Appeal No. 97-1628
Application No. 08/442,610
that the shear acoustic energy be received and interpreted
(i.e., claim 43). Both instances would seem to require that
shear waves propagate through fluid.
Presuming that the S-wave referred to in Vogel is the
same as the shear wave of the appellants’ invention, we draw
attention to Vogel’s comments that “S-waves cannot propagate
through a fluid” (column 1, line 52), and “the S-wave as such
cannot escape from the formation because the borehole fluid
will not support S-wave propagation” (column 1, lines 61-63).
This would seem to cast aspersions upon the operability of the
appellants’ invention. This application therefore is remanded
to the examiner for consideration of this issue as it may
affect the appellants’ claims.
SUMMARY
The rejection is not sustained.
The decision of the examiner is reversed.
The application is remanded to the examiner for
consideration of the matter raised immediately above.
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