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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant's election with traverse of claims 1-7 and 20 in the reply filed on 06/01/2026 is acknowledged. The traversal is on the ground(s) that there is no serious burden for the examiner to search/examine all claims in the present application based on the IPC class for each set of claims being “very close”. This is not found persuasive because based on the limitations of the claimed inventions, there is a different field of search. A search burden may still be present if the IPC classifications are identical. See MPEP 808.02.
The requirement is still deemed proper and is therefore made FINAL.
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) 1-3 and 5-7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Faulkner at al. (2020/0018165).
With regard to claim 1, Faulkner discloses a resin injection system (e.g. fig. 9), comprising: a first tank (118) configured to hold a first viscous fluid; a second tank (120) configured to hold a second viscous fluid; a wand (66) in communication with the first tank and the second tank (fig. 9), the wand configured to extend or retract from an initial position and to inject the first viscous fluid and the second viscous fluid into a hole (130);a first pump (110) configured to drive the first viscous fluid from the first tank to the wand (fig. 9); and a second pump (112) configured to drive the second viscous fluid from the second tank to the wand (fig. 9), wherein the first pump and second pump are configured to operate independently (fig. 9).
With regard to claim 2, Faulkner further discloses the first pump is in communication with the first tank (fig. 9) and coupled to a first hydraulic cylinder (122), and wherein the second pump is in communication with the second tank (fig. 9) and coupled to a second hydraulic cylinder (124).
With regard to claim 3, Faulkner further discloses a hydraulic source (113/115) in communication with the first hydraulic cylinder and the second hydraulic cylinder (fig. 9); and a flow divider (fig. 9, flow divided to 106/108) coupled to the hydraulic source and configured to divide a flow from the hydraulic source into a first flow component directed to the first hydraulic cylinder and a second flow component directed to the second hydraulic cylinder (fig. 9).
With regard to claim 5, Faulkner further discloses a control panel configured to enable an operator to input one or more parameters into the resin injection system relating to a particular application or operation; and a processor configured to make determinations by analyzing the one or more parameters input by the operator (para 0043).
With regard to claim 6, Faulkner further discloses the processor determines a desired ratio of the first viscous fluid to the second viscous fluid, a desired rate of retraction of the wand, or both (paras 0030, 0038, 0043, 0072).
With regard to claim 7, Faulkner further discloses the first tank and the second tank are each configured to receive air from a pressurized air source such that the first tank and the second tank are pressurized (para 0030).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 4 is 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.
Claim 20 is allowed.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: the cited prior art, either alone or in any reasonable combination, fails to teach or suggest all the limitations of the independent claim(s). Resin injection systems are known such as those taught by Faulkner at al. (2020/0018165), Ruotsalainen (12,326,086), and Bergqvist et al. (11,454,115). However, the cited prior art lacks the flow divider adjusting a ratio between the first flow component and the second flow component, thereby altering a ratio of the first viscous fluid and the second viscous fluid pumped to the wand as required by the independent claim(s) and it would not have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to modify the prior art to achieve applicant’s invention without the benefit of hindsight and applicant’s own disclosure.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. See PTO-892.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BENJAMIN F FIORELLO whose telephone number is (571)270-7012. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 8:00AM-4:30PM EST.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Amber Anderson can be reached at (571)270-5281. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/BENJAMIN F FIORELLO/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3678
BF
08/03/2026
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