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 .
DETAILED ACTION
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.
Claim Objections
Claim 1 is objected to because of the following informalities:
“an inner pipe that is” in line 3 should be --an inner pipe, the inner pipe is--;
“an interior flow channel that defines” in line 5 should be --an interior flow channel, the interior flow channel defines--;
“the amount of heat transferred” in lines 9-10 should be --an amount of heat transferred--;
“a thermally-insulative piping system that reduces the amount of heat transferred from the hotter circulating fluid to the cooler circulating fluid that flows in the first and second flow paths” in lines 9-11 should be --a thermally-insulative piping system, the thermally-insulative piping systeman amount of heat transferred from the at a higher temperature to the at a lower temperature, the circulating fluid flow path and the second flow [[paths]]path--
--from the at a higher temperature to the at a lower temperature, the circulating fluid flows in the first flow path and the second flow path--.
Claim 2 is objected to because of the following informalities:
“A closed well loop” in line 1 should be --The closed well loop--;
“the inner diameter surface” in line 3 should be --an inner diameter surface--.
Claim 3 is objected to because of the following informalities:
“A closed well loop” in line 1 should be --The closed well loop--;
“the outer diameter surface” in line 3 should be --an outer diameter surface--.
Claim 4 is objected to because of the following informalities:
“A closed well loop” in line 1 should be --The closed well loop--;
“a vacuum insulated pipe that forms” in line 2 should be --a vacuum insulated pipe, the vacuum insulated pipe
Claim 5 is objected to because of the following informalities:
“A closed well loop” in line 1 should be --The closed well loop--;
“the circulating working fluid that flows” in line 3 should be --the circulating working fluid, the circulating working fluid
“in the first and second flow paths” in line 3 should be --in the first flow path and the second flow path--.
Claim 6 is objected to because of the following informalities:
“A closed well loop” in line 1 should be --The closed well loop--;
“at least one lateral section that extends” in line 4 should be --at least one section, the at least one section extends--;
“the first and second flow paths” in line 7 should be --the first flow path and the second flow path--.
Claim 7 is objected to because of the following informalities:
“A closed well loop” in line 1 should be --The closed well loop--;
“the first and second flow paths” in lines 3-4 should be --the first flow path and the second flow path of the well--.
Claim 8 is objected to because of the following informalities:
“A closed well loop” in line 1 should be --The closed well loop--;
“the surface” in line 3 should be --a surface--;
“the hot zone” in lines 3-4 should be --a hot zone--;
“which has been heated” in line 6 should be --the hotter circulating fluid has been heated--.
Claim 9 is objected to because of the following informalities:
“A closed well loop” in line 1 should be --The closed well loop--;
“which has been heated” in line 3 should be --the hotter circulating fluid has been heated--;
“the hot zone” in lines 3-4 should be --a hot zone--;
“the surface” in line 5 should be --a surface--.
Claim 10 is objected to because of the following informalities:
“A closed well loop” in line 1 should be --The closed well loop--;
“casing that lines” in line 2 should be --a casing, the casing lines--.
Claim 11 is objected to because of the following informalities:
“an inner pipe that is supported” in line 5 should be --an inner pipe, the inner pipe is supported--;
“an interior flow channel that defines” in line 6 should be --an interior flow channel, the interior flow channel defines--;
“for circulating working fluid” in line 7 should be --for a circulating working fluid--;
“a thermally-insulative piping system that reduces the amount of heat transferred from the hotter circulating fluid to the cooler circulating fluid that flows in the first and second flow paths within the well” in lines 9-11 should be --a thermally-insulative piping system, the thermally-insulating piping system an amount of heat transferred from the at a higher temperature to the at a lower temperature, [[that] the circulating fluid flows in the first flow path and the second flow [[paths]]path within the well--.
Claim 12 is objected to because “A closed well loop” in line 1 should be --The closed well loop--.
