DETAILED CORRESPONDENCE
Claims 1-20 are pending. Claims 8-20 are withdrawn.
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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on 5/15/2024 and 6/12/2025 are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statements are being considered by the examiner.
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election of Invention I (claims 1-7; Figs. 3A-6) in the reply filed on 10/21/2025 is acknowledged. The applicant indicated the election was made with traverse. However, because the applicant did not distinctly and specifically point out the supposed errors in the restriction requirement, the election has been treated as an election without traverse (MPEP § 818.01(a)).
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the structure(s) which rigidly secure the outer housing must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). If the applicant contends ,any such structures are presently shown in the drawings, such structures should be identified, numbered on the drawings, and described as such in the specification. No new matter should be entered.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
The drawings are objected to because different hatching patterns are required for different structures (at least Figs. 4-6). Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Claim Objections
Claims 2-7 are objected to because of the following informalities: “in which” should be replaced by “wherein”. Appropriate correction is required.
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 1-7 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 pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention.
Claim 1 The term "rigidly" is a relative term which renders the claim indefinite. The term is not defined by the claim, the specification does not provide a standard for ascertaining the requisite degree, and one of ordinary skill in the art would not be reasonably apprised of the scope of the invention. The specification does not provide any explanation which would establish any difference between securing, generally, and the claimed “rigidly”. Claims 2-7 depend from claim 1.
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 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 and 3-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Cram et al. (US20040194954) [Cram].
Claim 1 Cram discloses a liner hanger 10 for use in a subterranean well 11 [Title; Abstract; Figs. 1-6b], the liner hanger comprising:
slips 16 configured to anchor the liner hanger in the well [Figs. 1-5b; para. 0030];
a tubular mandrel 12 [Figs. 1-3,6b; para. 009-0031];
a tubular outer housing 50 outwardly surrounding the mandrel, the outer housing being rigidly [see the related Section 112(b) rejection re “rigidly”] secured to the mandrel [Figs. 6a,6b; so attached using ring 57, retainer 58, and screw 59; para. 0040-0045];
a collet sleeve 61 disposed on the mandrel 12 and including multiple collets 63,65, the collet sleeve being connected to the slips 16 [Figs. 6a,6b; para. 0043-0046]; and
an annular piston 54 disposed in an annulus 51 formed radially between the mandrel 12 and the outer housing 50 [Figs. 6a,6b; para. 0041], the piston including a support surface [e.g., top end surface 68] configured to support the collets [i.e., supporting the collet’s position in the profile 66 using collet retainer 67] and thereby prevent displacement of the slips relative to the mandrel [until pressure through port 53 causes the shearing of collet shear screw 71; Figs. 6a,6b; para. 0045,0046].
Claim 3 Cram, as discussed with respect to claim 1, discloses that a port 53 is formed through a sidewall of the mandrel 12 [Fig. 6a; para. 0041].
Claim 4 Cram, as discussed with respect to claim 3, discloses that a shear member 71,56 releasably secures the piston 54 against displacement relative to the mandrel 12 in response to pressure applied to the port 53 [Figs. 6a,6b; both shear members 71 and 56 secure against piston movement relevant to the mandrel, the shear screw 71 providing the initial securement; para. 0041,0045,0046].
Claim 5 Cram, as discussed with respect to claim 3, discloses that the piston is configured to displace relative to the mandrel in response to a predetermined pressure applied to the port to thereby no longer support the collets [at the desired shear screw 71 failure pressure, the piston no longer supports maintaining the collet ends 65 in the mandrel profile 66 because the piston has moved the collet retainer 67 upwardly, allowing the collets 63 to expand into the collet retainer 67 annular space 69; left sides of Figs. 6a,6b; para. 0045,0046].
Claim 6 Cram, as discussed with respect to claim 5, discloses that the piston is configured to displace the collet sleeve and the slips relative to the mandrel after the collets are no longer supported by the piston [in that the collet ends 65 are no longer so supported (as discussed at claim 5 herein) in the profile 66 after the piston 54 has moved upwardly and sheared the collet shear screw 71, with further upward movement of the piston displacing collet sleeve 61 and collets 63 after shearing shear screw 56; Figs. 6a,6b; para. 0045,0046].
