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 .
Obviousness Double Patenting Rejections
Claims 1-20 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 3, 3, 4, 3, 3, 3, 2, 3, 3, 5, 3, 3, 8, 8, 9, 10, 11, 11, 11, 12, respectively, of U.S. Patent No. 12,270578. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because of the following reasons.
Claims-matching table:
Claims of US 12,270,578
Claims of this application
1. A heat extraction system for extracting heat from a reservoir, the system comprising: a chemical processing unit configured to generate a working fluid; a co-axial tool configured to be placed underground, the co-axial tool including an outer pipe and an inner pipe arranged within the outer pipe so as to define an annulus, the outer pipe and the inner pipe each being connected to a shoe to enable the working fluid to flow through the annulus, exchange heat with the shoe, and flow through a bore of the inner pipe; and a power generator fluidly connected to the chemical processing unit so as to receive the working fluid, the power generator including a first port which fluidly connects to the inner pipe, and a second port which fluidly connects to the outer pipe, wherein a temperature differential between the working fluid at the power generator and the working fluid at the co-axial tool drives the power generator to generate energy.
2. The heat extraction system of claim 1, wherein the chemical processing unit is configured to: receive syngas produced by burning coal in a coal seam located underground; extract CO.sub.2 and H.sub.2 from the syngas; and compress the extracted CO.sub.2 via a compressor so as to generate supercritical CO.sub.2, which is used as the working fluid.
3. The heat extraction system of claim 2, wherein only the shoe is configured to be placed in the coal seam.
1. A heat extraction system for extracting heat from a coal seam, the system comprising:
a chemical processing unit configured to receive syngas produced by controlled burning of coal underground and to obtain working fluid from the syngas; and
a co-axial tool connected to the chemical processing unit and configured to be placed underground to extract heat from the coal seam, the co-axial tool including an outer pipe, an inner pipe arranged inside the outer pipe so as to define an annulus, and a shoe connected to low ends of the outer pipe and of the inner pipe, the shoe being placed in contact with the coal seam and configured to transfer heat therefrom to the working fluid that flows to the shoe from top ends of the outer pipe and of the inner pipe through one of the annulus or a bore inside the inner pipe and returns through another one of the annulus and the bore.
4. The heat extraction system of claim 2, further comprising: a second compressor configured to pump air or oxygen into the coal seam so as to promote the burning of the coal.
2. The heat extraction system of Claim 1, wherein the working fluid descends to the shoe via the annulus and returns from the shoe via the bore of the inner pipe.
5. The heat extraction system of claim 1, wherein the shoe is made of a material that withstands temperatures greater than 500° C., wherein the co-axial tool further includes a first flexible coupling configured to connect the outer pipe to the shoe so as to enable the outer pipe to thermally expand and contract without leaking the working fluid, and wherein the inner pipe and the outer pipe cooperate so as to form an uninterrupted loop path which places the working fluid in direct contact with the shoe as the working fluid circulates between a top of the annulus and a top of the bore.
3. The heat extraction system of Claim 1, further comprising:
an oxidant-injection compressor configured to pump air or oxygen into the coal seam to enable the controlled burning.
6. The heat extracting system of claim 5, wherein the co-axial tool further includes: a strainer element located between the inner pipe and the shoe, the strainer element including a plurality of holes; and a second flexible coupling configured to connect the inner pipe to the strainer element, wherein the working fluid circulates between the annulus and the bore via the plurality of holes.
4. The heat extraction system of Claim 1, wherein the shoe is made of a material that withstands temperatures greater than 500 °C and pressures up to 20 MPa.
7. A method for extracting heat from a reservoir, the method comprising: generating a working fluid via a chemical processing unit; placing one or more co-axial tools underground, each co-axial tool including an outer pipe and an inner pipe arranged within the outer pipe so as to define an annulus, the outer pipe and the inner pipe each being connected to a shoe so as to enable the working fluid to flow through the annulus, exchange heat with the shoe, and flow through a bore of the inner pipe such that only the shoe is in contact with a coal seam located underground; supplying the working fluid to a power generator fluidly connected to the chemical processing unit; fluidly connecting a first port of the power generator to the inner pipe of the one or more co-axial tools, and fluidly connecting a second port of the power generator to the outer pipe of the one or more co-axial tools; and driving the power generator so as to generate energy based on a circulation of the working fluid and a temperature differential between the working fluid at the power generator and the working fluid at the one or more co-axial tools.
8. The method of claim 7, further comprising: fluidly connecting a production well to the chemical processing unit, the production well configured to receive syngas produced by burning coal in the coal seam; extracting CO.sub.2 from the syngas via the chemical processing unit; and compressing the CO.sub.2 into supercritical CO.sub.2, which is used as the working fluid.
