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 .
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) 1, 2, 4, and 6-12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102a1 as being anticipated by Dreyfuss (US 3356147 A), hereinafter Dre.
With respect to claim 1, Dre discloses a system, comprising: a centralizer (combination 9, 10, 11) configured to be disposed between a radially inner surface of a downhole tubular and a radially outer surface of a sonde housing (it is capable of this), wherein the centralizer includes at least two support features (9 and 10 or each half of the centralizer, one half generally corresponding to the upper right hand side of fig. 3 and comprising of one of the sets of loops of hinge 16 including the pin of 16 and one of the sets of loops of 15 without the pin, the other half generally corresponding to the lower left half of fig. 3 and comprising the other of the sets of loops of hinge 16 without the pin and one of the sets of loops of 15 including the pin), wherein each support feature comprises: a first circumferential end feature (one of the sets of loops of 15 or 16 with the pin), wherein the first circumferential end feature includes a connection feature (the pin); a second circumferential end feature (the other of the sets of loops of 15 or 16 without the pin), wherein the second circumferential end feature includes a retainer channel (channel for the pin) configured to receive a corresponding connection feature (the pin); and an elongated body portion (20 or combination of 20 and 11) configured to extend axially along a centralizer axis and extend circumferentially about the centralizer axis from the first circumferential end feature to the second circumferential end feature, wherein the elongated body portion is corrugated with radially inward extending portions and radially outward extending portions alternating along the elongated body portion between the first circumferential end feature and the second circumferential end feature (shown in fig. 3).
With respect to claim 2, Dre further discloses wherein a first retainer channel of a first support feature is configured to interlock with a second connection feature of a second support feature and a first connection feature of the first support feature is configured to interlock with a second receiver channel of the second support feature (shown in figs. 1, 3).
With respect to claim 4, Dre further discloses wherein a first support feature has a first axial length (the length along the longitudinal axis or the length along a radial axis), and a second support feature has a second axial length (the other of the length along the longitudinal axis or the length along a radial axis), wherein the first axial length is greater than the second axial length (one of the lengths will be greater than the other).
With respect to claim 6, Dre further discloses wherein the first circumferential end feature includes a connection feature (the loop of the hinge or the combination of the loop and the pin), wherein at least a portion of the connection feature is thicker than the elongated body portion (shown in fig. 3).
With respect to claim 7, Dre further discloses wherein the connection feature has a circular shaped cross-section (shown in fig. 3).
With respect to claim 8, Dre further discloses wherein the at least two support features each extend three hundred and sixty degrees about the centralizer axis (shown in fig. 3).
With respect to claim 9, Dre further discloses wherein the retainer channel has a circular shaped cross-section corresponding to the circular shaped cross-section of the connection feature (shown in fig. 3).
With respect to claim 10, Dre further discloses wherein the at least two support features each have a uniform cross-sectional shape along a length of each of the at least two support features (fig. 3 shows a uniform cross section along at least a majority of a length).
With respect to claim 11, Dre further discloses wherein the centralizer axis is coaxial with a central axis of the downhole tubular (this is how a casing centralizer functions).
With respect to claim 12, Dre further discloses wherein the elongated body portion of each of the at least two support features have a uniform thickness (shown in fig. 3).
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(s) 1-4, 8, and 10-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Liu (US 10598000 B2) in light of Schicker (WO 2023187693 A1), hereinafter Ker.
With respect to claim 1, Liu discloses a system, comprising: a centralizer (128) configured to be disposed between a radially inner surface of a downhole tubular (126) and a radially outer surface of a sonde housing (122), an elongated body portion (129) configured to extend axially along a centralizer axis and extend circumferentially about the centralizer axis wherein the elongated body portion is corrugated (shown in fig. 4A-C) with radially inward extending portions (137) and radially outward extending portions (138) alternating along the elongated body portion.
However, Liu fails to disclose multiple support features with connections as claimed.