Claim 13 is objected to because “A closed well loop” in line 1 should be --The closed well loop--.
Claim 14 is objected to because “A closed well loop” in line 1 should be --The closed well loop--.
Claim 15 is objected to because “A closed well loop” in line 1 should be --The closed well loop--.
Claim 16 is objected to because “A closed well loop” in line 1 should be --The closed well loop--.
Claim 17 is objected to because “A closed well loop” in line 1 should be --The closed well loop--.
Claim 18 is objected to because of the following informalities:
“A closed well loop” in line 1 should be --The closed well loop--;
“the inner diameter surface” in line 3 should be --an inner diameter surface-- .
Claim 19 is objected to because of the following informalities:
“A closed well loop” in line 1 should be --The closed well loop--;
“the outer diameter surface” in line 3 should be --an outer diameter surface-- .
Claim 20 is objected to because of the following informalities:
“A closed well loop” in line 1 should be --The closed well loop--;
“a vacuum insulated pipe that forms” in line 2 should be --a vacuum insulated pipe, the vacuum insulated pipe
Claim 21 is objected to because of the following informalities:
“A closed well loop” in line 1 should be --The closed well loop--;
“the surface” in line 3 should be --a surface--;
“the hot zone” in lines 3-4 should be --a hot zone--;
“which has been heated” in line 6 should be --the hotter circulating fluid has been heated--.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 1-5, and 8-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Niemi (U.S. 2021/0048229).
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Re claim 1:
Niemi discloses a closed well loop (Modified Fig. 4 above - A (person having ordinary skill in the art would recognize element A as a type of closed well loop; element A corresponds to the elements within the dotted box and see Para 71- “…closed circulation piping…”; element A of Modified Fig. 4 above also is shown in Fig. 3 and includes the embodiment of Fig. 3)) for a geothermal system (Fig. 3/4), the closed well loop (Modified Fig. 4 above - A) comprising:
a well (2, ground hole - Para 59) that traverses a subterranean formation (Modified Fig. 4 above - B (person having ordinary skill in the art would recognize element B as a type of subterranean formation; see Paras 59-63)) to extract heat from the subterranean formation (Modified Fig. 4 above - B)(see Para 81), wherein the well (2) includes a section (see Fig. 3/4 at 25 and Para 86 - “…first thermal insulation 25 extends from the ground surface 1 to the lower end 17 of the rise pipe 11…”) with an inner pipe (11, rise pipe - Para 83) that is supported inside an outer pipe (21, drain pipe - Para 83) in a pipe-in-pipe arrangement (see Fig. 3/4 and Para 83);
wherein the inner pipe (11) has an interior flow channel (Modified Fig. 4 above - D (person having ordinary skill in the art would recognize element D as a type of interior flow channel; see Para 83 - “…primary flow 22 flows downwards in the rise pipe 11…”)) that defines a first flow path (Modified Fig. 4 above - E (person having ordinary skill in the art would recognize element E as a type of first flow path; see Para 83)) for circulating working fluid (Para 83 - “…primary working fluid…”)(see Fig. 3/4 at 11 and Para 83);
wherein an annulus (Modified Fig. 4 above - F (person having ordinary skill in the art would recognize element F as a type of annulus between element 11 and 21; see Para 83 - “…rise pipe and the drain pipe are arranged nested within each other or they may be arranged coaxially within each other such that the rise pipe 11 is inside the drain pipe 21…working fluid…then flows as cold primary flow 12 upwards the drain pipe 21…”)) between the inner pipe (11) and the outer pipe (21) defines a second flow path (Modified Fig. 4 above - G (person having ordinary skill in the art would recognize element G as a type of second flow path; see Para 83)) for the circulating working fluid (see Fig. 3/4 at 12 and Para 83); and
wherein the inner pipe (11) includes a thermally-insulative piping system (25, thermal insulation - Para 86) that reduces the amount of heat transferred from the hotter circulating fluid to the cooler circulating fluid that flows in the first (Modified Fig. 4 above - E) and second flow paths (Modified Fig. 4 above - G)(see Fig. 3/4 and Paras 83 and 86).