Claim 7 Cram, as discussed with respect to claim 6, discloses that the collets 63 are configured to prevent displacement of the piston 54 relative to the mandrel 12 after the piston has displaced the collet sleeve 61 and the slips 16 relative to the mandrel [e.g., the post-set position shown on the left side of Fig. 6b, wherein components, e.g., the collets interfere with further upward movement of the piston].
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 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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
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.
Claims 1-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Goad et al. (US20220025724) [Goad], in view of Mullins (US20150204144).
Claim 1 Goad discloses a liner hanger for use in a subterranean well [title; abstract; Figs. 1-4C], the liner hanger comprising:
slips 212,214,210 configured to anchor the liner hanger in the well [Fig. 2; para. 0021];
a tubular mandrel 202 [Fig. 2; para. 0021];
a tubular outer housing 230 outwardly surrounding the mandrel, the outer housing being rigidly [see the related Section 112(b) rejection re “rigidly”] secured to the mandrel [in the position of Fig. 3, and in cooperation with retaining assembly 300, the housing is affixed to the mandrel and cannot move relative to the mandrel absent pressure being applied to shear the shear member 316; Figs. 2-4; 0027-0029,0039];
a sleeve [detent ring 302] disposed on the mandrel, the sleeve/detent ring being connected to the slips [directly or through force transmission assembly 222, including push ring 226; Figs. 2,3; para. 0024,0025,0032]; and
an annular piston 304 disposed in an annulus 232 formed radially between the mandrel 202 and the outer housing 230 [Figs. 3,4; para. 0027,0030,0033,0039], the piston including a support surface configured to support the collets and thereby prevent displacement of the slips relative to the mandrel [the detent ring enlarged end 312 is supported within the profile 314 in the outer housing 230 by the piston 304 upward facing surface when the piston is in the position shown in Fig. 3; para. 0028].
Although it is not clear how a single detent ring enlarged end 314 can deform radially without multiple segments (the radial deformation being shown in Figs. 3,4), Goad does not explicitly indicate that the enlarged end has multiple segments, nor is the detent ring explicitly designated as a collet sleeve.
Mullins discloses a liner hanger 2 having a setting/release assembly 31 in which a piston 48 supports each of multiple collet sleeve collet ends 46 in a profile P in an outer housing, until the piston moves in response to pressure to remove such support [Figs. 4A-4C,2; para. 0034-0039].
It would have been considered obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have configured the apparatus and methods of Goad to include the collet sleeve with multiple collets of Mullins in lieu of the detent ring, such collet sleeve providing analogous profile engagement functions. One of ordinary skill in the art would reasonably have expected that this combination of prior art elements and techniques would have been within the skill of the art and would successfully yield and achieve the expected and predictable result that collets supported by the piston in the Goad outer housing profile would provide controlled setting of the slips.
Claim 2 Goad, as modified with respect to claim 1, discloses that the piston supports the collets in engagement with a profile 314 formed in the outer housing 230 [as discussed in the foregoing claim 1 rejection].
Claim 3 Goad, as modified with respect to claim 1, discloses that a port 209A,B is formed through a sidewall of the mandrel [Figs. 3,4; para. 0033].
Claim 4 Goad, as modified with respect to claim 3, discloses that a shear member 316 releasably secures the piston against displacement relative to the mandrel in response to pressure applied to the port [Figs. 3,4; para. 0029,0033].
Claim 5 Goad, as modified with respect to claim 3, discloses that the piston is configured to displace relative to the mandrel in response to a predetermined pressure applied to the port to thereby no longer support the collets [Figs. 3,4; para. 0031-0033].
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Reimer et al. (US20100038096) discloses a collett and piston liner and hanger assembly having a collet 215 and piston 216 based slip setting mechanism 216 [Figs. 1-6, para. 0036].
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to GEORGE STERLING GRAY whose telephone number is (313)446-4820. The examiner can normally be reached 7-4 Eastern - M-F.
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/GEORGE S GRAY/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3676