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 Arguments
Applicant’s amendments dated 4/24/25 have been entered.
Applicant’s arguments with respect to the prior art rejection of the claim(s) have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument. Schwarck (US 20130333383 A1) is newly cited in the rejection below.
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) 1-2, 4, and 6-7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hayes (US 1853351 A), in view of Schwarck (US 20130333383 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Hayes teaches a drilling system, comprising:
a drill rig (rig system depicted in Fig 1) comprising: a drill bit (Fig 1, bit 16); and a steam-powered motor (Fig 1, motor 17) configured to use the heat transfer fluid heated by a steam system to rotate the drill bit (Fig 1, Page 1, left column, lines 27-33, engine 17 is a “steam engine” which operates rotary table 15).
Hayes is silent on the steam system being the recited geothermal system.
Schwarck a geothermal system comprising a wellbore (Fig 1, wellbore 20, not specifically labelled but seen) extending from a surface (Fig 1, “above ground”) into an underground magma reservoir such that at least a portion of the wellbore contacts liquid magma in the magma reservoir (Fig 1, wellbore allows for fluid to be sent into magma reservoir, Para 0013, “heated by the surrounding subterranean material (i.e. rock, soil, radioactive waste, magma, and/or any fluid material)”, see also Para 0083 which casing contact with magma is discussed, see also Para 0117), the wellbore configured to heat a heat transfer fluid via a heat received from direct contact between the liquid magma in the underground magma reservoir and the at least portion of the wellbore (Para 0013, working fluid in wellbore is “heated by the surrounding subterranean material (i.e. rock, soil, radioactive waste, magma, and/or any fluid material)”).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the invention disclosed by Hayes by having geothermal system as the steam source as disclosed by Schwarck because it would be a simple substitution of one known element (the boiler of Hayes) for another (geothermal steam source) to obtain predictable results (providing heat for a source of steam, Para 0036 of Schwarck, “employed in steam production”).
Regarding claim 2, Hayes teaches wherein the steam-powered motor is further configured to use the heat transfer fluid heated by the geothermal system to move the rotating drill bit into the surface (Fig 1, Page 1, left column, lines 27-33 of Hayes, engine 17 is a “steam engine” which operates rotary table 15; as modified by Schwarck, the steam/heat transfer fluid is from the geothermal source, see Para 0013, 0036).
Regarding claim 4, Hayes teaches wherein the steam-powered motor comprises: a piston within a cylinder (Fig 1, piston depicted as a part of engine 17, not specifically labelled but near reference numeral 17); one or more valves configured to control introduction of steam into the cylinder, such that the piston moves within the cylinder (Fig 1, valve 29, Page 2, lines 81-85); and a rod connected to the piston and to a flywheel, wherein movement of the piston within the cylinder causes the flywheel to rotate (Fig 1, piston attached to fly wheel via rod, as seen, but unlabeled in Fig 1, as a part of engine 17), wherein the flywheel is coupled to the drill bit, such that rotation of the flywheel causes the drill bit to rotate (Fig 1, flywheel as identified is connected to rotary table 15 via 20 and 21; rotary table then rotates the bit).
Regarding claim 6, Hayes as modified in the parent claim is silent on one or more turbines configured to generate electricity using the heat transfer fluid heated by the geothermal system.
Schwarck teaches one or more turbines configured to generate electricity using the heat transfer fluid heated by the geothermal system (Para 0090-0091, “turbine assembly 72 can be coupled to generator 74 […]the generator 74 can be an electric generator.”).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the invention disclosed by Hayes as modified by additionally having turbine configured to generate electricity as disclosed by Schwarck because it allow for “harnessing subterranean heat energy in an efficient manner that is cost-effective without excessively depleting the source of the subterranean heat energy and for reliable and efficient adjustment of harnessing the thermal energy” (Para 0007).
Regarding claim 7, Hayes teaches wherein the heat transfer fluid comprises water (Fig 1, Page 1, left column, lines 27-33, engine 17 is a “steam engine” i.e. uses vaporized water).
Claim(s) 3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hayes (US 1853351 A), in view of Schwarck (US 20130333383 A1), further in view of Maier (US 2299548 A).
Regarding claim 3, Hayes as modified is silent on wherein the steam-powered motor is further configured to use the heat transfer fluid heated by the geothermal system to drive a pump configured to provide a flow of drilling fluid into a borehole drilled by the drill bit.
Maier teaches the steam-powered motor (Fig 3, motor 10, 12, please note the motor may be construed as multiple steam receiving elements) is further configured to use the heat transfer fluid heated by the geothermal system (Fig 1, motor 10/12 receives steam from boiler, which is the geothermal system as modified in the parent claim) to drive a pump configured to provide a flow of drilling fluid into a borehole drilled by the drill bit (Fig 3, mud pump 11 connected to engine 10; Page 1, left column, lines 22-32, the mud is conveyed from the mud pump to the drill stem and consequently the bit; note the drill pipe/shaft connects to bit in Hayes).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the invention disclosed by Hayes by having pump system and its arrangement relative to the motor as disclosed by Maier because the use of mud and its pump would allow for the efficient carrying of cuttings to the surface as is known in the art, this particular arrangement of Maeir would allow for mud which is not disclosed in Hayes and more particularly do so in a manner “to give an efficient use of steam during the rotary drilling operations” (Page 1, right column, lines 17-18).
Conclusion
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/THEODORE N YAO/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3676