DETAILED ACTION
The present application is a 371 national stage entry of PCT/IB2024/053638.
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 .
Response to Preliminary Amendment
Applicant’s preliminary amendment, filed February 20, 2026, has been fully considered.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112(a)
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 10-12 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, because the specification, while being enabling for certain additional downhole tools (e.g., a logging while drilling tool, a measurement while drilling tool, a mud motor), does not reasonably provide enablement for any and/or all tools or for any and/or all tools comprising a battery as instantly claimed. The specification does not enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and/or use the invention commensurate in scope with these claims.
Per In re Wands, 858 F.2d 731, 737, 8 USPQ2d 1400, 1404 (Fed. Cir. 1988), the following Undue Experimentation factors support a determination that the disclosure satisfies the Enablement requirement for the Full claim Scope:
(B) The nature of the invention – (See Applicant’s Specification, filed 11/07/2025: [0004] – [0011]);
(C) The state of the prior art – (See Applicant’s Specification, filed 11/07/2025: [0003]);
(D) The level of one of ordinary skill – (presumptively a PHOSITA);
(G) The existence of working examples – (See Applicant’s Specification, filed 11/07/2025: [0046] – [0048]);
However, the following Undue Experimentation factors do not support a determination that the disclosure satisfies the Enablement requirement for the full claim Scope:
(A) The breadth of the claims;
(E) The level of predictability in the art;
(F) The amount of direction provided by the inventor;
(H) The quantity of experimentation needed to make and/or use the invention based on the content of the disclosure.
That is, four of the Wands factors support Enablement, while four factors do not support Enablement, one of which relates directly to the current claim scope (A). Therefore, there exists a Scope of Enablement deficiency for the current claims.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112(b)
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.
Claim 10 is 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 10 recites the limitation "another tool in the drilling string" in line 4.
It is unclear what tool is required to meet the claimed invention, and one of ordinary skill in the art would not be reasonably apprised of the scope of the invention.
Claim 11 is 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 11 recites the limitation "another tool" in line 3.
It is unclear what tool is required to meet the claimed invention, and one of ordinary skill in the art would not be reasonably apprised of the scope of the invention.
Claim 11 recites the limitation "the other tool" in line 6. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Moreover, it is unclear what other tool is required to meet the claimed invention, and one of ordinary skill in the art would not be reasonably apprised of the scope of the invention.
Claim 12 is 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 12 recites the limitation "the other tool" in line 1. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Moreover, it is unclear what other tool is required to meet the claimed invention, and one of ordinary skill in the art would not be reasonably apprised of the scope of the invention.
Claim 17 is 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 17 recites the limitation "The system of claim 1" in line 1. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
For purposes of examination, the Examiner interprets this claim to recite:
17. (Currently Amended) The system of claim [[1]] 15, where the drilling string comprises a fluid diverter configured to selectively flow at least a portion of the fluid from the drilling string into an annulus around the drilling string.
Claim 20 is 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 20 recites the limitation "The method of claim 18" in line 1. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 20 recites the limitation "where assembling insulated drill pipe into the drilling string based on a performance/temperature relationship of the ranging tool comprises" in lines 1-3. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
For purposes of examination, the Examiner interprets this claim to recite:
20. (Currently Amended) The method of claim [[18]] 19, where assembling insulated drill pipe into the drilling string based on a performance/temperature relationship of the ranging tool comprises assembling insulated drill pipe into the drilling string based on a specified maximum target operating temperature of the ranging tool that is lower than a maximum rated temperature of the ranging tool.
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.
Claims 1-8 and 10-22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Andreychuk (WO 2022/155743 A1).
