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 .
Election/Restriction
This application contains claims directed to the following patentably distinct species:
species A: figs. 1-2 (additive manufacturing apparatus; see pars. 3-4);
species B: fig. 4 (additive manufacturing apparatus incorporating an
autoclave; see par. 4);
species C: fig. 5 (additive manufacturing apparatus incorporating an
autoclave with plurality of autoclaves 504a,b,c and arm 110’ accessing each autoclave; see par. 61); and
species D: fig. 6. (additive manufacturing apparatus incorporating an
autoclave with plurality of autoclaves 504a,b,c and arm 110’ accessing each autoclave via counterclockwise or clockwise movement; see par. 62)
The species are independent or distinct because they each have mutually exclusive features regarding structures regarding furnace body, oven lid and support arm. For example species A includes a rectangular like furnace body 132 with a base 106 and controller 148 coupled to the actuator 163, heating structures 146,149 and deposition head 112. In contrast for example species B includes a U-shaped autoclave body 404 including two different lids 136’,408 and controller 148’ connected to actuator 424. In addition, these species are not obvious variants of each other based on the current record.
Applicant is required under 35 U.S.C. 121 to elect a single disclosed species, or a single grouping of patentably indistinct species, for prosecution on the merits to which the claims shall be restricted if no generic claim is finally held to be allowable. Currently, claims 1, 2, 5-7, 9-14, 16-18 and 20 are generic.
There is a serious search and/or examination burden for the patentably distinct species as set forth above because at least the following reason(s) apply: the inventions require a different field of search (for example, searching different classes/subclasses or electronic resources, or employing different search queries). For example, the structural differences between the separate inventions require divergent search queries relating to oven lids and autoclave lids, configuration of support arm and furnace body and heater elements.
Applicant is advised that the reply to this requirement to be complete must include (i) an election of a species to be examined even though the requirement may be traversed (37 CFR 1.143) and (ii) identification of the claims encompassing the elected species or grouping of patentably indistinct species, including any claims subsequently added. An argument that a claim is allowable or that all claims are generic is considered nonresponsive unless accompanied by an election.
The election may be made with or without traverse. To preserve a right to petition, the election must be made with traverse. If the reply does not distinctly and specifically point out supposed errors in the election of species requirement, the election shall be treated as an election without traverse. Traversal must be presented at the time of election in order to be considered timely. Failure to timely traverse the requirement will result in the loss of right to petition under 37 CFR 1.144. If claims are added after the election, applicant must indicate which of these claims are readable on the elected species or grouping of patentably indistinct species.
Should applicant traverse on the ground that the species, or groupings of patentably indistinct species from which election is required, are not patentably distinct, applicant should submit evidence or identify such evidence now of record showing them to be obvious variants or clearly admit on the record that this is the case. In either instance, if the examiner finds one of the species unpatentable over the prior art, the evidence or admission may be used in a rejection under 35 U.S.C. 103 or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) of the other species.
Upon the allowance of a generic claim, applicant will be entitled to consideration of claims to additional species which depend from or otherwise require all the limitations of an allowable generic claim as provided by 37 CFR 1.141.
During a telephone conversation with Stephanie Williams on 02/13/2026 and during a follow-up telephone conversation on 02/18/2026 a provisional election was made without traverse to prosecute the invention of Species A, claims 1, 5-18 and 20. Affirmation of this election must be made by applicant in replying to this Office action. Claims 2-4 and 19 are withdrawn from further consideration by the examiner, 37 CFR 1.142(b), as being drawn to a non-elected invention.
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 15 is 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.
The term “the heated build chamber is substantially enclosed by the oven lid and the furnace body” in claim 15 is a relative term which renders the claim indefinite. The term “substantially” is not defined by the claim, the specification does not provide a standard for ascertaining the requisite degree, and one of ordinary skill in the art would not be reasonably apprised of the scope of the invention. Par. 17 discusses generally the term “substantially” but the discussion does not aid the public in determining how the claim is infringed (for example it is not known what percentage of the build chamber is enclosed by the oven lid and the furnace body). Other discussion is at par. 34, bottom.
