Office Action 2: Notice of Allowance (2025-01-21)

CLAIMS:
AMENDMENTS TO THE CLAIMS

Please amend the claims as reflected in the following Listing of Claims.

1\. (Currently Amended) A downhole tool comprising:an interior component having an outer diameter (OD) surface;
a protective housing positioned around at least a portion of the interior component and having an inner diameter (ID) surface proximate the OD surface of the interior component;
an adjustable damper including a piezoelectric layer positioned between the ID surface and the OD surface and configured to change size in a transverse direction perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the interior component; and
wherein the piezoelectric layer and a damper layer are angularly adiacent to one another relative to a rotational axis of the downhole tool and the piezoelectric layer applies a tension force to the damper layer to change at least one dimension of the damper layer.

2\. (Original) The downhole tool of claim 1, wherein the longitudinal axis is a rotational axis and the transverse direction is a radial direction.

3\. (Original) The downhole tool of claim 1, wherein the adjustable damper has a damper OD in the transverse direction greater than an ID of the ID surface.

4\. (Canceled)

5\. (Canceled)

6\. (Currently Amended) The downhole tool of claim 1\-5,wherein the piezoelectric layer is closer to the OD surface than the damper layer.

7\. (Canceled)

8\. (Canceled)

9\. (Currently Amended) The downhole tool of claim 1\-7,wherein the piezoelectric layer and the damper layer surround a circumference of the OD surface of the interior component.

10\. (Original) The downhole tool of claim 1, wherein the adjustable damper is fixed to the OD surface of the interior component.

11\. (Original) The downhole tool of claim 1, wherein the adjustable damper forms a fluid seal between the interior component and the protective housing.

12\. (Original) The downhole tool of claim 1, wherein the adjustable damper includes a plurality of angular portions, with angular gaps therebetween, between the interior component and the protective housing relative to a rotational axis of the downhole tool.

13\. (Original) The downhole tool of claim 1, wherein the adjustable damper is fixed to the ID surface of the protective housing.

14\. (Original) The downhole tool of claim 1, wherein the adjustable damper has a contraction distance greater than 0.025 millimeters.

15\. (Original) The downhole tool of claim 1, wherein the adjustable damper has a contraction distance greater than 0.3% of a damper OD of the adjustable damper and interior component relative to a rotational axis of the downhole tool.

16\. (Original) The downhole tool of claim 1, wherein the adjustable damper has an expanded height greater than 1.5 millimeters.

17\. (Original) The downhole tool of claim 1, wherein the adjustable damper has an expanded height greater than 3% of a damper OD of the adjustable damper and interior component relative to a rotational axis of the downhole tool.

18\. - 20. (Canceled)1919

OFFICE 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 .
EXAMINER'S AMENDMENT
An examiner’s amendment to the record appears below. Should the changes and/or additions be unacceptable to applicant, an amendment may be filed as provided by 37 CFR 1.312. To ensure consideration of such an amendment, it MUST be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee.
Authorization for this examiner’s amendment was given in an interview with Bridget Laffey on December 23, 2024.
The application has been amended as follows:
In the Claims:
In claim 2, lines 1-2 have been amended to recite --[[a]]the rotational axis--.
In claim 17, line 3 has been amended to recite --[[a]]the rotational axis--.
Conclusion

APPLICANT REBUTTAL: REMARKS
Claims 1-20 are currently pending in the application. By this amendment, claims 1, 6 and 9 will have been amended and claims 4-5, 7-8 and 18-20 will have been canceled. Applicants submit no new matter has been entered by this amendment. Reconsideration and withdrawal of the pending rejections are requested in view of the following remarks.
Acknowledgement of Allowable Subject Matter
Applicants notes with appreciation the Examiner's indication that claim 8 would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
In this regard, Applicants have amended independent claim 1 to include limitations from the base claim 8 and any intervening claims.
Accordingly, Applicants submit that claims 1 - 3, 6 and 9-17 are allowable at least for the reasons that the Examiner has indicated the claims contain allowable subject matter.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to as failing to comply with 37 CFR 1.84(p)(5) because they include the following reference character(s) not mentioned in the description: 107 and 926.
Reference character 107 can be found in paragraph [0025] of the specification. See "For instance, the bit 110 may be used with a whipstock to mill into casing 107 lining the wellbore 102."
Reference character 926 is removed from Fig. 9. Applicants submit a replacement Fig. 9.
Claim Objections
Claims 7 and 9 are objected to because of informalities. Claim 7 is canceled and Claim 9 has been amended to address the issues identified by the Examiner. It is respectfully submitted that this rejection is now moot.
35 U.S.C. § 102 and § 103
In the Office Action, claim 8 was found to be allowable. To expedite prosecution of the present application and without consideration of the merits of the claim rejections of the Office Action, Applicants have amended claim 1 to include allowable subject matter from claim 8. Applicants respectfully submit that this Amendment amends the present application to put the application in condition for allowance in accordance with the Office Action and, as such, Applicants request that the amendment be entered in this case and the claims, as amended, be found allowable.
CONCLUSION