for the “real” return pulse.”, where the sensor’s ability to discriminate between the real return pulse and the noise indicates that it operates “within a signal-to-noise ratio that is based on an ability to discriminate the detected reflections of the electromagnetic radiation associated with the quantumly entangled particles from detected electromagnetic radiation that is not associated with the quantumly entangled particles”).
Regarding claim 9, Habif further discloses
The method of claim 1, wherein the quantum sensor is further configured to:
generate the quantumly entangled particles in an optical frequency range (see paragraph 0021, “In some embodiments, the quantum illumination receiver 208 uses quantum illumination technique to verify that the radar pulse returning to a radar receiver is the same signal (optical/laser or EM pulse) that was generated by the radar transmitter, by measuring the signal photon 205, that is, comparing it to the originally entangled idler photon 206. The known quantum-illumination method uses quantum-mechanically entangled light to interrogate or illuminate distant objects, significant enhancements may be achieved over the use of unentangled/coherent classical light for detecting those objects.”); and
down convert the quantumly entangled particles from the optical frequency range to a radio frequency range to generate the electromagnetic radiation associated with the quantumly entangled particles in the radio frequency range (see paragraph 0032, “The quantum entanglement authentication method of the present invention is applicable to the optical or electrical signals in a wide spectrum. That is, the radar may be operating in an optical domain or in an electrical domain. There are a variety of known ways to generate the photon entanglement, given that the outgoing photon needs to be at the same frequency as the frequency of the radar signal.”, further see for support paragraph 0028, “FIG. 4 is an exemplary process flow, according to some embodiments of the present invention. The exemplary process flow illustrates a method for authenticating a radar return signal. As shown in block 402, an outgoing radar beam is generated according to the conventional radars and techniques therein. The radar beam may be an EM signal for example a laser or RF signal. In block 404, a pair of entangled photons comprising a signal photon and an idler photon are generated. There are various known techniques to generate entangled photons. One example is using spontaneous parametric down-conversion (SPDC) in nonlinear crystals where a pump laser photon is converted within the crystal to generate two entangled photons. The photons can be entangled in their polarization states, their optical phase, and/or their frequencies.”).
Regarding claim 11, the combination of Habif and Bhongale discloses [Note: what Habif fails to clearly disclose is strike-through]
The method of claim 9,
Bhongale discloses,
wherein the quantum sensor is configured to down convert the quantumly entangled particles to generate the electromagnetic radiation associated with the quantumly entangled particles in the radio frequency range through a dual ring cavity that implements four wave mixing (see paragraph 0036, “Parametric amplification is based on various types of nonlinear optical devices. The term “parametric” refers to an optical process in a nonlinear medium where there is no transfer of energy, momentum, or angular momentum between the optical field and physical system. A few examples of parametric optical processes are second harmonic generation, difference frequency generation, optical parametric amplification, optical parametric oscillation, optical Kerr effects, four-wave mixing, spontaneous parametric downconversion, etc. Example parametric amplifiers include degenerate optical parametric amplifiers (DOPAs), spontaneous optical parametric downconverters (SOPDCs), and non-degenerate optical parametric amplifiers (NDOPAs).”, where the process of four wave mixing uses dual ring cavities).
It would have been obvious to someone with ordinary skill in the art prior to the
effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the features as disclosed by Bhongale into the invention of Habif. Both references are considered analogous arts to the claimed invention as they both disclose a quantum sensor comprising a quantum source to generate quantumly entangled particles within an environment. The combination above would be obvious with a reasonable expectation of success in order to efficiently detect target data in a well-bore while minimizing the effects of noise.
Regarding claim 12, Habif further discloses
The method of claim 9, wherein the quantum sensor is configured to down convert the quantumly entangled particles to generate the electromagnetic radiation associated with the quantumly entangled particles in the radio frequency range through one of optical parametric oscillation (see paragraph 0032, “The quantum entanglement authentication method of the present invention is applicable to the optical or electrical signals in a wide spectrum. That is, the radar may be operating in an optical domain or in an electrical domain. There are a variety of known ways to generate the photon entanglement, given that the outgoing photon needs to be at the same frequency as the frequency of the radar signal. In the case of an optical (e.g., laser) radar signal, the entanglement source may use K.sup.2 or K.sup.3 type of non-linearity processes in nonlinear material, such a crystals. The quantum memory or a tunable delay for the idler photon may be implemented as a fiber delay, slow light in fiber, or on-chip micro-ring resonator delays. In such cases, the parametric amplification may be performed also using K.sup.2 or K.sup.3 type of non-linearity processes in nonlinear material, such a crystals.”, where parametric amplification is “optical parametric oscillation” in this process, further see for support paragraph 0028, “There are various known techniques to generate entangled photons. One example is using spontaneous parametric down-conversion (SPDC) in nonlinear crystals where a pump laser photon is converted within the crystal to generate two entangled photons. The photons can be entangled in their polarization states, their optical phase, and/or their frequencies.”), difference frequency generation, electro-optic modulation, and acousto-optic modulation.
