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 .
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2 and 12-14 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 2, the prior art fails to teach in combination with rest of the limitations in the claim: “wherein the control circuitry sequentially activates individual sensor segments such that the magnetic fields generated thereby induce eddy currents in different azimuthal sectors of the at least one wellbore casing string; and wherein the control circuitry detects the rates of change in the magnetic fields generated by the eddy currents induced in the different azimuthal sectors of the at least one wellbore casing string, the rates of
change being indicative of the conditions of the at least one wellbore casing string at the different azimuthal sectors thereof.”
With respect to claim 12, the prior art fails to teach in combination with the rest of the limitations in the claim: “wherein the energizing of the transmitter coil is performed in a manner that sequentially energizes transmitter coils of different sensor segments, causing the magnetic field extending from the sensor to rotate and thereby induce eddy currents in each different azimuthal sector of the at least one wellbore casing string;
further comprising detecting the rate of change in the magnetic fields generated by the eddy currents in each different azimuthal sector of the at least one wellbore casing string;
further comprising recording the detected rates of change in each different azimuthal sector; and further comprising analyzing the recorded rates of change in each azimuthal sector to determine potential conditions over a full azimuthal range of the at least one wellbore casing string.”
Claims 13-15 are objected to due to their dependencies on claim 12.
Claims 16-27 are allowed.
With respect to claim 16, the prior art fails to teach in combination with the rest of the limitations in the claim: “energize transmitter coils at first and second sets of the sensor segments positioned about a circumference of the sensor apparatus so that magnetic fields generated in the first and second sets of sensor segments have propagation directions toward one another, thereby forming a net magnetic field that extends from the sensor to induce eddy currents in at least one wellbore casing string; detect a rate of change in a magnetic field generated by the eddy currents in the at least
one wellbore casing string over time via receiver coils at selected ones of the sensor segments, the detected rate of change being indicative of condition of the at least one wellbore casing string; and
process the detected rate of change, to determine the condition of the at least one wellbore casing string with enhanced sensitivity.”
With respect to claim 26, the prior art fails to teach in combination with the rest of the limitations in the claim: “generating magnetic fields whose propagation directions are circumferentially toward one another to form a net magnetic field that extends from the sensor apparatus; inducing eddy currents in the at least one wellbore casing string via the amplified extending magnetic field, thereby enhancing strength of the induced eddy currents and increasing sensitivity to changes in the magnetic field;
detecting a rate of change in a magnetic field generated by the eddy currents in the at least one wellbore casing string over time via receiver coils at selected ones of the sensor segments;
recording the detected rate of change; and
analyzing the recorded rate of change, taking into account the amplification provided by the at least one solenoid, to determine the condition of the at least one wellbore casing string with enhanced sensitivity, the analysis identifying potential areas of corrosion in the at least one wellbore casing string based on the detected rate of change.”
Claim 17 is allowable due to its dependency on claim 16; claims 18-25 are allowable due to its dependency on claim 17; claim 27 is allowable due to its dependency on claim 26.
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 and 3-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Peter et al. (U.S. Publication No. 2021/0349232 A1).
With respect to claim 1, Peter et al. discloses a wellbore casing corrosion measurement tool (para 0033, lines 1-12; downhole operations such as drilling and steering operation which is considered the wellbore which refers to the hole that makes up all or part of a drilled well), comprising: a sensor apparatus comprising:
a plurality of sensor segments arranged into a segmented cylindrical shape such that a sensitivity axis of each sensor segment is aligned along a radial direction (see sensor assemblies 40 referring to the NMR assemblies shown in Fig. 1); and
control circuitry configured to:
energize a transmitter coil (see transmitter coils 201 and 202 shown in Fig. 25) of a sensor segment so that a magnetic field generated at the sensor segment extends from the sensor to induce eddy currents in at least one wellbore casing string (para 0099, lines 1-8);
and detect a magnetic field generated by the eddy currents in the at least one wellbore casing string over time via receiver coils at selected ones of the sensor segments (para 0073, lines 1-11), the detected magnetic field being indicative of condition of the at least one wellbore casing string (para 0106, lines 1-7).