Re claim 2:
Niemi discloses the closed well loop (Modified Fig. 4 above - A) according to claim 1 (as described above), wherein:
the thermally-insulative piping system (25) includes a continuous layer of thermally-insulating material (Para 87 - “…first thermal insulation 25…provided with any other insulating material…”) applied to or otherwise disposed about the inner diameter surface (Modified Fig. 4 above - H (person having ordinary skill in the art would recognize element H as a type of inner diameter surface)) of the inner pipe (11) for at least part of the section (at 25)(see Modified Fig. 4 above and Paras 86-87).
Re claim 3:
Niemi discloses the closed well loop (Modified Fig. 4 above - A) according to claim 1 (as described above), wherein:
the thermally-insulative piping system (25) includes a continuous layer of thermally-insulating material (Para 87 - “…first thermal insulation 25…provided with any other insulating material…”) applied to or otherwise disposed about the outer diameter surface (Modified Fig. 4 above - I (person having ordinary skill in the art would recognize element I as a type of outer diameter surface)) of the inner pipe (11) for at least part of the section (at 25)(see Modified Fig. 4 above and Paras 86-87).
Re claim 4:
Niemi discloses the closed well loop (Modified Fig. 4 above - A) according to claim 1 (as described above), wherein:
the thermally-insulative piping system (25) includes a vacuum insulated pipe (Para 87 - “…an evacuated tube…”) that forms the inner pipe (11) for at least part of the section (at 25)(see Fig. 4 and Paras 86-87).
Re claim 5:
Niemi discloses the closed well loop (Modified Fig. 4 above - A) according to claim 1 (as described above), wherein:
the well (2) is further configured to extract heat from the subterranean formation (Modified Fig. 4 above - B)(see Para 81) and transfer heat to the circulating working fluid that flows in the first (Modified Fig. 4 above - E) and second flow paths (Modified Fig. 4 above - G)(see Modified Fig. 4 above, Paras 81, 83, and 89).
Re claim 8:
Niemi discloses the closed well loop (Modified Fig. 4 above - A) according to claim 1 (as described above), wherein:
the first flow path (Modified Fig. 4 above - E) defined by the interior flow channel (Modified Fig. 4 above - D) of the inner pipe (11) is configured to carry cooler circulating working fluid downward within the well (2) from the surface (1, ground surface - Para 59) toward the hot zone (Modified Fig. 4 above - J (person having ordinary skill in the art would recognize element J as a type of hot zone of element B)) of the subterranean formation (Modified Fig. 4 above - B)( see Modified Fig. 4 above and Paras 81, 83, and 89); and
the second flow path (Modified Fig. 4 above - G) defined by the annulus (Modified Fig. 4 above - F) between the inner pipe (11) and the outer pipe (21) is configured to carry hotter circulating fluid, which has been heated by thermal energy extracted from the hot zone (Modified Fig. 4 above - J) of the subterranean formation (Modified Fig. 4 above - B), upward within the well (2) away from the hot zone (Modified Fig. 4 above - J) of the subterranean formation (Modified Fig. 4 above - B) toward the surface (1)(see Modified Fig. 4 above and Paras 81, 83, and 89).