Regarding claim 13, Habif further discloses
The method of claim 9, wherein the quantum sensor is configured to down convert the quantumly entangled particles to generate the electromagnetic radiation associated with the quantumly entangled particles in the radio frequency range through optical parametric oscillation (see paragraph 0032, “The quantum entanglement authentication method of the present invention is applicable to the optical or electrical signals in a wide spectrum. That is, the radar may be operating in an optical domain or in an electrical domain. There are a variety of known ways to generate the photon entanglement, given that the outgoing photon needs to be at the same frequency as the frequency of the radar signal. In the case of an optical (e.g., laser) radar signal, the entanglement source may use K.sup.2 or K.sup.3 type of non-linearity processes in nonlinear material, such a crystals. The quantum memory or a tunable delay for the idler photon may be implemented as a fiber delay, slow light in fiber, or on-chip micro-ring resonator delays. In such cases, the parametric amplification may be performed also using K.sup.2 or K.sup.3 type of non-linearity processes in nonlinear material, such a crystals.”, where parametric amplification is “optical parametric oscillation” in this process, further see for support paragraph 0028, “There are various known techniques to generate entangled photons. One example is using spontaneous parametric down-conversion (SPDC) in nonlinear crystals where a pump laser photon is converted within the crystal to generate two entangled photons. The photons can be entangled in their polarization states, their optical phase, and/or their frequencies.”).
Regarding claim 14, the combination of Habif and Bhongale discloses [Note: what Habif fails to clearly disclose is strike-through]
The method of claim 1,
Bhongale discloses,
wherein the environment is a formation surrounding the wellbore (see Fig. 1) and the properties of the environment represent an image of the formation (see paragraph 0020, “The instructions of the software program may also cause the computer 70 to display information associated with determine downhole parameter values via the output device 74.”, where “downhole parameter values” output via device 74 are “an image of the formation”, further see paragraph 0019, “The computer 70 is adapted to receive the electrical measurement signals produced by the surface interface 66 and to responsively determine a distributed parameter such as, e.g., distributed temperature sensing along the length of the casing string, or distributed sensing measurements of acoustic energy, vibrational energy (including active or passive seismic), pressure, strain, deformation, chemical concentrations, nuclear radiation intensity, electromagnetic energy, and/or acceleration (including gravity).”).
It would have been obvious to someone with ordinary skill in the art prior to the
effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the features as disclosed by Bhongale into the invention of Habif. Both references are considered analogous arts to the claimed invention as they both disclose a quantum sensor comprising a quantum source to generate quantumly entangled particles within an environment. The combination above would be obvious with a reasonable expectation of success in order to efficiently detect target data in a well-bore while minimizing the effects of noise.
Regarding claim 15, the combination of Habif and Bhongale discloses [Note: what Habif fails to clearly disclose is strike-through]
The method of claim 1,
Bhongale discloses,
wherein the properties of the environment include either or both pressure and temperature measurements in the environment (see paragraph 0019, “The computer 70 is adapted to receive the electrical measurement signals produced by the surface interface 66 and to responsively determine a distributed parameter such as, e.g., distributed temperature sensing along the length of the casing string, or distributed sensing measurements of acoustic energy, vibrational energy (including active or passive seismic), pressure, strain, deformation, chemical concentrations, nuclear radiation intensity, electromagnetic energy, and/or acceleration (including gravity).”).
It would have been obvious to someone with ordinary skill in the art prior to the
effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the features as disclosed by Bhongale into the invention of Habif. Both references are considered analogous arts to the claimed invention as they both disclose a quantum sensor comprising a quantum source to generate quantumly entangled particles within an environment. The combination above would be obvious with a reasonable expectation of success in order to efficiently detect target data in a well-bore while minimizing the effects of noise.
