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 .
Claims Status
Claims 1 and 5-16 are pending. Claims 1 and 5-7 have been amended. Claims 10, 11 and 16 are withdrawn.
Applicant’s arguments, filed 03/18/2026, with respect to rejections under 35 USC 102 have been fully considered and are persuasive. The rejections of claims 1, 2, 5-9 and 12-15 have been withdrawn.
Applicant's arguments filed 03/18/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. See response to arguments below.
The objection to specification has not been addressed in Applicant’s remarks. The specification objection is maintained and reiterated below.
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Specification
The following guidelines illustrate the preferred layout for the specification of a utility application. These guidelines are suggested for the applicant’s use.
Arrangement of the Specification
As provided in 37 CFR 1.77(b), the specification of a utility application should include the following sections in order. Each of the lettered items should appear in upper case, without underlining or bold type, as a section heading. If no text follows the section heading, the phrase “Not Applicable” should follow the section heading:
(a) TITLE OF THE INVENTION.
(b) CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS.
(c) STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT.
(d) THE NAMES OF THE PARTIES TO A JOINT RESEARCH AGREEMENT.
(e) INCORPORATION-BY-REFERENCE OF MATERIAL SUBMITTED ON A READ-ONLY OPTICAL DISC, AS A TEXT FILE OR AN XML FILE VIA THE PATENT ELECTRONIC SYSTEM.
(f) STATEMENT REGARDING PRIOR DISCLOSURES BY THE INVENTOR OR A JOINT INVENTOR.
(g) BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION.
(1) Field of the Invention.
(2) Description of Related Art including information disclosed under 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98.
(h) BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION.
(i) BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S).
(j) DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION.
(k) CLAIM OR CLAIMS (commencing on a separate sheet).
(l) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE (commencing on a separate sheet).
(m) SEQUENCE LISTING. (See MPEP § 2422.03 and 37 CFR 1.821 - 1.825). A “Sequence Listing” is required on paper if the application discloses a nucleotide or amino acid sequence as defined in 37 CFR 1.821(a) and if the required “Sequence Listing” is not submitted as an electronic document either on read-only optical disc or as a text file via the patent electronic system.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
Claim(s) 1, 5-9 and 12-15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Goto (US 20190010767 A1) in view of Nakamura et al. (US 5510196 A).
Considering claims 1 and 5, Goto discloses a threaded tubular component comprising at least one thread extending over its outer or inner peripheral surface, wherein the thread is coated with a layer comprising a zinc-chromium (Zn-Ni) alloy in which zinc (Zn) is the predominant element by weight, relative to the total weight of the alloy, and wherein the tubular component is suitable for drilling and/or operating a hydrocarbon well, transporting oil and gas, transporting or storing hydrogen, carbon capture or geothermal energy (abstract), the surface roughness of the thread is 3 µm [0093], which is within the claimed range of 1.6 to 3.2 µm.
Goto does not disclose Zn-Cr alloy.
However, Nakamura discloses an electrodeposited Zn-Cr alloy plated on steel, with improved corrosion resistance compared to Zn-Ni alloy (col. 10, lines 11-19). Nakamura discloses Cr content in the Zn-Cr alloy is desirably 5-30 wt %. This is because below 5 wt %, the Γx phase will not develop whereas above 30 wt %, the adhesion of the plating layer will deteriorate (Col. 12, lines 57-65).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to substitute Zn-Ni alloy with Zn-Cr alloy in the tubular component of Goto, because the purpose of Goto the coating the tubular component made of steel with Zn-Ni alloy is for corrosion resistance, and Nakamura discloses Zn-Cr alloy plated on steel has improved corrosion resistance compared to Zn-Ni alloy. The Cr content in the Zn-Cr alloy is desirably 5-30 wt %, because below 5 wt %, the Γx phase will not develop whereas above 30 wt %, the adhesion of the plating layer will deteriorate.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have the recited range because a prima facie case of obviousness exists in the case where the claimed ranges “overlap or lie inside ranges disclosed by the prior art”. In re Wertheim, 541 F.2d 257, 191 USPQ 90 (CCPA 1976); In re Woodruff, 919 F.2d 1575, 16 USPQ2d 1934 (Fed. Cir. 1990). Furthermore, "[ A ] prior art reference that discloses a range encompassing a somewhat narrower claimed range is sufficient to establish a prima facie case of obviousness." In re Peterson, 315 F.3d 1325, 1330, 65 USPQ2d 1379, 1382-83 (Fed. Cir. 2003). See MPEP 2144.05.
Considering claim 6, Goto discloses the first plating layer has a thickness of 1 to 20 μm [0043], which overlaps the claimed range of from 4 to 20 µm.
Considering claim 7, Goto discloses the tubular component further comprises at least one non-threaded portion coated with the first layer [0019].
Considering claim 8, Goto discloses the tubular component further comprises sealing seat (8) (Fig. 4).
Considering claim 9, Goto discloses the threaded end is made of steel [0010].
Considering claim 12-15, Goto discloses a tubular threaded joint comprising a threaded end of a male-type tubular component (pin 3) having a thread extending over its outer peripheral surface and a threaded end of a female-type tubular component (box 6) having at least one thread extending over its inner peripheral surface, which are screwed into one another (Fig. 3, [0046]).
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 03/18/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Applicant argues that Goto and Nakamura do not disclose all the claimed limitations. This is found not persuasive, because Goto discloses roughness of the pin and box surface to be 3 µm [0093].
In response to applicant's argument that the references fail to show certain features of the invention, it is noted that the features upon which applicant relies (i.e., no passivation layer, having only Zn-Cr coating) are not recited in the rejected claim(s). Although the claims are interpreted in light of the specification, limitations from the specification are not read into the claims. See In re Van Geuns, 988 F.2d 1181, 26 USPQ2d 1057 (Fed. Cir. 1993).
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Wojciech Haske whose telephone number is (571)272-5666. The examiner can normally be reached M-F: 9:30 am - 6:00 pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, James Lin can be reached at 571-272-8902. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/WOJCIECH HASKE/Examiner, Art Unit 1794
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