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 .
Response to Amendment
Claims 1, 3, 7, 18, 21-25, 28-29, 43-45, 48-49, 51-53, and 58-61 are pending. Claims 49 and 51-53 remain withdrawn.
In view of the amendment, filed 02/09/2026, the following objections and rejections are withdrawn from the previous Office Action mailed 08/11/2025:
Claim objections
Claim rejections under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) and 112(b)
Claim rejections under 35 U.S.C. 103
New grounds of rejection are necessitated by claim amendments.
Claim Objections
Claim 61 is objected to because of the following informalities: the end of the clause beginning “one or more optical systems” contains a period which should be a comma.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claim(s) 1, 3, 7, 18, 21-25, 28-29, 43-45, 48, and 58-61 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Independent claims 1, 25, and 61 recite that the system includes “G-code or a set of machine commands prepared from a sliced digital file…” The “G-code or set of machine commands” is not a structural component and is not clearly associated with any physical structure (e.g., a computer, a controller, a computer-readable medium, etc.) such that its relationship to the “system for printing” (an apparatus, see Fig. 2) is unclear. Regarding the “G-code” or “commands,” the specification describes only that “before printing, a digital file is obtained,” and that said file is typically sliced and converted to machine commands, which facilitates building the object (PGPub [0133]). This type of processing is relatively standard in conventional 3D printing, as also evidenced by the same paragraph. However, it is unclear in view of the specification how the G-code or set of machine commands is incorporated into the physical “system” as presently claimed (e.g., in the system of Fig. 2, where is the “G-code or set of machine commands”?), and furthermore what effect, if any, the G-code or set of machine commands then has on the structure of the system or its claimed components.
The indicated dependent claims are rejected for the reasons provided above.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claim(s) 1, 3, 7, 18, 21-25, 28-29, 43-45, 48, and 58-61 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Voris et al., US 20160067922 A1, in view of Matheu et al., US 20200063093 A1, Doyle et al., US 20150234270 A1, and either one of Converse et al., US 20210213675 A1, or Indyk et al., US 20200338828 A1.
Regarding claim 1, Voris discloses a system for volumetric printing one or more three-dimensional objects (Abstract, Fig. 1) based on sliced digital files corresponding to the one or more three-dimensional objects (based on sliced digital files defining a 3D model of an object to be printed, [0011]), the system comprising:
G-code or a set of machine commands prepared from a sliced digital file for an object to be printed to facilitate printing the object in the system (print control program or builder instruction module defines a build file to create or print the digital model, [0024], [0031], Fig. 1), wherein the sliced digital file corresponds to the object and comprises two-dimensional layer slices of the object (note that the sliced digital file is not part of the code/commands/system as claimed; still, Voris discloses the code is based on slices, [0011]),
A photopolymerizable liquid (UV curable fluid resin, [0023], [0030]) wherein during formation of the object in the photopolymerizable liquid within a printing zone (Figs. 3-4) the object remains at a fixed position or is displaced by a minimal amount that is acceptable for precisely producing the object (Figs. 3-4, is supported by the uncured resin during building, [0026]),
A closed container (printing chamber in the form of a tank, [0023], leak tight tank, [0030], [0045], tank 330, Fig. 3), the closed container including the printing zone (Fig. 3), wherein the printing zone comprises at least an optically transparent window (glass/transparent walls of tank, [0030], [0045], Fig. 3) to facilitate directing an excitation light into the printing zone (see beams 321, 323, Fig. 3) to form a three-dimensional printed object within a volume of the photopolymerizable liquid in the printing zone (Figs. 3-4), wherein each of the one or more printed three-dimensional objects is based on the sliced digital file corresponding to the object to be printed (as set forth above),
Wherein the system does not include a build plate to which the object is attached during formation (no support structures, [0026], Figs. 3-4).
Voris does not specifically disclose the photopolymerizable liquid is non-Newtonian.
In the analogous art, Matheu discloses 3D printing by selective polymerization to form portions of a 3D object using energy beams ([0128]). Matheu teaches that photopolymerizable non-Newtonian fluids are particularly useful as build materials in the instances of shear-thinning properties or thixotropic media which exhibit improved, better controlled draining during media replacement ([0353]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the photopolymerizable fluid of Voris to use a non-Newtonian fluid so that the material exhibited improved properties such as a reduced viscosity during draining for better and more controlled media replacement as taught by Matheu.
Voris discloses the tank needs to be refilled with additional resin after completion of a build ([0026]) but does not specifically disclose the tank includes an entry port and an exit port, the entry port and the exit port being connected by a channel therebetween, or a pump for pumping an amount of the photopolymerizable liquid into the closed container through the entry port, the pump being in connection with the entry port of the closed container and adapted for connection to a source of the photopolymerizable liquid. Voris discloses that printed objects must ultimately be removed from the tank ([0043]) but does not disclose a separator unit in connection with the exit port of the closed container that receives contents including any printed objects and unpolymerized photopolymerizable liquid discharged from the exit port of the closed container.
