DETAILED ACTION
Response to Amendment
The Amendment filed 11/25/2025 has been entered. Claims 6-10 remain pending in the application. New claim(s) 11-23 have been added. Applicant's amendments to the abstract have overcome the objections previously set forth in the Non-Final Rejection mailed 8/28/2025.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 12/01/2025 has been considered by the examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Language from the reference(s) is shown in quotations. Limitations from the claims are shown in quotations within parenthesis. Examiner explanations are shown in italics.
Claims 6-19 and 22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Cai et al. (WO 2017011415 A1), previously cited.
Regarding claim 6, Cai teaches “a method of making a mill, a mill blade, or other cutting structure that includes combining cutting structure assembly components” (which reads upon “a method for producing a machining segment for a machining tool wherein the machining segment is connected by an underside to a basic body of the machining tool, the method comprising the steps of”, as recited in the instant claim; page 1). Cai teaches that “an additive manufacturing assembly 200 may include a deposition device 214 used to form a mill cutting structure by depositing sequential volumes or layers of selected starting material 206 in designated regions on a support structure 216” (which reads upon “from a first powdered matrix material arranged according to a defined first particle pattern”, as recited in the instant claim; page 14). Cai teaches that “metallic starting material may be built into a structure using other manufacturing processes, and that FIGS. 2-1 to 2-3, for instance, illustrate an example additive manufacturing process, which may be representative of 3D printing, simultaneous casting, binder jetting, laser metal deposition, electron beam melting, direct metal laser sintering, selective laser sintering, fused deposition modeling, or the like” (which reads upon “first matrix material”, as recited in the instant claim; page 14; metallic starting material reads on first matrix material). Cai teaches that “supply system 218 may provide access to starting materials in a powder or other form” (which reads upon “powdered matrix material”, as recited in the instant claim; page 14). Cai teaches that “at least one region of a cutting structure support or an entire cutting structure support may be formed of a non-metallic or non-metallic composite starting material, and that as used herein, "non-metallic" starting material may include cermet starting materials, carbide starting materials, ceramic starting materials, and other materials having greater than 10% by weight formed of a non-metallic component” (which reads upon “applying a powdered supporting material as a supporting layer”, as recited in the instant claim; pages 21-22; a non-metallic or non-metallic composite starting material, such as carbide starting materials, reads on supporting material). Cai teaches that “carbide starting materials may include a powder or other form of a single carbide material such as tungsten carbide” (which reads upon “a melting temperature of the supporting material being higher than the melting temperature of the first matrix material”, as recited in the instant claim; page 22; the melting point of tungsten carbide is approximately 2,870 °C (5,200 °F)). Cai teaches that “one or more pre-formed hard material bodies may be positioned with the metallic or non-metallic or non-metallic starting materials” (which reads upon “first hard material particles, arranging the first hard material particles according to the defined first particle pattern in the supporting material, the first hard material particles being arranged with a depth of penetration in the supporting material”, as recited in the instant claim; page 23). Cai teaches that “the one or more preformed hard material bodies 204 may be positioned on the support structure 216, which optionally may include cavities, tabs, or other features that facilitate placement of the pre-formed hard material bodies 204” (page 14). Cai teaches that “the deposition device 214 may then be used to sequentially build layers of starting material 206 (see FIGS. 2-2 and 2-3), and the starting material 206” (which reads upon “applying a first layer of the first matrix material to the first hard material particles and the supporting material”, as recited in the instant claim; page 14). Cai teaches that “metallic starting material may be built into a structure using other manufacturing processes, and that FIGS. 2-1 to 2-3, for instance, illustrate an example additive manufacturing process, which may be representative of 3D printing, simultaneous casting, binder jetting, laser metal deposition, electron beam melting, direct metal laser sintering, selective laser sintering, fused deposition modeling, or the like” (which reads upon “and fusing the first layer by a powder bed fusion method, and performing a sequence of a plurality of steps, performed N times, N > 1, wherein, in a first step of the sequence, a layer of the first matrix material is applied to the layer structure, and in a second step of the sequence, the layer of the first matrix material is fused by the powder bed fusion method and connected to the layer structure”, as recited in the instant claim; page 14; selective laser sintering reads on powder bed fusion).