Claim 1. Andreychuk discloses A method (Abstract; [0019] – [0022]), comprising:
configuring, in a drilling string (dual pipe drill string 10 comprises an inner tubing string 20 with inner bore or inner flow path 22, and an outer tubing string 30 having an outer bore 32) comprising a drill bit (drill bit 19) and a ranging tool ([0067] “Figure 7C depicts the ranging tool of Figure 7B being used to communicate with the drilling BHA of the other well to range the wellbores to maintain the position of the injector and producer wells at a desired relative distance.”; [0106]; [0108]; [0113]), an arrangement of insulated drill pipe (thermal insulation 60) in the drilling string (10) based on a performance/temperature relationship of the ranging tool ([0020]; [0021]; [0108]; [0113] “…the dual pipe system 10 can optionally include thermal insulation 60, for example insulative layers 60, along any one of the inner and outer walls of the inner tubing 20 and outer tubing 30, or a combination thereof.”; [0128] “…the material of the inner tubing string 20 can be selected to thermally protect, under pressure, the working fluid P therein.”; [0166] “The thickness of the outer tubing sections 38 can be sized, and materials selected, according to factors such as weight to bit, annular hole clearance, and maintaining outer bore 32 diameter sufficient to accommodate insulating coatings 60, the inner tubing 20, centralization hardware, housing connections, desired fluid flow rates, etc. It is also desirable to size the OD of the outer tubing 30 to be large enough to avoid situations wherein the drilling BHA 12 hydraulics off the bottom of the well during drilling.”); and
controlling a characteristic of a flow of fluid through the drilling string (fluid flow through dual pipe string 10) based on the performance/temperature relationship of the ranging tool ([0020]; [0021]; [0108]; [0109]; [0119] “The stream of control fluid C can be separately managed from the stream of working fluid P, thus permitting independent control of the temperature, flow rate, pressure, and other parameters of the streams. In other embodiments, the working and control fluid streams P, C can be parallel streams stemming from a common parent stream.”) while the drilling string is in a wellbore and the ranging tool is being operated to determine the location of the wellbore relative to another wellbore ([0004] “For formations having multiple wells that work in tandem, for example when one wellbore is used to inject fluids and another wellbore is used to produce fluid, it is desirable to control the proximity of the drilled wellbores to each other. As the wells can extend for kilometers, various tools and instrumentation have been developed to aid in steering the drilling operations, known as directional drilling.”; [0067]; [0106]; [0119]).
Claim 2. Andreychuk discloses The method of claim 1, where configuring the arrangement of insulated drill pipe comprises configuring the arrangement of insulated drill pipe based on a specified maximum target operating temperature of the ranging tool that is lower than a maximum rated temperature of the ranging tool ([0158] “Applicant's technology seeks to convey working fluid P from surface to the BHA 12 in hot formation applications with as little thermal variance from surface temperature as possible. With reference to Figs. 10A-10C, depicting the results of thermal efficiency testing between Applicant's drill string 10 and a conventional drill string, if working fluid P is being pumped at 10°C from surface, it must arrive at the BHA 12 deep underground, for example at a depth of 6000m and temperature of 300°C, at less than the maximum operating temperature of the BHA 12, such as 150°C.”) and that corelates to a selected target accuracy of the ranging tool (target accuracy of BHA ranging tool working within operating temperatures).
Claim 3. Andreychuk discloses The method of claim 1, where configuring the arrangement of insulated drill pipe comprises: selecting the insulated drill pipe based on its thermal resistance to heat transfer through the drill pipe ([0113]; [0128] “…the material of the inner tubing string 20 can be selected to thermally protect, under pressure, the working fluid P therein.”; [0166] “The thickness of the outer tubing sections 38 can be sized, and materials selected, according to factors such as weight to bit, annular hole clearance, and maintaining outer bore 32 diameter sufficient to accommodate insulating coatings 60, the inner tubing 20, centralization hardware, housing connections, desired fluid flow rates, etc.”), selecting the quantity of the insulated drill pipe relative to other drill pipe in the drilling string, and selecting the location of the insulated drill pipe in the drilling string relative to the ranging tool and other drill pipe in the drilling string ([0113] “…the dual pipe system 10 can optionally include thermal insulation 60, for example insulative layers 60, along any one of the inner and outer walls of the inner tubing 20 and outer tubing 30, or a combination thereof.”).
Claim 4. Andreychuk discloses The method of claim 3, where configuring the arrangement of insulated drill pipe comprises configuring the arrangement of insulated drill pipe to increase in thermal resistance further from the drill bit ([0128] “the material of the inner tubing string 20 can be selected to thermally protect, under pressure, the working fluid P therein. As such, while the inner tubing 20 may also be made of a metal alloy, it can also be made of other materials selected for their thermal insulative properties.”; [0171] “…the temperature limitation of the BHA 12 lies primarily with the power section, and not the bearing section, of the PDM. In particular, the power section may be more vulnerable to high temperatures than the seals and bearings in the bearing section of the PDM. For example, the bearing section 18b of a PDM may operate with acceptable reliability performance at temperatures up to 300°C, but such temperatures may not be acceptable for the power section 18a. In embodiments where this is the case, and with reference to Figs. 9A & 9B, external housing cooling may be provided only to the power section 18a of the PDM and not the bearing section 18b.”).
Claim 5. Andreychuk discloses The method of claim 1, where controlling a characteristic of the flow of fluid comprises selecting the fluid based on the performance/temperature relationship of the ranging tool ([0020]; [0107]; [0119] “The stream of control fluid C can be separately managed from the stream of working fluid P, thus permitting independent control of the temperature, flow rate, pressure, and other parameters of the streams.”).