In the analogous art, Doyle discloses a system for high-throughput formation of 3D microstructures having complex shapes via light polymerization through a radiation-transparent chamber (Abstract, [0007]-[0009], Figs. 1A-1B). Doyle teaches the build chamber including an entry port (entry for stream 15 to device 12, Fig. 1A, [0030]) and an exit port (exit for stream 36, Fig. 1A, [0038]), the entry port and the exit port being connected by a channel therebetween (connected via internal space between ports, Fig. 1A), and a pump (syringe pump or pressure source, [0073], [0076]) for pumping an amount of the photopolymerizable liquid into the closed container through the entry port ([0076], [0078], [0104]), the pump being in connection with the entry port of the closed container ([0076], [0078], [0104]) and adapted for connection to a source of the photopolymerizable liquid (pipette tip or syringe containing monomer solution, [0078], [0104]). Doyle teaches a separator unit (reservoir 34, Fig. 1A, [0038]-[0039], which is considered to meet a separator unit as it is where produced objects are separated from the excess monomer stream) in connection with the exit port of the closed container (Fig. 1A) that receives contents including any printed objects and unpolymerized photopolymerizable liquid discharged from the exit port of the closed container (Fig. 1A, [0038]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Voris to include an entry port and an exit port to the build container, as well as a pump and separator unit as taught by Doyle in order to facilitate Voris’s filling and removing of contents from the container in a manner that enables a high-throughput operation of forming the polymerized structures as taught by Doyle.
Modified Voris discloses the separator unit collecting the output monomer stream and polymerized objects, and that the objects can be separated in the reservoir (Doyle: e.g., rinsed in the reservoir, [0038]-[0038]). The combination does not explicitly disclose the separator unit separates the printed objects from the unpolymerized liquid and includes a first discharge port for discharging any separated printed objects from the separator unit and a second discharge port for discharging the separated unpolymerized photopolymerizable liquid from the separator unit.
In the analogous art, Converse discloses an additive manufacturing system for printing batches of objects by stereolithography via light polymerization (Abstract, Figs. 1 and 3). Converse teaches the system 100 (Fig. 3, [0060]-[0066]) includes a separator 106 (Fig. 3, [0055], [0064]) in connection with an exit from the stereolithography apparatus 104 for receiving contents discharged from the stereolithography apparatus (Fig. 3, receives printed object and excess resin from stereolithography apparatus, [0064]), where the separator 106 separates printed objects from unpolymerized photopolymerizable liquid ([0055], [0064]). The separator unit of Converse has a first discharge port for discharging the separated printed objects (a pathway for the separated objects to move to a baking/curing apparatus, Fig. 3, [0057]) and a second discharge port for discharging the unpolymerized photopolymerizable liquid (drain [0055] and pathway for the separated excess resin to move to an associated blender for re-supply to the resin dispenser, Fig. 3, [0065]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to further modify the system of Voris such that the separator unit was configured as disclosed by Converse including that it separates the printed objects from the unpolymerized liquid and has a first discharge port for discharging any separated printed objects from the separator unit and a second discharge port for discharging the separated unpolymerized photopolymerizable liquid from the separator unit, in order to automate the separation and recovery of formed objects and to improve efficiency of the material usage by enabling excess monomer solution to be recovered and resupplied to the printing zone, as taught by Converse.
Alternatively, in the analogous art of 3D printing and separation (Abstract), Indyk discloses a system for separating a liquid resin from a photopolymerized material by way of a separator unit 50 (Fig. 1, [0033]) that separates polymerized products from unpolymerized liquid via a sieve 50c and has a first discharge port for discharging any separated printed objects from the separator unit (discharge from section 50a, Fig. 1, [0033]) and a second discharge port for discharging the separated unpolymerized photopolymerizable liquid from the separator unit (drainage from section 50b, Fig. 1, [0033]). The liquid phase of the material can then be returned to a supply section for reuse (Fig. 1, [0034]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to configure the separator unit of modified Voris such that it was configured to separate the printed objects from the unpolymerized liquid and had a first discharge port for discharging any separated printed objects from the separator unit and a second discharge port for discharging the separated unpolymerized photopolymerizable liquid from the separator unit, in order to implement the reliable and mechanically simple separation structure of a sieve structure to facilitate the separation and recovery of formed objects and to improve efficiency of the material usage by enabling unused monomer solution to be recovered and resupplied to the printing zone, as taught by Indyk.
