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 .
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) 1, 11, and 21 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102a1 as being anticipated by Glad et al. (US Pub. No. 2022/0298884).
Regarding claim 1, the Glad et al. (hereinafter Glad) reference discloses a garter spring (10), comprising:
an outer coiled spring member (12) having an inside diameter (Figs. 3d,3f) and an outside diameter (Figs. 3d,3f);
a middle coiled spring member (22) having an inside diameter (Figs. 3d,3f) and an outside diameter (Figs. 3d,3f) located within the inside diameter (Figs. 3d,3f) of the outer coiled spring member; and
an inner coiled spring member (32) having an inside diameter (Figs. 3d,3f) and an outside diameter (Figs. 3d,3f) located within the inside diameter (Figs. 3d,3f) of the middle coiled spring member (Figs. 3d,3f).
Regarding claim 11, the Glad reference discloses a downhole tool (Title), comprising:
an elongate mandrel (Para. [0047]); and
a seal assembly encircling the mandrel (Figs. 1a,1b), the seal assembly configured to move between an unset state and a set state (Figs. 1a,1b, the seal assembly including:
a seal element encircling the elongate mandrel and configured to radially deform into contact with a wall of a wellbore when the seal assembly moves from the unset state to the set state (Figs. 1a,1b); and
a garter spring (10), comprising:
an outer coiled spring member (12) having an inside diameter (Figs. 3d,3f) and an outside diameter (Figs. 3d,3f);
a middle coiled spring member (22) having an inside diameter (Figs. 3d,3f) and an outside diameter (Figs. 3d,3f) located within the inside diameter (Figs. 3d,3f) of the outer coiled spring member; and
an inner coiled spring member (32) having an inside diameter (Figs. 3d,3f) and an outside diameter (Figs. 3d,3f) located within the inside diameter (Figs. 3d,3f) of the middle coiled spring member (Figs. 3d,3f).
Regarding claim 21, the Glad reference discloses a well system (Title), comprising:
a wellbore extending through one or more subterranean formations (e.g. Figs. 1a,1b); and
a downhole tool (Title), comprising:
an elongate mandrel (Para. [0047]); and
a seal assembly encircling the mandrel (Figs. 1a,1b), the seal assembly configured to move between an unset state and a set state (Figs. 1a,1b, the seal assembly including:
a seal element encircling the elongate mandrel and configured to radially deform into contact with a wall of a wellbore when the seal assembly moves from the unset state to the set state (Figs. 1a,1b); and
a garter spring (10), comprising:
an outer coiled spring member (12) having an inside diameter (Figs. 3d,3f) and an outside diameter (Figs. 3d,3f);
a middle coiled spring member (22) having an inside diameter (Figs. 3d,3f) and an outside diameter (Figs. 3d,3f) located within the inside diameter (Figs. 3d,3f) of the outer coiled spring member; and
an inner coiled spring member (32) having an inside diameter (Figs. 3d,3f) and an outside diameter (Figs. 3d,3f) located within the inside diameter (Figs. 3d,3f) of the middle coiled spring member (Figs. 3d,3f).
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) 2, 3, 12, and 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Glad.
Regarding claims 2 and 12, the Glad reference discloses the invention substantially as claimed in claims 1 and 11.
However the Glad reference fails to explicitly disclose the outer coiled spring member and the inner coiled spring member are wound in a first direction.
The Glad reference discloses that the outer coil and the middle coil are in opposite directions (Para. [0044]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to make the next inner coil to be wound opposite the middle coil to be wound in the opposite direction in order to ensure optimal pressure and to prevent slipping of the coils.
Regarding claims 3 and 13, the Glad refenerence, as modified in claims 11 and 12, discloses the middle coiled spring member is wound in a second opposite direction to the first direction (Para. [0044]).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4-10 and 14-20 are 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
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to GILBERT Y LEE whose telephone number is (571)272-5894. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8am-430pm.
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/GILBERT Y LEE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3675