Regarding claims 7-8, Cai teaches the method of claim 6 as stated above. Cai teaches that “a second starting material may be of the same or different type of starting material, and may have the same or a different particle size, size distribution, or shape, and that each different starting material may have one or more differences in material properties (e.g., hardness, toughness, erosion resistance, melting or solidus temperature, etc.)” (which reads upon “second hard material particles, an average particle diameter of the second hard material particles being less than an average particle diameter of the first hard material particles”, as recited in the instant claims; page 12; either may be considered a first hard material particle). Cai teaches that “two or more different starting materials (e.g., two or more powdered metallic starting materials) may be mixed together and placed or otherwise loaded into the mold” (which reads upon “second hard material particles are admixed with the first matrix material”, as recited in the instant claim; page 12). Cai teaches that “two or more different starting materials may be integrated together using additive manufacturing techniques, as discussed in more detail herein” (which reads upon “wherein the sequence includes an intermediate step performed between the first step and the second step of the sequence, and in the intermediate step, second hard material particles are arranged according to a defined second particle pattern in the layer of the first matrix material”, as recited in the instant claim; page 12).
Regarding claim 9, Cai teaches the method of claim 6 as stated above. Cai teaches that “the metallic starting material 106-1 may include different material compositions, different particle sizes, different size distributions such as mono-modal and bi-modal, different shapes, other variations, or combinations of the foregoing, and that different starting materials 106-1 (e.g., powders) may be located in different regions of the mold to provide different material properties to the different regions” (page 12).
Regarding claim 10, Cai teaches the method of claim 6 as stated above. Cai teaches that “the one or more pre-formed hard material bodies 104-2 may be partially embedded in the starting material 106-2” (page 13).
Regarding claim 11, Cai teaches the method of claim 6 as stated above. Cai teaches that “as shown in FIGS. 2-1, for instance, the one or more preformed hard material bodies 204 may be positioned on the support structure 216, which optionally may include cavities, tabs, or other features that facilitate placement of the pre-formed hard material bodies 204” (page 14). Cai teaches that “the deposition device 214 may then be used to sequentially build layers of starting material 206 (see FIGS. 2-2 and 2-3), and the starting material 206 and the one or more pre-formed hard material bodies 204 may have a combined shape substantially corresponding with the final shape of the mill cutting structure to be formed upon completion of the formation and infiltration process” (pages 14-15). Compare Cai FIGs. 2-1 to 2-3 with Applicant’s FIGs. 6A-6B, also showing hard particles embedded in the support material and then matrix material formed above.
Regarding claim 12, Cai teaches the method of claim 6 as stated above. Cai teaches that “carbide starting materials may include a powder or other form of a single carbide material such as tungsten carbide” (page 22; the melting point of tungsten carbide is approximately 2,870 °C (5,200 °F); one of ordinary skill in the art would understand that tungsten carbide powder would remain in a powdered state during powder bed fusion of the metal matrix material).
Regarding claim 13, Cai teaches the method of claim 6 as stated above. Cai teaches that “the one or more pre-formed hard material bodies 104-2 may be partially embedded in the starting material 106-2” (page 13). Cai teaches that “the cutting elements 404-3 may be at least partially embedded in the matrix composite support” (page 25).
Regarding claim 14, Cai teaches the method of claim 6 as stated above. Cai teaches “electron beam melting” (page 14). Cai teaches “selective laser sintering” (page 14).
Regarding claim 15, Cai teaches the method of claim 6 as stated above. Cai teaches that “embodiments of the present disclosure further extend to use with casing mills, reamers, junk mills, window mills, drill bits, stabilizers, pipe cutter knives, hole openers, other tools (e.g., other tools used with cutting elements, gauge protection elements, or the like), or any combination of the foregoing” (page 30).