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, 5, 6, 11 and 14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by CN 112139497 (Wu) (translation is referred to below).
Regarding claim 1, Wu discloses (see figs. 1-3) a method (see the methods of examples 1-3 on pages 5-8 wherein the material is ceramic as an example; however claim 5 points out that the material may be variety of materials such as metal or metal/ceramic; thus the ordinary worker would understand that such other materials also apply to examples 1-3; also see claim 6) of additively manufacturing (AM1) (see abstract, top) a workpiece 15, the method comprising: translating (deposition head 2 is translated in the X and/or Y directions in each of examples 1-3 at pages 5-7; see direction axes in figs. 1-3) a deposition head 2 of an AM apparatus (“additive manufacturing device” shown in figs. 1-3; see page 5 top) over a build surface (surface on which substrate 14 is on) of a build plate 13 to form a layer of a material (see “ceramic material” in each of examples 1-3 on pages 5-7; see layers of forming member 15 being formed in figs. 1-3; also see claim 5 describing other possible materials including metal material), wherein the deposition head 2 comprises: a material nozzle (see annotated figure below) through which the material is deposited as a deposited material (see layers of deposited material in figs. 1-3); and an energy source 1 configured to apply an energy beam (e.g., laser; see page 3, bottom) to the deposited material to melt (see claim 9; the driving device moves the material close to the laser 1 such that the material is melted) the deposited material at the build surface; and heating (the preheating takes place throughout the build or in other words during the deposition of the several layers of material shown in figs. 1-3 and thus would take place after the first such layer is deposited; see “opening the heating element” at page 7 bottom and see “closing the heating element” at page 8, top wherein the “forming” or AM takes place between these two steps, also see claim 6, bottom; annealing heat treatment also takes place after the component is built, see annealing heat treatment after the deposition head 2 is used e.g. at page 6, top and middle; this also applies to examples 2-3 at pages at page 7 top and page 8 top) the deposited material with an oven 5 (see heating elements 7) after (see above wherein annealing is the last step of example 1) the layer is deposited on the build surface, wherein the oven 5 comprises: a furnace body (the oven 5 includes walls at location 5 and bottom cover 8; the oven 5 is sealed by way of the instant cover and lid 3,4, see page 4, top) defining a cavity (see annotated figure below; i.e., the space within the oven 5 wherein the build plate 13 is located) in which the build plate 13 is disposed; and an oven lid (3,4 or 4) movable with the deposition head 2 and disposable on the furnace body (the oven 5 includes walls at location 5 and bottom cover 8; the oven 5 is sealed by way of the instant cover and lid, see page 4, top), wherein, when provided on the furnace body, the oven lid (3,4 or 4) and the furnace body enclose (see figs. 1-3; ) the cavity which provides a heated build chamber (the member 15 is built in the instant cavity shown in annotated figure below) upon application of the heating (see heating elements 7).
PNG
media_image1.png
484
548
media_image1.png
Greyscale
[AltContent: textbox (material nozzle)][AltContent: arrow][AltContent: arrow][AltContent: textbox (cavity, heated build chamber)][AltContent: arrow][AltContent: textbox (layer of material
(full width))][AltContent: arrow][AltContent: textbox (layer of material
(part width))][AltContent: arrow][AltContent: textbox (sidewall)][AltContent: arrow][AltContent: textbox (upper edge)][AltContent: arrow]
Regarding claim 5, Wu discloses (see figs. 1-3) wherein the deposition head 2 is movably attached to a support structure (there is inherently a structure supporting the deposition head 2 to overcome gravity; this can at least be the heat cover 3 or the stationary frame 6 of the AM apparatus) such that the deposition head 2 is movable in at least a first direction (deposition head 2 is translated in the X and/or Y directions in each of examples 13 at pages 5-7; see direction axes in figs. 1-3; more specifically see example 3 wherein deposition head 2 is movable in both the X and Y directions; see page 7, bottom) in an amount that corresponds to a range of motion (see range of motion in the dep. head 2 e.g. in fig. 2 in the Y direction by way of deposition the material) of the deposition head 2.
