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
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 6 August 2026 has been entered.
Status
This Office Action is responsive to the Amendments and Arguments filed 6 August 2026. As directed by applicant, Claim 1 has been amended, claims 21-24 have been added, and no claims have been added. Thus, claims 1-4, 7-11, 14, 15 and 18-24 are currently pending. This is a Non- Final Office Action.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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.
[Examiner’s Note: Strikethrough indicates that the reference does not disclose that limitation].
Claims 1, 2, 3, 4, 8, 9, and 10, 21, is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Heugel (U.S. Patent Application Publication 2016/ 0243618) in view of Yamada (U.S. Patent Application Publication 2015/ 0314389) and Retallick (U.S. Patent 5,658,412).
Regarding claim 1, Heugel discloses electron beam system for the additive manufacture of a workpiece, comprising:
a) a process chamber (Heugel, fig. 1) which can be evacuated;
b) an electron beam generator (21) which is set up in the process chamber directing an electron beam onto laterally different locations of a powder bed made of a powdery material to be processed; wherein
c) at least one prechamber (Heugel, 34, 45, 36)
d) at least one movable receiving device (Heugel, 5) for receiving the powder bed (Heugel, fig. 1, powder 11);
e) a transport device configured to exchange a first movable receiving device, which is initially located in the prechamber, for a second movable receiving device, which is located in the process chamber (¶0027, conveyor belt or the like”, ¶0034 demonstrates moving);
Heugel does not teach wherein the pre-chamber can be evacuated and which can be used during operation of the electron beam system, wherein the at least one prechamber, is continuously connected to the process chamber in a vacuum-tight manner via a sluice door, nor does it disclose “f) an elevator arranged within the at least one pre-chamber and configured to receive at least two movable receiving devices arranged vertically one above the other”.
And while Heugel does not teach particularly evacuating the chamber, he does teach that gases and atmosphere may be maintained by barriers between the stations, even as the container moves from different stations (¶0043), “Because the housings of the individual modules are coupled directly to one another, the replaceable container can be transported between the individual stations without being exposed to a surrounding atmosphere between these), However, Yamada in his additive manufacturing method, teaches a prechamber which can be evacuated and which can be used during operation of the electron beam system (Yamada, ¶0048, figs. 1,2,, “exhausting an atmosphere in the chamber 2”; shaping chamber 2, 52, fig. 3), is continuously connected to the process chamber in a vacuum-tight manner via a sluice door (Yamada, 56). Thus, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention, to modify Heugel with the teachings of Yamada, to evacuate the pre- and processing chambers and have a door between them, in order to prepare the chambers for electron beam processing, and this would allow working with the powder bed in order to be ready to move that or another powder bed through the processing chambers in a state ready to be processed (i.e. in the evacuated state).
And while Heugel in view of Yamada teaches all the limitations of the claims above, it still does not teach f) an elevator arranged within the at least one pre-chamber and configured to receive at least two movable receiving devices arranged vertically one above the other”.
However, Heugel does teach that neighboring modules may be in the “vertical direction” (Heugel, ¶0025) but he does not describe exactly how that is accomplished, but just states, “This alignment apparatus may for example contain spherical head centering, guides, stops and the like.” (Heugel, ¶0034)
However, Retallick teaches having the base go down (like an elevator) after completion of the completion of the 3-D object (fig. 1, displacement 11 by the level adjustment device 10, column 2 lines 3-14, and column 3 lines 39- 52). The advantage having a moving base to different levels would be to have the new object be moved to a place to cool and be removed (Retallick), or generally, to be moved to another chamber, a pre-chamber or post-processing chamber, as taught in Heugel, to create more product by moving the already made on of the way, getting another container ready, or preparing the newly made object for further processing. Thus, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention, to modify Heugel in view of Yamada with the teachings of Retallick, Heugel already teaching vertical displacement to move into a pre-chamber (Heugel, ¶0025), with the elevator of Retallick, for the actual mechanism for moving, to have an elevator to move a container and/or object vertically to allow space for another object, in order to have the new object be moved to a place to cool and be removed (Retallick), or generally, to be moved to another chamber, a pre-chamber or post-processing chamber, as in Heugel, to create more product by moving the already made on of the way, getting another container ready, or preparing the newly made object for further processing.
