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 .
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.
Claims 1-2, 4, 9-12, 14, 19-24, and 26 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kleppa (U.S. 2020/0308941A1), in view of Xiao (U.S. 2015/0021015A1).
Regarding claim 1, Kleppa discloses a downhole tool (1, see fig. 1 and refer to para 0026), comprising (examiner is using the production assembly of fig. 1 with the downhole device 9 of fig. 2b; refer to para 0031):
a downhole power source (“batter 15”, fig. 2b and para 0035);
a downhole device (as broadly claimed, the downhole device is directed to structures 10, 11, 12, 13; para 0031: “action module 10 is a barrier valve”) located proximate the downhole power source (15; as shown in fig. 2b), the downhole device (10, 11, 12, 13) having circuitry (12; refer to para 0033) coupled thereto (as shown in fig. 2b), the circuitry (12) configured to receive power from the downhole power source (15; refer to para 0035) and measure operational data (refer to para 0032-0033);
a signal noise source (13; para 0033) coupled with the circuitry (12), the signal noise source (13) configured to receive the measured operational data from the circuitry (12; refer to para 0033) and embed the operational data as noise (para 0033: “the signal transmitter 13 can be a speaker and the output signal can be an acoustic sound signal”); and
a sensor (14; refer to para 0033) positioned proximate the signal noise source (13), the sensor (14) configured to sense for the noise and send uphole the operational data embedded within the noise (refer to para 0033: “via the line 14 to a topside controller 17”).
However, Kleppa fails to teach measuring operational data of the downhole device.
Xiao teaches a downhole device/inflow control too (anyone of 138a-d, figs. 1-3 and 5 and refer to para 0026) comprising a signal noise source (anyone of 148a-d; refer to para 0027) and a sensor (154) positioned proximate the signal noise source (148a-d). The sensor configured to sense for noise (anyone of f1-f4) and send uphole operational dada embedded within the noise (see fig. 1), wherein the signal noise source (148a-d) measure flow rate of fluid flowing thought the inflow control device (138a-d, fig. 1; para 0031).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the downhole tool of Kleppa to include measuring operational data of the downhole device, as taught by Xiao, for measuring the flow rate of fluid flowing therethrough (138a-d, fig. 1; para 0031).
Regarding claim 2, the combination of Kleppa and Xiao teach all the features of this claim as applied to claim 1 above; Kleppa further discloses wherein the downhole device is a flow control device (para 0031: “inflow devices”).
Regarding claim 4, the combination of Kleppa and Xiao teach all the features of this claim as applied to claim 2 above; Xiao further teaches wherein the operational data is a flow rate of fluid flowing through the flow control device (refer to para 0031).
Regarding claim 9, the combination of Kleppa and Xiao teach all the features of this claim as applied to claim 1 above; Kleppa further discloses wherein the sensor (14; refer to para 0033) is a distributed acoustic sensor (DAS) cable (refer to para 0033).
Regarding claim 10, the combination of Kleppa and Xiao teach all the features of this claim as applied to claim 1 above; Kleppa further discloses wherein the sensor is a distributed fiber optic sensor (DFOS) cable (abstract: “fiber optic cable in the well”; para 0011: “the line is a fiber optic cable”; also refer to para 0028, 0033, and 0038).
Regarding claim 11, Kleppa discloses a well system (see fig. 1), comprising:
a wellbore (fig. 1 in which casing string 3 extends) extending through one or more subterranean formations (as shown in fig. 1);
a tubing string (para 0026: “casing 3”) located in the wellbore (as shown in fig. 1); and
a downhole tool (1, see fig. 1 and refer to para 0026) positioned in the wellbore (as shown in fig. 1), the downhole tool including:
a downhole power source (“batter 15”, fig. 2b and para 0035);
a downhole device (as broadly claimed, the downhole device is directed to structures 10, 11, 12, 13; para 0031: “action module 10 is a barrier valve”) located proximate the downhole power source (15; as shown in fig. 2b), the downhole device (10, 11, 12, 13) having circuitry (12; refer to para 0033) coupled thereto (as shown in fig. 2b), the circuitry (12) configured to receive power from the downhole power source (15; refer to para 0035) and measure operational data (refer to para 0032-0033);
a signal noise source (13; para 0033) coupled with the circuitry (12), the signal noise source (13) configured to receive the measured operational data from the circuitry(12; refer to para 0033) and embed the operational data as noise (para 0033: “the signal transmitter 13 can be a speaker and the output signal can be an acoustic sound signal”); and
a sensor (14; refer to para 0033) positioned proximate the signal noise source (13), the sensor (14) configured to sense for the noise and send uphole the operational data embedded within the noise (refer to para 0033: “via the line 14 to a topside controller 17”).
However, Kleppa fails to teach measuring operational data of the downhole device.
Xiao teaches a downhole device/inflow control too (anyone of 138a-d, figs. 1-3 and 5 and refer to para 0026) comprising a signal noise source (anyone of 148a-d; refer to para 0027) and a sensor (154) positioned proximate the signal noise source (148a-d). The sensor configured to sense for noise (anyone of f1-f4) and send uphole operational dada embedded within the noise (see fig. 1), wherein the signal noise source (148a-d) measure flow rate of fluid flowing thought the inflow control device (138a-d, fig. 1; para 0031).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the downhole tool of Kleppa to include measuring operational data of the downhole device, as taught by Xiao, for measuring the flow rate of fluid flowing therethrough (138a-d, fig. 1; para 0031).