Regarding claim 3, modified Voris discloses the system of claim 1, wherein the channel has a uniform cross-section over its length between the entry port and the exit port (Voris: the tank is rectangular, [0030], Fig.3, such that the channel constituted by the internal space between ports at opposite sides has a uniform cross-section over its length).
Regarding claim 7, modified Voris discloses the system of claim 1, wherein the closed container is optically transparent ([0030]).
Regarding claim 18, modified Voris discloses the system of claim 1. Voris does not disclose a recirculation loop as claimed.
Converse, introduced above, further teaches a recirculation loop in connection with the second discharge port for recirculating the separated unpolymerized photopolymerizable liquid to the source (Fig. 3, recirculation loop from separator outlet for excess resin back to resin dispenser 102).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to further specify in the combination a recirculation loop in connection with the second discharge port for recirculating the separated unpolymerized photopolymerizable liquid to the source in order to realize the benefits of improved efficiency in material usage and the capability for resupplying the excess monomer solution to the printing zone, as taught by Converse.
Indyk, introduced above, also teaches a recirculation loop in connection with the second discharge port for recirculating the separated unpolymerized photopolymerizable liquid to the source (Fig. 1, return pipeline 58).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to further specify in the combination a recirculation loop in connection with the second discharge port for recirculating the separated unpolymerized photopolymerizable liquid to the source in order to realize the benefits of improved efficiency in material usage and the capability for resupplying the excess monomer solution to the printing zone, as taught by Indyk.
Regarding claim 21, modified Voris discloses the system of claim 1. Voris is silent as to the closed container being replaceable. The claim requires the closed container to be capable of being replaced. Voris discloses the container is constructed of readily available material having a standard shape ([0030]), and one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the closed container was capable of being replaced, e.g., in the case it was damaged. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to specify that the closed container was replaceable in order to ensure a new closed container could be incorporated to the system in case the original was damaged, lost, or otherwise rendered inoperative.
Regarding claim 22, modified Voris discloses the system of claim 1, and the combination discloses the separator unit mechanically separates any printed objects from unpolymerized photopolymerizable liquid (Converse [0055]; Indyk [0033], Fig. 1).
Regarding claim 23, modified Voris discloses the system of claim 1. Doyle, as applied above for teaching the pump and exit port, discloses the pump is used to provide the monomer stream to the device (container) in a type of continuous- or stop-flow lithography process and controllably adjusts the flow rate of the stream ([0073]-[0074]). Doyle discloses the discharging of contents including the formed structures and the unpolymerized liquid from the device is achieved by flushing at a high flow rate ([0075]). Accordingly, one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the pump taught by Doyle was for (capable of) (i) pumping an amount of the photopolymerizable liquid from the source into the closed container to fill the container with the photopolymerizable liquid, and (ii) pumping a metered amount of the photopolymerizable liquid into the filled closed container to move the printed object out of the printing zone in a direction toward the exit port, where the exit port was adapted for discharging contents of the closed container displaced by the metered amount out of the closed container through the exit port (Fig. 1A). Using the pump as claimed would have been in line with practicing the supply, forming, and flushing steps via control of the monomer stream flow rate as described by Doyle.
Regarding claim 24, modified Voris discloses the system of claim 1, further comprising an optical system (Voris: curing energy source and its outlet devices such as lenses, [0034], [0041]-[0042]) that is movable in relation to the printing zone (capable of being repositioned, [0012], [0034], [0050]) so that excitation light can be selectively directed into the printing zone from one or more sides (Figs. 3-4).
Regarding claim 25, Voris discloses a system for volumetric printing one or more three-dimensional objects (Abstract, Fig. 1) based on sliced digital files corresponding to the one or more three-dimensional objects (based on sliced digital files defining a 3D model of an object to be printed, [0011]), the system comprising:
G-code or a set of machine commands prepared from a sliced digital file for an object to be printed to facilitate printing the object in the system (print control program or builder instruction module defines a build file to create or print the digital model, [0024], [0031], Fig. 1), wherein the sliced digital file corresponds to the object and comprises two-dimensional layer slices of the object (note that the sliced digital file is not part of the code/commands/system as claimed; still, Voris discloses the code is based on slices, [0011]),
A photopolymerizable liquid (UV curable fluid resin, [0023], [0030]) wherein during formation of the object in the photopolymerizable liquid within a printing zone (Figs. 3-4) the object remains at a fixed position or is displaced by a minimal amount that is acceptable for precisely producing the object (Figs. 3-4, is supported by the uncured resin during building, [0026]),
A closed container (printing chamber in the form of a tank, [0023], leak tight tank, [0030], [0045], tank 330, Fig. 3), the closed container including one or more printing zones (Fig. 3), wherein each printing zone comprises at least an optically transparent window (glass/transparent walls of tank, [0030], [0045], Fig. 3) to facilitate directing an excitation light at a first wavelength into the printing zone (see beams 321, 323, Fig. 3) to form a three-dimensional printed object within a volume of the photopolymerizable liquid in the printing zone (Figs. 3-4), wherein the one or more printed three-dimensional objects are based on the sliced digital files corresponding to the object to be printed (as set forth above),
Wherein the system does not include a build plate to which the object is attached during formation (no support structures, [0026], Figs. 3-4).