Re claim 9:
Niemi discloses the closed well loop (Modified Fig. 4 above - A) according to claim 1 (as described above), wherein:
the first flow path (Modified Fig. 4 above - E) defined by the interior flow channel (Modified Fig. 4 above - D) of the inner pipe (11) is configured to carry hotter circulating fluid, which has been heated by thermal energy extracted from the hot zone (Modified Fig. 4 above - J (person having ordinary skill in the art would recognize element J as a type of hot zone of element B)) of the subterranean formation (Modified Fig. 4 above - B), upward within the well (2) away from the hot zone (Modified Fig. 4 above - J) of the subterranean formation (Modified Fig. 4 above - B) toward the surface (1)(see Modified Fig. 4 above and Paras 81, 83, and 89); and
the second flow path (Modified Fig. 4 above - G) defined by the annulus (Modified Fig. 4 above - F) between the inner pipe (11) and the outer pipe (21) is configured to carry cooler circulating working fluid downward within the well (2) from the surface (1) toward the hot zone (Modified Fig. 4 above - J) of the subterranean formation (Modified Fig. 4 above - B)(see Modified Fig. 4 above and Paras 81, 83, and 89).
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Re claim 10:
Niemi discloses the closed well loop (Modified Fig. 4 above - A) according to claim 1 (as described above), wherein:
the outer pipe (21) includes pipe (Para 83 - “…separate drain pipe…”) that is part of casing (Modified Fig. 3 above - B (person having ordinary skill in the art would recognize element B as a type of casing)) that lines a wellbore wall (Modified Fig. 3 above - A (person having ordinary skill in the art would recognize element A as a type of wellbore wall)) of the section (at 25)(see Modified Fig. 3 above and Para 83).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 6-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Niemi (U.S. 2021/0048229), as applied to claim 5 above, in view of Hara (U.S. 2011/0232858).
Re claim 6:
Niemi discloses the closed well loop (Modified Fig. 4 above - A) according to claim 5 (as described above), wherein:
the section of the well that includes the pipe-in-pipe arrangement (at 25) comprises a vertical section (see Fig. 3/4 at 2 and Para 62 - “…vertical hole…”).
Niemi fails to disclose wherein the well further includes at least one lateral section that extends laterally and downward away from the vertical section, wherein the at least one lateral section is configured to extract heat from the subterranean formation and transfer heat to the circulating working fluid that flows in the first and second flow paths of the well.
Hara teaches wherein a well (101, well - Para 65) includes at least one lateral section (115, heat conducting channels - Para 65) that extends laterally and downward away from a vertical section (see Fig. 5 at 101 above element 117)(see Fig. 5), wherein the at least one lateral section (115) is configured to extract heat from a subterranean formation (see Fig. 5 and Para 65 - “…carry heat from one or more heat source(s) or zones present in the earth…”) and transfer heat to a circulating working fluid (109, thermal fluid - Para 57) that flows in a first flow path (see Fig. 3 at downward facing arrows (also shown in Fig. 5)) and a second flow path (see Fig. 3 at inward facing arrows (also shown in Fig. 5)) of the well (101)(see Fig. 5 and Paras 57, and 65-67).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modeled the well of Niemi after that of Hara, thereby including at least one lateral section that extends laterally and downward away from the vertical section of Niemi such that the at least one lateral section is configured to extract heat from the subterranean formation in Niemi and transfer heat to the circulating working fluid that flows in the first and second flow paths of the well of Niemi, all in the way taught by Hara, for the advantage of providing much greater efficiency (Hara; Para 66).
Re claim 7:
Niemi/Hara teaches the closed well loop (Modified Fig. 4 above - A) according to claim 6 (as described above).
Niemi fails to disclose wherein a part of the at least one lateral section is configured to extract heat from the subterranean formation and transfer heat to the circulating working fluid that flows in the first and second flow paths of the well.