Regarding claim 12, the combination of Kleppa and Xiao teach all the features of this claim as applied to claim 11 above; Kleppa further discloses wherein the downhole device is a flow control device (para 0031: “inflow devices”).
Regarding claim 14, the combination of Kleppa and Xiao teach all the features of this claim as applied to claim 12 above; Xiao further teaches wherein the operational data is a flow rate of fluid flowing through the flow control device (refer to para 0031).
Regarding claim 19, the combination of Kleppa and Xiao teach all the features of this claim as applied to claim 11 above; Kleppa further discloses wherein the sensor (14; refer to para 0033) is a distributed acoustic sensor (DAS) cable (refer to para 0033).
Regarding claim 20, the combination of Kleppa and Xiao teach all the features of this claim as applied to claim 19 above; Xiao further teaches (examiner notes that the structure of the full wellbore is not shown by Kleppa; Xiao is used to shown a full wellbore assembly) an upper completion (as shown in annotated fig. 1 below) and a lower completion (as shown in annotated fig. 1 below) associated with tubing string (122), a junction (as shown in annotated fig. 1 below) being formed between the upper completion and the lower completion (as shown in annotated fig. 1 below), and further wherein the distributed acoustic sensor (DAS) cable (154) extends from a surface (“S”) of the wellbore past the junction and to an annulus (106, 108) between the signal noise source (148a) and the wellbore (as shown in fig. 1).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the system of Kleppa to include multiple downhole tools (i.e., upper and lower completion), as taught by Xiao, for the purpose of measuring the flow rate of fluid at different zones in the wellbore (refer to para 0034).
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Regarding claim 21, the combination of Kleppa and Xiao teach all the features of this claim as applied to claim 11 above; Kleppa further discloses wherein the sensor is a distributed fiber optic sensor (DFOS) cable (abstract: “fiber optic cable in the well”; para 0011: “the line is a fiber optic cable”; also refer to para 0028, 0033, and 0038).
Regarding claim 22, the combination of Kleppa and Xiao teach all the features of this claim as applied to claim 21 above; Xiao further teaches (examiner notes that the structure of the full wellbore is not shown by Kleppa; Xiao is used to shown a full wellbore assembly) an upper completion (as shown in annotated fig. 1 above) and a lower completion (as shown in annotated fig. 1 above) associated with tubing string (122), a junction (as shown in annotated fig. 1 above) being formed between the upper completion and the lower completion (as shown in annotated fig. 1 above), and further wherein distributed fiber optic sensor (DFOS) cable (154) extends from a surface (“S”) of the wellbore past the junction and to an annulus (106, 108) between the signal noise source (148a) and the wellbore (as shown in fig. 1).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the system of Kleppa to include multiple downhole tools (i.e., upper and lower completion), as taught by Xiao, for the purpose of measuring the flow rate of fluid at different zones in the wellbore (refer to para 0034).
Regarding claim 23, Kleppa discloses a method, comprising:
positioning a downhole tool (1, see fig. 1 and refer to para 0026) within a wellbore (as shown in fig. 1) having a tubing string (3), the downhole tool including:
a downhole power source (“batter 15”, fig. 2b and para 0035);
a downhole device (as broadly claimed, the downhole device is directed to structures 10, 11, 12, 13; para 0031: “action module 10 is a barrier valve”) located proximate the downhole power source (15; as shown in fig. 2b), the downhole device (10, 11, 12, 13) having circuitry (12; refer to para 0033) coupled thereto (as shown in fig. 2b), the circuitry (12) configured to receive power from the downhole power source (15; refer to para 0035) and measure operational data (refer to para 0032-0033);
a signal noise source (13; para 0033) coupled with the circuitry (12), the signal noise source (13) configured to receive the measured operational data from the circuitry (12; refer to para 0033) and embed the operational data as noise (para 0033: “the signal transmitter 13 can be a speaker and the output signal can be an acoustic sound signal”); and
a sensor (14; refer to para 0033) positioned proximate the signal noise source (13); and
sensing for the noise and sending uphole operation data embedded within the noise using the sensor (refer to para 0033: “via the line 14 to a topside controller 17”).
However, Kleppa fails to teach measuring operational data of the downhole device.
Xiao teaches a downhole device/inflow control too (anyone of 138a-d, figs. 1-3 and 5 and refer to para 0026) comprising a signal noise source (anyone of 148a-d; refer to para 0027) and a sensor (154) positioned proximate the signal noise source (148a-d). The sensor configured to sense for noise (anyone of f1-f4) and send uphole operational dada embedded within the noise (see fig. 1), wherein the signal noise source (148a-d) measure flow rate of fluid flowing thought the inflow control device (138a-d, fig. 1; para 0031).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the downhole tool of Kleppa to include measuring operational data of the downhole device, as taught by Xiao, for measuring the flow rate of fluid flowing therethrough (138a-d, fig. 1; para 0031).
