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 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) 1-5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Okada et al. (US20220145429A1).
Regarding Claim 1, Okada teaches a Ni-based powder for powder bed fusion additive manufacturing (abstract) comprising in Mass% [0010]:
Element
Claimed Range
Prior Art Range
Cr
10-16
10-16
Al
4-9
4.5-7.5
Mo
1-6
2.8-6.2
Nb
0.5-4
0.8-4
Ti
0-0.5
0.01-2
Zr
0-0.5
0.01-0.3
C
0.06-0.4
0.01-0.3
B
0-0.04
0.001-0.03
Ni
Balance
Balance
120Nb+650Zr+32Ti-385C
150-270
98-623 (calculated)
The claimed composition overlaps with the claimed range, establishing a prima facie case of obviousness for the claimed invention. (See MPEP 2144.05(I)).
Regarding Claim 2, the claimed range of 0.01-2% overlaps with the claimed range of 0.002-0.2%, the claimed composition overlaps with the claimed range, establishing a prima facie case of obviousness for the claimed invention. (See MPEP 2144.05(I)).
Regarding Claims 3-5, the formed part has dendrites with a spacing (element segregation parts) of 3 microns or less [0025] encompassing the claimed range of 200 nm or less; but is silent regarding the dendrite width of 5 microns or less. However, as the prior art invention is made by a similar powder bed fusion scanning method, one of ordinary skill in the art would have expected the dendrites to have a similar width on the same scale as the dendrite spacing and as claimed under the expectation that products made by similar methods have similar properties. (See MPEP 2112.01(I)), and would have similar concentrations of Cr, Mo, Nb and Zr as claimed in claim 4.
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/RICARDO D MORALES/Examiner, Art Unit 1738
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