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 III in the reply filed on 22 January 2026 is acknowledged.
Claims 20-27, 36 and 39-47 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected Species I and II, there being no allowable generic or linking claim.
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 37 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Alruwaili, U.S. 11,326,448.
Alruwaili discloses a method for determining a stress tensor (col. 5, line 62 – col. 6, line 5; wherein the stress conditions at the borehole wall in a formation depends on stress orientations and magnitudes, local principal stress tensors and a state of stress at a point in the formation defined by the orthogonal stresses shown in figure 4) defining a state of stress in a segment of rock mass (col. 1, lines 48-57) by way of six sleeve (membranes 108 and/or pipes 112; fig 1; col. 4, lines 54-63) fracturing tests (col. 4, lines 34-44) in the segment of rock mass, the six sleeve fracturing tests including three different borehole orientations (fig 1, test system 100; col. 4, lines 45-50; applicants should note that the open ended claim does not preclude additional elements) determining tangential stresses respectively associated with the six sleeve fracturing tests (col. 5, lines 40-61) and determining the stress tensor using the tangential stresses (col. 6, lines 15-29).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 38 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
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.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Tara Schimpf can be reached at 571-270-7741. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
19 February 2026
/KENNETH L THOMPSON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3676