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 .
DETAILED ACTION
Status of the Claims
Claims 1-14 and 16-22 are pending and the subject of this FINAL Office Action.
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) A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(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; or
(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.
Claims 21-22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by DE102016222552.
As to claim 21, DE102016222552 teaches a method for the additive manufacturing of a component, wherein the component is constructed in a layered manner by at least one extruder of a 3D printing device, wherein in the additive manufacture of at least one component layer of the component by the at least one
extruder: in a first work step, initially an outer contour of the component layer is produced, which extends in a layer plane and comprises at least one outer wall 11/21 which extends in an extension direction perpendicular to the layer plane and is intended for bounding a volume region at least in part, wherein a plurality of volume chambers each open in an extension direction is formed within the volume region, which volume chambers are separated from one another by at least one intermediate wall produced by the at least one extruder in the component layer (Fig. 2), and in at least one following, second work step, the at least one volume chamber is at least partially filled with a filler material 22/23/24 (Fig. 2), wherein the filler material is introduced into the at least one volume chamber in a molten state by the at least one extruder at least locally melting the at least one intermediate wall already produced so that the introduced filler material forms an integral bond with the least one intermediate wall (“wherein the liquid or pasty component (23) has a temperature above the melting point of the first printing material (21)”; Abstract and claim 1). The extruded fluid filler 23 has a higher melting point than the wall material 21, meaning the filler is extruded at a temperature higher than the melt point of the wall, causing at least partial melting of the wall.
As to claim 22, DE102016222552 teaches a 3D printing device for the additive manufacturing of a component, wherein the 3D printing device comprises, for a layered construction of the component, at least one extruder, at least one processor controlling the at least one extruder, and at least one memory, wherein the memory contains commands which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one extruder, during the additive manufacture of at least one component layer for the component: in a first work step to initially produce an outer contour of the component layer which extends in a layer plane and comprises at least one outer wall which extends in an extension direction perpendicular to the layer plane and is intended for bounding a volume region at least in part, and to form a plurality of volume chambers which each are open in an extension direction within the volume region, wherein the volume chambers are separated from one another by at least one intermediate wall produced by the at least one extruder in the component layer, and in at least one following, second work step, to fill the at least one volume chamber with a filler material, at least in part, wherein the filler material is introduced into the at least one volume chamber in a molten state by the at least one extruder at least locally melting the at least one intermediate wall already produced so that the introduced filler material forms an integral bond with the least one intermediate wall (Device shown in Figures 1-3 that performs the method as explained for claim 21, above).
Allowed Subject Matter
Claims 1-14 and 16-20 are allowed because the prior art fails to teach or suggest to FDM print a wall, then fill within the wall, before moving to the next wall and fill (e.g. print one honeycomb hex wall, then fill, then make next honeycomb hex wall, then fill, repeating until lattice structure complete). The prior art is replete with wall/boundary-fill 3D print techniques; however, they all have a sequence of completing all walls (or more than one wall) before completing all fills (or more than one fill). The prior art does not teach individual wall/boundary print followed by fill.
Prior Art
The following prior art also teaches infilled printing of claims 1 and 19, which is well-known in the FDM art: DE102016222552; US20180024398; US 20150343705; US20180009134; DE102015212569.
Conclusion
No claims are allowed.
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MELODY TSUI whose telephone number is (571)272-1846. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday, 9am - 5pm.
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/YUNG-SHENG M TSUI/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1684
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