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 1-14 are pending and are presented for this examination.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) was submitted on 10/27/2023, 12/03/2024, 03/21/2025, 05/09/2025, 05/28/2025, 08/22/2025, 09/25/2025, 10/10/2025, 01/12/2026, 02/11/2026 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.
Claim 7 is 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.
Claim 7 recites the limitation "the at least one different physical characteristic" in line 1 of the claim. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(d):
(d) REFERENCE IN DEPENDENT FORMS.—Subject to subsection (e), a claim in dependent form shall contain a reference to a claim previously set forth and then specify a further limitation of the subject matter claimed. A claim in dependent form shall be construed to incorporate by reference all the limitations of the claim to which it refers.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, fourth paragraph:
Subject to the following paragraph [i.e., the fifth paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112], a claim in dependent form shall contain a reference to a claim previously set forth and then specify a further limitation of the subject matter claimed. A claim in dependent form shall be construed to incorporate by reference all the limitations of the claim to which it refers.
Claim 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(d) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, 4th paragraph, as being of improper dependent form for failing to further limit the subject matter of the claim upon which it depends, or for failing to include all the limitations of the claim upon which it depends. Instant claim 5 depends on claim 1. Claim 1 recited porosity is interpreted as the amount of empty space within a material relative to its total volume, which is equivalent to percentage of open space volume to total volume as recited in claim 5. However, claim 5 encompasses pore shape, pore size, number of pores and pore connecting passage which are beyond the true meaning of porosity.
Hence, claim 5 is improper dependent form for failing to further limit the subject matter of the claim upon which it depends.
Applicant may cancel the claim(s), amend the claim(s) to place the claim(s) in proper dependent form, rewrite the claim(s) in independent form, or present a sufficient showing that the dependent claim(s) complies with the statutory requirements.
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) 1-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1)/(a)(2) as being anticipated by Siemens AG (EP2450471A1 cited in IDS filed 3/21/2025).
As for claims 1-8, Siemens AG discloses a method of coupling a metal coupon in a component ([0001-02], [0009-11], [0061], [0071], Figs. 1-4, claim 1). Siemens AG discloses additively manufacturing the metal coupon (porous structure 10 [0011-13], [0020], [0032-35]). Siemens AG discloses positioning the metal coupon in a coupon opening (recess (7), depression in Figure 1) in a body of the component ([0012], [0017-18], claim 1) and infiltrating the metal coupon with a braze material (13) to couple the metal coupon in the coupon opening to the body (liquid solder material penetrates the porous structure and forms a volume that fills the recess with the metal coupon, and therefore with any region of the metal coupon, therein ([0018], [0021], claim 1). Siemens AG discloses that the braze material (liquid solder material) infiltrated into the porous metal coupon (porous structure 10 in Figure 3) [0018].
Siemens AG discloses that the porosity of the coupon (porous structure) can have gradients [0015], thereby disclosing that the coupon having a first porous region having a first porosity and a second porous region having a second porosity different than the first porosity. Hence, instant claims 2, 3 and 7 are met. Due to porosity gradient explicitly disclosed by Siemens AG, instant claim 6 is met.
Figure 3 illustrates liquid solder material (13) penetrates the porous structure (10) and forms a volume (16) that completely fills the recess (7) such that no void space is left as demonstrated in Figure 4. Hence, Siemens AG suggests infiltrating the braze material into the porous region based on the porosity. Hence, instant claim 1 required wherein “infiltrating the braze material into at least one of the first porous region based on a characteristic (pore size as required by instant claim 5) of the first porosity and the second porous region based on a characteristic (pore size as required by instant claim 5) of the second porosity is met. Instant claim 4 is also met.
Since the formation of the porous structure 10 is done by laser or electron beam in additive manufacturing layer by layer until the desired height is reached by solidification, instant claim 8 required cooling passage is 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) 1-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Siemens AG (EP2450471A1 cited in IDS filed 3/21/2025) in view of Kestler (US20160115571).
As for claims 1-14, Siemens AG discloses instant claims 1-8 as indicated in rejection over Siemens AG above.
But Siemens AG does not disclose that (1) infiltrating the braze material based on a characteristic of the porous structure; and (2) additively manufacturing based on the shape of the opening comprises creating a model of the opening and manufacturing based on the model.
Regarding (1), Kestler teaches a method for producing a component [0001]. Kestler teaches additively manufacturing a porous metallic framework structure (open-pore framework) by “for example selective laser melting (SLM) or selective electron beam melting (EBM)” [0012]. Kestler teaches infiltrating the porous structure with an infiltrator [0012]) to produce a component having a graded structure [0012]. The proportion by volume of the infiltrator can be varied based on desired porosity or pore size of the porous structure [0023]. Instant claim 13 whereby clause is met due to varying proportion by volume of the infiltrator.
Hence, Kestler discloses infiltrating the braze material based on a characteristic (porosity or pore size) of the porous structure as claimed. The proportion by volume of the infiltrator to be varied also suggests a different brazing material as required by instant claim 12. The infiltration is done by inert gas atmosphere heating [0021] as required by instant claim 9.
Regarding (2), Kestler teaches that in the additive manufacturing process to manufacture the porous structure, data for the guiding of the laser or electron beam, scan rate, exposure pattern and radiation intensity are determined in advance by software from the desired 3-dimensional shape and the desired porosity or pore size distribution of the framework structure of the shaped body [0018], thereby teaching that the additive manufacturing process models the shape of the object to be produced as claimed. Instant claims 10-11 and 14 wherein clauses are met.
Both Kestler and Siemens AG teach additively manufacturing a porous structure and infiltrating the porous structure with a different material. The additive manufacturing process disclosed by Siemens AG is laser or electron beam sintering or melting [0012].
As Siemens AG discloses that the coupon (porous structure) extends over the entire volume of opening [0017], modeling the porous structure would model the opening to some extent, and additively manufacturing according to the data as taught by Kestler [0018] would create desired 3-D shape and desired porosity or pore size distribution of the porous structure.
Infiltrating the braze material based on the porosity or pore size of the porous structure would create locally graded structure such that material properties can be locally optimized as required. [0010]
Hence, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time the invention is made, to infiltrate the braze material based on the porosity or pore size of the porous structure and to create a model of the opening and additive manufacture based on the model as suggested by Kestler, in the process of Siemens AG for the benefit of obtaining desired porosity or pore size distribution of the porous structure and locally optimized material properties.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JENNY R WU whose telephone number is (571)270-5515. The examiner can normally be reached on 8:30 AM-5:00 PM.
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/JENNY R WU/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1733
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