Voris does not specifically disclose the photopolymerizable liquid is non-Newtonian.
In the analogous art, Matheu discloses 3D printing by selective polymerization to form portions of a 3D object using energy beams ([0128]). Matheu teaches that photopolymerizable non-Newtonian fluids are particularly useful as build materials in the instances of shear-thinning properties or thixotropic media which exhibit improved, better controlled draining during media replacement ([0353]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the photopolymerizable fluid of Voris to use a non-Newtonian fluid so that the material exhibited improved properties such as a reduced viscosity during draining for better and more-controlled media replacement as taught by Matheu.
Voris discloses the container needs to be refilled with additional resin after completion of a build ([0026]) but does not specifically disclose a reservoir comprising a resin tank for containing a supply of the photopolymerizable liquid, the resin tank having a resin tank outlet and a resin tank inlet, a pump in connection with the resin tank outlet for pumping an amount of the photopolymerizable liquid from the reservoir into the closed container through an entry port in the closed container, the container includes the entry port and an exit port, the entry port and the exit port being connected by a channel therebetween. Voris discloses that printed objects must ultimately be removed from the tank ([0043]) but does not disclose a separator unit in connection with the exit port of the closed container that receives contents including any printed objects and unpolymerized photopolymerizable liquid discharged from the exit port of the closed container.
In the analogous art, Doyle discloses a system for high-throughput formation of 3D microstructures having complex shapes via light polymerization through a radiation-transparent chamber (Abstract, [0007]-[0009], Figs. 1A-1B). Doyle teaches the build chamber including an entry port (entry for stream 15 to device 12, Fig. 1A, [0030]) and an exit port (exit for stream 36, Fig. 1A, [0038]), the entry port and the exit port being connected by a channel therebetween (connected via internal space between ports, Fig. 1A), and a pump (syringe pump or pressure source, [0073], [0076]) in connection with a reservoir/tank for containing a supply of the photopolymerizable liquid (pipette tip or syringe containing monomer solution, [0078], [0104], i.e., a fluid container) and having an outlet (outlet for providing stream 15 from reservoir to device 12, [0078], [0104], Fig. 1A), the pump being in connection with the outlet for pumping an amount of the photopolymerizable liquid from the reservoir into the closed container through the entry port ([0076], [0078], [0104]). Doyle teaches a separator unit (reservoir 34, Fig. 1A, [0038]-[0039], which is considered to meet a separator unit as it is where produced objects are separated from the excess monomer stream) in connection with the exit port of the closed container (Fig. 1A) that receives contents including any printed objects and unpolymerized photopolymerizable liquid discharged from the exit port of the closed container (Fig. 1A, [0038]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Voris to include a supply reservoir, an entry port and an exit port to the build container, as well as a pump and separator unit as taught by Doyle in order to facilitate Voris’s filling and removing of contents from the container in a manner that enables a high-throughput operation of forming the polymerized structures as taught by Doyle.
Modified Voris discloses the separator unit collecting the output monomer stream and polymerized objects, and that the objects can be separated in said unit (Doyle: e.g., rinsed in the reservoir, [0038]-[0038]). The combination does not explicitly disclose the supply reservoir includes an inlet, the separator unit separates the printed objects from the unpolymerized liquid and includes a first discharge port for discharging any separated printed objects from the separator unit and a second discharge port for discharging the separated unpolymerized photopolymerizable liquid from the separator unit, and a recirculation loop in connection with the second discharge port for recirculating the separated unpolymerized liquid to the reservoir.