Regarding claim 16, the combination of Habif and Bhongale discloses [Note: what Habif fails to clearly disclose is strike-through]
The method of claim 1,
Bhongale discloses,
wherein the environment is a formation surrounding the wellbore (see Fig. 1), the wellbore is a producer well (see Fig. 1, further see paragraph 0004, “FIG. 1 shows an illustrative downhole optical sensor system in a production well.”), and the properties of the environment include movement of water in the formation that is injected into the formation through an injector well in proximity to the producer well (see Fig. 1, where perforations 26 have been formed at a bottom of the borehole 16 to facilitate the flow of a fluid 28 from a surrounding formation into the borehole and thence to the surface via an opening 30 at the bottom of the production tubing string 24 (see paragraph 0016), further see paragraph 0023, “While the effective sample rate is generally too slow to accurately track fast moving fluid in a wellbore, the disclosed sensing techniques employ parametric amplification to improve SNR or otherwise facilitate faster measurements and/or longer reach measurements.”).
It would have been obvious to someone with ordinary skill in the art prior to the
effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the features as disclosed by Bhongale into the invention of Habif. Both references are considered analogous arts to the claimed invention as they both disclose a quantum sensor comprising a quantum source to generate quantumly entangled particles within an environment. The combination above would be obvious with a reasonable expectation of success in order to efficiently detect target data in a well-bore while minimizing the effects of noise.
Regarding claim 17, the same cited section and rationale as claim 1 is applied.
Regarding claim 18, the same cited section and rationale as claim 4 is applied.
Regarding claim 19, the combination of Habif and Bhongale discloses [Note: what Habif fails to clearly disclose is strike-through]
The quantum sensor of claim 18,
Bhongale discloses,
wherein a base of the quantum sensor that anchors the quantum sensor through the casing of the wellbore is coated, at least in part, through a curing ceramic material (see Fig. 1, further see paragraph 0015, “The casing string 54 includes multiple tubular casing sections (usually about 30 feet long) connected end-to-end by couplings 60. FIG. 1 is not to scale. Typically the casing string includes many such couplings.) Within the well 10, a cement slurry 68 has been injected into the annular space between the outer surface of the casing string 54 and the inner surface of the borehole 16 and allowed to set. A production tubing string 24 has been positioned in an inner bore of the casing string 54.”, where cement is a ceramic material).
It would have been obvious to someone with ordinary skill in the art prior to the
effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the features as disclosed by Bhongale into the invention of Habif. Both references are considered analogous arts to the claimed invention as they both disclose a quantum sensor comprising a quantum source to generate quantumly entangled particles within an environment. The combination above would be obvious with a reasonable expectation of success in order to create a structurally sound sensor that is protected from environmental influences.
Regarding claim 20, the same cited section and rationale as claim 1 is applied.
Claim(s) 3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Habif (US 20180038956 A1) in view of Bhongale et al. (US 20160363690 A1) further in view of Allen et al. (US 20070296953 A1), hereinafter Allen.
Regarding claim 3, the combination of Habif and Bhongale discloses [Note: what Habif and Bhongale fails to clearly disclose is strike-through]
The method of claim 2,
Allen discloses,
wherein the quantum detector is configured to detect the reflections of the electromagnetic radiation through defect centers in crystal lattices of the quantum detector (see paragraph 0071, Referring again to FIG. 1, the information available from attribute-specific detection devices 912 (FIG. 9) can be provided to signal quality processor 116. Signal quality processor 116 can filter noise out of the signals, and perform other functions to condition the signals to provide the most information available to signal data processor 120. In some embodiments, signal quality processor 116 can measure the fidelity of the return signal and distinguish the return signal from noise using a lattice or other suitable structure.).
It would have been obvious to someone with ordinary skill in the art prior to the
effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the features as disclosed by Allen into the invention of Habif in view of Bhongale. All three references are considered analogous arts to the claimed invention as they all disclose a quantum sensor comprising a quantum source to generate quantumly entangled particles within an environment. The combination above would be obvious with a reasonable expectation of success in order to efficiently distinguish the return signal from noise.
Claim(s) 6 and 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Habif (US 20180038956 A1) in view of Bhongale et al. (US 20160363690 A1) further in view of Stark et al. (US 20180223653 A1), hereinafter Stark.
Regarding claim 6, the combination of Habif and Bhongale discloses [Note: what Habif and Bhongale fails to clearly disclose is strike-through]
The method of claim 1, .