Regarding claim 2, Heugel in view of Yamada and Retallick teaches all the limitations of claim 1, as above, and further teaches an electron beam system wherein the at least one movable receiving device has a construction container (Heugel, fig. 1, with 7, receives the container) which is set up to receive the powder bed, and in which the workpiece can be produced additively (¶0046).
Regarding claim 3, Heugel in view of Yamada and Retallick teaches all the limitations of claim 2, as above, and further teaches an electron beam system wherein the at least one movable receiving device has a storage container (Heugel, 12) for the powdery material.
Regarding claim 4, Heugel in view of Yamada and Retallick teaches all the limitations of claim 3, as above, and further teaches an electron beam system wherein the at least one movable receiving device has a powder application device (Heugel, 14) which is set up to remove the powdery material from the storage container to be transferred into the construction container in order to generate the powder bed there for the additive manufacture of the workpiece.
Regarding claim 8, Heugel in view of Yamada and Retallick teaches all the limitations of claim 1, as above, and further teaches an electron beam system wherein a loading and unloading station (Heugel, 36) is connected to the at least one prechamber, via which the at least one movable receiving device is introduced into the electron beam system or can be removed from this (“this” is interpreted as being “the electron beam system” into which stuff can be introduced or from which stuff can be removed) .
Regarding claim 9, Heugel in view of Yamada and Retallick teaches a method for additive manufacture of a workpiece comprising the following steps:
a) providing an electron beam system according to claim 1, (Heugel,¶¶0028, 0060, laser may be substituted for “electron beam”) ;
b) producing a first workpiece in the first movable receiving device by processing the powdery material in the powder bed by means of an electron beam in the process chamber (¶0028, pulverulent build material creates an object in replaceable container);
c) equipping the at least one prechamber with a second movable receiving device and then evacuating the prechamber (¶0034, all done simultaneously with a second replaceable container);
d) transporting the first movable receiving device from the at least one process chamber into the prechamber or into another prechamber (Heugel, fig. 2, ¶¶28-34);
e) transporting the second movable device from the prechamber into the process chamber (Heugel, ¶0034, “The replacement station 36 is configured for the replacement of replaceable containers 5. For example, a replaceable container 5 prepared in the setup station 35 is brought through the unpacking station 34 into the replacement station 36 while an object is being produced in another replaceable container in the manufacturing station 30. At the end of the production of the object, the filled replaceable container is brought from the manufacturing station 30 into the replacement station 36, and the empty replaceable container is brought from the replacement station 36 into the manufacturing station 30, so that the production of a new object can be started immediately. The full replaceable container is then brought into the unpacking station 34, in which the object is unpacked );
f) producing a second workpiece in the second movable receiving device by processing the powdery material in the powder bed by means of an electron beam in the process chamber (¶0034);
However, Heugel in view of Yamada and Retallick does not teach
g) cooling of the first workpiece in the first movable receiving device in the prechamber.
However, Retallick does teach cooling of the first movable receiving device in a further chamber below the processing chamber (Retallick, fig. 1, element 15, column 3 lines 49-50, “required slow cool-down of the object occurs in removable container 15”) And while Heugel does not teach the same chamber for cooling, it does teach the possibility of having a cooling chamber (¶0037). Thus, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention, to modify Heugel in view of Yamada and Retallick, to have a second receiving container (5) being transported around the device, being prepared while the first one is being processed, and then being processed while the first one is being even cooled and unloaded, , in order to be more efficient in creating the layered objects (2) , and to have the receiving containers be moving around and being processed and cooling in order to create the most objects in the least amount of time, having them be processed at different chambers at the same time (see Chillscyzn, U.S. Patent Application Publication 2020/ 0198228, ¶0087, fig. 4, for the efficiency of multiple stations and moving between the different station).
Regarding claim 10, Heugel in view of Yamada and Retallick teaches all the limitations of claim 9, as above, but does not further teach a method comprising the step of:
a) removing the first movable device together with the workpiece from the at least one prechamber.
