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 .
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 03/20/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Applicant’s argument that integration of 730 into 710 requires relocation or removal of top sub/backhead 715 is not persuasive. Element 715 would stay where it is, right above 710, acting as a backhead when element 730 is integrated into 710 as taught by Wood. No relocation or removal of element 715 occurs when element 730 is integrated into 710 since Wood does not disclose relocation of removal of element 715 upon such integration. Applicant’s argument that element 715 serves an important purpose in connecting 730 to 710 and would then also be integrated into 710 is not persuasive since no such language appears in Wood nor is this a well-known occurrence in the art.
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.
Claim(s) 14-16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102a1 as being anticipated by Underwood (US 20070284010 A1), hereinafter Wood.
With respect to claim 14, Wood discloses a down-the-hole drill hammer comprising: a housing (150); a backhead (715) connected to the housing, an accumulator (combination of at least portion of 345 between seals 355 and lower end of 115, 115, and 351) housed within the housing downstream of the backhead (shown in fig. 5, when integrated into 710 the accumulator will be downstream of backhead 715 since 710 is downstream of 715), the accumulator including: and an accumulator housing (351), a liner within the housing (portion of 345 between seals 355 and lower end of 115), and a flexible diaphragm (115) within the housing circumscribing the liner (shown in fig. 5) and a piston (712) reciprocating in the housing (.
With respect to claims 15 and 16, Wood discloses wherein the diaphragm includes annular protrusions (shown at upper and lower ends of 115 in fig. 5, extending inwardly to seal against liner) and a plurality of radially directed apertures (374) along the length of the liner between the protrusions (fig. 5), and wherein the diaphragm hermetically seals the liner (pgph. 46, fig. 5).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 1-13, 18-20 allowed.
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.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KIPP CHARLES WALLACE whose telephone number is (571)270-1162. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 12:00 PM - 8:00 PM.
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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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/KIPP C WALLACE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3674 05/28/2026
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