Regarding claim 24, the combination of Kleppa and Xiao teach all the features of this claim as applied to claim 23 above; Kleppa further discloses wherein the downhole device is a flow control device (para 0031: “inflow devices”).
Regarding claim 26, the combination of Kleppa and Xiao teach all the features of this claim as applied to claim 24 above; Xiao further teaches wherein the operational data is a flow rate of fluid flowing through the flow control device (refer to para 0031).
Claims 3, 5-6, 13, 15-16, 25, and 27-28 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kleppa (U.S. 2020/0308941A1), in view of Xiao (U.S. 2015/0021015A1) as applied to claims 1-2, 11-12, and 23-24, and further in view of El Mallawany et al. (U.S. 2021/0140283A1).
Regarding claims 3, 13, and 15, the combination of Kleppa and Xiao teach all the features of this claim as applied to claims 2, 12, and 24 above; however, Kleppa, as modified by Xiao is silent to the inflow control device being an autonomous inflow control device.
El Mallawany et al. teach the use of autonomous inflow control devices in downhole too to receive flow of wellbore fluid (refer to tile, abstract, and para 0001). El Mallawany et al. further teach this type of inflow control device are able to automate the inflow of fluid and minimize the number of electric components required (refer to abstract). With a reduced number of electronics, the system is more robust, reliable, and stable in extreme conditions inside a wellbore that other conventional flow control systems (refer to abstract).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have substituted the generic inflow control device of Kleppa, as modified by Xiao, with an autonomous inflow control device, as taught by El Mallawany et al., so as to minimize the number of electric components required, thus resulting in a more robust, reliable, and stable system in extreme conditions inside a wellbore that other conventional flow control systems (refer to abstract).
Regarding claims 5-6, 15-16, and 27-28, the combination of Kleppa and Xiao teach all the features of this claim as applied to claims 1, 11, and 23 above; however, Kleppa, as modified by Xiao, fail to teach that the downhole power source includes a spinning feature associated therewith, wherein the spinning feature is a spinning power turbine or spinning rotor of the downhole power source.
El Mallawany et al. further teach that the autonomous inflow control device (200, figs. 2A, 2B) comprises a power source (230), wherein the power source may comprise a batter or may be coupled to a power generation device such as a turbine configured to rotate based upon fluid flow (refer to para 0021).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have substituted one type of downhole power source for another to achieve the predictable result of supplying power to the flow control device (refer to para 0021).
Claims 7, 17, and 29 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kleppa (U.S. 2020/0308941A1), in view of Xiao (U.S. 2015/0021015A1) and El Mallawany et al. (U.S. 2021/0140283A1) as applied to claims 5, 15, and 27 above, and further in view of Costa de Oliveira et al. (U.S. 2019/0040703A1).
Regarding claims 7, 17, and 29, the combination of Kleppa, Xiao, and El Mallawany et al. teach all the features of this claim as applied to claims 5, 15, and 27 above; however, the combination is silent to the operational data is a health of the spinning feature, type of fluid driving the spinning feature, composition of fluid driving the spinning feature, density of fluid driving the spinning feature, viscosity of fluid driving the spinning feature, volume of fluid driving the spinning feature, or flow rate of fluid driving the spinning feature.
Costa de Oliveira et al. generally teach the use of acoustics for transmitting the operational status of a downhole device to a surface location (refer to para 0055), wherein the operational status can be a rotational speed of turbine in the device (refer to para 0023, 0041, and 0049), wherein the turbine rotates in response to fluid passing therethrough (refer to para 0041) and the rotational speed of the turbine can be used to calculate a flow rate of the fluid (refer to para 0047).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the downhole tool of Kleppa, as modified by Xiao and El Mallawany et al. to use the operational acoustic date to determine and transmit a health of the spinning feature or flow rate of fluid driving the spinning feature, as taught by Costa de Oliveira et al., for the purpose of determining the amount of power generated by the turbine.
Claims 8 and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kleppa (U.S. 2020/0308941A1), in view of Xiao (U.S. 2015/0021015A1) as applied to claims 1 and 11 above, and further in view of Rodney (U.S. 2016/0258268A1).
Regarding claims 8 and 18, the combination of Kleppa and Xiao teach all the features of this claim as applied to claim 1 above; however, Kleppa, as modified by Xiao is silent to wherein the sensor is an electric cable employing an electronic hydrophone.
Rodney teaches a sensor for transmitting data to surface via lines 380-383 (see fig. 3 and refer to para 0036), wherein the sensor can be an acoustic transmitter or hydrophones or electric cables (refer to para 0034).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have substituted the acoustic sensing line of Kleppa, as modified by Xiao, with an electric cable employing an electronic hydrophone, since Rodney teaches them to be alternatives (refer to para 0034).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Jaaskelainen et al. (U.S. 2018/0328170A1).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to YANICK A AKARAGWE whose telephone number is (469)295-9298. The examiner can normally be reached M-TH 7:30-5:30.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Nicole Coy can be reached at (571) 272-5405. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/YANICK A AKARAGWE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3672