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 .
Corrected Office Action
The prior Office Action contained an error in the identification of the cited reference. This Office Action is issued to correct that error and properly identify and apply the correct reference.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5, 6, 7 and 16 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.
With respect to claim 5, the prior art fails to teach in combination with the rest of the limitations in the claim: “wellbore cement surrounding the wellbore casing in the wellbore; and
a plurality of sensors embedded into the wellbore cement:
wherein the plurality of sensors are passive and wireless, wherein the propagated electromagnetic radiation excites and interrogates the plurality of sensors, wherein the plurality of sensors re-emits electromagnetic radiation, and wherein the plurality of conformal helical antennas receives the re-emitted electromagnetic radiation.”
With respect to claim 6, the prior art fails to teach in combination with the rest of the limitations in the claim: “wherein each of the plurality of conformal helical antennas are coupled to the external propagating mode of the wellbore casing according to:
ns =1- 1Lo-/eeff Ao Ao “
Claim 7 is objected to due to its dependency on claim 6.
With respect to claim 16, the prior art fails to teach in combination with the rest of the limitations in the claim: “wellbore cement in the borehole around the casing; and
a plurality of wireless sensors embedded in wellbore cement within the borehole, the plurality of wireless sensors comprising passive resonating circuits that modulate the electromagnetic energy signal in response to an environmental condition in the subsurface environment and re-emits the modulated electromagnetic energy to the plurality of microstrip antennas.”
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 6 and 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 applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention. For claim 6, none of the equation’s parameters are defined or known. Such aspect imposes 112 (b) indefiniteness. A clear and concise understanding of the claim language is required.
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.
Claims 1-3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Ohodnicki et al. (U.S. Patent No. 11,113,594 B2).
With respect to claim 1, Ohodnicki et al. discloses a distributed electromagnetic interrogation system comprising:
a wellbore (RF or microwave electromagnetic radiation is launched through an antenna structure within a metallic tubular structure, such as a pipeline, wellbore, natural as pipeline):
a wellbore casing positioned in the wellbore (the integrated wireless detector wherein said metallic tubular structure as a wellbore; col. 9, lines 47-48);
a plurality of conformal helical antennas distributed along the wellbore casing, wherein the plurality of conformal helical antennas are configured to operate in a radio or microwave frequency range (an autonomous wireless system that monitors parameters of interest within pipelines, comprising an optimally designed antenna such as patch, helical and/or conformal coaxial antenna for example, passive and wireless SAW sensor tags, and data analytics; col. 3, line 63-col. 4, line 10), wherein the plurality of conformal helical antennas propagate electromagnetic radiation along an external propagating mode of the wellbore casing (col. 4, lines 11-20); and
an interrogator coupled to receive data from the plurality of conformal helical antennas (see interrogator 102 with patch antenna 106 shown in Fig. 1), wherein said interrogator processes the data (see interrogator 102 with data The interrogator 102 is in data communication with patch antenna 106 and an external device 104. The external device 104 may process the signal from the patch antenna 106 and provide real-time data of the internal conditions of the pipe 110 at the location of the SAW sensor 108).
With respect to claim 2, Ohodnicki et al. discloses the distributed electromagnetic interrogation system of claim 1 wherein each of the plurality of conformal helical antennas comprises a microstrip (an autonomous wireless system that monitors parameters of interest within pipelines, comprising an optimally designed antenna such as patch, helical and/or conformal coaxial antenna for example, passive and wireless SAW sensor tags, and data analytics; col. 3, line 63-col. 4, line 10) waveguide having a dielectric layer and a metal tape layer (col. 6, lines 27-33; a dielectric material with permittivity 2.0 and thickness 0.3cm), the dielectric layer sandwiched between the metal tape layer and the wellbore casing (RF or microwave electromagnetic radiation is launched through an antenna structure within a metallic tubular structure, such as a pipeline, wellbore, natural as pipeline).
With respect to claim 3, Ohodnicki et al. discloses the distributed electromagnetic interrogation system of claim 1 wherein the interrogator provides electromagnetic energy in the radio or microwave frequency range to the plurality of conformal helical antennas via an internal propagating mode of the wellbore casing (helical and/or conformal coaxial antenna for example, in the integrated system for radio-frequency (RF) launching and receiving with passive surface acoustic wave (SAW) sensors at the interior of a metallic tubular structure; col. 3, lines 29-33).
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.
Claims 4, 8-15 and 17-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ohodnicki et al. (U.S. Patent No. 11,113,594 B2) in view of Okonkwo et al. (U.S. Publication No. 2016/0116626 A1).
With respect to claim 4, Ohodnicki et al. discloses the distributed electromagnetic interrogation system of claim 1.
Ohodnicki et al. does not disclose wherein the plurality of conformal helical antennas provides direct electromagnetic imaging of geological conditions surrounding the wellbore.
Okonkwo et al. discloses wherein the plurality of conformal helical antennas provides direct electromagnetic imaging of geological conditions surrounding the wellbore (a well logging apparatus and system for investigating the condition and/or content of a subsurface geologic formation penetrated by an earthen bore into which the well logging apparatus and system is introduced. The well logging apparatus and system can be configured with a plurality of well logging devices with a first well logging device disposed on the apparatus at a first spacing from a second well logging device).
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.
Claims 8-15 and 17-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Fouda et al. (U.S. Publication No. 2024/0201162 A1).