Regarding claims 16-19, Cai teaches the method of claims 6 and 15 as stated above. Cai teaches that “while embodiments of the present disclosure have been primarily described with reference to downhole milling operations, the tools, cutting elements, cutting structures, and the like described herein may be used in applications other than milling within a wellbore” (page 30). Cai teaches that “downhole milling tools used to cut casing in a downhole environment include a tubular body having a plurality of equi-azimuthally disposed blades coupled to the body” (page 1). Cai teaches that “cutting elements may be attached, e.g., by brazing, to a steel cutting blade substrate at the forward surfaces of the cutting blades” (page 1). Cai teaches that “the cutting structure may take any form and may include, for instance, a knife, blade, or other body that may support one or more cutting elements” (page 2; mill blade reads on saw blade).
Regarding claim 22, Cai teaches the method of claim 6 as stated above. Cai teaches “a mill cutting structure with a cutting region 110-1 and a support region 112-1” (page 11). Cai teaches that “the cutting region 110-1 include one or more pre-formed hard material bodies 104-1 having a predetermined size and shape” (page 11).
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.
Language from the reference(s) is shown in quotations. Limitations from the claims are shown in quotations within parenthesis. Examiner explanations are shown in italics.
Claim 20 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cai et al. (WO 2017011415 A1), previously cited as applied to claim 6 above, and further in view of Rifaut et al. (US 20190375072 A1).
Regarding claim 20, Cai teaches the method of claim 6 as stated above. Cai teaches that “cutting elements may be attached, e.g., by brazing, to a steel cutting blade substrate at the forward surfaces of the cutting blades” (page 1). Cai teaches that “mill cutting structures 722 formed according to embodiments of the present disclosure may be used on other downhole tools, and the downhole cutting tool 760 is merely illustrative of example tools in which embodiments of the present disclosure may be used” (page 30). Cai teaches that “embodiments of the present disclosure further extend to use with casing mills, reamers, junk mills, window mills, drill bits, stabilizers, pipe cutter knives, hole openers, other tools (e.g., other tools used with cutting elements, gauge protection elements, or the like), or any combination of the foregoing, and further, while various examples of mill cutting structure types and shapes are described herein, the disclosure is not limited thereto” (page 30). Cai teaches that “other shapes and types of mill cutting structures may be formed using the infiltration methods of the present disclosure, for example, depending on the type of tool with which the cutting structures are used” (page 30). Cai teaches that “while embodiments of the present disclosure have been primarily described with reference to downhole milling operations, the tools, cutting elements, cutting structures, and the like described herein may be used in applications other than milling within a wellbore” (page 30).
Cai is silent regarding an abrasive disk.
Rifaut is similarly concerned with abrasive articles having abrasive particles in a metallic bonding matrix and methods of making such articles (paragraph [0001]). Rifaut teaches “a method of making a metal bond abrasive article is provided, and that the method includes sequential steps, including a) a subprocess including sequentially: i) depositing a layer of loose powder particles in a region, and ii) selectively treating an area of the layer of loose powder particles with irradiation by a focused beam to bond powder particles together” (paragraph [0007]). Rifaut teaches that “the metal bond abrasive article includes the coated abrasive particles retained in a metallic binder material” (paragraph [0009]). Rifaut teaches that “metal bond abrasive articles preparable according to methods of the present disclosure include essentially any known metal bond abrasive article; for example, abrasive pads, abrasive grinding bits, abrasive segments, and abrasive wheels” (which reads upon “abrasive disk”, as recited in the instant claim; paragraph [0063]). Rifaut teaches “selective metal sintering of the metallic binder particles and the coated abrasive particles” (paragraph [0081]). Rifaut teaches that “the method can provide a useful metal bond abrasive article that does not require further processing” (paragraph [0086]).
Accordingly, 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 cutting structure of Cai to be an abrasive wheel, as taught by Rifaut to provide a useful metal bond abrasive article that does not require further processing and because Cai teaches that other shapes and types of cutting structures may be formed.
Claims 21 and 23 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cai et al. (WO 2017011415 A1), previously cited as applied to claim 6 above, and further in view of Tang (WO 2019007064 A1), as machine translated.
