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 .
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a).
The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the “sealing element” , element 38 from the specifications, must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). Claims1-5, 7, 11, 15 and 17-19 recite “sealing element” and Figures 3A and 4, showing the details, has label 38 pointing to blank space, interpreted as a void.
No new matter should be entered.
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 4 and 8 are objected to because of the following informalities: the following typos are pointed out by suggested corrections:
4. The packer device of claim 3, wherein the flexible packer sealing element comprises [[the]]a vee-packing style bottom end and the packer element structure comprises the latch mechanism.
8. The packer device of claim 7, wherein the at least one flexible elastomeric material comprises at least one of aflas, chloroprene, ethylene propylene diene monomer, fluoroelastomers, nitrile, hydrogenated nitrile, polytetrafluoroethylene, and polyurethane.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 2-10, 16 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 2 recites “2. The packer device of claim 1, wherein the sealing element further comprises a latch mechanism disposed at or adjacent to the second end and shaped and/or configured to engage the one or more slips such that the sealing element is couplable to the one or more slips via the latch mechanism.”
Figure 9 shows packer element 900 with latch mechanism 904 and additionally shows the label for sealing element 38 pointing to a void. Applicant’s specification groups packer 34 and 900 as similar elements see [0041]. The structure shown in figure 9, as best understood, is an expandable base, similar to 60 in Figure 3A. Taken as a whole, it is unclear if there are typos in the claims, drawings, or specification. It is unclear how a void element, as per the drawings, has a latch mechanism, which as best understood, would be part of, as per figure 9, the expandable base. The examiner will examine the claims as best understood.
Claim 16 recites “16. The method of claim 15, further comprising:…” and a method step limitation whereas parent claim is directed to: The packer device of claim 1,…” There is a dependance issue, however it is not clear what claim 16 would depend from to have a proper dependance and make sense. The claim will be examined as if it read “16. The packer device of claim 15, further comprising: wherein the packer is configured to be set by
Dependent claims are likewise rejected.
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1-3, 7, and 9-14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102a1 as being anticipated by WO 2021080934 A1 to OMER.
Regarding claim 1: Omer discloses 1. A packer device 34 for forming one or more seals against a surrounding casing 48 in a wellbore 44, the packer device comprising:
a mandrel 90 comprising a cone 88;
an expandable base 60 disposable along an outer surface of the mandrel adjacent to the cone;
one or more slips 42 movable along the expandable base; and
a sealing element 38 coupled to the expandable base, having a first end and an opposite second end adjacent to the one or more slips. (42) (see
paragraphs [0016]-[0035] and Figures 1-6).
Regarding claim 2: Omer discloses 2. The packer device of claim 1, wherein the sealing element further comprises a latch mechanism 66 disposed at or adjacent to the second end and shaped and/or configured to engage the one or more slips 42 such that the sealing element is couplable to the one or more slips via the latch mechanism.(As best understood, this latch mechanism is equivalent to that claimed and that the sealing element can be considered as a top part of the base)
Regarding claim 3: Omer discloses 3. The packer device of claim 2, wherein the sealing element comprises a flexible packer sealing element 38 and a packer element structure 36 that is adjacent to the expandable base 60.( [0016]-[0019] and Figures 3-6)
Regarding claim 7: Omer discloses 7. The packer device of claim 3, wherein the flexible packer sealing element comprises at least one flexible elastomeric material.[0017]
Regarding claim 9: Omer discloses 9. The packer device of claim 3, wherein the expandable base comprises a metal substrate. [0028]
Regarding claim 10: Omer discloses 10. The packer device of claim 9, wherein the metal substrate comprises at least one ductile steel.[0028]
Regarding claim 11: Omer discloses 11. The packer device of claim 1, wherein the mandrel comprises an undercut 96 adjacent to the cone and/or the sealing element.(Figure 6)
Regarding claim 12: Omer discloses 12. The packer device of claim 1, wherein the one or more slips are movable along or over a sloped surface of the expandable base.( [0019] and Figures 4-5)
Regarding claim 13: Omer discloses 13. The packer device of claim 12, wherein the one or more slips comprises at least one recess 70 formed therein and the at least one recess faces the sloped surface of the expandable base. ([0018]-[0026] and Figures 4-5)
Regarding claim 14: Omer discloses 14. The packer device of claim 13, wherein at least one shear 68 member of the expandable base is disposed within the at least one recess of the one or more slips such that the one or more slips are coupled to the expandable base.([0018], Figure 4-5)
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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) 4-6 and 15-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Omer as applied to claim 3 above, and further in view of US 2003-0159832 to Williamson.