In the analogous art, Converse discloses an additive manufacturing system for printing batches of objects by stereolithography via light polymerization (Abstract, Figs. 1 and 3). Converse teaches the material reservoir includes an inlet for resupply of the resin material from recovered excess resin (Fig. 3, inlet to resin dispenser 102 from separator 106 and blender 108). Converse teaches the system 100 (Fig. 3, [0060]-[0066]) includes a separator 106 (Fig. 3, [0055], [0064]) in connection with an exit from the stereolithography apparatus 104 for receiving contents discharged from the stereolithography apparatus (Fig. 3, receives printed object and excess resin from stereolithography apparatus, [0064]), where the separator 106 separates printed objects from unpolymerized photopolymerizable liquid ([0055], [0064]). The separator unit of Converse has a first discharge port for discharging the separated printed objects (a pathway for the separated objects to move to a baking/curing apparatus, Fig. 3, [0057]) and a second discharge port for discharging the unpolymerized photopolymerizable liquid (drain [0055] and pathway for the separated excess resin to move to an associated blender for re-supply to the resin dispenser, Fig. 3, [0065]). Converse teaches a recirculation loop in connection with the second discharge port for recirculating the separated unpolymerized photopolymerizable liquid to the supply reservoir (Fig. 3, recirculation loop from separator outlet for excess resin back to resin dispenser 102).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to further modify the system of Voris to specify the reservoir included an inlet and the separator unit was configured as disclosed by Converse including that it separates the printed objects from the unpolymerized liquid and has a first discharge port for discharging any separated printed objects from the separator unit and a second discharge port for discharging the separated unpolymerized photopolymerizable liquid from the separator unit, as well as a recirculation loop as claimed, in order to automate the separation and recovery of formed objects and to improve efficiency of the material usage by enabling excess monomer solution to be recovered and reused via resupply to the reservoir, as taught by Converse.
Alternatively, in the analogous art of the 3D printing and separation (Abstract), Indyk discloses a system for separating a liquid resin from a photopolymerized material by way of a separator unit 50 (Fig. 1, [0034]). Indyk teaches the material reservoir 24 includes an inlet for resupply of the resin material from recovered excess resin (Fig. 1, inlet to material input station 24 via return pipeline 58, [0034]), and the separator unit 50 separates polymerized products from the unpolymerized liquid via a sieve 50c and has a first discharge port for discharging any separated printed objects from the separator unit (discharge from section 50a, Fig. 1, [0033]) and a second discharge port for discharging the separated unpolymerized photopolymerizable liquid from the separator unit (drainage from section 50b, Fig. 1, [0033]). The liquid phase of the material can then be returned to a supply section for reuse (Fig. 1, [0034]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to specify the reservoir of the combination included an inlet and a recirculation loop as claimed and to configure the separator unit such that it was configured to separate the printed objects from the unpolymerized liquid and had a first discharge port for discharging any separated printed objects from the separator unit and a second discharge port for discharging the separated unpolymerized photopolymerizable liquid from the separator unit, in order to implement the reliable and mechanically simple separation structure of a sieve structure to facilitate the separation and recovery of formed objects and to improve efficiency of the material usage by enabling unused monomer solution to be recovered and resupplied to the printing zone, as taught by Indyk.
Regarding claim 28, modified Voris discloses the system of claim 25, further comprising an optical system (Voris: curing energy source and its outlet devices such as lenses, [0034], [0041]-[0042]) that is movable in relation to the printing zone (capable of being repositioned, [0012], [0034], [0050]) so that excitation light can be selectively directed into the printing zone from one or more sides (Figs. 3-4).
Regarding claim 29, modified Voris discloses the system of claim 25, wherein the channel has a uniform cross-section over its length between the entry port and the exit port (Voris: the tank is rectangular, [0030], Fig.3, such that the channel constituted by the internal space between ports at opposite sides has a uniform cross-section over its length).
Regarding claim 43, modified Voris discloses the system of claim 25, wherein the closed container is optically transparent ([0030]).
Regarding claim 44, modified Voris discloses the system of claim 25. Voris is silent as to the closed container being replaceable. The claim requires the closed container to be capable of being replaced. Voris discloses the container is constructed of readily available material having a standard shape ([0030]), and one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the closed container was capable of being replaced, e.g., in the case it was damaged. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to specify that the closed container was replaceable in order to ensure a new closed container could be incorporated to the system in case the original was damaged, lost, or otherwise rendered inoperative.
Regarding claim 45, modified Voris discloses the system of claim 25, and the combination discloses the separator unit mechanically separates the one or more printed objects from the unpolymerized photopolymerizable liquid (Converse [0055]; Indyk [0033], Fig. 1).
Regarding claim 48, modified Voris discloses the system of claim 25. Doyle, as applied above for teaching the pump and exit port, discloses the pump is used to provide the monomer stream to the device (container) in a type of continuous- or stop-flow lithography process and controllably adjusts the flow rate of the stream ([0073]-[0074]). Doyle discloses the discharging of contents including the formed structures and the unpolymerized liquid from the device is achieved by flushing at a high flow rate ([0075]). Accordingly, one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the pump taught by Doyle was for (capable of) (i) pumping an amount of the photopolymerizable liquid from the source into the closed container to fill the container with the photopolymerizable liquid, and (ii) pumping a metered amount of the photopolymerizable liquid into the filled closed container to move the printed object out of the printing zone in a direction toward the exit port, where the exit port was adapted for discharging contents of the closed container displaced by the metered amount out of the closed container through the exit port (Fig. 1A). Using the pump as claimed would have been in line with practicing the supply, forming, and flushing steps via control of the monomer stream flow rate as described by Doyle.