Regarding claim 6, Wu discloses (see figs. 1-3) wherein the translating (deposition head 2 is translated in the X and/or Y directions in each of examples 13 at pages 5-7; see direction axes in figs. 1-3) of the deposition head 2 over the build plate comprises moving the deposition head 2 a first distance in the first direction (deposition head 2 is translated in the X and/or Y directions in each of examples 13 at pages 5-7; see direction axes in figs. 1-3; more specifically see example 3 wherein deposition head 2 is movable in both the X and Y directions; see page 7, bottom) over the build plate 13 relative to the support structure (there is inherently a structure supporting the deposition head 2 to overcome gravity; this can at least be the heat cover 3 or the stationary frame 6 of the AM apparatus), wherein the first distance is less than or equal to the range of motion (the range of motion can be the layer full width in the annotated figure above; the first distance can be the partial width, the full width or in between the partial and full width).
Regarding claim 11, Wu discloses (see figs. 1-3) wherein the heating of the deposited material (see “ceramic material” in each of examples 1-3 on pages 5-7; see layers of forming member 15 being formed in figs. 1-3; also see claim 5 describing other possible materials including metal material) with the oven 5 comprises maintaining (the oven 5 is heated to the preheated temperature by way of “opening the heating element 7”, see page 7, bottom; then the “forming process” takes place using the deposition head 2 to build the component by way of AM, see page 7, bottom; then the heating element is closed, see page 8, top; thus the preheated temperature is maintained during the building of the component in the oven 5) the layer of the deposited material at a first elevated temperature (the “preheating temperature, see par. 7, bottom) above an ambient temperature (the ambient temperature of the cavity, see annotated figure above, before the preheating using heating element 7) of an environment (cavity in annotated figure above) of the AM apparatus (“additive manufacturing device” shown in figs. 1-3; see page 5 top) to relieve stresses (see page 2, bottom and page 4, bottom) in the workpiece 15.
Regarding claim 14, Wu discloses (see figs. 1-3) wherein the oven lid (3,4 or 4) is attached to the deposition head 2 (structures 2,3,4 are attached together; see figs. 1-3).
Claim(s) 12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Wu as evidenced US 2020/0078861 A1 (Sungail).
Regarding claim 12, Wu discloses depositing and melting a final layer (the final layer of the layers in annotated figure above; see “after the deposition process is finished” at page 8, top) of the workpiece 15, and further comprising heating, with the oven, the workpiece to a second elevated temperature that is greater than the first elevated temperature (such first elevated temperature can be 1500° C, see page 7 bottom, and is reduced the more the deposition head 2 goes into the cavity by way of a 100° C; however the first elevated temperature is in the range from 250°C to 2000° C, see claim 8) and maintaining the workpiece at the second elevated temperature (the workpiece undergoes annealing, see page 8 top and middle; other knowledge of the AM worker regarding annealing is shown in pertinent prior art infra) for a predetermined period (the time during which the temperature is monitored, see page 8, middle; annealing is done for an amount of time; this is evidenced by Sungail par. 92) to further remove accumulated stresses (one of ordinary skill understands that annealing removes residual stress; see pertinent prior art infra) in the workpiece 15. Annealing temperatures for metal powders used in AD for example are 800 to 2000° C (this evidenced by Sungail at par. 92; this is for Tantalum powder however annealing involves heating at near the melting point that is representative of the instant range). Thus because the preheating temperature, or other words the build temperature, can be as low as 250°C and the annealing temperature is much higher as evidenced by Sungail, then the second elevated temperature would be greater than the first elevated temperature.
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.
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.
Claim(s) 7, 8 and 15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wu in view of DE 102020208174 A1 (Bargen) (translation US 2023/0339180 is referred to below).