Claim 6. Andreychuk discloses The method of claim 1, where controlling a characteristic of the flow of fluid comprises controlling a fluid diverter in the drilling string ([0125] “…the control fluid C could be discharged to the wellbore annulus 50 via discharge ports 44 located at some point intermediate the BHA 12 instead of uphole thereof.”) based on the performance/ temperature relationship of the ranging tool to selectively allow at least a portion of the fluid in the drilling string to flow out of the drilling string uphole of a mud motor in the drilling string and into an annulus between the drilling string and the wellbore ([0020]; [0061]; [0119] “The stream of control fluid C can be separately managed from the stream of working fluid P, thus permitting independent control of the temperature, flow rate, pressure, and other parameters of the streams.”).
Claim 7. Andreychuk discloses The method of claim 1, comprising generating a distance value and a direction value in the wellbore by the ranging tool from raw data collected by a sensor of the ranging tool ([0012] “The electronics at the BHA can include MWD systems, electromagnetic (EM) sensors, transmitters, and receivers, acoustic transmitters and sensors, logging tools, ranging tools, and onboard memory.”; [0106] “Such well pairs are drilled by running multiple drilling rigs having their own drill string 10 and maintaining a predetermined vertical and/or horizontal distance between the horizontal legs of the wells. As the BHAs of the wells approach each other, greater accuracy may be required to maintain the proper distance between the wellbores. With reference to Fig. 7B, the drill string of a first well of the well pair is tripped out to change the drilling BHA for a ranging tool to assist with wellbore positioning. With reference to Fig. 7C, the ranging tool is run back into the first well to assist the drilling BHA of the second wellbore in positioning the second wellbore relative to the first wellbore”; [0107]; [0191]).
Claim 8. Andreychuk discloses The method of claim 1, where controlling a characteristic of the flow of fluid comprises cooling the fluid based on the performance/temperature relationship of the ranging tool using a surface cooler that cools the fluid without a refrigeration cycle (Fig. 2; [0109] “…cooling is provided for downhole components such as electronics associated with measurement-while-drilling (MWD) and/or electromagnetic (EM) tools and logging tools, such as for logging-while-drilling, collectively referred to herein as directional drilling tools 13.”; [0145] “With reference to Fig. 2, an exemplary surface cooling system 100 is depicted for cryogenically cooling the working fluid P and control fluid C, and cooling and treating the return fluid R. … Coolant N can be transported to the well site from plants and made available for cooling, or can be piped in directly from a coolant source.”).
Claim 10. Andreychuk discloses The method of claim 1, where controlling the flow of fluid through the drilling string based on the performance/temperature relationship of the ranging tool comprises controlling the flow of fluid through the drilling string additionally based on a specified target operating temperature of another tool (See rejection under 35 U.S.C. § 112(a); See rejection under 35 U.S.C. § 112(b)) in the drilling string ([0012]; [0109]; [0119]; [0171]).
Claim 11. Andreychuk discloses The method of claim 1, comprising:
configuring the arrangement of insulated drill pipe among other drill pipe in the drilling string based additionally on a specified target operating temperature of another tool (See rejection under 35 U.S.C. § 112(a); See rejection under 35 U.S.C. § 112(b)) in the drilling string ([0012]; [0109]; [0119]; [0171]); and
controlling a flow rate of fluid through the drilling string based on the specified target operating temperature of the other tool (See rejection under 35 U.S.C. § 112(b)) both while the ranging tool is being operated to determine the location of the wellbore relative to another wellbore and at another time ([0012] “The electronics at the BHA can include MWD systems, electromagnetic (EM) sensors, transmitters, and receivers, acoustic transmitters and sensors, logging tools, ranging tools, and onboard memory.”; [0106] “Such well pairs are drilled by running multiple drilling rigs having their own drill string 10 and maintaining a predetermined vertical and/or horizontal distance between the horizontal legs of the wells. As the BHAs of the wells approach each other, greater accuracy may be required to maintain the proper distance between the wellbores. With reference to Fig. 7B, the drill string of a first well of the well pair is tripped out to change the drilling BHA for a ranging tool to assist with wellbore positioning. With reference to Fig. 7C, the ranging tool is run back into the first well to assist the drilling BHA of the second wellbore in positioning the second wellbore relative to the first wellbore”; [0109]; [0171]).