Regarding claims 21 and 23, Cai teaches the method of claim 6 as stated above. Cai teaches that “cutting elements may be attached, e.g., by brazing, to a steel cutting blade substrate at the forward surfaces of the cutting blades” (page 1). Cai teaches that “mill cutting structures 722 formed according to embodiments of the present disclosure may be used on other downhole tools, and the downhole cutting tool 760 is merely illustrative of example tools in which embodiments of the present disclosure may be used” (page 30). Cai teaches that “embodiments of the present disclosure further extend to use with casing mills, reamers, junk mills, window mills, drill bits, stabilizers, pipe cutter knives, hole openers, other tools (e.g., other tools used with cutting elements, gauge protection elements, or the like), or any combination of the foregoing, and further, while various examples of mill cutting structure types and shapes are described herein, the disclosure is not limited thereto” (page 30). Cai teaches that “other shapes and types of mill cutting structures may be formed using the infiltration methods of the present disclosure, for example, depending on the type of tool with which the cutting structures are used” (page 30). Cai teaches that “while embodiments of the present disclosure have been primarily described with reference to downhole milling operations, the tools, cutting elements, cutting structures, and the like described herein may be used in applications other than milling within a wellbore” (page 30).
Cai is silent regarding a cut-off grinding chain.
Tang is similarly concerned with a method for forming a diamond chainsaw involves using an alloy powder powder metallurgy process (paragraph [0015]). Tang teaches that “the chain link of the present invention has a solid structure in the middle, which is the part welded to the diamond cutter head” (which reads upon “the further machining segment being connected to the plurality of links by welding”, as recited in the instant claim; which reads upon claim 23; paragraph [0017]). Tang teaches that “several chain links are assembled by inserting pins into corresponding holes in the chain links” (which reads upon “a plurality of links and a plurality of connecting links”, as recited in the instant claim; paragraph [0015]). Tang teaches that “the middle of the chain link has a large contact surface with the cutter head, resulting in greater friction with the rotating wheel and preventing slippage” (paragraph [0017]). Tang teaches that “when the chainsaw of the present invention is working, the chain is more rigid than that of a wire saw and is not easily bent, thus resulting in high cutting efficiency” (paragraph [0019]).
Accordingly, 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 cutting structure of Cai to be chain saw links, as taught by Tang to make a chain which is more rigid than that of a wire saw and is not easily bent, thus resulting in high cutting efficiency and because Cai teaches that other shapes and types of cutting structures may be formed.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 11/25/2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Applicant argues that Cai does not disclose the above emphasized language (a melting temperature of the supporting material being higher than the melting temperature of the first matrix material and applying a first layer of the first matrix material to the first hard material particles and the supporting material and fusing the first layer by a powder bed fusion method) (remarks, page 2). Applicant argues that there is no indication that the starting material 206 in Cai is being applied to the first hard material particles and the supporting material as claimed, nor that it is fused by powder bed fusion (remarks, page 2). Applicant further argues that the Office Action seems to use the selected starting material 206 from Cai to disclose both the first matrix material and the supporting material, and therefore they would have the same melting temperature (remarks, page 2). This is not found convincing because Cai teaches more than one starting material. Cai teaches that “a second starting material may be of the same or different type of starting material, and may have the same or a different particle size, size distribution, or shape, and that each different starting material may have one or more differences in material properties (e.g., hardness, toughness, erosion resistance, melting or solidus temperature, etc.)” (page 12; both metallic starting materials and non-metallic or non-metallic composite starting materials, such as carbide starting materials may be used). Metallic starting material reads on first matrix material while a non-metallic or non-metallic composite starting material, such as carbide starting materials, reads on supporting material, thus the materials are different and would not have the same melting temperature. As stated above, Cai teaches selective laser sintering which reads on powder bed fusion.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Gibson, I., Rosen, D., Stucker, B., Khorasani, M. (2021), Additive Manufacturing Technologies, Springer, Cham., available online 11 November 2020, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-56127-7_5. Gibson teaches that Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) was the first commercialized PBF (powder bed fusion) process.
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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.
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to REBECCA JANSSEN whose telephone number is (571)272-5434. The examiner can normally be reached on Mon-Thurs 10-7 and alternating Fri 10-6.
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. The Examiner requests that interviews not be scheduled during the last week of each fiscal quarter or the last half of September, which is the end of the fiscal year. Q2: 3/30-4/3/26; Q3: 6/22-6/26/26; Q4: 9/21-9/30/26.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Keith Hendricks can be reached on (571)272-1401. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/REBECCA JANSSEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1733
Prosecution Insights