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 .
Claims 19-20 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 6/23/26.
Applicant’s election without traverse of 1-18 in the reply filed on 6/23/26 is acknowledged.
Claims 1-18 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 applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 1 is indefinite because it is unclear where the preamble ends and the body of the claim begins. A transition phrase is missing.
The phrase “the dosed amount over the build area” (cl 1:19) is indefinite because it is unclear whether it relates to the heated dosed amount of step (c). if they are related, it should be clearly recited as such.
Corrections are required.
Claims 1-18 would be allowable if rewritten or amended to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance: the prior art of record including the closest prior art JP2006053127 teaches the apparatus (JP2006053127: fig 2) including a build area arranged between a dosing device side and a receiving chamber side (JP2006053127: fig 2), a dosing device at the dosing device side configured to dose an amount of build material onto a work surface including the build area (JP2006053127: fig 2; left or right side of the build area), a receiving chamber configured to receive at least a portion of the dosed amount and to return the portion to the dosing device (JP2006053127: fig 2; left or right side of the build area), a build material distributor configured to transfer the dosed amount across the build area to form a layer and/or to push the portion of build material into the receiving chamber (JP2006053127: fig 2; roller), and one or more heat sources configured to heat particulate build material (JP2006053127: fig 2; radiating source 120); the method comprising a warm up phase followed by a build phase for one or more 3D objects (JP2006053127: fig 2; radiating source heats up the build material and a laser source heats up the build material to build up the product), the warm up phase and the build phase further comprising a cycle of the steps of: (a) dosing the amount of build material from the dosing device onto the work surface (JP2006053127: fig 2); (b) pushing at least a portion of the dosed amount across the build area from the dosing device side to the receiving chamber side of the build area and into the receiving chamber by passing the build material distributor over the build area (JP2006053127: fig 2); (c) heating the dosed amount, by operating the one or more heat sources, at one or both of steps (a) and (b) (JP2006053127: fig 2; the radiating source or the laser source heats up the build material); wherein the steps (a) to (c) are repeated until each phase is complete; wherein the build phase further comprises at step (b): forming a layer over the build area from a layer portion of the dosed amount while pushing the dosed amount over the build area (JP2006053127: fig 2; the roller pushes the build material across the build area to form the product), and at step (c) a step of selectively melting the build material within a layer-specific region defined within the build area by operating a fusing heat source of the one of the one or more heat sources (JP2006053127: fig 2; the laser source heats up the build material to form the product). However, JP2006053127 neither teaches nor renders obvious every claimed limitation including, over a given duration of time, an aggregate volume of the portions of build material pushed into the receiving chamber during the warm up phase is larger than an aggregate volume of the portions of build material pushed into the receiving chamber during the build phase.
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. The following references teach powder bed forming: USPNs 5204055,5597589 (SLS),6007318 (recirculating powder), 7578958,9073260, 11485083 (preheating build material), 201700241418, and 20200164466 (vacuuming recycling); JP2008540173 (heated recoater); and JP2006053127.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to EDMUND H LEE whose telephone number is (571)272-1204. The examiner can normally be reached M-Th 9AM-4PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Xiao (Sam) Zhao can be reached at 571-270-5343. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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EHL
/EDMUND H LEE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1744
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