However, Heugel teaches removing the workpiece from the container in the prechamber (Heugel, ¶0028). Thus, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention, to modify Heugel in view of Yamada, to remove the container with the workpiece out of the pre-chamber, in order to remove the container to continue to protect the workpiece, or to remove the container after manufacture of a workpiece to move the container out of the process for replacement or fixing, for instance.
Regarding claim 21, Heugel teaches a method for additive manufacture of a workpiece comprising the following steps:
a.
b. in the process chamber (Heugel, fig. 1), directing an electron beam (directing 22 via 21,23,24) onto laterally different locations of a first powder bed (9), which is made of a powdery material (11) and is received in a first movable receiving device;
c. (¶0051, connected in a “gastight fashion”)
d. exchanging a second movable receiving device, which is located in the prechamber and receives a second powder bed for the first movable receiving device, which is located in the process chamber (¶¶23, 0028, 0034 indicates that different containers are moved and being worked on in different stations),
Heugel does not disclose “evacuating a process chamber or prechamber”, nor that they are connected “via a sluice door”, nor that precisely wherein step d) comprises the step of vertically moving an elevator which is arranged within the pre-chamber and is configured to receive at least two movable receiving devices arranged vertically one above the other.
Now, while Heugel does not teach particularly evacuating the chamber, it does teach that gases and atmosphere may be maintained by barriers between the stations, even as the container moves from different stations (¶0043), “Because the housings of the individual modules are coupled directly to one another, the replaceable container can be transported between the individual stations without being exposed to a surrounding atmosphere between these), However, Yamada in his additive manufacturing method, teaches a prechamber which can be evacuated and which can be used during operation of the electron beam system (Yamada, ¶0048, figs. 1,2,, “exhausting an atmosphere in the chamber 2”; shaping chamber 2, 52, fig. 3), is continuously connected to the process chamber in a vacuum-tight manner via a sluice door (Yamada, 56). Thus, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention, to modify Heugel with the teachings of Yamada, to evacuate the pre- and processing chambers and have a door between them, in order to prepare the chambers for electron beam processing, and this would allow working with the powder bed in order to be ready to move that or another powder bed through the processing chambers in a state ready to be processed (i.e. in the evacuated state).
And while Heugel in view of Yamada teaches all the limitations of the claims above, it still does not teach f) an elevator arranged within the at least one pre-chamber and configured to receive at least two movable receiving devices arranged vertically one above the other”.
Heugel does teach that neighboring modules may be in the “vertical direction” (Heugel, ¶0025) but he does not describe exactly how that is accomplished, but just states, “This alignment apparatus may for example contain spherical head centering, guides, stops and the like.” (Heugel, ¶0034)
However, Retallick teaches having the base go down (like an elevator) after completion of the completion of the 3-D object (fig. 1, movement 11, column 3 lines 39- 52). The advantage having a moving base to different levels would be to have the new object be moved to a place to cool and be removed (Retallick), or generally, to be moved to another chamber, a pre-chamber or post-processing chamber, as in Heugel, to create more product by moving the already made on of the way, getting another container ready, or preparing the newly made object for further processing. Thus, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention, to modify Heugel in view of Yamada with the teachings of Retallick, Heugel already teaching vertical displacement to move into a pre-chamber (Heugel, ¶0025), with the elevator of Yamada, for the actual mechanism for moving, to have an elevator to move a container and/or object vertically to allow space for another object, in order to have the new object be moved to a place to cool and be removed (Retallick), or generally, to be moved to another chamber, a pre-chamber or post-processing chamber, as in Heugel, to create more product by moving the already made on of the way, getting another container ready, or preparing the newly made object for further processing.