Regarding claim 7, Wu discloses (see figs. 1-3) wherein the furnace body (the oven 5 includes walls at location 5 and bottom cover 8; the oven 5 is sealed by way of the instant cover and lid (3,4 or 4), see page 4, top) comprises sidewalls (see annotated sidewall in annotated figure above and see opposing sidewall therein) having upper edges (upper edge) and a lower surface of the oven lid (3,4 or 4) physically contacts (see annotated figure above) the upper edges of the sidewalls of the furnace body. The cavity of the oven 5 is sealed, see page 4 top, and thus the sidewalls are in contact with the oven lid at least via the deposition head cover 3 (also there is no discussion in Wu of a suspension of the lid from above that would prevent direct or indirect contact of the lid with the instant sidewalls). Wu does not explicitly disclose during at least a portion of the range of motion of the deposition head.
Bargen teaches (see fig. 1) a heated (see par. 13, middle) AM device 1 and further teaches during at least a portion of a range of motion of a deposition head (Bargen teaches the general concept the lid 6a,6b moves with a deposition head 4a,4b wherein the lid 6a,6b slides in the scenario of fig. 1 in the Y direction relative a stationary portion 6c that is in contact with sidewall (see wall at “z” in fig. 1) edges of the AM device 1). The printhead 4a,4b can be moved in two directions x,y and lid 6a,6b can be moved with the printhead (see abstract and claim 1).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the current invention to provide Wu with during at least a portion of a range of motion of a deposition head as taught by Bargen in order to facilitate automated production of consecutive workpieces without manual intervention (see Bargen par. 15) in a temperature controlled environment (see abstract).
Regarding claim 8, Wu in view of Bargen teach the current invention as claimed and discussed above. Wu further discloses (see figs. 1-3) the lower surface of the oven lid (3,4 or 4) physically contacts the upper edges (see annotated figure above) of the sidewalls (see annotated figure above) of the furnace body (the oven 5 includes walls at location 5 and bottom cover 8; the oven 5 is sealed by way of the instant cover and lid (3,4 or 4), see page 4, top). The teachings of Bargen applied above include during an entirety of the range of motion of the deposition head (a full range of motion is met because the workpiece that is additively manufactured is fully produced before another is added to the cavity; see pars. 8 and 15 and claim 1). Also, there is no discussion in Wu of a suspension of the lid (3,4 or 4) from above that would prevent direct or indirect contact of the lid with the instant upper edges. There is also no discussion in Bargen of suspension from above.
Regarding claim 15, Wu discloses wherein the heating (heating with heating element 7 during deposition of layers, see annotated figure above, of material during the building of the component; the preheating takes place throughout the build or in other words during the deposition of the several layers of material shown in figs. 1-3 and thus would take place after the first such layer is deposited; see “opening the heating element” at page 7 bottom and see “closing the heating element” at page 8, top wherein the “forming” or AM takes place between these two steps, also see claim 6, bottom; annealing heat treatment also takes place after the component is built, see annealing heat treatment after the deposition head 2 is used e.g. at page 6, top and middle; this also applies to examples 2-3 at pages at page 7 top and page 8 top) of the deposited material comprises: a translation (see e.g. example 3 with translation in the X and Y directions shown in fig. 3; structures 3,4 are “tightly” coupled, see page 3 bottom and claim 3, to protect the deposition head 2, see claim 3; the deposition head translated in the X direction and thus lid (3,4 or 4) moves therewith;) of the deposition head 2 such that the heated build chamber (the member 15 is built in the instant cavity shown in annotated figure above) is substantially enclosed (see figs. 1-3) by the oven lid (3,4 or 4) and the furnace body (the oven 5 includes walls at location 5 and bottom cover 8; the oven 5 is sealed by way of the instant cover and lid, see page 4, top) irrespective of a position of the deposition head 2. Wu does not explicitly disclose moving the oven lid (3,4 or 4) in conjunction with the translation.
Bargen teaches (see fig. 1) a heated (see par. 13, middle) AM device 1 and further teaches moving an oven lid in conjunction with a translation (of a deposition head). Bargen teaches (see fig. 1) the general concept lid 6a,6b of AM device 1 moving with a deposition head 4a,4b wherein the lid 6a,6b slides in the scenario of fig. 1 in the Y direction relative a stationary portion 6c that is in contact with sidewall (see wall at “z” in fig. 1) edges of the AM device 1. The printhead 4a,4b can be moved in two directions x,y and lid 6a,6b can be moved with the printhead (see abstract and claim 1).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the current invention to provide Wu with during at least a portion of a range of motion of a deposition head as taught by Bargen in order to facilitate automated production of consecutive workpieces without manual intervention (see Bargen par. 15) in a temperature controlled environment (see abstract).
