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 .
Claim Objections
Claim 2 is objected to because of the following informalities:
In claim 2 at line 3, “adjusting” should be corrected to –the adjusting-- to provide continuity with claim 1.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Interpretation
No claim limitations are interpreted under 112(f).
Claim 3 is interpreted to be met when the claimed spot diameter relative size occurs at any time in the method – before, after, or during adjusting.
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-2 and 7-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Forrest (US 2008/0029498).
PNG
media_image1.png
398
709
media_image1.png
Greyscale
Regarding claim 1, Forrest discloses:
A method of manufacturing a metal component, the method comprising:
generating a laser beam (¶21 “The laser device 16 is capable of emitting a laser”);
splitting the laser beam (at splitter 30, ¶24-¶27) into a first laser beam (leading beam 34, ¶26) and a second laser beam (trailing beam 36, ¶26);
reflecting the second laser beam (at mirror 40, ¶27);
irradiating the first laser beam through a first condensing optical system (¶30 “leading beam collimating lens 38 and a leading beam focusing lens 46”) to an irradiation position on a surface of a workpiece (see Figs 4-6) made of metal (¶51), wherein the first condensing optical system condenses the first laser beam (¶30);
irradiating the second laser beam through a second condensing optical system (¶38 “trailing beam focusing lens 72” together with “trailing beam collimating lens 58,” see ¶33) to the irradiation position (see Figs 4-6), wherein the second condensing optical system condenses the second laser beam (¶38);
adjusting a spot diameter ratio (¶40 “the focusing lenses 46 and 72 for the leading and trailing beams, respectively, can be adjusted individually. In this manner, the spot size of the leading and trailing beams 32 and 34 may be adjusted.”), wherein the spot diameter ratio is a ratio of a first spot diameter to a second spot diameter, wherein the first spot diameter is a diameter of the first laser beam on the irradiation position, wherein the second spot diameter is a diameter of the second laser beam on the irradiation position; and
moving the irradiation position to weld the workpiece (¶42 “the first beam 34 (leading beam) and the second beam 36 (trailing beam) move across the substrates 78 and 80 in a welding direction”).
Regarding claim 7, Forrest discloses:
A laser welding apparatus comprising:
a laser oscillator generating a laser beam (¶21 “The laser device 16 is capable of emitting a laser”);
a beam splitter (splitter 30, ¶24-¶27) splitting the laser beam into a first laser beam and a second laser beam;
a mirror (mirror 40, ¶27) reflecting the second laser beam;
a first condensing optical system (¶30 “leading beam collimating lens 38 and a leading beam focusing lens 46”) condensing the first laser beam, the first condensing optical system irradiating the first laser beam to an irradiation position on a surface of a workpiece (see Figs 4-6) made of metal (¶51);
a second condensing optical system condensing the second laser beam reflected by the mirror, the second condensing optical system irradiating the second laser beam to the irradiation position;
an adjuster adjusting a spot diameter ratio (¶40 “the focusing lenses 46 and 72 for the leading and trailing beams, respectively, can be adjusted individually. In this manner, the spot size of the leading and trailing beams 32 and 34 may be adjusted.”), wherein the spot diameter ratio is a ratio of a first spot diameter to a second spot diameter, wherein the first spot diameter is a diameter of the first laser beam on the irradiation position, wherein the second spot diameter is a diameter of the second laser beam on the irradiation position.
Regarding claims 2 and 8, Forrest discloses:
the second condensing optical system includes a plurality of lenses (72, 58); and
adjusting (the adjuster) changes an interval of the lenses to adjust the spot diameter ratio (adjusting 72 as described in ¶40 will change the interval).
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.
Claims 3-6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Forrest (US 2008/0029498) in view of Kumazawa (JP 2012110905).
Regarding claim 3, Forrest does not disclose:
the first spot diameter is 5.0 percent or more and 15.0 percent or less of the second spot diameter.
Forrest is silent on the relative diameters of the laser spots.
Regarding claim 5, Forrest does not disclose:
an energy density of the second laser beam on the irradiation position is 1.5% or less of an energy density of the first laser beam on the irradiation position.
Forrest is silent on the relative energy density of the laser spots.
Regarding claim 6, Forrest does not disclose:
a center of the first laser beam on the irradiation position is disposed behind a center of the second laser beam on the irradiation position in a moving direction of the irradiation position.
Forrest teaches the “trailing beam” is “a second laser beam to engage substrates to be welded… generally for controlling a shape of the keyhole” (¶27). This does not necessarily require a particular position of the trailing beam spot.
PNG
media_image2.png
221
382
media_image2.png
Greyscale
Kumazawa teaches:
In ¶30, first spot 101b has a diameter of 0.05 mm and second spot 101a has a diameter of 0.4 mm. This is 12.5%. Spot 101a has a total power of 300W and 101b has a total power of 600W (¶30). For 101a, this provides an average intensity of 300/0.126 = 2390 W/mm2. For 101b, this provides 600/0.0096 = 306,000 W/mm2. This a ratio of 2390/306,000 = 0.00781. A center of the first laser beam spot is disposed behind a center of the second laser beam spot in a moving direction of the welding (see Fig 2B). The arrangement provides a smoother temperature change that reduces spatter, cracks, and holes to increase weld quality (¶26-¶28, ¶31).
COMBINATION
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the method of Forrest by adjusting the settings to provide a first laser spot with a diameter of 12.5% of a second laser spot, a power ratio of .00781, and the small diameter spot centered behind the larger spot, as taught by Kumazawa, to obtain the benefit of improving weld quality.
PNG
media_image3.png
299
443
media_image3.png
Greyscale
Regarding claim 4, Forrest as modified by the laser spot arrangement of Kumazawa teaches:
a focal position of the first laser beam is disposed between the irradiation position and the first condensing optical system (Kumazawa Fig 1shows the small beam 101b coming to a point just at the surface); and
the irradiation position is disposed between a focal position of the second laser beam and the second condensing optical system (Kumazawa Fig 1 shows the large beam 101a narrowing so that it would come to a point below the surface).
Pertinent Prior Art
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Yamahana (JP H09-300087) discloses the following welder with “1B, 2B Focus position adjusting mechanism.”
PNG
media_image4.png
359
390
media_image4.png
Greyscale
Matsumoto (US 20230110940) discloses “the laser welding device 100E includes a position adjusting mechanism 140 that variably sets the position of the collimating lens 121 in the optical axis direction. With the position adjusting mechanism 140, the sizes of the beams B1 and B2 (spot diameters D1 and D2) on the surface Wa of the processing object W may be appropriately changed. That is, the position adjusting mechanism 140 may also be referred to as a spot size variable mechanism. The same position adjusting mechanism 140 may also be applied to the condensing lens 122, may be applied to both of the collimating lens 121 and the condensing lens 122, and may be applied to the collimating lens 121 and the condensing lens 122 of each of the laser welding devices 100, 100A, 100C, 100D, and 100F according to the other embodiments.” (¶127).
PNG
media_image5.png
520
778
media_image5.png
Greyscale
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TOPAZ L ELLIOTT whose telephone number is (571)270-5851. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. EST.
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, Ibrahime Abraham can be reached on (571) 270-5569. 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.
/TOPAZ L. ELLIOTT/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3761