Claim(s) 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Heugel (U.S. Patent Application Publication 2016/ 0243618) in view of Yamada (U.S. Patent Application Publication 2015/ 0314389) and Retallick (U.S. Patent 5,658,412).and further in view of Milshtein (U.S. Patent Application Publication 2017/ 0291372)
Regarding claim 7, Heugel in view of Yamada and Retallick teaches all the limitations of claim 1, as above, but does not further teach an electron beam system wherein the at least one prechamber and/or the at least one receiving device has at least one temperature measuring device. Milshtein teaches, in his additive manufacturing method, “a system wherein the prechamber and/or the receiving device has at least one temperature measuring device (¶120, “sensor can detect the temperature of the pre-transformed and/or transformed material in the material bed”). Thus, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention, to modify Heugel in view of Yamada and Retallick with the teachings of Milshtein, to have at least one temperature measuring device in the receiving device, in order to take a temperature of the object or powder bed to know when the object has been made or the powder has been melted to know how much more power to add in order to make the workpiece or before damaging the workpiece.
Claims 11, 14, 15, 18, 19, and 23 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Heugel (U.S. Patent Application Publication 2016/ 0243618).
Regarding claim 11, Heugel discloses a system for the additive manufacture of a workpiece comprising:
a) a process chamber (Heugel, 30) which can preferably be evacuated;
b) a construction container (Heugel, 5) in which the workpiece can be produced;
c) a storage container (Heugel, 12) for powdery material;
d) a powder application device (14) configured to transfer the powdery material from the storage container into a powder bed in the construction container;
e) a beam generator (Heugel, 20, 21) configured to direct an energy beam onto laterally different locations of the powder bed in the process chamber; and
f) at least one movable receiving device that comprises the construction container, the storage container, and the powder application device, wherein the at least one movable receiving device can be transported into and out of the process chamber so that the powder application device can be removed from the process chamber (¶0047, “The base unit 40 may, however, also contain the entire process chamber 3 with the components contained therein, as are described above with reference to FIG. 1. The attachable module 41 fitted onto the process chamber 3 then contains the irradiation apparatus 20”. The powder application may indeed be removed from the process chamber, as the process chamber 41 may be disattached from the base unit 40).
It is noted that the movement of the container between the processing chamber and the prechambers, and the removability of the powder application device from the processing chamber are in different embodiments in Heugel (figs. 1 & 2 and fig. 3, respectively). However, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention, to modify Heugel to have the base unit of embodiment 2 be able to move between the prechambers and the processing chamber, including with the powder application device, in order to adjust the device or prepare the device or powder, and till be using the processing chamber, in order to most efficiently use the processing chamber so that the containers may be prepared most amount of devices may be produced, and also that the device does not get dirty with the different powders but that they are all self-contained, and may be adjusted for each 3-d object, if necessary (Heugel, ¶0018).
Regarding claim 14, Heugel teaches all the limitations of claim 11, as above, but does not further teach a system wherein the at least one movable receiving device is designed to accommodate construction containers and/or storage containers with different dimensions. However, Heugel already teaches that a container may not even be used and just have the workpiece be created on the “production platform” (¶0058). Further, adjustments to the replaceable container, and how much pulverant it may contain or use, would be according to the desired size of the 3-d workpiece to be created Thus, it would be obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention, to modify the shape/size of the replaceable container, and that the device would then be configured to handle construction containers of different sizes, such as with higher sides, in order to accommodate larger replaceable containers, which can accommodate different amounts of pulverant/powder, depending on the desired 3-d workpiece to be created.
Regarding claim 15, Heugel teaches all the limitations of claim 11, as above, but does not further teach a system wherein all components coming into contact with a process that is performed in the process chamber can be removed from the process chamber. However, it would be desirable to have the parts be separable in order to remove and fix different parts, in order that the device be able to be fixed and continue to work, no matter what part may malfunction. Thus, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention, to modify Heugel in view of DeMuth, to have any of its components be removable, in order to clean or fix or replace any part, in order to increase the life of the device and be able to fix or clean any part of the device so that the device may continue to work efficiently, in case any piece needs fixing or malfunctions (see MPEP 2144.04(IV)A)
Regarding claim 18, Heugel teaches all the limitations of claim 11, as above, and further teaches a system wherein the at least one movable receiving device comprises a support frame which has at least two thermally decoupled sections (¶0048, generate two independently controlled beams).