Claim(s) 9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wu in view of Pub. No.: US 2020/0164466 A1 (Sievers).
Regarding claim 9, Wu discloses the current invention as claimed and discussed above. Wu discloses after heating the deposited material (see “closing the heating element 7” for example at page 8, top that is the end of the AM process unless there is further heat treatment that is not required by claim 1). Wu does not disclose after evacuating excess portions of the deposited material from the heated build chamber through a material conduit that extends through the furnace body, wherein the material comprises a metal or alloy powder.
Sievers teaches there is excess powder at the end of an AM process (see abstract discussing powder not used in the AM process) and further teaches (see fig. 2A) evacuating excess portions of the deposited material (see abstract) from a heated build chamber (at 39 in fig. 2A) through a material conduit 54a that extends through a body (see wall 30 in fig. 2A), wherein the material comprises a metal (see par. 3) or alloy powder (the powder is removed after an AM process so that additional parts may be manufactured; see par. 41, bottom).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the current invention to provide Wu with evacuating excess portions of the deposited material from the heated build chamber through a material conduit that extends through the furnace body, wherein the material comprises a metal or alloy powder as taught by Sievers in order to facilitate avoiding manual removal of the powder to reduce costs (see Sievers par. 4).
Claim(s) 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wu as evidenced by Sungail.
Regarding claim 13, Wu discloses the current invention as claimed and discussed above. Wu further discloses after the predetermined period, lowering a temperature of the workpiece 15 to the ambient temperature at a pre-determined cooling rate (the claim 12 analysis above pointed out that annealing heat treatment is for a specific time period and thus the workpiece would be cooled after the heat application of the anneal heat treatment is done; the instant cooling rate being set by the environment). The examples 1-3 of Wu do not explicitly disclose controlling at least one heating element of the oven regarding the annealing heat treatment.
Wu teaches controlling at least one heating element of the oven (regarding cooling rate). See page 3, middle: “the heating element 7 is connected with the central controller 11; by adjusting the output power to control the preheating temperature and heating rate, realizing the forming component 15 high temperature integrally in real time preheating slow cooling”. And see page 4, bottom: “flexibly controlling the cooling rate”.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the current invention to provide the cooling of the annealing heat treatment of Wu examples 1-3 with controlling at least one heating element of the oven regarding the annealing heat treatment as taught by Wu in order to facilitate improved component performance (see page 5, top) and reducing residual stress (see page 4, bottom).
Claim(s) 16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wu in view of US Patent 6580959 B1 (Mazumder).
Regarding claim 16, Wu discloses (see figs. 1-3) determining that a residual stress in the workpiece is above a predetermined amount. The residual stress is partially (see abstract, bottom: “the deposited component are synchronously preheated and slowly cooled by the heating device; the residual stress is reduced”) or fully (see page 2, bottom: “fully releasing the residual stress in the component”) relieved by the method of Wu. Thus the workpiece 15 initially had a certain amount of residual stress that was reduced by the claimed heating in claim 1. Wu does not explicitly disclose determining that the residual stress in the workpiece is above the predetermined amount.
Mazumder teaches a method of additively manufacturing a workpiece (see abstract; this method is a laser aided deposition of layers of raw material being powder such as metallic powder; see col. 4, ll. 10-18) and further teaches a determining that a residual stress in a workpiece is above the predetermined amount (see col. 2, ll. 45-50: “Acoustic emission sensors and strain gages at the manufacturing site monitor residual stress development in the product”) (for example using acoustic sensor 60 on layer 20 and strain gauge 40 on substrate 30 that each provide information to controller 70; see col. 6, ll. 30-35).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the current invention to provide Wu with determining that a residual stress in the workpiece is above a predetermined amount as taught by Mazumder in order to facilitate monitoring fabrication of the component (col. 3, ll. 15-20 of Mazumder) to detect e.g. crack initiation (see col. 5, ll. 60-65A) and taking corrective action (see col. 6, ll. 20-25) if necessary to ensure quality (see col. 5, l. 25). One of ordinary skill understands that heating and cooling is controlled during the AM process to reduce residual stresses (see pertinent prior art infra).
