DETAILED ACTION
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.
Claims 1 and 4-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Gaska et al., US 2017/0234087.
With regard to Claim 1, Gaska discloses a drill bit handling and changing system (Figs. 1-20, [0029]-[0056]) for a drill rig (10, Fig. 1), the system comprising:
a deck wrench assembly (44, 4078, Figs. 12, 20) mounted on a deck (66) of a mast (14, Figs. 1, 12-16) of the drill rig (10), the deck wrench assembly being arranged to break the drill bit (40) from a drill pipe (38) of the rig ([0029]); and
a bit changing mechanism (62, 94, Figs. 2-16) slidably disposed on the deck wrench assembly (4078, Figs. 12, 20, [0051]-[0052]) between a standby position (Fig. 12) and an engaged position where the bit changing mechanism is centered with the drill bit and/or drill pipe (Fig. 16) , the bit changing mechanism including a carousel (82) having a plurality of receptacles (174, 186, (Figs. 5, 7, 10), at least one of the receptacles being empty to receive a used drill bit and at least two receptacles holding new drill bits to be connected with the drill pipe after the used drill bit is removed from the drill string ([0038]), wherein the bit changing mechanism includes a slewing drive (240, Figs. 8, 11) arranged to rotate the carousel to present an empty receptacle or a new drill bit to the drill pipe ([0037]-[0038]).
With regard to Claim 4, Gasko discloses wherein the bit changing mechanism includes a cover assembly (166, 170, 220, Figs. 5, 7).
With regard to Claim 5, Gasko discloses a break-out wrench (44, Figs. 2, 12) pivotally mounted on the mast to engage the drill pipe ([0029]).
With regard to Claim 6, Gaska discloses a method of changing a drill bit (40) of a drill rig (Figs. 12-16, 20), the method comprising the steps of:
providing a drill bit handling and changing system according to claim 1 (see above);
sliding the bit changing mechanism along the deck wrench assembly (Figs. 12, 20, [0052]) to position the bit changing mechanism underneath a raised, used drill bit in the engaged position (Fig. 12, [0039]);
positioning an empty receptacle of the carousel underneath the used bit; lowering the drill bit to position the used drill bit in the receptacle (Fig. 13, [0040]);
pivoting a break-out wrench (44) mounted on the mast to engage the drill pipe ([0039]);
breaking a connection between the used drill bit and the drill pipe ([0039]); unclamping the break-out wrench and raising the drill pipe to uncouple the drill bit from the drill pipe ([0039]);
sliding the bit changing mechanism with the used drill bit located in the receptacle to the standby position on the deck wrench assembly (Fig. 13, [0040]);
rotating the carousel to position a receptacle holding the new unused bit toward the drill pipe (Fig. 14, [0041]);
sliding the bit changing mechanism with the new, unused drill bit located in the receptacle to the engaged position on the deck wrench assembly centered with the drill pipe (Fig. 15, [0042]);
lowering the drill pipe and rotating the drill pipe to attach the new, unused drill bit to the drill pipe (Fig. 16, [0042]-[0043]).
With regard to Claim 7, Gaska discloses wherein the used drill bit is lowered through the opening of the plate into the receptacle ([0039]).
With regard to Claim 8, Gaska discloses the step of lowering the drill pipe and the attached drill bit through an opening in the deck wrench assembly (Fig. 2).
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.
Claims 2-3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Gasko as applied to Claim 1, in view of Bender et al., US 2023/0038886.
With regard to Claims 2-3, while Gasko shows a bit breaker plate (114, 110, 122, Figs. 3-4), Gasko fails to teach a plurality of bit breaker plates that are associated with each receptacle. Bender discloses a drill bit handling and changing system for a drill rig (Figs. 1-22, [0038]-[0089], the system comprising:
a deck wrench assembly (180, Fig. 3, 21) mounted on a deck of a mast of the drill rig, the deck wrench assembly being arranged to break the drill bit from a drill pipe of the rig ([0082]-[0084]; and
a bit changing mechanism (190, 195, 230, Figs. 5-15, [0041]-[0044]) tiltably disposed on the deck between a standby position (Figs. 3-4) and an engaged position (Figs. 5-6) where the bit changing mechanism is centered with the drill bit (215, Fig. 5) and/or drill pipe (205, Fig. 6), the bit changing mechanism including a carousel (230, Fig. 8) having a plurality of receptacles (235), at least one of the receptacles being empty to receive a used drill bit and at least two receptacles holding new drill bits to be connected with the drill pipe after the used drill bit is removed from the drill string ([0044]), wherein the bit changing mechanism includes a slewing drive (280) arranged to rotate the carousel to present an empty receptacle or a new drill bit to the drill pipe ([0044]), the bit changing mechanism including a plurality of bit breaker plates (310, Figs. 13A-14B, [0055]-[0056]) that covers a respective receptacle (Figs. 14A, 14B), each of the plates including an opening shaped to accommodate a shape and size of the drill bit (215) being removed or attached ([0057]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of Applicant’s invention, to modify Gaska to include a bit breaker plate associated with each receptacle, similar to Bender’s carousel, because it would allow the carousel to receive drilling tools of differing sizes, as taught by Bender ([0057]), instead of being limited to drilling tools that will fit into Gaska’s single bit breaker plate.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
US 2018/0291696 discloses a drill bit carousel that includes one or more of the claimed features.
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/LYNN E SCHWENNING/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3652