Ex Parte Gunturu

Patent Trials and Appeals BoardJun 18, 2019

14014149 - (D) (P.T.A.B. Jun. 18, 2019)

UNITED STA TES p A TENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE APPLICATION NO. FILING DATE 14/014,149 08/29/2013 26290 7590 06/20/2019 PATTERSON & SHERIDAN, L.L.P. 24 Greenway Plaza, Suite 1600 Houston, TX 77046 FIRST NAMED INVENTOR Sashi B. Gunturu UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE United States Patent and Trademark Office Address: COMMISSIONER FOR PATENTS P.O. Box 1450 Alexandria, Virginia 22313-1450 www .uspto.gov ATTORNEY DOCKET NO. CONFIRMATION NO. SRIS/0002US 2373 EXAMINER LEVEL, BARBARA M ART UNIT PAPER NUMBER 2144 NOTIFICATION DATE DELIVERY MODE 06/20/2019 ELECTRONIC Please find below and/or attached an Office communication concerning this application or proceeding. The time period for reply, if any, is set in the attached communication. Notice of the Office communication was sent electronically on above-indicated "Notification Date" to the following e-mail address(es): PSDocketing@pattersonsheridan.com pair_eofficeaction@pattersonsheridan.com jcardenas@pattersonsheridan.com PTOL-90A (Rev. 04/07) UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE BEFORE THE PATENT TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD Ex parte SASHI B. GUNTURU Appeal2018-004508 Application 14/014,149 1 Technology Center 2100 Before ALLEN R. MacDONALD, JON M. JURGOV AN, and NABEEL U. KHAN, Administrative Patent Judges. KHAN, Administrative Patent Judge. DECISION ON APPEAL Appellant appeals under 35 U.S.C. Â§ 134(a) from the Final Rejection of claims 1, 5-10, 14-19, and 21-24. We have jurisdiction under 35 U.S.C. Â§ 6(b). We reverse. 1 Appellant identifies Sristy Technologies, LLC as the real party in interest. App. Br. 3. Appeal2018-004508 Application 14/014, 149 BACKGROUND THE INVENTION Appellant describes the invention as follows: Data collected during reservoir monitoring may include fiber optic measurements utilizing a distributed sensing system. Downhole monitoring with the distributed sensing system may generate large amounts of data. For example, the system may be capable of producing the functional equivalent of tens, hundreds, or even thousands of sensors along a length of a well bore. Continuous monitoring of various properties, including temperature, pressure, Bragg gradient, acoustic, and strain, may create a large volume of data, possibly spanning into several gigabytes. Embodiments of the present invention provide techniques for analyzing a large volume of measurements taken in a wellbore without compromising on the integrity of data. Abstract. Exemplary independent claim 1 is reproduced below. 1. A method of organizing, visualizing, and/or analyzing oilfield measurements, the method comprising: storing the oilfield measurements as profiles in one or more files, each profile including a set of measurements at a respective time at each measured depth along a wellbore; determining a page size for visualizing portions of the measurements in the one or more files or a real-time stream based on at least an available physical memory of a computer system which performs rendering; dividing the profiles in the one or more files or the real- time stream into a plurality of pages based on the page size, wherein each page corresponds to the page size and includes a respective set of profiles, the respective set of profiles comprising a plurality of profiles with measurements from a start time to an end time, thereby indicating measurement variations in space and time; 2 Appeal2018-004508 Application 14/014, 149 displaying, on a display unit, a user interface configured to indicate the plurality of pages corresponding to the page size and to permit selection of the pages; responsive to receiving a user selection of one of the plurality of pages via the user interface, rendering a set of profiles associated with the selected page, wherein the rendering generates a three-dimensional (3D) visualization of a portion of the measurements corresponding to the set of profiles associated with the selected page and showing measurement variations in space and time in the selected page, and wherein the 3D visualization includes a graph with axes representing time, depth, and measurement; and displaying the rendering of the selected page on the display unit. REFERENCES AND REJECTIONS 1. Claims 1, 5-10, 14-19 and 21-23 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C. Â§ 103(a) over Zamora (US 2006/0293872 Al, Dec. 28, 2006), Venon (US 2012/0036466 Al, Feb. 9, 2012), and Kibalo (US 2006/0164245 Al, July 27, 2006). Final Act. 8-24. 2. Claims 24 stands rejected under 35 U.S.C. Â§ 103(a) over Zamora, Venon, Kibalo, and Agarwal (US 2012/0299965 Al, Nov. 29, 2012). Final Act. 24-26. DISCUSSION Claim 1 recites "dividing the profiles in the one or more files or the real-time stream into a plurality of pages based on the page size." The Examiner finds Zamora's matrices correspond to the claimed "profiles" and Zamora's segments correspond to the claimed "pages." Final Act. 9-10. The Examiner finds "Zamora teaches storing oilfield measurement data in 3 Appeal2018-004508 Application 14/014, 149 matrices ( arrays, sets, profiles, etc.) and dividing the data matrices into segments (pages) of matrices data for rendering and display." Final Act. 10 ( citing Zamora Abstract, ,i 51, Fig. 1 ). Appellant argues "there is no teaching that the matrices themselves, which are merely used for sharing data between applications, are divided into 'segments (pages).'" App. Br. 14. We are persuaded by Appellant's argument. Zamora discloses that "the drill string and annulus (borehole) are subdivided into segments of predetermined length, preferably 50 to 100-ft cells or segments for simulation purposes." Zamora ,i 47. Zamora also discloses that "[t]he data displayed in FIG. 1 are shared with a graphics engine application executed by the computer system in the form of matrices." Zamora ,i 51. Zamora further explains that "[t]o enhance continuity and improve resolution, the 100-ft segments commonly used by hydraulics simulation programs may preferably be further subdivided into shorter cells for the graphics engine." Id. Thus, Zamora teaches dividing the borehole into segments for simulation purposes and also discloses sharing the borehole data with the graphic engine in the form of matrices for display. However, we do not discern from these disclosures that Zamora's matrices are divided into Zamora's segments as the Examiner finds. The cited portions of Zamora do not disclose how the visually simulated borehole segments specifically inter-relate with the display data matrices shared with the graphics engine. Thus, we agree with Appellant that Zamora does not teach or suggest "dividing the profiles in the one or more files or the real-time stream into a plurality of pages based on the page size." App. Br. 19. 4 Appeal2018-004508 Application 14/014, 149 Accordingly, we do not sustain the Examiner's rejection of independent claim 1. The Examiner rejects independent claims 10 and 19 on the same basis as claim 1, and therefore we also do not sustain the Examiner's rejection of claims 10 and 19. See Final Act. 19. For the same reasons we also do not sustain the rejection of the pending dependent claims, which depend from one of claims 1, 10, or 19. DECISION The Examiner's rejections of claims 1, 5-10, 14-19, and 21-24 are reversed. REVERSED 5