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 .
Status of the Claims
Claims 1-20 are pending wherein claims 1-9 and 17-20 are currently under examination and claims 10-16 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a non-elected conductive liquid three-dimensional printing system. Applicant’s election of claims 1-9 and 17-20 was made in the Response filed on December 15, 2025. Because Applicant did not distinctly and specifically point out the supposed errors in the restriction requirement, the election has been treated as an election without traverse (MPEP §818.01(a)).
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 1-2 and 7-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Herrmann et al. (US 2021/0162493).
In regard to claim 1, Herrmann et al. (‘493) discloses a method of three-dimensional printing comprising: providing a molten material to a printhead of a three-dimensional printer [0026] and measuring an original temperature of the build surface [0022]. Herrmann et al. (‘493) further teaches that by targeting the build surface with a laser the temperature of the build surface may be controlled and raised to the level that produces an improved bond between the molten drop and the build surface compared to the bond that would otherwise occur if lower build surface temperatures employed [0023-0024]. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art prior to the filing of the instant invention to determine the original and desired build temperatures (and thus the differential) in order to increase to the optimum temperature of bonding the drop to the build surface to have better build quality and improved properties. MPEP 2144.05 II.
Still regarding claim 1, Herrmann et al. (‘493) further discloses wherein there would be multiple lasers and hence multiple laser pulses may be provided [0045] and depositing the molten material on the build surface that was heated to a desired temperature to form a layer [0022].
In regard to claim 2, Herrmann et al. (‘493) further discloses heating a first and second portion of the build surface [0027]. Herrmann et al. (‘493) further discloses wherein there would be multiple lasers and hence multiple laser pulses may be provided on the multiple portions [0045].
In regard to claim 7, Herrmann et al. (‘493) discloses making aluminum parts [0060].
In regard to claims 8-9, Herrmann et al. (‘493) discloses wherein the irradiance of 2000 W/mm2 and wherein the laser pulses would be impinged onto a surface of 3 mm [0059].
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-6 are 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.
In regard to claim 3, while Herrmann et al. (‘493) suggests using multiple lasers [0045] and multiple build surfaces [0027], Herrmann et al. (‘493) fails to specify determining the number of laser pulses to achieve the temperature difference; and calculating an increase in temperature needed during each of the laser pulses.
In regard to claims 4-6, while Herrmann et al. (‘493) suggests using multiple lasers [0045] and multiple build surfaces [0027], Herrmann et al. (‘493) fails to specify one or more cooling periods in between each one or more heating time period when the laser pulse is turned off.
Claims 17-20 are allowed.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
In regard to claim 17, Herrmann et al. (‘493) discloses a method of three-dimensional printing comprising: providing a molten material to a printhead of a three-dimensional printer [0026] and measuring an original temperature of the build surface [0022]. Herrmann et al. (‘493) further teaches that the by targeting the build surface with a laser the temperature of the build surface may be controlled and raised to the level that produces an improved bond between the molten drop and the build surface compared to the bond that would otherwise occur if lower build surface temperatures employed [0023-0024]. However, Herrmann et al. (‘493) fails to specify determining a number N of incremental steps to increase the original temperature on the build surface to the desired temperature of the build surface; calculating a temperature changed needed during each of the N incremental steps using a formula (1/(N-1)) multiplied by the calculated temperature difference; and heating the build surface for the determined number N of incremental steps using a laser.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Griffiths et al. (WO 2022/251490) discloses a tooling controller for controlling the thermal medium inside the chamber [0003].
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/JESSEE R ROE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1759