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 § 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.
Claim(s) 1, 4 and 6-9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Zhang et al. (CN 107905827, herein referenced by the EPO English Machine Translation).
RE Claim 1, Zhang discloses an integrated drilling and injection device 1, comprising: a longitudinal shank 1 having an internal passage (not labeled, see figures 2, 3 and 5) extending from an open first end of the shank 1 along an axis of the shank toward a second end of the shank 1; a drill bit 13 located at a second end of the shank 1 opposite the first end (See figures 2-5); at least one outlet (not labeled, the outlet is in the tip of the drill bit 13, as may be seen in figures 2 and 3; Pars. 0042, 0043 and 0051) in fluid communication between the internal passage and an exterior surface of the shank 1; and a valve 9, 92, 93 within the internal passage, the valve 9, 92, 93 configured to control passage of material within the internal passage (Pars. 0059 and 0099, Figs. 2, 5 and 6).
RE Claim 4, Zhang discloses a seal 4 disposed on the shank 1, spaced from the drill bit 13, the seal 4 configured to form a barrier around the shank 1, between the shank 1 and a channel 12 bored out by the drill bit 13 (Par. 0097, Figs. 1-4).
RE Claim 6, Zhang discloses the shank 1 comprises a plurality of shank sections (See figures 2-5).
RE Claim 7, Zhang discloses the device comprising embedded tools/technology 2, 3 therein (Pars. 0035, 0084 and 0100-0103, Figs. 2-6).
RE Claim 8, Zhang discloses a system for injection of material into a substrate 11, the system comprising: the device according to claim 1; an access surface through which the device is to be deployed (See figure 1); and a device deployment apparatus (an anchor drill, not shown, Par. 0048) for driving the device through the access surface into a substrate 11 and injecting material into the internal passage (Pars. 0048, 0056 and 0084-0088, Figs. 1-6).
RE Claim 9, Zhang discloses a method of injecting material into a substrate 11, the method comprising the steps of: providing the device of claim 1; driving the device into a substrate 11; and injecting material into the internal passage (Pars. 0042, 0043, 0051, 0059 and 0083-0106, Figs. 1-6).
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.
Claim(s) 2 and 3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang et al. (CN 107905827), in view of Fischer (US 5096344).
RE Claim 2, Zhang discloses a blade that is configured to cut in a first rotational direction (the outer blades of the drill bit 13, see figs. 2 and 3). Zhang does not explicitly disclose the drill bit comprises: a secondary flute on the shank, the secondary flute having a helical shape; the secondary flute is spaced from the drill bit and twists in the first rotational direction such that when the device is rotated in the first rotational direction, material such as water is drawn toward the blade.
Fischer discloses a drilling device having a shank 5 having a first end and a second end (see figure 1); a drill bit 1; a blade 3, 4 that is configured to cut in a first rotational direction and a secondary flute 8 on the shank 5, the secondary flute 8 having a helical shape (See figs. 1 and 2); the secondary flute 8 is spaced from the drill bit and twists in the first rotational direction (Col. 3, Lines 19-32, Figs. 1-3), for the benefit of drilling a cylindrical hole without jamming (Col. 1, Lines 29-34). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the invention of Zhang by providing a secondary flute on the shank, the secondary flute having a helical shape; the secondary flute is spaced from the drill bit and twists in the first rotational direction, as disclosed by Fischer, for the benefit of drilling a cylindrical hole without jamming. Note: the limitation “such that when the device is rotated in the first rotational direction, material such as water is drawn toward the blade” is not given patentable weight, as the preamble of the claim refers to an apparatus and the aforementioned limitation refers to a method step.
Re Claim 3, the combination as applied to claim 2 remains as previously applied. The combination discloses the secondary flute 8 is located on a flute portion of the shank 5 spaced from the first end of the shank 5, the flute portion of the shank 5 having a diameter substantially greater than a diameter of the shank at the first end of the shank 5 (See figures 1 and 2).
Claim(s) 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang et al. (CN 107905827), in view of Rinklake et al. (DE 3708764, herein referenced by the EPO English Machine Translation).
Re Claim 5, Zhang does not explicitly disclose the seal is frangibly connected to the shank.
Rinklake discloses a drilling device 1 comprising: a shank 2 having a first end and a second end (see figures 1-9); and a seal 29; the seal is frangibly connected to the shank 2 (Pars. 0018-0025 and 0031, Figs. 1-3 and 9). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the invention of Zhang by making the seal frangibly connected to the shank as disclosed by Rinklake for the benefit of separating the device from the seal.
Conclusion
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/BAYAN SALONE/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3726