Regarding claim 19, Heugel teaches all the limitations of claim 18, as above, but does not further teach wherein the construction container and the powder application device are attached to different sections of the support frame. And while this is not explicit, the construction container has wall and is able to be lowered (within DeMuth) and the powder application device is able to move and within the bed (DeMuth, fig. 1), and thus must be attached at different sections.
Regarding claim 23, Heugel discloses a method for additive manufacture of a workpiece comprising the following steps:
a. transporting a movable receiving device into a process chamber (Heugel, ¶0028), wherein the movable receiving device comprises a construction container in which the workpiece can be produced, a storage container (12) for powdery material, and a powder application device (Heugel, 14) configured to transfer the powdery material from the storage container into a powder bed in the construction container;
b. directing an energy beam (22) generated by a beam generator onto laterally different locations of the powder bed (¶28);
c. removing the movable receiving device from the process chamber so the construction container, the storage container and the powder application device are removed from the process chamber (¶0047, “The base unit 40 may, however, also contain the entire process chamber 3 with the components contained therein, as are described above with reference to FIG. 1. The attachable module 41 fitted onto the process chamber 3 then contains the irradiation apparatus 20”. The powder application may indeed be removed from the process chamber, as the process chamber 41 may be disattached from the base unit 40).
It is noted that the movement of the container between the processing chamber and the prechambers, and the removability of the powder application device from the processing chamber are in different embodiments in Heugel (figs. 1 & 2 and fig. 3, respectively). However, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention, to modify Heugel to have the base unit of embodiment 2 be able to move between the prechambers and the processing chamber, including with the powder application device, in order to adjust the device or prepare the device or powder, and till be using the processing chamber, in order to most efficiently use the processing chamber so that the containers may be prepared most amount of devices may be produced, and also that the device does not get dirty with the different powders but that they are all self-contained, and may be adjusted for each 3-d object, if necessary (Heugel, ¶0018).
Claim 20 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Heugel (U.S. Patent Application Publication 2016/ 0243618) in view of Wakelam (U.S. Patent Application Publication 2020/ 0061653).
Regarding claim 20, Heugel teaches a method for the additive manufacture of a workpiece, comprising the steps of:
a) providing a system according to claim 11 (see rejection of claim 11, above);
b) producing a workpiece by processing the powdery material by means of an energy beam (22) in the process chamber (Heugel, ¶0015, 0060, electron beam) ; and
But Heugel does not teach “c) removing the powder application device from the process chamber.”
However, in its Additive manufacturing method, Wakelam teaches “c) removing the powder application device from the process chamber. (Wakelam, ¶0038, “ thus removing the powder application device 26 from the interior volume 21 of the chamber 20”; in the case of Wakelam, this also includes removing the “storage container”. Thus, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention, to modify Heugel in view of Wakelam, to remove the powder application device from the process chamber after the application of powder, in order that any processing withing the chamber is not disturbed by the powder application device, nor that the powder application device has any more exposure to the electron beam as necessary in order to maintain the good working order of the device for as long as possible.
Claims 22 and 24 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Heugel (U.S. Patent Application Publication 2016/ 0243618) in view of Shi (U.S. Patent Application Publication 2020/ 0238613).
Regarding claim 22, Heugel teaches all the limitations of claim 11, as above, but does not further teach wherein the construction container comprises a first movable base plate which can be raised and lowered, the storage container comprises a second movable base plate which can be raised and lowered, and wherein the process chamber comprises actuators for moving the first movable base plate, the second movable base plate and the powder application device, wherein each actuator comprises an interface configured to connect the respective actuator to the first movable base plate, the second movable base plate and the powder application device after the movable receiving device has been moved into the process chamber.
However, Heugel does teach a first movable base plate (Heugel, moving baseplate 8 via 7, ¶0014).