Hara teaches wherein a well (101, well - Para 65) includes at least one lateral section (115, heat conducting channels - Para 65) that extends laterally and downward away from a vertical section (see Fig. 5 at 101 above element 117)(see Fig. 5), wherein the at least one lateral section (115) is configured to extract heat from a subterranean formation (see Fig. 5 and Para 65 - “…carry heat from one or more heat source(s) or zones present in the earth…”) and transfer heat to a circulating working fluid (109, thermal fluid - Para 57) that flows in a first flow path (see Fig. 3 at downward facing arrows (also shown in Fig. 5)) and a second flow path (see Fig. 3 at inward facing arrows (also shown in Fig. 5)) of the well (101)(see Fig. 5 and Paras 57, and 65-67), wherein a part of the at least one lateral section (at 115) is configured to extract heat from the subterranean formation and transfer heat to the circulating working fluid that flows in the first and second flow paths of the well (see Fig. 5 and Paras 57, and 65-67).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modeled the well of Niemi after that of Hara, thereby including at least one lateral section that extends laterally and downward away from the vertical section of Niemi such that the at least one lateral section is configured to extract heat from the subterranean formation in Niemi and transfer heat to the circulating working fluid that flows in the first and second flow paths of the well of Niemi, wherein a part of the at least one lateral section is configured to extract heat from the subterranean formation of Niemi and transfer heat to the circulating working fluid that flows in the first and second flow paths of the well of Niemi, all in the way taught by Hara, for the advantage of providing much greater efficiency (Hara; Para 66).
Claims 11-16, and 18-22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Niemi (U.S. 2021/0048229) in view of Hara (U.S. 2011/0232858).
Re claim 11:
Niemi discloses a closed well loop (Modified Fig. 4 above - A (person having ordinary skill in the art would recognize element A as a type of closed well loop; element A corresponds to the elements within the dotted box and see Para 71- “…closed circulation piping…”; element A of Modified Fig. 4 above also is shown in Fig. 3 and includes the embodiment of Fig. 3)) for a geothermal system (Fig. 3/4), the closed well loop (Modified Fig. 4 above - A) comprising:
a well (2, ground hole - Para 59) that traverses a subterranean formation (Modified Fig. 4 above - B (person having ordinary skill in the art would recognize element B as a type of subterranean formation; see Paras 59-63)) to extract heat from the subterranean formation (Modified Fig. 4 above - B)(see Para 81), wherein the well (2) includes a vertical section (see Fig. 3/4 at 2 and Para 62 - “…vertical hole…”)) w
wherein the vertical section (at 2) includes an inner pipe (11, rise pipe - Para 83) that is supported inside an outer pipe (21, drain pipe - Para 83) in a pipe-in-pipe arrangement (see Fig. 3/4 and Para 83),
wherein the inner pipe (11) has an interior flow channel (Modified Fig. 4 above - D (person having ordinary skill in the art would recognize element D as a type of interior flow channel; see Para 83 - “…primary flow 22 flows downwards in the rise pipe 11…”)) that defines a first flow path (Modified Fig. 4 above - E (person having ordinary skill in the art would recognize element E as a type of first flow path; see Para 83)) for circulating working fluid (Para 83 - “…primary working fluid…”)(see Fig. 3/4 at 11 and Para 83),
wherein an annulus (Modified Fig. 4 above - F (person having ordinary skill in the art would recognize element F as a type of annulus between element 11 and 21; see Para 83 - “…rise pipe and the drain pipe are arranged nested within each other or they may be arranged coaxially within each other such that the rise pipe 11 is inside the drain pipe 21…working fluid…then flows as cold primary flow 12 upwards the drain pipe 21…”)) between the inner pipe (11) and the outer pipe (21) defines a second flow path (Modified Fig. 4 above - G (person having ordinary skill in the art would recognize element G as a type of second flow path; see Para 83)) for the circulating working fluid (see Fig. 3/4 at 12 and Para 83), and
wherein the inner pipe (11) includes a thermally-insulative piping system (25, thermal insulation - Para 86) that reduces the amount of heat transferred from the hotter circulating fluid to the cooler circulating fluid that flows in the first (Modified Fig. 4 above - E) and second flow paths (Modified Fig. 4 above - G) within the well (2)(see Fig. 3/4 and Paras 83 and 86).
Niemi fails to disclose wherein the well includes a vertical section with at least one lateral section that extends from the vertical section.