5. The heat extraction system of Claim 1, wherein the co-axial tool further includes:
a first flexible coupling configured to connect the outer pipe to the shoe and to maintain the working fluid flowing there-through regardless of a thermal expansion of the outer pipe and/or the shoe, and
the inner pipe and the outer pipe cooperate so as to form an uninterrupted working fluid path and places the working fluid in direct contact with the shoe when the working fluid circulates between a top of the annulus and a top of the bore.
9. The method of claim 8, further comprising: circulating the supercritical CO.sub.2 through the annulus, the shoe, and the bore of the one or more co-axial tools so as to extract heat from the burning coal in the coal seam; and circulating the heated supercritical CO.sub.2 through the power generator so as to produce electrical energy.
6. The heat extracting system of Claim 1, wherein the co-axial tool includes:
a strainer element located between the inner pipe and the shoe, the strainer element including a plurality of holes; and
a second flexible coupling configured to connect the inner pipe to the strainer element regardless of thermal expansion of the inner pipe and/or the strainer, the working fluid circulating between the annulus and the bore via the plurality of holes.
10. The method of claim 9, further comprising: when the heat has been extracted, injecting the supercritical CO.sub.2 into a cavity left behind by the burned coal in the coal seam; and sealing wells connected to the cavity so as to store the CO.sub.2 underground.
7. The heat extraction system of Claim 1, wherein the chemical processing unit extracts CO2 from the syngas, and the heat extraction system further comprises a second compressor compressing the CO2 to generate supercritical CO2 that is used as the working fluid.
11. The method of claim 8, further comprising: injecting air or oxygen into the coal seam so as to sustain the burning of the coal.
8. The heat extraction system of claim 1, wherein the shoe has a solid body.
12. The method of claim 8, further comprising: extracting H.sub.2 from the syngas via the chemical processing unit.
9. The heat extraction system of claim 8, wherein one or more channels through the solid body enable passage of the working fluid between the annulus and the bore of the inner pipe.
10. The heat extraction system of claim 1, wherein a temperature difference between a first temperature of the working fluid returning to the top ends of the outer pipe and of the inner pipe and a second temperature of the working fluid flowing towards the shoe is larger than 500°C.
11. The heat extraction system of claim 1, further comprising:
a power generator fluidly connected to the co-axial tool configured to generate electricity from heat based on a temperature difference between a first temperature of the working fluid returning to the top ends of the outer pipe and of the inner pipe and a second temperature of the working fluid flowing towards the shoe.
12. A heat extraction system for extracting heat from a coal seam, the system comprising: a chemical processing unit configured to receive syngas produced by controlled burning of coal underground and to extract a working fluid from the syngas; and
a co-axial tool connected to the chemical processing unit and configured to be placed underground in contact with the coal seam, at a first non-zero angle with a horizonal plane, the co-axial tool including an outer pipe having a closed end and an inner pipe arranged inside the outer pipe to enable a working fluid to flow between the outer pipe and an outer surface of the inner pipe to the closed end and to return via a bore of the inner pipe.
13. A method for extracting heat from an underground coal seam, the method comprising:
producing, by a chemical processing unit, a working fluid from syngas resulting from burning coal underground; and
placing underground a co-axial tool configured to extract heat from the coal seam, the co-axial tool including an outer pipe, an inner pipe arranged inside the outer pipe so as to define an annulus, and a shoe connected to low ends of the outer pipe and of the inner pipe, the shoe being placed in contact with the coal seam and configured to transfer heat therefrom to the working fluid that flows to the shoe from top ends of the outer pipe and of the inner pipe through one of the annulus or a bore inside the inner pipe and returns through another one of the annulus and the bore.
14. The method of claim 13, further comprising: fluidly connecting the one of the annulus and the bore through which the working fluid ascends from the shoe to a first port of a power generator and the other one of the annulus and the bore through which the working
fluid descends to the shoe to a second port of the power generator; and
harvesting energy produced by the power generator based on a circulation of the working fluid and/or a temperature differential between the working fluid descending to the shoe and the working fluid ascending from the shoe.
15. The method of Claim 13, further comprising: fluidly connecting a production well to the chemical processing unit, the production well enabling the syngas to the syngas;
extracting, by the chemical processing unit, CO2 from the syngas; and
compressing the CO2 into supercritical CO2, which is used by the co-axial tool as the working fluid.
16. The method of Claim 15, further comprising: heating the supercritical CO2 circulating through the co-axial tool due to the shoe conducting heat from the burning coal in the coal seam; and
circulating the supercritical CO2 heated when flowing through the co-axial tool through a power generator so as to produce electrical energy.
