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 Group I, and the following species:
For Species 1a, Applicant elects a).
For Species 1b, Applicant elects b).
For Species 3, Applicant elects e).
For Species 4, Applicant elects a).
Applicant submits the elected Group and species are encompassed by claims 1, 3-7, 9-10, and 12-15. in the reply filed on 12/22/2025 is acknowledged.
The traversal is on the ground(s) that the restriction on grounds that a search for any of Groups I, II, or III and the identified species would yield references applicable to all of Groups I, II, or III and the species, if any such references exist. Thus, examination of the combined claim set is more efficient as there is no serious search burden imposed on the Examiner.
Applicant respectfully requests withdrawal of the restriction requirement. This is not found persuasive because examination is not limited to search. In addition to the search, much of the examination is devoted to determining patentability of claims. Said determination requires the formulation of rejection and responding to applicant’s arguments with regard to the same. The additional search and the determination of patentablility for multiple, patentability distinct species would place serious burden on the examiner.
The requirement is still deemed proper and is therefore made FINAL.
Information Disclosure Statement
The listing of references in the specification is not a proper information disclosure statement. 37 CFR 1.98(b) requires a list of all patents, publications, or other information submitted for consideration by the Office, and MPEP § 609.04(a) states, "the list may not be incorporated into the specification but must be submitted in a separate paper." Therefore, unless the references have been cited by the examiner on form PTO-892, they have not been considered.
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 4 and 12 and 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.
Claim 4 recites “.. time is greater than one hour. “ This is a range with unbounded upper limit, and as such, it is unclear to extent of time Applicant is intending to seek patent protection of; as such, the claim is rendered indefinite.
Claim 12 recites “…. at least 300 degrees Fahrenheit or 149 degrees Celsius. “ This is a range with unbounded upper limit, and as such, it is unclear to extent of temperature Applicant is intending to seek patent protection of; as such, the claim is rendered indefinite.
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, 4-5, 7, 9-10m 12, 14, and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a) (1)) as anticipated by or, in the alternative, under 35 U.S.C. 103 as obvious over Brown (US 5,685,362) (“Brown” herein – provided by applicant)
(Claims contain only selected species)
Claim 1
Brown discloses a subterranean energy storage system, comprising: (Fig. 1)
a geothermal reservoir with at least one fracture configured to hold a working fluid for a period of time; (Col. 3 l. 43-64; Col. 6 l. 40-47)
at least one wellbore positioned within the geothermal reservoir fluidly coupled to the at least one fracture; (Col. 3 l. 43-64; Col. 2 l. 38-53)
at least one pump fluidly coupled to the at least one wellbore, the at least one pump configured to at least one of a) inject the working fluid into the at least one fracture of the geothermal reservoir ; (Col. 4 l. 64+ & Col. 5 l. 1-15) and
a power system fluidly coupled to the at least one wellbore, the power system configured to convert at least one of b) a fluid dynamic energy of the working fluid into an electrical current; (Col. 4 l. 64+ & Col. 5 l. 1-15)
wherein a downhole pressure of the working fluid held in the at least one fracture for the period of time increases during the period time.(Col. 6 l. 44-47)
Or a different interpretation of Brown
Brown discloses a subterranean energy storage system, comprising: (Fig. 1)
a geothermal reservoir with at least one fracture configured to hold a working fluid for a period of time; (Col. 3 l. 43-64; Col. 6 l. 40-47)
at least one wellbore positioned within the geothermal reservoir fluidly coupled to the at least one fracture; (Col. 3 l. 43-64; Col. 2 l. 38-53)
at least one pump fluidly coupled to the at least one wellbore, the at least one pump configured to at least one of a) inject the working fluid into the at least one fracture of the geothermal reservoir ; (Col. 4 l. 64+ & Col. 5 l. 1-15) and
a power system fluidly coupled to the at least one wellbore, the power system configured to convert at least one of b) a fluid dynamic energy of the working fluid into an electrical current; (Col. 4 l. 64+ & Col. 5 l. 1-15)
wherein a downhole pressure of the working fluid held in the at least one fracture for the period of time increases during the period time.(Col. 6 l. 44-47)
Brown does not explicitly disclose the terminology as recited within the claimed invention: downhole pressure of the working fluid held in the at least one fracture. However, Brown discloses As the valve is closed down, production backpressure increases. Production backpressure, or wellhead pressure, increased to about 3300 psig at the end of each 20 hour base flow period. .(Col. 6 l. 44-47) and a reservoir comprised of hot fractured rock is established and water or other liquid is passed through the reservoir. hat the geopolymer-coated proppant is mixed with water to form an aqueous solution (Col. 1 l. 46-48) which serves as downhole pressure of the working fluid held in the at least one fracture. Therefore, the Examiner interprets this disclosure to read on the claimed invention.
Claim 4
Brown discloses the subterranean energy storage system of claim 1, wherein the period of time is greater than one hour. ( Col. 6 l. 40-47)
Claim 5
Brown discloses the subterranean energy storage system of claim 1, wherein the at least one fracture includes a plurality of fractures. (Col. 2 l. 38-53)
Claim 7
Brown discloses the subterranean energy storage system of claim 1, wherein working fluid is at least one of e) a liquid. (Col. 3 l. 43-64)
Claim 9
Brown discloses the subterranean energy storage system of claim 1, wherein the power
system is at least one of a) a surface turbine. (Col. 3 l. 43-64; Col. 4 l. 64+ & Col. 5 l. 1-15)
Claim 10
Brown discloses the subterranean energy storage system of claim 1, wherein the at least one pump is configured to inject the working fluid during an off-peak period of power consumption. (Col. 1 l. 53-56)
Claim 12
Brown discloses the subterranean energy storage system of claim 1, wherein a downhole temperature of the geothermal reservoir is at least 300 degrees Fahrenheit or 149 degrees Celsius. (Col. 7 l. 54+ & Col. 8 l. 1-11)
Claim 14
Brown discloses the subterranean energy storage system of claim 1, further comprising
a valve configured to hold the working fluid in the at least one fracture when the valve is
in a closed position and to allow the working fluid to flow from the at least one fracture to
the power system when the valve is in an open position. (Col. 6 l. 39-50)
Claim 15
Brown discloses the subterranean energy storage system of claim 14, wherein the
working fluid is configured to flow from the at least one fracture to the power system under an influence of a geostatic pressure when the valve is in the open position. (Col. 6 l. 39-50)
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.