Hara teaches wherein a well (101, well - Para 65) includes a vertical section (see Fig. 5 at 101 above element 117) with at least one lateral section (115, heat conducting channels - Para 65) that extends from the vertical section (see Fig. 5 at 117 and Para 65).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modeled the well of Niemi after that of Hara, thereby including at least one lateral section that extends for the vertical section of Niemi in the way taught by Hara, for the advantage of providing much greater efficiency (Hara; Para 66).
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Re claims 12-16:
Niemi/Hara teaches the closed well loop (Modified Fig. 4 above - A) according to claim 11 (as described above).
Niemi fails to disclose wherein the at least one lateral section extends laterally and downward away from the vertical section (claim 12); nor wherein at least part of the at least one lateral section is configured to support convective circulation of the circulating fluid (claim 13); nor wherein the inner pipe extends to a depth in the vertical section below intersection of the least one lateral section and the vertical section (claim 14); nor wherein the at least one lateral section has a toe segment that is located at, or extends to, a depth below bottom of the vertical section (claim 15); nor the closed well further comprising at least one lateral injection manifold that extends laterally and downward from the vertical section and intersects the toe segment of a corresponding lateral section (claim 16).
Hara teaches wherein a well (101, well - Para 65) includes a vertical section (see Fig. 5 at 101 above element 117) with at least one lateral section (115, heat conducting channels - Para 65) that extends from the vertical section (see Fig. 5 at 117 and Para 65); wherein the at least one lateral section (115) extends laterally and downward away from the vertical section (117)(see Fig. 5); wherein at least part of the at least one lateral section (115) is configured to support convective circulation of a circulating fluid (109, thermal fluid - Para 57)( see Fig. 5 and Paras 55, 57, and 65-67); wherein an inner pipe (107, inner pipe - Para 55) extends to a depth (see Fig. 5 at 117) in the vertical section (see Fig. 5 at 101 above element 117) below intersection of the least one lateral section (115) and the vertical section (see Fig. 5 at 101 above element 117)(see Fig. 5 where element 131 is shown above element 107); wherein the at least one lateral section (115) has a toe segment (Modified Fig. 5 above - A (person having ordinary skill in the art would recognize element A as a type of toe segment of element 115)) that is located at, or extends to, a depth below bottom of the vertical section (see Fig. 5 at 101 above element 117)(see Modified Fig. 5 above); and the closed well (101) further comprising at least one lateral injection manifold (Fig. 5 at 117 and Para 65 - “…The one or more heat conducting channel(s) 115 may be arranged such that they converge to contact a single heat exchange Zone 117 of the main well 101…”) that extends laterally and downward from the vertical section (see Fig. 5 at 101 above element 117) and intersects the toe segment (Modified Fig. 5 above - A) of a corresponding lateral section (115)(see Modified Fig. 5 above); .
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modeled the well of Niemi after that of Hara, thereby including at least one lateral section that extends for the vertical section of Niemi, wherein the at least one lateral section extends laterally and downward away from the vertical section of Niemi, and wherein at least part of the at least one lateral section is configured to support convective circulation of the circulating fluid of Niemi; wherein the inner pipe of Niemi extends to a depth in the vertical section of Niemi below intersection of the least one lateral section and the vertical section of Niemi; wherein the at least one lateral section has a toe segment that is located at, or extends to, a depth below bottom of the vertical section of Niemi; and including at least one lateral injection manifold in the closed well loop of Niemi that extends laterally and downward from the vertical section of Niemi and intersects the toe segment of a corresponding lateral section, all in the way taught by Hara, for the advantage of providing much greater efficiency (Hara; Para 66).
Re claim 18:
Niemi/Hara teaches the closed well loop (Modified Fig. 4 above - A) according to claim 11 (as described above).
