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 without traverse of Species I in the reply filed on 05 December 2025 is acknowledged.
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities: Reference characters "24" and "21" have both been used to designate a lock ring housing. Reference character “24” has been used to designate both a lock ring housing and a slip setting sleeve in paragraphs 0022 and 0023. Appropriate correction is required.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to because the use of shading is not permitted unless necessary for the understanding of the invention (37 C.F.R. 1.84 (m), the lead lines and reference numbers in at least figure 2 are unclear in view of additional fathom reference numbers and lead lines (37 C.F.R. 1.84 (p)(q); and the sectional views should have the proper cross-sectional hatching to include the material composition of the device (37 C.F.R. 1.84 (h)(3). 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. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. 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 Objections
Claims 2-6 and 11-13 are objected to because of the following informalities:
In claim 2, the recitation “packer mechanism” in paragraph (c) should be changed to - - the expandable packer mechanism - - commensurate with independent claim 1.
In claim 2, the limitation requiring a “lock ring” in paragraph (c) is inconsistent with following limitations requiring a lock ring housing or a plurality thereof.
In claim 2, the limitations directed to the “lock ring housing” to the lower mandrel and to the upper mandrel in the last paragraph is misleading as to whether a plurality of lock ring housings (21, 24) is being claimed.
Claim 3, recites the limitation “the annular space” introduced in claim 2 but depends from claim 1. To expedite the examination process, claim 3 will be treated as to depend from claim 2.
Appropriate correction is required.
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 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Smith, U.S. 3,316,969.
Smith discloses in figures 1 and 2 a retrievable bridge plug (col. 5, lines 31) having an expandable packer (sealing ring; 53; col. 3, lines 60-65) mechanism to seal to a casing and a slip (slip segments 60) mechanism to anchor to the casing, and defining a flow path (L-shaped port 39; col. 3, lines 4-5) including a check valve (check valve 40) for restricting fluid flow through the bridge plug (col. 3, lines 66-67).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-6 and 11-13 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 and to overcome the objections above.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KENNETH L THOMPSON whose telephone number is (571)272-7037. The examiner can normally be reached Weekdays; 9:00-5:00, est.
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17 December 2025
/KENNETH L THOMPSON/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3676