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 .
This action is in response to the amendment filed on 06/18/26.
Claims 1-10, 14-15 and 17-21 are pending and have been examined.
The indicated allowability of claims 1-10, 16-17 and 19-20 is withdrawn in view of the newly discovered reference(s) to Fischer and The ALDS Documentation. Rejections based on the newly cited reference(s) follow.
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.
Claim(s) 1-5 and 8-10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Stolov et al. (Vacuum Sealable Container (VSC) and Astronaut Lunar Drill (ALD) for Artemis; LPSC 2023) in view of Fischer et al. (3,537,738).
Regarding claim 1, Stolov discloses a drill for extraterrestrial environments comprising: a percussive powerhead comprising: a percussive assembly having a percussion motor, cam assembly, and an auger assembly having a motor (rotary percussive coring drill; not shown numerically; pages 9-11); a hammer assembly (not shown numerically); and a chuck assembly (as best shown in page 11); and a drill tool (pages 12-13) coupleable to the powerhead, the drill tool comprising: a plurality of external flutes (as best shown in page 14); an internal bore (inherently disclosed for core extraction) configured to collect a sample; and a first stem (page 12) including a toothed distal end having a bit (pages 13-14), but does not specifically disclose wherein the first stem includes a proximal end having an opening with internal threads configured to allow attachment of a second drill tool without interrupting the internal bore or the external flutes. Fischer teaches extension drill rods having: an internally threaded coupling at one end; a mating threaded drill rod at the opposite end; an axial bore extending continuously through the drill rod; and successive drill rods attached together to extend drilling depth while maintaining the internal passage through the connected rods. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modify the drill tool of Stolov by incorporating the threaded drill rod connection taught by Fischer in order to permit deeper drilling without removing the drill string after each drilling interval. Such a modification merely applies a well-known modular drill-string connection to the extraterrestrial drill of Stolov and would predictably permit extension of drilling depth while maintaining communication through the drill string.
Regarding claims 2-5 and 8-10, Stolov discloses wherein the percussive assembly is a percussive cone penetrometer (as shown in the second figure of page 13); a shear vane (third figure of page 13); a linear stage configured to selectively couple with the percussive powerhead assembly to move the drill between a raised and lowered position (pages 11-12); wherein the linear stage is manually operable; wherein the drill is configured to operated in a vacuum; wherein the drill is convertible to a handlheld configuration (as shown in figure1 of page 13); and, wherein the drill is powered by a battery (page 11).
Claim(s) 6-7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Stolov et al. (Vacuum Sealable Container (VSC) and Astronaut Lunar Drill (ALD) for Artemis; LPSC 2023) in view of Fischer et al. (3,537,738), as applied above in claim 5, and further in view of Apollo Lunar Surface Drill (ALSD) Final Report by Martin Marietta Co. on 01 Nov 1968.
Regarding claims 6-7, the modified invention of Stolov discloses the drill substantially as claimed, as discussed above, comprising a linear stage, as taught by Stolov, but fails to disclose wherein the linear stage is operable by a foot and wherein a stem rotation lock configured to connect the linear stage to a foot pad configured to operate the linear stage. The ALSD documentation discloses a lunar drilling system including a foot-operated treadle that enables an astronaut to apply downward force to advance the drill into the lunar surface while maintaining stability. The ALSD documentation further teaches the use of a wrench or stem-retaining device to prevent rotation of the drill stem while additional stem sections are coupled or uncoupled during drilling operations. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modify the drill linear stage of Stolov by incorporating the foot-operated actuation and stem-retention features taught by the ALSD documentation. The ALSD demonstrates that foot-assisted feed and stem restraint improve drilling stability, reduce operator effort, and facilitate coupling and uncoupling of drill stem sections in reduced-gravity environments. Incorporating these known features into the Stolov’s system would have been no more than the predictable use of known techniques to improve the operability of an extraterrestrial drilling apparatus.
Claim(s) 14-15 and 17-21 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Stolov et al. (Vacuum Sealable Container (VSC) and Astronaut Lunar Drill (ALD) for Artemis; LPSC 2023) in view of Apollo Lunar Surface Drill (ALSD) Final Report by Martin Marietta Co. on 01 Nov 1968.
Regarding claims 14 and 18-21, Stolov discloses a method for collecting samples in extraterrestrial environments comprising: trial environments comprising: inserting a first stem into a chuck (step 1 of page 12); lowering the chuck to enter the first stem into a surface in the environment (step 2 of page 12); releasing the chuck from the first stem (step 3 of page 12); inserting a second stem into the chuck (step 4 of page 12); lowering the chuck to contact the second stem to the first stem (step 4 of page 21); extracting the contacted stems to remove a cored section of the surface in the environment (step 5 of page 12); and, after releasing the chuck from the first stem, raising the chuck (steps 3-4 of page 12); wherein extracting the contacted stems to remove a cored section of the sample comprises: removing the second stem from the first stem; and removing the cored section from within the second stem (steps 5-6 of page 12); reinserting the first stem into the chuck; raising the chuck to remove the first stem from within the surface in the environment; and removing the cored section from within the first stem (steps 5-6 pf page 12), but fails to disclose wherein after releasing the chuck from the first stem, locking the first stem to prevent rotation of the first stem.
The ALSD documentation discloses a lunar drilling system including the use of a wrench or stem-retaining device to prevent rotation of the drill stem while additional stem sections are coupled or uncoupled during drilling operations (pages I-8, II-7, II-29, II-31). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modify the drill linear stage of Stolov by incorporating the stem-retention features taught by the ALSD documentation. The ALSD demonstrates that the stem restraint improves drilling stability, reduce operator effort, and facilitate coupling and uncoupling of drill stem sections in reduced-gravity environments. Incorporating these known features into the Stolov’s system would have been no more than the predictable use of known techniques to improve the operability of an extraterrestrial drilling apparatus.
Regarding claim 15, Stolov discloses: after lowering the chuck to enter the first stem into the surface in the environment, initiating rotation of the first stem (steps 2-3 of page 12).
Regarding claim 17, The ALSD documentation also teaches unlocking the first stem (II-29).
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 11-15 and 18 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MICHELLE LOPEZ whose telephone number is (571)272-4464. The examiner can normally be reached Monday thru Friday 8:30 am to 4:30 pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Anna Kinsaul can be reached at (571) 270 - 1926. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/MICHELLE LOPEZ/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3731
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