Regarding claim 4: Omer discloses wherein the flexible packer sealing element 38 comprises a bottom end (Figures) and the packer element structure 60 comprises the latch mechanism 66. However Omer fails to disclose [[the]]a vee-packing style.
Williamson teaches a seal element 86 with a vee-packing [0026]
It would have been considered obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time the invention was made (pre-AIA ) or before the effective filing date (AIA ) to have modified Omer and use a vee packing for his seal element, in view of Williamson, as no more than simple substitution of one known element for another to obtain predictable results
Regarding claim 5: Omer discloses 5. The packer device of claim 4, wherein the packer element structure comprises a plurality of deflectable ribs 82 adjacent to the flexible packer sealing element.
Regarding claim 6: Omer discloses 6. The packer device of claim 5, wherein the plurality of deflectable ribs comprises first ribs 82 and second ribs 84 disposed between or adjacent to the first ribs.
Regarding claim 15: Omer discloses wherein the sealing element 38 comprising a bottom end disposed at or adjacent to the first end, however fails to disclose vee-packing style.
Williamson teaches a seal element 86 with a vee-packing [0026]
It would have been considered obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time the invention was made (pre-AIA ) or before the effective filing date (AIA ) to have modified Omer and use a vee packing for his seal element, in view of Williamson, as no more than simple substitution of one known element for another to obtain predictable results
Regarding claim 16: Omer discloses 16. The packer device of claim 15, further comprising: wherein the packer is configured to be set by
Regarding claim 17: Omer discloses 17. A method comprising:
disposing a packer device 34 in a wellbore 44, wherein the packer device is coupled to at least one slip 42 via a latch mechanism 66 and comprises a sealing element 38 coupled to an expandable base 60, and the sealing element comprises a bottom end;
and shifting an actuator member 62 associated with the packer device and/or the at least one slip 42 to cause setting of the packer device and the at least one slip in the wellbore. ([0016]-[0035] and Figures 1-6).
However Omer fails to disclose vee-packing style.
Williamson teaches a seal element 86 with a vee-packing [0026]
It would have been considered obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time the invention was made (pre-AIA ) or before the effective filing date (AIA ) to have modified Omer and use a vee packing for his seal element, in view of Williamson, as no more than simple substitution of one known element for another to obtain predictable results
Regarding claim 18: Omer discloses 18. The method of claim 17, further comprising:
applying force and/or pressure onto the sealing element such that a plurality of ribs 82 associated with the sealing element are deflected within the wellbore.( [0016]-[0026 ]Fig. 5)
Regarding claim 19: Omer discloses 19. The method of claim 17, further comprising:
applying force and/or pressure onto the bottom end such that a plurality of ribs associated with the sealing element are deflected within the wellbore. ( [0016]-[0026 ] Fig. 5)
However Omer fails to disclose vee-packing style.
Williamson teaches a seal element 86 with a vee-packing [0026]
It would have been considered obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time the invention was made (pre-AIA ) or before the effective filing date (AIA ) to have modified Omer and use a vee packing for his seal element, in view of Williamson, as no more than simple substitution of one known element for another to obtain predictable results
Regarding claim 20: Omer discloses 20. The method of claim 17, further comprising: sealing the wellbore with the packer device. ([0016]-[0026] and Figures 3-6)
Claim(s) 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Omer as applied to claim 7 above, and further in view of US 20070056725 Al to LUCAS.
Regarding claim 8: Omer discloses the claimed invention except 8. The packer device of claim 7, wherein the at least one flexible elastomeric material comprises at least one of aflas, chloroprene, ethylene propylene diene monomer, fluoroelastomers, nitrile, hydrogenated nitrile, polytetrafluoroethylene, and polyurethane.
Lucas teaches materials for an elastomeric material of a seal can include a Hydrogenated Nitrile elastomeric compound, a Nitrile compound, or an Aflas compound [0026]
It would have been considered obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time the invention was made (pre-AIA ) or before the effective filing date (AIA ) to have modified Omer to use at least Hydrogenated Nitrile for his elastomeric material, in view of Lucas, so as use a material capable of forming a seal [0026]
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
US 20160326831 A1 teaches a seal assembly, adjacent a cone, with ribs and a latch for connecting with an adjacent member.
US 5333692 A discloses a seal with an expandable sealing ring having extending ribs and a layer of resilient material over the sealing ring.
US 6666276 B1 discloses a packer element having a base with ribs and an elastomeric seal between the ribs.
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/STEVEN A MACDONALD/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3674
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