With respect to claim 8, Fouda et al. discloses a system for interrogating an underground environment comprising:
a borehole (para 0066, lines 10-12; see wellbore 104 shown in Fig. 1);
a metallic tube extending down the borehole (see wellbore 104 shown in Fig. 1);
a plurality of microstrip antennas mounted on and distributed along the metallic tube (see antenna 160 configured microstrip patch antenna 800 shown in Fig. 1);
a plurality of wireless sensors (see plurality of sensors 116 along 104 shown in Fig. 1) distributed down the borehole (see para 0034, lines 1-5); and
a source of electromagnetic energy positioned above or near ground level and operable for transmitting electromagnetic energy to the plurality of microstrip antennas (resonance microstrip patch antenna 800 is a function of its geometry and the materials forming microstrip patch antenna 800; the properties of the formation that the electromagnetic waves are being transmitted);
wherein the plurality of microstrip antennas radiate the electromagnetic energy to interrogate the plurality of wireless sensors (resonance microstrip patch antenna 800 is a function of its geometry and the materials forming microstrip patch antenna 800; the properties of the formation that the electromagnetic waves are being transmitted), wherein the plurality of wireless sensors re-emit the electromagnetic energy to the plurality of microstrip antennas (para 0069, lines 25-30), and wherein the plurality of microstrip antennas transmits data on the re-emitted electromagnetic energy to the source (para 0068, lines microstrip patch antenna 800 and cavity resonator 820 are implementations of resonator antenna 160 downhole fluid sampling tool 100 in downhole operations.
With respect to claim 9, Fouda et al. discloses the system for interrogating an underground environment of claim 8 wherein the plurality of microstrip antennas (microstrip patch antenna 800 shown in Fig. 1) are coupled to an external propagating mode of the metallic tube to radiate the electromagnetic energy to the plurality of wireless sensors (see wireless sensors 116 shown in Fig. 1).
With respect to claim 10, Fouda et al. discloses the system for interrogating an underground environment of claim 8 wherein the metallic tube is a steel wellbore casing (see wellbore 104 shown in Fig. 1; para 0029, lines 15-19).
With respect to claim 11, Fouda et al. discloses the system for interrogating an underground environment of claim 10 further comprising wellbore cement in the borehole surrounding the wellbore casing (see wellbore 104 shown in Fig. 1; para 0029, lines 15-19); wherein each of the plurality of wireless sensors are embedded in the wellbore cement (sensors 116 shown in Fig. 1).
With respect to claim 12, Fouda et al. discloses the system for interrogating an underground environment of claim 10 wherein each of the plurality of microstrip antennas comprises metal-dielectric tape mounted on an external surface of the steel wellbore casing (see antenna 160 shown in Fig. 1; lines 16-21).
With respect to claim 13, Fouda et al. discloses the system for interrogating an underground environment of claim 8 wherein at least one of the plurality of wireless sensors is mounted on an exterior surface of the metallic tube (see multiple sensors 116 shown along the path of 104 shown in Fig. 1).
With respect to claim 14, Fouda et al. discloses the system for interrogating an underground environment of claim 8 wherein the plurality of wireless sensors comprises SAW sensors, solid state sensors, or microwave resonant sensors (col. 6, lines 6-16, the sensors can be from a variety of sensor options).
With respect to claim 15, Fouda et al. discloses a system for interrogating a subsurface environment (see surface 112 shown in Fig. 1) comprising:
a casing lined borehole (see wellbore 104 shown in Fig. 1); a source of electromagnetic energy positionable aboveground and operable for generation of an electromagnetic energy signal (para 0054, lines 1-15);
a plurality of microstrip antennas mounted on the outer surface of the casing (microstrip antenna 800 shown in Figs. 9 and 10; ground plane 802)
and connected to the source of electromagnetic energy via the internal guided modes (para 0071, lines 9-14) of
the casing, the plurality of microstrip antennas configured to receive and radiate the
electromagnetic energy signal via the external guided modes of the casing to the subsurface environment and receive re-emitted electromagnetic energy therefrom (helical and/or conformal coaxial antenna for example, in the integrated system for radio-frequency (RF) launching and receiving with passive surface acoustic wave (SAW) sensors at the interior of a metallic tubular structure; col. 3, lines 29-33); and a signal analyzer in data connection with the plurality of microstrip antennas (see antenna 160 shown in Fig. 1).
With respect to claim 17, Fouda et al. discloses the system for interrogating a subsurface environment of claim 15 wherein the plurality of microstrip antennas are distributed along the casing to at least one kilometer below ground level (see sensors 116 on casing 104 shown in Fig. 1).
With respect to claim 18, Fouda et al. discloses the system for interrogating a subsurface environment of claim 15 wherein the plurality of microstrip antennas monitor wellbore failures to estimate in-situ principle horizontal stress state of rock surrounding the borehole (para 0028, lines 10-20).
With respect to claim 19, Fouda et al. discloses the system for interrogating a subsurface environment of claim 18 wherein the wellbore failures include one or more of drilling induced tensile fractures and wellbore breakouts (para 0028, lines 9-15).
With respect to claim 20, Fouda et al. discloses the distributed electromagnetic interrogation system of claim 1 wherein the plurality of conformal helical antennas provide direct interrogation of surrounding environmental conditions (an autonomous wireless system that monitors parameters of interest within pipelines, comprising an optimally designed antenna such as patch, helical and/or conformal coaxial antenna for example, passive and wireless SAW sensor tags, and data analytics; col. 3, line 63-col. 4, line 10).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FARHANA AKHTER HOQUE whose telephone number is (571)270-7543. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday, 7:30am-4:00pm.
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/FARHANA A HOQUE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2858