Claim(s) 17, 18 and 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wu in view of Mazumder, as evidenced by CN 114833356 A (Ma), and Bargen.
Regarding claim 17, Wu discloses (see figs. 1-3) a method (see the methods of examples 1-3 on pages 5-8 wherein the material is ceramic as an example; however claim 5 points out that the material may be variety of materials such as metal or metal/ceramic; thus the ordinary worker would understand that such other materials also apply to examples 1-3; also see claim 6) of additively manufacturing (see abstract, top) a workpiece 15, the method comprising: depositing a material (see “ceramic material” in each of examples 1-3 on pages 5-7; see layers of forming member 15 being formed in figs. 1-3; also see claim 5 describing other possible materials including metal material) as a layer (see annotated figure above) of material on a build surface (surface on which substrate 14 is on) of a build plate 13 by translating (deposition head 2 is translated in the X and/or Y directions in each of examples 13 at pages 5-7; see direction axes in figs. 1-3) a deposition head 2 of an AM apparatus (“additive manufacturing device” shown in figs. 1-3; see page 5 top) over the build plate, wherein the deposition head 2 comprises a material nozzle (see annotated figure above) through which the layer of material is deposited onto the build surface (surface on which substrate 14 is on); fusing (the material such as powder, see claim 10 , is melted, see claim 9, and made into a solid state forming a metal or ceramic component, see claim 5) the layer of material with an energy source configured to apply an energy beam (e.g., laser; see page 3, bottom, and claim 5) to the material to melt the material at the build surface of the build plate to form a layer (see annotated figure above) of the workpiece 15; a residual stress in the workpiece is above a predetermined amount (the residual stress is partially, see abstract, bottom, or fully, see page 2, bottom, relieved by the method of Wu; thus the workpiece 15 initially had a certain amount of residual stress that was reduced by heating of Wu that is discussed below regarding the claimed “heating”); and responsive to the residual stress in the workpiece is above the predetermined amount, heating (the preheating takes place throughout the build or in other words during the deposition of the several layers of material shown in figs. 1-3 and thus would take place after the first such layer is deposited; see “opening the heating element” at page 7 bottom and see “closing the heating element” at page 8, top wherein the “forming” or AM takes place between these two steps, also see claim 6, bottom; annealing heat treatment also takes place after the component is built, see annealing heat treatment after the deposition head 2 is used e.g. at page 6, top and middle; this also applies to examples 2-3 at pages at page 7 top and page 8 top) the layer of the workpiece 15 with an oven 5 (see heating elements 7), wherein the oven 5 comprises: a furnace body (the oven 5 includes walls at location 5 and bottom cover 8; the oven 5 is sealed by way of the instant cover and lid 3,4, see page 4, top) defining a cavity (see annotated figure below; i.e., the space within the oven 5 wherein the build plate 13 is located) in which the build plate 13 is disposed; an oven lid (3,4 or 4) disposable on (see figs. 1-3) the furnace body, wherein, when provided on the furnace body, the oven lid and the furnace body (the oven 5 includes walls at location 5 and bottom cover 8; the oven 5 is sealed by way of the instant cover and lid, see page 4, top) enclose (see annotated figure above) the cavity (see annotated figure above) to thereby provide a heated build chamber (see annotated figure above) upon application of the heating; and a heating element 7 configured to heat the heated build chamber, wherein: a translation of the deposition head 2 (the deposition head can translate in the x and y directions shown for example in fig. 3; see claim 8 for example). Wu does not explicitly disclose determining the residual stress is above the predetermined amount; the oven lid movable with the deposition head; and the oven lid moves in conjunction with the translation.
