DETAILED ACTION
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group II, claims 9-15 in the reply filed on 1/15/26 is acknowledged.
Specification
The abstract of the disclosure is objected to because the term “is described herein” is stated in line 1. A corrected abstract of the disclosure is required and must be presented on a separate sheet, apart from any other text. See MPEP § 608.01(b).
Applicant is reminded of the proper language and format for an abstract of the disclosure.
The abstract should be in narrative form and generally limited to a single paragraph on a separate sheet within the range of 50 to 150 words in length. The abstract should describe the disclosure sufficiently to assist readers in deciding whether there is a need for consulting the full patent text for details.
The language should be clear and concise and should not repeat information given in the title. It should avoid using phrases which can be implied, such as, “The disclosure concerns,” “The disclosure defined by this invention,” “The disclosure describes,” etc. In addition, the form and legal phraseology often used in patent claims, such as “means” and “said,” should be avoided.
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) 9-11 and 13-15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by WO’597 (WO 2022/006597).
With respect to claim 9, WO’597 discloses a device 20, comprising: a porous structural thermoset material 42 shaped into an annular shape, wherein the porous structural thermoset material comprises: pores formed via removal of a removable material [0034]; and a glass transition temperature (Tg) that is greater than or equal to about 100oC [0026]. See Fig. 1 and [0020].
With respect to claim 10, WO’597 teaches the device comprising a sand screen 20 comprising the porous structural thermoset material.
With respect to claim 11, WO’597 teaches the device comprising: a base pipe 40 comprising a hollow inner portion 44; and a metallic screen [0028] disposed about the base pipe, wherein the sand screen is disposed about the metallic screen.
With respect to claim 13, WO’597 teaches wherein the hollow inner portion is configured to receive a heat source configured to generate heat having a temperature greater than or equal Tg for a predetermined period of time sufficient to conform the sand screen against a wellbore [0020-0021], [0026].
With respect to claim 14, WO’597 teaches the device comprising a containment material [0028] directly coupled to the porous structural thermoset material, wherein the containment material provides a mechanical force to restrict expansion of the porous structural thermoset material in a radial direction. See also Fig. 1.
With respect to claim 15, WO’597 teaches wherein the containment material comprises a film disposed on an outer surface of the porous structural thermoset material, wherein the film is dissolvable under exposure to a temperature equal to about 60oC. See [0044-0050], including Table 1.
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim(s) 12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over WO’597 alone.
With respect to claim 12, WO’597 teaches wherein the hollow inner portion is configured to receive a heat source configured to generate heat having a temperature greater than or equal Tg for a period of time [0020-0021], [0026].
However, WO’597 fails to explicitly teach a period of time greater than or equal to 5 minutes. Although silent as to the length of time as claimed, it would be considered obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the present application for the period of time to be at least 5 minutes in order to partially or fully recover the initial shape.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. EA 026165 teaches a filter device containing a porous material with a shape memory that has a compressed and expanded position and which is maintained in a compressed state at a temperature below its glass transition temperature with the possibility of its expansion from a compressed to an expanded position when heated approximately to or above its glass transition temperature, the outer surface of the porous material with shape memory being coated with a shell selected from the group consisting of a fluid soluble poly a dimensional film, a layer of thermally decomposable plastic in a fluid, and combinations thereof, and a porous material with shape memory includes polyurethane foam formed by mixing a polycarbonate polyol with a polyisocyanate.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ZAKIYA W BATES whose telephone number is (571)272-7039. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:30am - 5pm.
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, Doug Hutton can be reached at 5712724137. 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.
/ZAKIYA W BATES/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3674 4/16/2026