Regarding claim 58, modified Voris discloses the system of claim 28, wherein the optical system is in connection with an excitation light source (Voris: curing energy source, [0041]-[0042]).
Regarding claim 59, modified Voris discloses the system of claim 58. Voris does not disclose the excitation light source comprises a DMD projection system.
Matheu further discloses using a DMD projection system with a laser source in order to project holographic images to form 3D structures by photopolymerization according to a desired pattern ([0170]-[0172]). Matheu teaches directing an energy beam as a projection to induce polymerization can enable the formation of multiple layers of the object at the same time ([0128], [0134]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the excitation light source of Voris to include a DMD projection system in order to provide the ability to project holographic images for the formation of the 3D structures with a higher efficiency as taught by Matheu.
Regarding claim 60, modified Voris discloses the system of claim 25, comprising more than one printing zone (Voris: different printing locations between Figs. 3-4) and further comprising an optical system (curing energy source and its outlet devices such as lenses, [0034], [0041]-[0042]) associated with each of the printing zones (printing locations being defined by the energy sources, Figs. 3-4) that is movable in relation to the printing zone with which it is associated (capable of being repositioned, [0012], [0034], [0050]) such that excitation light can be selectively directed into the associated printing zone from one or more sides (Figs. 3-4).
Regarding claim 61, Voris discloses a system for volumetric printing one or more three-dimensional objects (Abstract, Fig. 1) based on sliced digital files corresponding to the one or more three-dimensional objects (based on sliced digital files defining a 3D model of an object to be printed, [0011]), the system comprising:
G-code or a set of machine commands prepared from a sliced digital file for an object to be printed to facilitate printing the object in the system (print control program or builder instruction module defines a build file to create or print the digital model, [0024], [0031], Fig. 1), wherein the sliced digital file corresponds to the object and comprises two-dimensional layer slices of the object (note that the sliced digital file is not part of the code/commands/system as claimed; still, Voris discloses the code is based on slices, [0011]),
A photopolymerizable liquid (UV curable fluid resin, [0023], [0030]) wherein during formation of the object in the photopolymerizable liquid within a printing zone (Figs. 3-4) the object is suspended in the photopolymerizable liquid (3D object is suspended, [0010], supported by uncured resin, [0017], [0026]) and remains at a fixed position or is displaced by a minimal amount that is acceptable for precisely producing the object (Figs. 3-4, is supported by the uncured resin during building, [0026]),
A closed container (printing chamber in the form of a tank, [0023], leak tight tank, [0030], [0045], tank 330, Fig. 3), the closed container including one or more printing zones (Fig. 3), wherein each printing zone comprises at least an optically transparent window (glass/transparent walls of tank, [0030], [0045], Fig. 3) to facilitate directing an excitation light at a first wavelength into the printing zone (see beams 321, 323, Fig. 3) to form a three-dimensional printed object within a volume of the photopolymerizable liquid in the printing zone (Figs. 3-4), wherein the one or more printed three-dimensional objects are based on the sliced digital files corresponding to the object to be printed (as set forth above),
One or more optical systems (curing energy source and its outlet devices such as lenses, [0034], [0041]-[0042]), wherein an optical system is associated with one of the printing zones (Figs. 3-4) and is movable in relation to the printing zone with which it is associated (capable of being repositioned, [0012], [0034], [0050]) such that excitation light can be selectively directed into the printing zone from one or more sides (Figs. 3-4),
Wherein the system does not include a build plate to which the object is attached during formation (no support structures, [0026], Figs. 3-4).
Voris does not specifically disclose the photopolymerizable liquid is non-Newtonian.
In the analogous art, Matheu discloses 3D printing by selective polymerization to form portions of a 3D object using energy beams ([0128]). Matheu teaches that photopolymerizable non-Newtonian fluids are particularly useful as build materials in the instances of shear-thinning properties or thixotropic media which exhibit improved, better controlled draining during media replacement ([0353]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the photopolymerizable fluid of Voris to use a non-Newtonian fluid so that the material exhibited improved properties such as a reduced viscosity during draining for better and more-controlled media replacement as taught by Matheu.