Mazumder teaches a method of additively manufacturing a workpiece (see abstract; this method is a laser aided deposition of layers of raw material being powder such as metallic powder; see col. 4, ll. 10-18) and further teaches a determining that a residual stress in a workpiece is above the predetermined amount (see col. 2, ll. 45-50: “Acoustic emission sensors and strain gages at the manufacturing site monitor residual stress development in the product”) (for example using acoustic sensor 60 on layer 20 and strain gauge 40 on substrate 30 that each provide information to controller 70; see col. 6, ll. 30-35).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the current invention to provide Wu with determining that the residual stress in the workpiece is above the predetermined amount as taught by Mazumder in order to facilitate monitoring fabrication of the component (col. 3, ll. 15-20 of Mazumder) to detect e.g. crack initiation (see col. 5, ll. 60-65A) and taking corrective action (see col. 6, ll. 20-25) if necessary to ensure quality (see col. 5, l. 25). Mazumder points out that the corrective action can include modification of the AM “process … in its entirety” and thus this teaching applied to Wu includes modification regarding the heating of Wu discussed above and thus the heating would be responsive to the determining of the residual stress. This is evidenced by Ma. Ma teaches (see fig.) a method of additively manufacturing (see abstract) a workpiece 1 and further teaches a determining that a residual stress in a workpiece is above the predetermined amount (see page 3, middle and bottom). The residual stress is measured and in response the cavity 2 of Ma is heated (via heaters 4,5,9) by a temperature controller that receives the residual stress measurement: “the control box drives the temperature adjusting device according to the stress measuring result of the X-ray stress measuring instrument, the temperature adjusting device is used for adjusting the temperature of the first heating pipe 5, the second heating pipe 9 and the temperature of the electromagnetic coil 4” (see page 3, bottom).
Bargen teaches (see fig. 1) a heated (see par. 13, middle) AM device 1 and further teaches an oven lid movable with a deposition head and moving the oven lid in conjunction with a translation (of a deposition head). Bargen teaches (see fig. 1) the general concept lid 6a,6b of AM device 1 moving with a deposition head 4a,4b wherein the lid 6a,6b slides in the scenario of fig. 1 in the Y direction relative a stationary portion 6c that is in contact with sidewall (see wall at “z” in fig. 1) edges of the AM device 1. The printhead 4a,4b can be moved in two directions x,y and lid 6a,6b can be moved with the printhead (see abstract and claim 1).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the current invention to provide Wu in view of Mazumder with the oven lid movable with the deposition head; and the oven lid moves in conjunction with the translation as taught by Bargen in order to facilitate automated production of consecutive workpieces without manual intervention (see Bargen par. 15) in a temperature controlled environment (see abstract). This modification is consistent with Wu. For example, the cavity of the oven 5 is sealed, see page 4 top, and thus the sidewalls stay in contact with the oven lid at least via the deposition head cover 3. Also see fig. 3 wherein the oven lid 4 is sealed during movement of the deposition head 2 in the X direction (see Wu claim 8).
Regarding claim 18, Wu in view of Mazumder and Bargen teach the current invention as claimed and discussed above. Wu further discloses (see figs. 1-3) wherein the heating of the layer with the oven comprises maintaining (the oven 5 is heated to the preheated temperature by way of “opening the heating element 7”, see page 7, bottom; then the “forming process” takes place using the deposition head 2 to build the component by way of AM, see page 7, bottom; then the heating element is closed, see page 8, top; thus the preheated temperature is maintained during the building of the component in the oven 5) the layer of material at a first elevated temperature (the “preheating temperature, see page 7, bottom; such first elevated temperature can be 1500 ° C, see page 7 bottom, and is reduced by way of a 100° C as discussed at page 8 top; however the first elevated temperature can be in the range from 250°C to 2000° C, see claim 8) above an ambient temperature (the ambient temperature of the cavity, see annotated figure above, before the preheating using heating element 7), and wherein the layer of material comprises a final layer (the final layer of the layers in annotated figure above; see “after the deposition process is finished” at page 8, top) of the workpiece 15, the method further comprises: heating, with the oven, the workpiece to a second elevated temperature (the workpiece undergoes annealing, see page 8 top and middle; other knowledge of the AM worker regarding annealing is shown in pertinent prior art infra) that is greater than the first elevated temperature and maintaining the workpiece at the second elevated temperature for a predetermined period (the time during which the temperature is monitored, see page 8, middle; annealing is done for an amount of time; this is pointed out by Sungail par. 92) to further remove accumulated stresses (one of ordinary skill understands that annealing removes residual stress; see pertinent prior art infra) in the workpiece 15; and after the predetermined period, lowering a temperature of the workpiece 15 to the ambient temperature at a pre-determined cooling rate (the claim analysis above pointed out that annealing heat treatment is for a specific time period and thus the workpiece would be cooled after the heat application of the anneal heat treatment is done; the instant cooling rate being set by the environment)by controlling at least one heating element of the oven). The examples 1-3 of Wu do not explicitly disclose controlling at least one heating element of the oven regarding the annealing heat treatment.
