DETAILED ACTION
Notice of 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 .
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the limitations “a communication module”, (line 16), “wherein the measurement control circuit is connected to the electrical connection component through a cable” (lines 20-21), “the electrical connection component is connected to the circuit control module through a cable” (lines 21-22) recited in claim 10, “the electrically conductive female sliding ring is connected to the measurement control circuit through a cable” (lines 9-10) recited in claim 13 and “the cable connecting the electrically conductive male sliding ring and the circuit control module” (lines 5-6) recited in claim 14 must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
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 12-16, 19, 20-23 and 26-29 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.
Regarding claims 12-16, the claims recite “electrically conductive sliding ring”, “male sliding ring” or “female sliding ring”. However, the term “sliding ring” is unclear and not adequately defined or described in the specification. The disclosure discusses “an electrically conductive sliding ring, and the electrically conductive sliding ring may include an electrically conductive male sliding ring 61 and an electrically conductive female sliding ring 62…” (pp[0031]); however, the specification does not sufficiently disclose what structural or functional characteristics make the ring a “sliding ring” nor does it explain the mechanism by which the ring “slides” or the context of this “sliding” action within the invention. Without this disclosure, it is unclear what the scope of the claimed “sliding ring” encompasses, rendering the metes and bounds of claims indefinite.
Regarding claim 13, the claim recites “the electrically conductive female sliding ring is connected to the measurement control circuit through a cable” (last two lines); however, it is unclear if this “cable” is the same cable recited in claim 10 which recites “the measurement control circuit is connected to the electrical connection component through a cable” or a different cable. The specification does not sufficiently clarify this confusion because it discusses that “the measurement control circuit 51 is connected to the electrical connection component 6 through a cable” (pp[0029]) and “the electrically conductive female sliding ring 62 may be connected to the measurement control circuit 51 through a cable.” (pp[0031]). The electrical connection component 6 comprises the female sliding ring 62 (pp[0031]) and the disclosure does not specify whether there are two different cables connecting the electrical connection component 6 and the female sliding ring 62 to the measurement control circuit 51 or there just one cable. For this reason, the metes and bounds of this claim is indefinite.
Claim 14 recites the limitation "the cable connecting the electrically conductive male sliding ring and the circuit control module" in the second to last line. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claims 19, 20-23 and 26-29 are also rejected under this statute as these claims depend from a claims that have been rejected under this statue.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 10, 11, 17, 18, 24 and 25 are allowed.
Claims 12-16, 19-23 and 26-29 would be allowable if rewritten or amended to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action.
The closest prior art to claim 10 is Menger et al. (U.S. Publication No. 20190234148).
Regarding claim 10, Menger teaches a push-the-bit rotary steering device (200 comprises steering pads/pushing device 60 for steering bit 50; Abstract, Fig. 3A, pp[0024]), comprising: an upper driving shaft (122; Fig. 3A, 4) and a lower driving shaft (112, 114), the upper driving shaft and the lower driving shaft being coaxially provided (Figs. 3A, 4) and fixedly connected (via 102), the upper driving shaft being configured to be connected with an external driving device (stabilizer 62; Fig. 3A), and the lower driving shaft being provided with a drill bit at an end (50; Fig. 3A), wherein the upper driving shaft is provided with a circuit control module (control section 110; Fig. 3A, 4) and a hydraulic push module (232 is a “hydraulic push module” because this section extracts energy from mud 31 to selectively extend/push the steering pads 60; pp[0036] sequentially in the upper driving shaft (122) in a direction close to the lower driving shaft (112, 114), and the circuit control module (110) is configured to receive a control instruction and control the hydraulic push module to drive the lower driving shaft (the generator 272 provides electrical power to the electronics in the control section 110 including various sensors and circuitry that may provide instructions to the valve assembly 210. The valve 210 diverts mud to selectively extend pads 60; pp[0036], [0037]); a gamma measurement module in the upper driver shaft (Gamma Ray (GR) sensor packages; pp[0038]), the gamma measurement module being located in a position close to the hydraulic push module (the control section 110 features a modular electronics assembly 212 (FIG. 3A) including sensor packages for GR (gamma ray) which is close to 232; pp[0038], Fig. 4), a measurement control circuit (212) and an orientation measurement module (sensor packages for D&I (direction and inclination); pp[0038]) electrically connected to the measurement control circuit being provided in the gamma measurement module (pp[0038]); and
an electrical connection system (102) comprising an electrical connection component (electrical connectors 250, 252; pp[0033]) and a communication module (224; Fig. 3A), the electrical connection component being provided on a connecting end of the upper driving shaft (122; Fig. 4) and the lower driving shaft (112, 114), the communication module (224) being provided within the circuit control module (110) and the hydraulic push module (224; Fig. 4);
wherein the measurement control circuit (212) is connected to the electrical connection component (250, 252 of 102; Figs. 3A, 3B) through a cable (222; Fig. 3A), the electrical connection component is connected to the circuit control module (110) through the cable (222; Fig. 3A), and the circuit control module is connected to the hydraulic push module through the communication module.
Menger is silent regarding the upper driving shaft is provided with the circuit control module and the hydraulic push module on an outer peripheral wall of the upper driving shaft; an outer peripheral wall of the lower driving shaft is provided with the gamma measurement module; and the electrical connection component is connected to the circuit control module through a different cable.
It would not be obvious to modify the rotary steering system of Menger with the above features because it would require significant redesign to the system of Menger which may prevent it from operating as intended. For example, it would not be obvious to modify Menger such that the upper driving shaft is provided with the circuit control module and the hydraulic push module on an outer peripheral wall of the upper driving shaft because the circuit control module and the hydraulic push module of Menger are disposed within the upper driving shaft where the hydraulic push module extracts energy from flowing drilling mud in order to power the circuit control module used to selectively control the operation of the steering pads. As such, putting these structures on the outer peripheral wall of the upper driving shaft may prevent the system of Menger from operating as intended. Furthermore, no prior art was found, alone or in combination with Menger, to teach the above features. Therefore, such modifications would be based on improper hindsight reasoning.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Lamia Quaim whose telephone number is (469)295-9199. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 10AM - 6PM CST.
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/LAMIA QUAIM/Examiner, Art Unit 3676