Claim 12. Andreychuk discloses The method of claim 1, where the other tool (See rejection under 35 U.S.C. § 112(b)) comprises at least one of a logging while drilling tool, a measurement while drilling tool, a mud motor, or a tool comprising a battery (See rejection under 35 U.S.C. § 112(a); See rejection under 35 U.S.C. § 112(b); [0109]).
Claim 13. Andreychuk discloses The method of claim 1, comprising drilling a geothermal well with the drilling string and wherein the wellbore comprises a wellbore of the geothermal well ([0106]).
Claim 14. Andreychuk discloses The method of claim 1, where configuring an arrangement of insulated drill pipe in the drilling string comprises configuring an arrangement of insulated drill pipe among other, uninsulated drill pipe in the drilling string ([0171]).
Claim 15. Andreychuk discloses A system, comprising:
a drilling string (dual pipe drill string 10) comprising a ranging tool ([0067] “Figure 7C depicts the ranging tool of Figure 7B being used to communicate with the drilling BHA of the other well to range the wellbores to maintain the position of the injector and producer wells at a desired relative distance.”; [0106]; [0108]) and an arrangement of insulated drill pipe (thermal insulation 60), the arrangement of insulated drill pipe (60) configured based on a performance/temperature relationship of the ranging tool ([0005]; [0020]; [0021]; [0108]; [0113] “…the dual pipe system 10 can optionally include thermal insulation 60, for example insulative layers 60, along any one of the inner and outer walls of the inner tubing 20 and outer tubing 30, or a combination thereof.”; [0128] “…the material of the inner tubing string 20 can be selected to thermally protect, under pressure, the working fluid P therein.”; [0166] “The thickness of the outer tubing sections 38 can be sized, and materials selected, according to factors such as weight to bit, annular hole clearance, and maintaining outer bore 32 diameter sufficient to accommodate insulating coatings 60, the inner tubing 20, centralization hardware, housing connections, desired fluid flow rates, etc. It is also desirable to size the OD of the outer tubing 30 to be large enough to avoid situations wherein the drilling BHA 12 hydraulics off the bottom of the well during drilling.”); and
a fluid flow through the drilling string (fluid flow through dual pipe string 10), the fluid controlled based on the performance/ temperature relationship of the ranging tool ([0020]; [0021]; [0108]; [0109]; [0119] “The stream of control fluid C can be separately managed from the stream of working fluid P, thus permitting independent control of the temperature, flow rate, pressure, and other parameters of the streams. In other embodiments, the working and control fluid streams P,C can be parallel streams stemming from a common parent stream.”) while the drilling string is in a wellbore and the ranging tool is being operated to determine the location of the wellbore relative to another wellbore ([0004] “For formations having multiple wells that work in tandem, for example when one wellbore is used to inject fluids and another wellbore is used to produce fluid, it is desirable to control the proximity of the drilled wellbores to each other. As the wells can extend for kilometers, various tools and instrumentation have been developed to aid in steering the drilling operations, known as directional drilling.”; [0067]; [0106]; [0119]).
Claim 16. Andreychuk discloses The system of claim 15, where the drilling string comprises a drill bit and the drilling string has an increasing thermal resistance to heat transfer through the drill pipe as the distance from the drill bit increases ([0128] “the material of the inner tubing string 20 can be selected to thermally protect, under pressure, the working fluid P therein. As such, while the inner tubing 20 may also be made of a metal alloy, it can also be made of other materials selected for their thermal insulative properties.”; [0171] “In embodiments, it may be that the temperature limitation of the BHA 12 lies primarily with the power section, and not the bearing section, of the PDM. In particular, the power section may be more vulnerable to high temperatures than the seals and bearings in the bearing section of the PDM. For example, the bearing section 18b of a PDM may operate with acceptable reliability performance at temperatures up to 300°C, but such temperatures may not be acceptable for the power section 18a. In embodiments where this is the case, and with reference to Figs. 9A & 9B, external housing cooling may be provided only to the power section 18a of the PDM and not the bearing section 18b.”).
Claim 17. Andreychuk discloses The system of claim [[1]] 15 (See rejection under 35 U.S.C. § 112(b)), where the drilling string (10) comprises a fluid diverter (divertor ports 44) configured to selectively flow at least a portion of the fluid from the drilling string (10) into an annulus (wellbore annulus 50) around the drilling string ([0020]; [0061]; [0125] “…the control fluid C could be discharged to the wellbore annulus 50 via discharge ports 44 located at some point intermediate the BHA 12 instead of uphole thereof.”).
