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 Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see the reply, filed May 12, 2026, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 1, 2 and 5-9 under the references applied in the previous office action have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of the references applied in the instant office action.
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, 6, 8 and 9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Chen (CN 104047625, herein referenced by the EPO English machine translation).
Re Claim 1, Chen discloses an integrated drilling and injection device, comprising: a longitudinal shank 4 having an internal passage 5 extending from an open first end of the shank 4 along an axis of the shank toward a second end of the shank 4 (See figure 1); a drill bit 1 located at a second end of the shank 4 opposite the first end (See figure 1); at least one outlet 2 in fluid communication between the internal passage 5 and an exterior surface of the shank 4; and a valve 11 within the internal passage 5, the valve 11 configured to control passage of material within the internal passage; and a seal 8 disposed on the shank 4, located at the first end of the shank, the seal 8 configured to form a barrier around the shank 4, between the shank 4 and a channel bored out by the drill bit 1 (Pars. 0035 and 0041-0043, Fig. 1).
Re Claim 6, Chen discloses the shank 4 comprises a plurality of shank sections (See figure 1).
Re Claim 8, Chen discloses a system for injection of material into a substrate, the system comprising: the device according to claim 1; an access surface (not shown) through which the device is to be deployed; and a device deployment apparatus (a drilling rig, not shown, Par. 0040) for driving the device through the access surface into a substrate and injecting material into the internal passage (Pars. 0035 and 0040-0043, Fig. 1).
Re Claim 9, Chen discloses a method of injecting material into a substrate, the method comprising the steps of: providing the device of claim 1; driving the device into a substrate; and injecting material into the internal passage (Pars. 0035 and 0040-0043, Fig. 1).
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 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen (CN 104047625), in view of Fischer (US 5096344).
Re Claim 2, Chen does not explicitly disclose a blade that is configured to cut in a first rotational direction; and a helical flute extending away from the blade along a portion of the shank, the helical flute is configured to draw swarf away from the blade by twisting in a second rotational direction opposite the first rotational direction.
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 helical flute 8a, 8b extending away from the blade 3, 4 along a portion of the shank 5, the helical flute 8a, 8b is configured to draw swarf away from the blade by twisting in a second rotational direction opposite the first rotational direction (Col. 3, Lines 19-32 and 55-68, 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 Chen by providing a helical flute on the shank, as disclosed by Fischer, for the benefit of drawing swarf away from the blade and drilling a cylindrical hole without jamming.
Claim(s) 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen (CN 104047625), in view of Zhang et al. (CN 107905827, herein referenced by the EPO English machine translation).
Re Claim 7, Chen does not explicitly disclose embedded tools/technology therein the integrated drilling and injection device.
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; 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); and embedded tools/technology 2, 3 therein, for the benefit of measuring stress (Pars. 0035, 0084 and 0100-0103, Figs. 2-6). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the invention of Chen by providing embedded tools/technology in the integrated drilling and injection, as disclosed by Zhang, for the benefit of measuring stress of the device.
Claim Objections
Claims 5 and 10 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
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.
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/BAYAN SALONE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3726
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