Nevertheless, Ker discloses providing a centralizer (100, 300) surrounding a sonde housing (201) which is split and therefore comprises at least two support features (two instances of 301, pg. 10 l. 24 – pg. 11 l. 11), wherein each support feature comprises: a first circumferential end feature (307), wherein the first circumferential end feature includes a connection feature (307); a second circumferential end feature (308), wherein the second circumferential end feature includes a retainer channel (308) configured to receive a corresponding connection feature (pg. 12 l 4 – pg. 13 l. 5).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to have made the centralizer a split-type centralizer with two support features with each comprising connection features and retainer channels as taught by Ker in order to provide a centralizer which can be assembled around a tool housing for ease of use without using tools as taught by Ker (pg. 31 ll. 1-20).
With respect to claim 2, Ker further discloses wherein a first retainer channel of a first support feature is configured to interlock with a second connection feature of a second support feature and a first connection feature of the first support feature is configured to interlock with a second receiver channel of the second support feature (shown in figs. 3A-3E).
With respect to claim 3, Liu further discloses wherein the centralizer is configured to hold the sonde housing in a centralized position with respect to the downhole tubular (shown in fig. 4A).
With respect to claim 4, Ker further discloses wherein a first support feature has a first axial length (the length along the longitudinal axis or the length along a radial axis), and a second support feature has a second axial length (the other of the length along the longitudinal axis or the length along a radial axis), wherein the first axial length is greater than the second axial length (one of the lengths will be greater than the other).
With respect to claim 8, Ker further discloses wherein the at least two support features each extend three hundred and sixty degrees about the centralizer axis (shown in figs. 3B-3E).
With respect to claim 10, Liu further discloses wherein the at least one support feature has a uniform cross sectional shape along a length of the at least one support feature (shown in figs. 4-4C, will also be the case in the combination).
With respect to claim 11, Liu further discloses wherein the centralizer axis is coaxial with a central axis of the downhole tubular (shown in fig. 4A).
With respect to claim 12, Liu further discloses wherein the elongated body portion of the at least one support feature has a uniform thickness (shown in figs. 4-4C, col. 15 ll. 29-32).
With respect to claim 13, Liu further discloses the downhole tubular (126); and the sonde housing (122) disposed within a central bore of the downhole tubular, wherein the sonde housing is configured to house electrical components, and wherein the centralizer is disposed within a radial gap formed between the radially outer surface of the sonde housing and the radially inner surface of the downhole tubular (shown in fig. 4A).
With respect to claim 14, Liu further discloses wherein a thickness of the elongated body portion of the at least one support feature is between 5-30% of a thickness of the radial gap formed between the radially inner surface of the downhole tubular and the radially outer surface of the sonde housing (col. 2 l. 54 recites a OD for sonde 122 of 2.54 inches, table 1 recites a collar ID of 3 inches, and col. 15 ll. 36-42 recites a thickness between .1 and .3 inches, width of gap = ID of collar – OD sonde = 3-2.54 = .46 inches and thickness of centralizer = .1in, .1/.46 = 27% which falls in the claimed range. Furthermore, col. 7 also teaches expanding the drill collar ID to 3.25 inches which results in a .61inch gap so even a .2 inch thick centralizer falls in the claimed range).
With respect to claim 15-18, these limitations are substantially similar to those of claims 1-4, 8, and 10-14, rejected supra.
With respect to claim 19, Ker further discloses interlocking a plurality of support features together to extend along a length of the centralizer (shown in figs. 3B-3E).
With respect to claim 20, Ker further discloses sliding a further support feature onto an end of an adjacent support feature by sliding the further support feature along an axis of the centralizer until a retainer channel of the further support feature interlocks with a connection feature of the adjacent support feature (figs. 2, 3A-E, sliding them towards each other which is along an axis but not the longitudinal axis).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 5 is objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. US 20080083645 A1 discloses a connection and retainer channel split-half configuration which is assembled by sliding in a longitudinal direction in fig. 1, 1a). US 3566965 A discloses assembling multiple support features circumferentially and longitudinally, a does US 4641776 A. US 4392526 A discloses a similar support connection feature in fig. 9.
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/KIPP C WALLACE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3674 09/02/2026
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