Stark discloses,
wherein the quantum sensor is configured to operate at a power between 100 and 150 nanowatts (see paragraph 0010, “In some examples, the downhole laser 102 comprises a quantum dot laser. In at least one example, the downhole laser 102 comprises a vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser, a Fabry-Perot laser, a distributed feedback laser, a cooled electro-absorption modulated laser, or the like. In some embodiments, the downhole laser 102 provides power at the end of the optical fiber 104. For example, in at least one embodiment, the downhole laser 102 provides power of from about 100 nanowatts (nW) to about 1 Watt (W).”).
It would have been obvious to someone with ordinary skill in the art prior to the
effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the features as disclosed by Stark into the invention of Habif in view of Bhongale. Stark is considered analogous art to the claimed invention as it disclose a quantum sensor used to detect properties in a well-bore. The combination above would be obvious with a reasonable expectation of success in order to operate the sensor at a lower power and thereby conserve resources.
Regarding claim 10, the combination of Habif and Bhongale discloses [Note: what Habif and Bhongale fails to clearly disclose is strike-through]
The method of claim 9, wherein the quantum sensor is configured to generate the quantumly entangled particles in the optical frequency range through one or more on-chip (see paragraph 0035, “In the case of an electrical (e.g., X-band) radar signal, the entanglement source may be provided by squeezing in phase sensitive amplifiers. The quantum memory or a tunable delay for the idler photon may be implemented as slow light in atomic media, or artificial atoms. For example, it is known that using nonlinear processes in quantum systems can be an implementation for coherently storing quantum states of photons. Optical photons can be stored in the quantum structure of an atom, or atomic ensemble. In the RF frequencies, artificial atoms can be used to store single photons. For example, superconducting circuits can have quantum energy states the frequencies of which match RF photons. RF photons can be stored in these energy state for a programmed amount of time, thus implementing a tunable delay. The (single) photon detection may be performed by superconducting circuits or Graphene. Graphene is pure carbon in the form of a very thin, nearly transparent sheet, one atom thick, which conducts heat and electricity with great efficiency. graphene has a remarkably high electron mobility at room temperature and its optical properties produce an unexpectedly high opacity for an atomic monolayer in vacuum.”, further see for support paragraph 0032, “The quantum memory or a tunable delay for the idler photon may be implemented as a fiber delay, slow light in fiber, or on-chip micro-ring resonator delays. In such cases, the parametric amplification may be performed also using K.sup.2 or K.sup.3 type of non-linearity processes in nonlinear material, such a crystals.”).
Stark discloses,
wherein the quantum sensor is configured to generate the quantumly entangled particles in the optical frequency range through nanowatt lasers (see paragraph 0010, “In some examples, the downhole laser 102 comprises a quantum dot laser. In at least one example, the downhole laser 102 comprises a vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser, a Fabry-Perot laser, a distributed feedback laser, a cooled electro-absorption modulated laser, or the like. In some embodiments, the downhole laser 102 provides power at the end of the optical fiber 104. For example, in at least one embodiment, the downhole laser 102 provides power of from about 100 nanowatts (nW) to about 1 Watt (W).”).
It would have been obvious to someone with ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the features as disclosed by Stark into the invention of Habif in view of Bhongale. Stark is considered analogous art to the claimed invention as it disclose a quantum sensor used to detect properties in a well-bore. The combination above would be obvious with a reasonable expectation of success in order to operate the sensor at a lower power and thereby conserve resources.
Claim(s) 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Habif (US 20180038956 A1) in view of Bhongale et al. (US 20160363690 A1) further in view of Conrad (US 20120089379 A1).
Regarding claim 7, the combination of Habif and Bhongale discloses [Note: what Habif and Bhongale fails to clearly disclose is strike-through]
The method of claim 1,
Conrad discloses,
wherein the quantum sensor is configured to operate entirely from power that is harvested in situ in the wellbore through a power harvesting device disposed in the wellbore (see Fig. 1, further see paragraph 0042, “Power module 104 supplies power to the other modules. To that end, the power module 104 may include an energy storage device such as a bank of batteries, and/or an electrical power generator such as a turbine in the mud flow or a vibrational energy harvester.”).
It would have been obvious to someone with ordinary skill in the art prior to the
effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the features as disclosed by Conrad into the invention of Habif in view of Bhongale. Conrad is considered analogous art to the claimed invention as it disclose a sensor used to detect properties in a well-bore. The combination above would be obvious with a reasonable expectation of success in order to conserve power-generating resources.
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 NAZRA N. WAHEED whose telephone number is (571)272-6713. The examiner can normally be reached M-F (8 AM - 4:30 PM).
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/NAZRA NUR WAHEED/ Examiner, Art Unit 3648
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