With respect to claim 3, Peter et al. discloses the wellbore casing corrosion measurement tool of claim 1, wherein the control circuitry is configured to detect a rate of change (para 0083, lines 1-3) in the magnetic field generated by the eddy currents in the at least one wellbore casing string over time via receiver coils at selected ones of the sensor segments (para 0073, lines 1-11), the detected rate of change being indicative of condition of the at least one wellbore casing string (para 0099, lines 1-8).
With respect to claim 4, Peter et al. discloses the wellbore casing corrosion measurement tool of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of sensor segments is comprised of: a transmitter coil (see transmitter coils 201 and 202 shown in Fig. 25) and a receiver coil connected as part of a single transceiver coil (see receiver coils 204-206 shown in Fig. 25).
With respect to claim 5, Peter et al. discloses the wellbore casing corrosion measurement tool (para 0033, lines 1-12; downhole operations such as drilling and steering operation which is considered the wellbore which refers to the hole that makes up all or part of a drilled well) of claim 1, wherein the control circuitry comprises: a controller configured to detect the rate of change in the magnetic field generated by the eddy currents over time via the receiver coil of each of the sensor segments (para 0073, lines 1-11); an excitation source connected to the controller for controlling the energizing of the transmitter coils (see transmitter coils 201 and 202 shown in Fig. 25); and a data acquisition system connected to the controller for recording measurements from the receiver coils (para 0106, lines 1-7).
With respect to claim 6, Peter et al. discloses the wellbore casing corrosion measurement tool of claim 5, wherein the control circuitry is further configured to analyze the rate of change in the magnetic field detected via each of the receiver coils to determine a condition of the at least one wellbore casing string (para 0106, lines 1-7).
With respect to claim 7, Peter et al. discloses the wellbore casing corrosion measurement tool of claim 1, wherein the control circuitry sequentially activates individual sensor segments such that the magnetic fields generated thereby extend radially outwardly (para 0031, lines 1-9).
With respect to claim 8, Peter et al. discloses the wellbore casing corrosion measurement tool of claim 7, wherein the control circuitry is configured to process the magnetic field detected by receiver coils of different sensor segments (see transmitter coils 201 and 202 shown in Fig. 25), and to determine a condition of the at least one wellbore casing string based upon the processing (para 0106, lines 1-7).
With respect to claim 9, Peter et al. discloses the wellbore casing corrosion measurement tool of claim 7, wherein the control circuitry is configured to analyze the magnetic fields detected by receiver coils of various sensor segments (see transmitter coils 201 and 202 shown in Fig. 25), and to determine a condition of the at least one wellbore casing string based upon the analysis (para 0033, lines 1-12; downhole operations such as drilling and steering operation which is considered the wellbore which refers to the hole that makes up all or part of a drilled well).
With respect to claim 10, Peter et al. discloses the wellbore casing corrosion measurement tool of claim 7, further comprising at least one solenoid positioned adjacent the plurality of sensor segments along a longitudinal axis of the wellbore casing corrosion measurement tool (para 0033, lines 1-12; downhole operations such as drilling and steering operation which is considered the wellbore which refers to the hole that makes up all or part of a drilled well), wherein the at least one solenoid is either comprised of a single coil or comprised of multiple coils (para 0056, lines 1-8).
With respect to claim 11, Peter et al. discloses a method for assessing a condition of at least one wellbore casing string using a wellbore casing corrosion measurement tool (para 0033, lines 1-12; downhole operations such as drilling and steering operation which is considered the wellbore which refers to the hole that makes up all or part of a drilled well), the method comprising:
deploying the tool into the at least one wellbore casing string, the tool having a sensor apparatus with a plurality of sensor segments (see sensor assemblies 40 referring to the NMR assemblies shown in Fig. 1);
energizing a transmitter coil of a selected sensor segment so that a magnetic field generated at the sensor segment extends from the sensor to induce eddy currents in the at least one wellbore casing string (para 0106, lines 1-7); detecting a rate of change in a magnetic field generated by the eddy currents in the at least one
wellbore casing string over time via receiver coils at selected ones of the sensor segments;
recording the detected rate of change (para 0099, lines 1-8); and
analyzing the recorded rate of change to determine potential conditions of the at least one wellbore casing string based on the detected rate of change (para 0083, lines 1-3).
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
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