The arguments and amendments submitted 01/08/2026 have been considered. In light of amendments made, the prior USC § 112(b) rejections are hereby withdrawn. The merits of the claim are discussed below.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
Claims 1-36 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for pre-AIA the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
Claim 1, lines 14-16 recite the new limitation that “each swivel arm is configured such that, while directing the respective light beam onto the processing area for selective melting or sintering, the swivel arm is pivotable only around a respective vertical swivel axis", but Applicant has not pointed out specifically where the recitation indicated in italics is supported in the written specification. Paragraph 0019 in the PG Pub for the instant specification is the only description related to the new recitation and is limited to the statement that “The swivel arms can be designed to only swivel around the vertical axis” without any description that this feature is limited to while directing the respective light beam onto the processing area for selective melting or sintering and/or how the apparatus is structurally configured so that each swivel arm only swivels around the vertical axis while directing the respective light beam onto the processing area for selective melting or sintering. Therefore, paragraph 0019 and the surrounding paragraphs do not provide support for broadening of the feature that the swivel arm is pivotable only around a respective vertical swivel axis while directing the respective light beam onto the processing area for selective melting or sintering. Furthermore, although Applicant points to Figures 1-2 as providing support, neither figure has any visual indications supporting the new limitation. Lastly, there is nothing in Figure 2 and its accompanying description that supports Applicant’s assertion that Figure 2 illustrates the apparatus while directing the respective light beam onto the processing area for selective melting or sintering. In view of the above considerations, the recitation on lines 14-16 is unsupported new matter. Dependent claims fall herewith.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments submitted 01/08/2026 have been fully considered and have been addressed above.
Although claim 1 is not taught or suggested by the prior art of record, as indicated in Sections 6-7 of the previous office action, the claims are not presently allowable for the reasons described in Sections 3-4 above.
Conclusion
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/JRS/
Examiner
Art Unit 1745
/JIMMY R SMITH JR./Examiner, Art Unit 1745