Claim 18. Andreychuk discloses The system of claim 15, where the ranging tool is configured to generate a distance value and a direction value in the wellbore from raw data collected by a sensor of the ranging tool ([0012] “The electronics at the BHA can include MWD systems, electromagnetic (EM) sensors, transmitters, and receivers, acoustic transmitters and sensors, logging tools, ranging tools, and onboard memory.”; [0106] “Such well pairs are drilled by running multiple drilling rigs having their own drill string 10 and maintaining a predetermined vertical and/or horizontal distance between the horizontal legs of the wells. As the BHAs of the wells approach each other, greater accuracy may be required to maintain the proper distance between the wellbores. With reference to Fig. 7B, the drill string of a first well of the well pair is tripped out to change the drilling BHA for a ranging tool to assist with wellbore positioning. With reference to Fig. 7C, the ranging tool is run back into the first well to assist the drilling BHA of the second wellbore in positioning the second wellbore relative to the first wellbore”; [0107]; [0191]).
Claim 19. Andreychuk discloses A method (Abstract; [0019] – [0022]), comprising:
assembling insulated drill pipe (thermal insulation 60) into a drilling string comprising other drilling string (dual pipe drill string 10 comprises an inner tubing string 20 with inner bore or inner flow path 22, and an outer tubing string 30 having an outer bore 32) based on a performance/temperature relationship of a ranging tool in the drilling string ([0113] “…the dual pipe system 10 can optionally include thermal insulation 60, for example insulative layers 60, along any one of the inner and outer walls of the inner tubing 20 and outer tubing 30, or a combination thereof.”); and
flowing fluid downhole through the drilling string (fluid flow through dual pipe string 10) based on the performance/temperature relationship of the ranging tool while operating the ranging tool to determine the location of a wellbore relative to another wellbore ([0004] “For formations having multiple wells that work in tandem, for example when one wellbore is used to inject fluids and another wellbore is used to produce fluid, it is desirable to control the proximity of the drilled wellbores to each other. As the wells can extend for kilometers, various tools and instrumentation have been developed to aid in steering the drilling operations, known as directional drilling.”; [0020]; [0021]; [0067]; [0106]; [0108]; [0109]; [0119] “The stream of control fluid C can be separately managed from the stream of working fluid P, thus permitting independent control of the temperature, flow rate, pressure, and other parameters of the streams. In other embodiments, the working and control fluid streams P, C can be parallel streams stemming from a common parent stream.”).
Claim 20. Andreychuk discloses The method of claim [[18]] 19 (See rejection under 35 U.S.C. § 112(b)), where assembling insulated drill pipe into the drilling string based on a performance/ temperature relationship of the ranging tool comprises assembling insulated drill pipe into the drilling string based on a specified maximum target operating temperature of the ranging tool that is lower than a maximum rated temperature of the ranging tool ([0158]) and that corelates to a selected target accuracy of the ranging tool (target accuracy of BHA ranging tool working within operating temperatures).
Claim 21. Andreychuk discloses The method of claim 19, where assembling insulated drill pipe into the drilling string based on the performance/temperature relationship of the ranging tool, comprises assembling insulated drill pipe into the drilling string to increase in thermal resistance to heat transfer through the drilling string based on the performance/temperature relationship of the ranging tool ([0113]; [0166]).
Claim 22. Andreychuk discloses The method of claim 19, comprising assembling the insulated drill pipe into the drilling string based additionally on a specified target operating temperature of another tool in the drilling string ([0020]; [0106] – [0108]; [0119]; [0128]; [0166]).
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Andreychuk (WO 2022/155743 A1) in view of Toews et al. (WO 2022/043947 A1).
Claim 9. Andreychuk discloses The method of claim 1. Andreychuk does not disclose comprising configuring the arrangement of insulated drill pipe based on a relationship between thermal strain and tensile strength of rock in a target subterranean zone; and controlling the flow fluid through the drilling string based on the relationship between thermal strain and tensile strength of rock in the target subterranean zone concurrently with operating the drilling string to drill an end wall of the wellbore in the target subterranean zone. However, Toews teaches an insulated drill string with a configuration based on a relationship between thermal strain and tensile strength of rock in a target subterranean zone; and controlling the flow fluid through the drilling string based on the relationship between thermal strain and tensile strength of rock in the target subterranean zone concurrently with operating the drilling string to drill an end wall of the wellbore in the target subterranean zone ([0024]; [0028]; [0114]; [0115]). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the system in Andreychuk with a configuration, as taught by Toews, in order to control fluid flow while operating the drilling string with a reasonable expectation of success.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Crystal J. Lee whose telephone number is (571)272-6242. The examiner can normally be reached M-F from 9:00am - 5:00pm.
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/CRYSTAL J LEE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1738
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