Wu teaches controlling at least one heating element of the oven (regarding cooling rate). See page 3, middle: “the heating element 7 is connected with the central controller 11; by adjusting the output power to control the preheating temperature and heating rate, realizing the forming component 15 high temperature integrally in real time preheating slow cooling”. And see page 4, bottom: “flexibly controlling the cooling rate”.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the current invention to provide the cooling of the annealing heat treatment of Wu examples 1-3 of Wu in view of Mazumder and Bargen with controlling at least one heating element of the oven regarding the annealing heat treatment as taught by Wu in order to facilitate improved component performance (see page 5, top) and reducing residual stress (see page 4, bottom).
Regarding claim 20, Wu in view of Mazumder in view of Bargen teach the current invention as claimed and discussed above. Wu does not explicitly disclose the determining (that the residual stress in the workpiece is above the predetermined amount) is automatic via a controller. The teachings of Mazumder applied in the claim 17 analysis above include wherein the determining is automatic (see acoustic sensor 60 on layer 20 and strain gauge 40 on substrate 30 each provide information to controller 70; see col. 6, ll. 30-35) via a controller 70.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 10 is objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: the prior art does not reasonable and fairly teach the material conduit extends through a portion of the build plate and through a floor of the furnace body in combination with the other applicant claim 10 limitations. This permits excess power to be collected during the AM process (by way of the material conduit extending through the build plate that permits continuous consecutive manufacture of objects without having manual removal and also prevents excess power from be erroneously used to build the product) such collected power being directed through though the furnace floor to a receptacle (and thereby avoiding manual removal from the furnace floor after the AM process). Sievers (US 6,580,959 Bl) cited above waits until after the product is built to remove the powder (see par. 45) and also points out the benefit of avoiding the manual labor step to reduce costs (see par. 4). Bargen (DE 102020208174 A1) discussed above points out automated series production (see par. 8 of translation US 2023/0339180) adds simplicity (see par. 1) to the production process. Applicant par. 37 points out “The material conduit 164 provides a pathway for such excess material to be removed from the cavity 134 such that the excess material does not become erroneously incorporated into the workpiece 102. The material conduit 164 provides the excess material to the excess bin 166 disposed on the base 106. The excess bin 166 may, for example, be emptied between or during builds to maintain a clean operating environment” (see applicant figs. 1-2) (underlining added by examiner).
Donovan (US 20170036401 A1) teaches “through a floor” in fig. 1. Schwerdtfeger (US 20180297296 A1) teaches “through a portion of the build plate” in fig. 1 and Van Nieuwenhove (US 20220227053 A1) teaches telescoping powder conduits (although for powder supply rather evacuation). Examiner could not find a way to reasonably combine 103 references to arrive at claim 10.
Pertinent Prior Art
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
annealing is high temperature stress reduction: US 20180250737 (par. 96); and
annealing references: US 20210308805 (par. 15) US 20220234101 A1 (par. 112);
control and optimise heating and cooling rates of the sintered substrate during the AM process to reduce residual stresses: US 20170197278 (abstract and par. 16).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MARC J AMAR whose telephone number is (571)272-9948. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9:00-6:00.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Devon Kramer can be reached at (571) 272-7118. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/MARC AMAR/Examiner, Art Unit 3741 /DEVON C KRAMER/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3741
1 The term “AM” is used to designate additive manufacturing herein.