Voris discloses the container needs to be refilled with additional resin after completion of a build ([0026]) but does not specifically disclose a reservoir comprising a resin tank for containing a supply of the photopolymerizable liquid, the resin tank having a resin tank outlet and a resin tank inlet, a pump in connection with the resin tank outlet for pumping an amount of the photopolymerizable liquid from the reservoir into a closed container through an entry port in the closed container, wherein the pump (i) pumps an amount of the photopolymerizable liquid from the reservoir into the closed container to fill the container with the photopolymerizable liquid, and (ii) pumps a metered amount of the photopolymerizable liquid into the filled closed container to move the printed object out of the printing zone in a direction toward an exit port, the exit port being adapted for discharging contents of the closed container displaced by the metered amount out of the closed container through the exit port, the container includes the entry port and an exit port, the entry port and the exit port being connected by a channel therebetween. Voris discloses that printed objects must ultimately be removed from the tank ([0043]) but does not disclose a separator unit in connection with the exit port of the closed container that receives contents including any printed objects and unpolymerized photopolymerizable liquid discharged from the exit port of the closed container.
In the analogous art, Doyle discloses a system for high-throughput formation of 3D microstructures having complex shapes via light polymerization through a radiation-transparent chamber (Abstract, [0007]-[0009], Figs. 1A-1B). Doyle teaches the build chamber including an entry port (entry for stream 15 to device 12, Fig. 1A, [0030]) and an exit port (exit for stream 36, Fig. 1A, [0038]), the entry port and the exit port being connected by a channel therebetween (connected via internal space between ports, Fig. 1A), and a pump (syringe pump or pressure source, [0073], [0076]) in connection with a reservoir/resin tank for containing a supply of the photopolymerizable liquid (pipette tip or syringe containing monomer solution, [0078], [0104] i.e., a fluid container) and having an outlet (outlet for providing stream 15 from reservoir to device 12, [0078], [0104], Fig. 1A), the pump being in connection with the outlet for pumping an amount of the photopolymerizable liquid from the reservoir into the closed container through the entry port ([0076], [0078], [0104]). Doyle teaches a separator unit (reservoir 34, Fig. 1A, [0038]-[0039], which is considered to meet a separator unit as it is where produced objects are separated from the excess monomer stream) in connection with the exit port of the closed container (Fig. 1A) that receives contents including any printed objects and unpolymerized photopolymerizable liquid discharged from the exit port of the closed container (Fig. 1A, [0038]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Voris to include a supply reservoir, an entry port and an exit port to the build container, as well as a pump and separator unit as taught by Doyle in order to facilitate Voris’s filling and removing of contents from the container in a manner that enables a high-throughput operation of forming the polymerized structures as taught by Doyle.
Doyle discloses the pump is used to provide the monomer stream to the device (container) and controllably adjusts the flow rate of the stream ([0073]-[0074]). Doyle discloses the discharging of contents including the formed structures and the unpolymerized liquid from the device is achieved by flushing at a high flow rate ([0075]) to discharge contents from the exit port (Fig. 1A). Accordingly, one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the pump taught by Doyle was capable to pump amounts to fill and displace the contents of the container.
Modified Voris discloses the separator unit collecting the output monomer stream and polymerized objects, and that the objects can be separated in said unit (Doyle: e.g., rinsed in the reservoir, [0038]-[0038]). The combination does not explicitly disclose the supply reservoir includes an inlet, the separator unit separates the printed objects from the unpolymerized liquid and includes a first discharge port for discharging any separated printed objects from the separator unit and a second discharge port for discharging the separated unpolymerized photopolymerizable liquid from the separator unit, and a recirculation loop in connection with the second discharge port for recirculating the separated unpolymerized liquid to the reservoir.
In the analogous art, Converse discloses an additive manufacturing system for printing batches of objects by stereolithography via light polymerization (Abstract, Figs. 1 and 3). Converse teaches the material reservoir includes an inlet for resupply of the resin material from recovered excess resin (Fig. 3, inlet to resin dispenser 102 from separator 106 and blender 108). Converse teaches the system 100 (Fig. 3, [0060]-[0066]) includes a separator 106 (Fig. 3, [0055], [0064]) in connection with an exit from the stereolithography apparatus 104 for receiving contents discharged from the stereolithography apparatus (Fig. 3, receives printed object and excess resin from stereolithography apparatus, [0064]), where the separator 106 separates printed objects from unpolymerized photopolymerizable liquid ([0055], [0064]). The separator unit of Converse has a first discharge port for discharging the separated printed objects (a pathway for the separated objects to move to a baking/curing apparatus, Fig. 3, [0057]) and a second discharge port for discharging the unpolymerized photopolymerizable liquid (drain [0055] and pathway for the separated excess resin to move to an associated blender for re-supply to the resin dispenser, Fig. 3, [0065]). Converse teaches a recirculation loop in connection with the second discharge port for recirculating the separated unpolymerized photopolymerizable liquid to the supply reservoir (Fig. 3, recirculation loop from separator outlet for excess resin back to resin dispenser 102).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to further modify the system of Voris to specify the reservoir included an inlet and such that the separator unit was configured as disclosed by Converse including that it separates the printed objects from the unpolymerized liquid and has a first discharge port for discharging any separated printed objects from the separator unit and a second discharge port for discharging the separated unpolymerized photopolymerizable liquid from the separator unit, as well as a recirculation loop as claimed, in order to automate the separation and recovery of formed objects and to improve efficiency of the material usage by enabling excess monomer solution to be recovered and reused via resupply to the reservoir, as taught by Converse.
