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 .
Status of Claims
Claims 1-20 are pending and are presented for this examination.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) was submitted on 08/20/2024 and is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
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.
Claims 1-20 are 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 pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention.
The term “6000-type” in claims 1 and 11 is held to be indefinite because it was unclear what “type” was intended to convey as to whether it means by “6000 series aluminum alloy” or something else. See MPEP 2173.05(b) III E “Type”.
As a result of rejected claims 1 and 11, all dependent claims are rejected under the same statue.
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.
Claim(s) 1-3, 5, 8-13, 15, and 18-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1)/(a)(2) as being anticipated by Wei (NPL document “Solid-state additive manufacturing high performance aluminum alloy 6061 enabled by an in-situ micro-forging assisted cold spray” published in 2020).
As for claims 1-3, 5, 8-13, 15 and 18-20, Wei discloses a solid state additive manufactured aluminum alloy 6061 by micro-forging assisted cold spraying (MF-CS-AA6061).
The MF-CS-AA6061 consists of equiaxed fine Al grains, which suggests 100% by volume of the Aluminum in the additive manufactured aluminum ae present as equiaxed grains. (abstract) Since equiaxed Al grains means each grain is equal in length, width and height which suggests aspect ratio is 1, instant claims 1 and 11 required aspect ratio less than 2:1 is met.
100% by volume of the Aluminum in the additive manufactured aluminum present as equiaxed grains also meets instant claims 9-10 and 19-20 required at least 75% and at least 90%.
Since the MF-CS-AA6061 is fully dense (Page 9 Conclusion paragraph line 1); and atoms are metallically bonded within an individual particle and porosity content are minor and can be neglected (Page 4 Col 2 paragraph 2 last ten lines) after heat treatment, instant claims 1 and 11 required “wherein there is minimal void space between metal atoms of the additive manufacture aluminum alloy product” is met.
Instant claim 11 is substantially the same as instant claim 1 except instant claim 11 requires how the claimed alloy is produced. Limitations with respect to how the claimed alloy is produced have been considered, but does not provide a patentable distinction because determination of patentability of product is based on the product itself. That is, the patentability of product does not depend on its method of production unless the process of making the claimed product imparts any structural and/or functional limitation and characteristic on the claimed product according to MPEP 2113.
When the prior art discloses a product which reasonably appears to be either identical with or only slightly different than a product claimed in a product-by-process claim, a rejection based alternatively on either Section 102 or Section 103 is proper. See MPEP 2113.
In the instant case, Wei discloses same solid state additive manufactured aluminum alloy product as required by instant claim 1 as indicated above. Hence, wei also discloses instant claim 11.
Figure 2a show the MF-CS-AA6061 deposit presents a fully dense microstructure while microstructure defects are not present all. (Page 4 Section 3.1 Microstructure and mechanical properties of MF-CS AA6061) paragraph 1 lines 1-4) Hence, instant claim 5 and 15 required single track is expected.
Figure 6(b) discloses YS after stress relieved (SR) heat treatment of the MF-CS-AA6061 is at least 279 MPa. UTS after T6 heat treatment is at least 310 MPa. Hence, instant claims 2-3, 12-13 are met.
Figure 1(b) discloses a substrate receives the solid-state additive manufactured aluminum alloy product. Hence, instant claims 8 and 18 are met.
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) 4, 11-15, and 18-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wei.
As for claim 11, Wei discloses instant claim 11 required solid state additive manufactured aluminum alloy produced. Hence, instant claimed adding step is met as illustrated in Figure 1(b) which discloses a pure Al plate are used as substrate to receive the solid state additive manufactured aluminum alloy. First tool temperature is 300 degree C which is close to claimed 315-550 degree C.
A prima facie case of obviousness exists where the claimed ranges and prior art ranges overlap or are close enough that one skilled in the art would have expected them to have the same properties. See MPEP 2144.05 I.
As for claims 4 and 14, Figure 6(b) discloses recrystallization annealed (RA)solid state additive manufactured aluminum alloy has Elongation 9.32+/-0.73% which is close to claimed at least 12%.
As for claim 15, it is rejected for the same reason set forth in the rejection of claim 5 above.
As for claims 12-13, 18-20, they are rejected for the same reasons as indicated in rejection of claims 2-3 and 8-10 above.
Claim(s) 5-6 and 15-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wei in view of Ikeuchi (NPl document “Neural Network Modelling of Track Profile in Cold
Spray Additive Manufacturing” published in 2019).
As for claims 5-6 and 15-16, Wei does not expressly disclose single track or overlapping tracks.
Ikeuchi discloses a single track is for smallest processing unit (i.e. simple geometry) and plurality of overlapping tracks are for higher processing unit (i.e. more complex geometry) in cold spraying technology. That is, Ikeuchi suggests single or overlapping tracks is merely a design choice depending on the geometric complexity of the final product.
Hence, it would have been obvious to one skill in the art, at the time the invention is made to form single tract or plurality of overlapping tracks of deposited solid state AM aluminum alloy as suggested by Ikeuchi, in the product of Wei depends on the complexity of the final product.
Claim(s) 7 and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wei in view of Ikeuchi and Singh (NPL document “Influence of Cold Spray Parameters on Bonding Mechanisms: A Review” published in 2021).
As for claims 7 and 17, neither Wei nor Ikeuchi discloses adjacent tracks overlap by at least 10%.
Singh suggests the overlapping ratio in cold spraying significantly influences the quality and accuracy of the additive manufacturing process. A higher overlapping ratio such as greater than 10% can lead to better dimensional accuracy and improved product quality by reducing the development and growth of defects during the 3D build process.
Hence, it would have been obvious to one skill in the art, at the time the invention is made to form plurality of overlapping tract wherein adjacent tracks overlapping by at least 10% as suggested by Singh, in the product of Wei in view of Ikeuchi for better dimensional accuracy and improved product quality.
Conclusion
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/JENNY R WU/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1733