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 .
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.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1, 4-10, 12-14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Oku (JP 2010094701 A; reference in IDS filed on 04/17/2023).
Regarding claim 1, Oku teaches a method of laser welding a first workpiece (12) and a second workpiece (11) stacked so as to surface-contact with each other (Figs. 1-5, paras. 0007, 0013-0019), the first workpiece and the second workpiece each including a base material (material that formed the first and second workpiece), at least one of the first workpiece and the second workpiece including a cover material (zinc plating) interposed between the base materials of the first workpiece and the second workpiece (para. 0024), the method comprising:
generating a laser beam (18) by a laser oscillator (17) and irradiating the first workpiece with the laser beam (Fig. 3; para. 0020);
swinging an irradiation point of the laser beam within a heating area (19a) (Fig. 2), which is set on the first workpiece so as to encompass a welding location on which the laser welding is to be executed (para. 0017), and heating a mating surface area of the first workpiece and the second workpiece (para. 0019) which corresponds to the heating area (19a), to a temperature being equal to or higher than a boiling point of the cover material and lower than a melting point of the base material of the first workpiece (para. 0019: “At this time since the energy density of the is low the base material does not melt but only the zinc evaporates”);
forming a gap between the first workpiece and the second workpiece by vaporizing the cover material in the mating surface area by the heating, and discharging the cover material to outside of the mating surface area through the gap (para; 0019 recites: “the zinc existing on the overlapping surface of the lower plate 11 and the upper plate 12 corresponding to the wide irradiation area 19 along the straight path is heated by the laser beam 18 and is evaporated and deaerated. In other words, the zinc vapor generated from overlapping surface passes through the gap of the overlapping portion of the lower plate 11 and upper plate 12”); and
melting and welding the base materials of the first workpiece and the second workpiece to each other in the welding location by irradiating the welding location with the laser beam, after discharging the cover material to the outside of the mating surface area (paras. 0028).
Regarding claim 4, Oku teaches all the claimed limitations as stated above in claim 1. Oku further teaches swinging the irradiation point in the heating area at a first speed when heating the mating surface area (para. 0028); and advancing an irradiation point of the laser beam irradiated onto the welding location along the welding location at a second speed lower than the first speed when melting the base materials of the first workpiece and the second workpiece (para. 0028).
Regarding claim 5, Oku teaches all the claimed limitations as stated above in claim 1. Oku further teaches an area of the irradiation point of the laser beam irradiated onto the heating area (19a) when heating the mating surface area is larger than an area of an irradiation point of the laser beam irradiated onto the welding location when melting the base materials of the first workpiece and the second workpiece (para. 0023).
Regarding claim 6, Oku teaches all the claimed limitations as stated above in claim 1. Oku further teaches laser power of the laser beam irradiated onto the heating area when heating the mating surface area is higher than laser power of the laser beam irradiated onto the welding location when melting the base materials of the first workpiece and the second workpiece (the [Overview] states: “the second laser beam 18b having the energy density higher than that of first laser beam 18a)
Regarding claim 7, Oku teaches all the claimed limitations as stated above in claim 1. Oku further teaches a focus-point power density of the laser beam irradiated onto the heating area when heating the mating surface area is lower than a focus- point power density of the laser beam irradiated onto the welding location when melting the base materials of the first workpiece and the second workpiece (para. 0023).
Regarding claim 8, Oku teaches all the claimed limitations as stated above in claim 1. Oku further teaches changing laser power of the laser beam irradiated onto the heating area together with a speed at which the irradiation point is swung in the heating area, when heating the mating surface area (para. 0017).
Regarding claim 9, Oku teaches all the claimed limitations as stated above in claim 1. Oku further teaches advancing an irradiation point of the laser beam irradiated onto the welding location along the welding location while swinging the irradiation point, when melting the base materials of the first workpiece and the second workpiece (para. 0017).
Regarding claim 10, Oku teaches all the claimed limitations as stated above in claim 1. Oku further teaches irradiating the heating area with the laser beam (18) of a first type (para. 0016) when heating the mating surface area; and irradiating the welding location with the laser beam (18a) (para. 0020) of a second type different from the first type when melting the base materials of the first workpiece and the second workpiece.
Regarding claim 12, Oku teaches all the claimed limitations as stated above in claim 1. Oku further teaches swinging the irradiation point in the heating area so as to make temperature in a center portion of the heating area be highest, when heating the mating surface area (since the laser beam is focused on the center portion of the heating area as shown in Fig. 5).
Regarding claim 13, Oku teaches all the claimed limitations as stated above in claim 1. Oku further teaches irradiating the welding location with the laser beam to melt the base materials of the first workpiece and the second workpiece (para. 0019), when the base material of the first workpiece is cooled to a temperature equal to or lower than a predetermined threshold value after discharging the cover material to the outside of the mating surface area (para. 0019).
Regarding claim 14, Oku teaches all the claimed limitations as stated above in claim 1. Oku further teaches the threshold value is a melting point of the cover material (paras. 0003 and 0019).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
Claim(s) 2-3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Oku in view of Yamaguchi (JP 200950894 A; reference in IDS filed on 06/02/2025).
Regarding claim 2, Oku teaches all the claimed limitations as stated above in claim 1 including irradiating the first workpiece with the laser beam generated by the laser oscillator (Fig. 3, para. 0020), swinging the irradiation point within the heating area. Oku fails to teach reflecting the laser beam with a mirror and swinging the irradiation point within the heating area by changing the orientation of the mirror.
However, Yamaguchi teaches a method of a laser welding using a laser welding apparatus; the method including irradiating laser light generated by oscillator (2) to a workpiece (W1) by reflecting the laser light with a fixed mirror (9) and a moveable mirror (10) (Fig. 1; para. 0037) both arranged on the optical path of the laser light and oscillating the radiation point by changing orientation of the mirror (paras. 0015 and 0037).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to modify Oku by reflecting the laser beam with a mirror as taught by Yamaguchi in order to achieve a high-quality welds.
Regarding claim 3, Oku as modified by Yamaguchi teaches all the claimed limitations as stated above in claim 2. Oku as modified by Yamaguchi further teaches the mirror includes: a first mirror (9) disposed on the optical path, and configured to displace the irradiation point along a first axis in the heating area; and a second mirror (10) disposed on an optical path of the laser beam reflected by the first mirror, and configured to displace the irradiation point along a second axis orthogonal to the first axis in the heating area (Yamaguchi, Fig. 1; para. 0037).
Claim(s) 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Oku in view of Kato et al. (US 2009/0305469 A1).
Oku teaches all the claimed limitations as stated above in claim 10. Oku does not specifically state the laser beam of the first type is a pulsed oscillation laser beam, while the laser beam of the second type is a continuous wave laser beam.
However, Kato teaches a method of manufacturing including irradiation with a laser beam a semiconductor layer (120) which is the melted, then cooled and solidified (para. 0062). Kato further teaches the laser beam could be a pulsed oscillation laser beam or a continuous wave laser beam (para. 0064).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to modify Oku such that the laser beam of the first type is a pulsed oscillation laser beam, while the laser beam of the second type is a continuous wave laser beam as taught Kato as all claimed parts were known and would have yielded none but an expected result; namely melting the bases materials of the first and second workpieces for welding.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
US 2019/0160599 A1 discloses a laser welding apparatus comprising a laser oscillator and focus lens.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MAXIME M ADJAGBE whose telephone number is (571)272-4920. The examiner can normally be reached M-F: 8-6.
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/MAXIME M ADJAGBE/Examiner, Art Unit 3745
/NATHANIEL E WIEHE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3745