17. The method of Claim 15, further comprising: extracting, by the chemical processing unit, CO from the syngas; and producing, by the chemical processing unit, an additional amount of CO2 by adding oxygen to the extracted CO, the additional amount of CO2 being also compressed into the supercritical CO.
18. The method of Claim 15, further comprising:
injecting the supercritical CO2 into a cavity left behind by burning the coal in the coal seam.
19. The method of Claim 13, further comprising: injecting air or oxygen into the coal seam to sustain the burning of the coal.
20. The method of Claim 13, further comprising: extracting, by the chemical processing unit, H2 from the syngas.
Anticipation:
Based on the claim-matching table above, Claims 1-3, 7, 10-20 of this application are anticipated by claims 3, 3, 4, 2, 5, 3, 3, 8, 8, 9, 10, 11, 11, 11, 12, respectively, of US 12,270,578. The claims of the patent recite more elements than in this application and therefore the claims of this application should be rejected under obviousness double patenting rejection. In re Goodman, 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993).
Obviousness:
Claims 4-6, 8-9 are rejected under as being unpatentable over claim 3 of U.S. 12,270,578. Based on the claim-matching table above, claim 3 of US 12,270,578 recites all the claimed subject matter except for the specific shoe material (claim 4), flexible couplings (claim 5), strainer element (claim 6), channels in the solid shoe (claims 8-9). However, according to MPEP 2144.05, II. ROUTINE OPTIMIZATION, A) Optimization Within Prior Art Conditions or Through Routine Experimentation, note In re Geisler, 116 F.3d 1465, 43 USPQ2d 1362 (Fed. Cir. 1997); Smith v. Nichols, 88 U.S. 112, 118-19 (1874) (a change in form, proportions, or degree "will not sustain a patent"); In re Williams, 36 F.2d 436, 438 (CCPA 1929) ("It is a settled principle of law that a mere carrying forward of an original patented conception involving only change of form, proportions, or degree, or the substitution of equivalents doing the same thing as the original invention, by substantially the same means, is not such an invention as will sustain a patent, even though the changes of the kind may produce better results than prior inventions."). See also KSR Int’l Co. v. Teleflex Inc., 550 U.S. 398, 416 (2007) (identifying "the need for caution in granting a patent based on the combination of elements found in the prior art."). The concept of using specific types of shoes, shoe materials, strainer element, flexible couplings the result of “routine optimization”. It would have been a “routine optimization” for a person having ordinary skill in the art to elect the specific shoes, shoe materials, strainer elements, and flexible couplings as claimed in claim 3 of US 12,270,578 for the purpose of obtaining appropriate heat input from the selected elements as claimed.
The nonstatutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper timewise extension of the “right to exclude” granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A nonstatutory double patenting rejection is appropriate where the conflicting claims are not identical, but at least one examined application claim is not patentably distinct from the reference claim(s) because the examined application claim is either anticipated by, or would have been obvious over, the reference claim(s). See, e.g., In re Berg, 140 F.3d 1428, 46 USPQ2d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Goodman, 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi, 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Van Ornum, 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969).
A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on nonstatutory double patenting provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with the examined application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. See MPEP § 717.02 for applications subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA as explained in MPEP § 2159. See MPEP § 2146 et seq. for applications not subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b).
The filing of a terminal disclaimer by itself is not a complete reply to a nonstatutory double patenting (NSDP) rejection. A complete reply requires that the terminal disclaimer be accompanied by a reply requesting reconsideration of the prior Office action. Even where the NSDP rejection is provisional the reply must be complete. See MPEP § 804, subsection I.B.1. For a reply to a non-final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.111(a). For a reply to final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.113(c). A request for reconsideration while not provided for in 37 CFR 1.113(c) may be filed after final for consideration. See MPEP §§ 706.07(e) and 714.13.
The USPTO Internet website contains terminal disclaimer forms which may be used. Please visit www.uspto.gov/patent/patents-forms. The actual filing date of the application in which the form is filed determines what form (e.g., PTO/SB/25, PTO/SB/26, PTO/AIA /25, or PTO/AIA /26) should be used. A web-based eTerminal Disclaimer may be filled out completely online using web-screens. An eTerminal Disclaimer that meets all requirements is auto-processed and approved immediately upon submission. For more information about eTerminal Disclaimers, refer to www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/applying-online/eterminal-disclaimer.
Prior Art of Record
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Papile, Rogers, Clarke, and Das disclose chemical processing plant to process gas from coal seam underground.
Conclusions
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Mark Laurenzi, can be reached on (571) 270-7878.
The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/HOANG M NGUYEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3746
HOANG NGUYEN
PRIMARY EXAMINER
ART UNIT 3746
Hoang Minh Nguyen
1/6/2026