However, Shi teaches “a first movable base plate (Shi, 152) which can be raised and lowered (via 154), the storage container comprises a second movable base plate (Shi, 152) which can be raised and lowered (via 154), and wherein the process chamber comprises actuators for moving the first movable base plate, the second movable base plate and the powder application device (154,154,156, ¶0031)”, and although Heugel and Shi do not teach the interface of the actuators explicitly, Heugel does teach that “[t]he interface between the base unit and the attachable module may in this case be formed at different positions” and several options are proposed how the modular process chamber may be arranged and attached (Heugel, ¶0046-48). Thus, having the modular device, even with the teachings of Shi, to have the second movable base, would be obvious to have, wherein each actuator comprises an interface configured to connect the respective actuator to the first movable base plate, the second movable base plate and the powder application device after the movable receiving device has been moved into the process chamber, in order to first of all, substitute in a known form of powder application for another, the coater (14), which would have to be moved horizontally (Heugel, Fig. 1, ¶0015)), and to substitute the actuator of Shi, to apply the powder in a known way with expected results and thus it would be further obvious to have the teachings of Heugel and Shi be modular with the actuators, to attach the actuators via interfaces (similar to how Heugel has his modular devices attach to each other), so as to make the actuators associated with the different movable containers and powder beds work together.
.
Regarding claim 24, Heugel teaches all the limitations of claim 23, as above, but does not further teach a method wherein the construction container comprises a first movable base plate which can be raised and lowered, and the storage container comprises a second movable base plate which can be raised and lowered, and further wherein between steps a) and b), actuators arranged in the process chamber are connected via interfaces to the first movable base plate, the second movable base plate and the powder application device.
However, Heugel does teach a first movable base plate (Heugel, moving baseplate 8 via 7, ¶0014).
However, Shi teaches “wherein the construction container comprises a first movable base plate (Shi, 152) which can be raised and lowered (via 154), and the storage container comprises a second movable base plate (Shi, 152) which can be raised and lowered (via 154), and further wherein steps a) and b), actuators arranged in the process chamber are connected via interfaces to the first movable base plate, the second movable base plate and the power application device (154,154,156, ¶0031)”. And Heugel does teach that “[t]he interface between the base unit and the attachable module may in this case be formed at different positions” and several options are proposed how the modular process chamber may be arranged and attached (Heugel, ¶0046-48). Thus, having the modular device, even with the teachings of Shi, to have the second movable base, would be obvious to have, wherein each actuator comprises an interface configured to connect the respective actuator to the first movable base plate, the second movable base plate and the powder application device after the movable receiving device has been moved into the process chamber, in order to first of all, substitute in a known form of powder application for another, the coater (14), which would have to be moved horizontally (Heugel, Fig. 1, ¶0015)), and to substitute the actuator of Shi, to apply the powder in a known way with expected results and thus it would be further obvious to have the teachings of Heugel and Shi be modular with the actuators, to attach the actuators via interfaces (similar to how Heugel has his modular devices attach to each other), so as to make the actuators associated with the different movable containers and powder beds work together.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1 and 11 have been considered but they are not persuasive. Specifically, applicant argues that Retallick, which is used as the secondary reference to teach the elevator mechanism, does not read on the limitations of the claim as, applicant argues, there is no teaching, suggestion or reason to take the lift from the process chamber and incorporate it into the prechamber of Heugel (Remarks, p. 10 of 12). However, it is noted that Heugel, the primary reference, already teaches prechambers and teaches that these chambers may even be in a “vertical” direction (Heugel, ¶0025 “The module interface 33 may contain an element by which the alignment of neighboring modules, for example a relative position between them in the horizontal and/or vertical direction or an angular setting with respect to one another can be established.”). And while the teaching in Heugel is bare-bones, Retallick is used to flesh out the elevator mechanism to move a container from one level to another, and thus the combination is obvious in light of the teaching in Heugel.
And regarding applicant’s argument against Heugel in view of DeMuth (Remarks, p. 11 of 12), similarly, after a closer look at Heugel, Heugel himself teaches that the modular container may comprise different components (Heugel, ¶0047). Thus, in light of the movement of the container and the teachings that it may comprise different elements, including the powder applicator, and that Heugel already teaches moving the removable container into and out of the process chamber, it would be obvious, in light of these teachings to have an option to move the applicator with the container out of the process chamber, in order to use a specific powder and to not have contamination from other powders in the chamber, see above.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Please see attached and previously filed forms PTO-892.
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/LAWRENCE H SAMUELS/Examiner, Art Unit 3761
/IBRAHIME A ABRAHAM/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3761
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