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 3 and 6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Brown, as applied to claim 1 and in further view of Al-Dosary et al. (US 2017/0183963 A1) (Al-Dosary” herein )
Claim 3
Brown discloses the subterranean energy storage system of claim 1. Brown however does not explicitly disclose, wherein a permeability of the geothermal reservoir is between 10⁻⁶ to 10⁻⁸ darcies.
Al-Dosary teaches the above limitation (See paragraphs 0056, 0062, and 0135 → Al-Dosary teaches this limitation in that the permeability of caprock capable of retaining fluids through geologic time may be of the order of about 10.sup.−6 to about 10.sup.−8 D (darcies). As an example, a stimulation treatment may include pumping fluid into a formation via a wellbore at pressure and rate sufficient to cause a fracture to open. Such a fracture may be vertical and include wings that extend away from the wellbore, for example, in opposing directions according to natural stresses within the formation. FIG. 12 shows an example of a scenario 1200 that is illustrated via a graphic of a bore within a formation 1210 and a plot 1220 of temperature data versus a spatial dimension (e.g., depth). As shown, a DTS may be acquired for at least a portion of the bore, which, as shown in the plot 1220, may span over a thousand feet (e.g., over approximately 300 meters). In the plot 1220, a baseline temperature profile characterizes the geothermal effect of the formation while additional temperature profiles 1232, 1234 and 1236 provide information as to injection and warm-back. As indicated, the temperature profiles 1232, 1234 and 1236 include deviations 1242, 1244 and 1246 toward lower temperatures that correspond to regions of the formation that have taken up more injection fluid.) for the purpose of or creating new, artificial fractures, to stimulate existing natural fractures (e.g., reactivate calcite-sealed natural fractures), etc. (see, e.g., the one or more fractures 129 in the geologic environment 120 of FIG. 1). [0060]
Accordingly, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to modify Brown with the above limitation, as taught by Al-Dosary, in order to create new, artificial fractures, to stimulate existing natural fractures (e.g., reactivate calcite-sealed natural fractures), etc. (see, e.g., the one or more fractures 129 in the geologic environment 120 of FIG. 1). [0060]
Claim 6
Brown discloses the subterranean energy storage system of claim 5. Brown however does not explicitly disclose, wherein the at least one fracture extends away from the at least one wellbore and downward towards a center of the Earth. (Same as claim 3)
Claim 13 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Brown.
Claim 13
Brown discloses the subterranean energy storage system of claim 1, wherein the at least one fracture is configured to open when the at least one pump injects the working fluid into the geothermal reservoir (Col. 2 l. 40-51). Brown does not explicitly disclose close when the working fluid is withdrawn from the geothermal reservoir.
It is well-known in the art of geothermal/ oil & gas production that once that if there is a holding material such as proppant / working fluid or any material that Is keeping the fracture open is removed and / or withdrawn, the fracture could close because there is nothing keeping the fracture prop open any longer.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Steele (US 11,585,330 B1) Flow Control For Geothermal Well teaches Systems and methods for harvesting geothermal energy use temperature-based flow control to optimize the extraction of thermal energy from a geothermal reservoir. In one example, a thermal transport fluid is flowed into a wellbore traversing a thermal reservoir of a formation. Flow of the thermal transport fluid into and out of the thermal reservoir is dynamically controlled at each of a plurality of injection and/or return locations in response to a downhole parameter such as temperature. For example, flow may be controlled so that the flow into the thermal reservoir is greater at the injection locations where the temperature is hotter and that the flow out of the thermal reservoir is greater at the return locations where the temperature is hotter. The thermal transport fluid produced from the return locations is then conveyed to surface to extra the thermal energy, Kaminsky (US 2012/0198844 A1) System And Method For Producing Geothermal Energy teaches The present techniques provide methods and systems for producing geothermal energy. The techniques include extracting geothermal energy from regions in a reservoir so as to reduce the stress in proximate regions. The geothermal energy is extracted from the proximate regions, and the extraction of geothermal energy is staged across subsequent regions in the reservoir, and Sweatman et al. (US 9,726,157 B2) Enhanced Geothermal Systems And Methods teaches The present invention relates to systems and methods of intelligently extracting heat from geothermal reservoirs. One geothermal well system includes at least one injection well extending to a subterranean formation and configured to inject a working fluid into the subterranean formation to generate a heated working fluid. At least one production well extends to the subterranean formation and produces the heated working fluid from the subterranean formation. A production zone defines a plurality of production sub-zones within the subterranean formation and provides fluid communication between the at least one injection well and the at least one production well. Each production sub-zone is selectively accessed in order to extract heated working fluid therefrom and thereby provide a steady supply of heated working fluid to the surface.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SILVANA C RUNYAN whose telephone number is (571)270-5415. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 7:30-4:30.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Doug Hutton can be reached at 571-272-4137. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/SILVANA C RUNYAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3674 01/21/2026