Niemi further discloses wherein the thermally-insulative piping system (25) includes a continuous layer of thermally-insulating material (Para 87 - “…first thermal insulation 25…provided with any other insulating material…”) applied to or otherwise disposed about the inner diameter surface (Modified Fig. 4 above - H (person having ordinary skill in the art would recognize element H as a type of inner diameter surface)) of the inner pipe (11) for at least part of the vertical section (at 2)(see Modified Fig. 4 above and Paras 86-87).
Re claim 19:
Niemi/Hara teaches the closed well loop (Modified Fig. 4 above - A) according to claim 11 (as described above).
Niemi further discloses wherein the thermally-insulative piping system (25) includes a continuous layer of thermally-insulating material (Para 87 - “…first thermal insulation 25…provided with any other insulating material…”) applied to or otherwise disposed about the outer diameter surface (Modified Fig. 4 above - I (person having ordinary skill in the art would recognize element I as a type of outer diameter surface)) of the inner pipe (11) for at least part of the vertical section (at 2)(see Modified Fig. 4 above and Paras 86-87)
Re claim 20:
Niemi/Hara teaches the closed well loop (Modified Fig. 4 above - A) according to claim 11 (as described above).
Niemi further discloses wherein the thermally-insulative piping system (25) includes a vacuum insulated pipe (Para 87 - “…an evacuated tube…”) that forms the inner pipe (11) for at least part of the vertical section (at 2)(see Fig. 4 and Paras 86-87).
Re claim 21:
Niemi/Hara teaches the closed well loop (Modified Fig. 4 above - A) according to claim 11 (as described above):
Niemi further discloses wherein the first flow path (Modified Fig. 4 above - E) defined by the interior flow channel (Modified Fig. 4 above - D) of the inner pipe (11) is configured to carry cooler circulating working fluid downward within the well (2) from the surface (1, ground surface - Para 59) toward the hot zone (Modified Fig. 4 above - J (person having ordinary skill in the art would recognize element J as a type of hot zone of element B)) of the subterranean formation (Modified Fig. 4 above - B)( see Modified Fig. 4 above and Paras 81, 83, and 89); and
the second flow path (Modified Fig. 4 above - G) defined by the annulus (Modified Fig. 4 above - F) between the inner pipe (11) and the outer pipe (21) is configured to carry hotter circulating fluid, which has been heated by thermal energy extracted from the hot zone (Modified Fig. 4 above - J) of the subterranean formation (Modified Fig. 4 above - B), upward within the well (2) away from the hot zone (Modified Fig. 4 above - J) of the subterranean formation (Modified Fig. 4 above - B) toward the surface (1)(see Modified Fig. 4 above and Paras 81, 83, and 89).
Re claim 22:
Niemi/Hara teaches the closed well loop (Modified Fig. 4 above - A) according to claim 11 (as described above):
Niemi further discloses wherein the outer pipe (21) includes pipe (Para 83 - “…separate drain pipe…”) that is part of casing (Modified Fig. 3 above - B (person having ordinary skill in the art would recognize element B as a type of casing)) that lines a wellbore wall (Modified Fig. 3 above - A (person having ordinary skill in the art would recognize element A as a type of wellbore wall)) of the vertical section (at 2)(see Modified Fig. 3 above and Para 83).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 17 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Claim 17 would be allowed primarily because the prior art of record cannot anticipate Applicant’s claimed invention by a single reference nor render Applicant’s claimed invention obvious by the combination of more than one reference.
Additionally, the prior art of record does not teach “wherein the at least one lateral injection manifold intersects the vertical section below the isolation packer; and wherein the at least one lateral section intersects the vertical section above the isolation packer” as within the context of the claimed invention as disclosed and within the context of the other limitations present in claim 17.
Therefore, the prior art of record cannot anticipate Applicant’s claimed invention by a single reference nor render Applicant’s claimed invention obvious by one or more references.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Loren C Edwards whose telephone number is (571)272-7133. The examiner can normally be reached M-R 6AM-430PM.
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/LOREN C EDWARDS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3746 2/13/26