Alternatively, in the analogous art of the 3D printing and separation (Abstract), Indyk discloses a system for separating a liquid resin from a photopolymerized material by way of a separator unit 50 (Fig. 1, [0034]). Indyk teaches the material reservoir 24 includes an inlet for resupply of the resin material from recovered excess resin (Fig. 1, inlet to material input station 24 via return pipeline 58, [0034]), and the separator unit 50 separates polymerized products from the unpolymerized liquid via a sieve 50c and has a first discharge port for discharging any separated printed objects from the separator unit (discharge from section 50a, Fig. 1, [0033]) and a second discharge port for discharging the separated unpolymerized photopolymerizable liquid from the separator unit (drainage from section 50b, Fig. 1, [0033]). The liquid phase of the material can then be returned to a supply section for reuse (Fig. 1, [0034]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to specify the reservoir of the combination included an inlet and a recirculation loop as claimed and to configure the separator unit such that it was configured to separate the printed objects from the unpolymerized liquid and had a first discharge port for discharging any separated printed objects from the separator unit and a second discharge port for discharging the separated unpolymerized photopolymerizable liquid from the separator unit, in order to implement the reliable and mechanically simple separation structure of a sieve structure to facilitate the separation and recovery of formed objects and to improve efficiency of the material usage by enabling unused monomer solution to be recovered and resupplied to the printing zone, as taught by Indyk.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see pp. 10-12, filed 02/09/2026, with respect to claim rejections under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) have been fully considered and are persuasive. The rejections have been withdrawn.
Applicant's arguments, pp. 12-13, with respect to limitations in the independent claims directed to the system including “a digital file,” or, now, “G-code or a set of machine commands” have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Applicant argues that at the time of filing of the application one of ordinary skill in the art would have clearly understood and could utilize G-code or machine commands prepared from a sliced digital file for an object to print an object in the claimed system.
This argument is not persuasive as it does not address the issue raised in the previous or current rejection under 35 U.S.C. 112(b). Regardless of whether one of ordinary skill in the art would have known what G-code or machine commands were, or that they could be utilized for printing, the claims remain unclear as to how computer code or “machine commands” are part of the structure of the apparatus.
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim rejections under 35 U.S.C. 103 have been considered but are largely moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument other than those addressed below.
In response to applicant's arguments against the references individually, one cannot show nonobviousness by attacking references individually where the rejections are based on combinations of references. See In re Keller, 642 F.2d 413, 208 USPQ 871 (CCPA 1981); In re Merck & Co., 800 F.2d 1091, 231 USPQ 375 (Fed. Cir. 1986). Regarding Applicant’s argument (p. 20) that Doyle does not disclose a separator unit as claimed, the rejection relies on a combination of references and Applicant does not address the combination as applied. The individual references applied in a combination are not required to disclose all of the claimed features individually.
Regarding applicant’s argument that Indyk is not analogous art (p. 22), this argument is not persuasive as Indyk is found in the same field of endeavor of 3D printing (Abstract).
Applicant’s argument (pp. 27-28) that Doyle does not teach the pumping steps of claim 23 is not persuasive because the claims are directed to an apparatus and not a process or a manner of operating the apparatus as argued. Doyle discloses a pump that is capable of pumping the fluid to fill the container with the fluid and pumping the fluid in an amount that moves the objects and the fluid out of the container. As such, the pump taught by Doyle is capable of the recited steps.
Applicant’s argument (pp. 28-29) that Doyle’s use of a pipette tip or a syringe containing its monomer stream does not disclose a reservoir containing a resin tank for containing the fluid is not persuasive. Applicant’s terms “reservoir” and “resin tank” refer to the same structure in the present disclosure (PGPub [0067]). A reservoir or tank is a fluid container. Doyle’s pipette or syringe is also a fluid container that functions for containing and supplying the fluid to the printing space. A structural distinction is not clearly reflected by the claim language. Furthermore, the test for obviousness is not whether the features of a secondary reference may be bodily incorporated into the structure of the primary reference; nor is it that the claimed invention must be expressly suggested in any one or all of the references. Rather, the test is what the combined teachings of the references would have suggested to those of ordinary skill in the art. See In re Keller, 642 F.2d 413, 208 USPQ 871 (CCPA 1981).
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
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/J.L.G./Examiner, Art Unit 1754
/FARAH TAUFIQ/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1754
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