DETAILED ACTION
In Response to Election filed on 08/27/2025, claims 13 and 15-20 are pending. Claims 1-12 and 14 are canceled. Claims 16-17 are withdrawn based on the restriction requirement. Claims 13, 15, 18-20 are considered in the current Office 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 .
Election/Restrictions
Claims 1-12 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected inventions; Claims 16-17 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected species, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 08/27/2025.
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group II and Species A in the reply filed on 08/27/2025 is acknowledged.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 09/20/2023 were filed in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Claim Objections
Claim 18 is objected to because of the following informalities: claim 18 recites the limitation “preheating means of at least said at least one thermosetting resin” should read as “preheating means of said at least one thermosetting resin”. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Interpretation
The following terms are terms of art and thus are interpreted broadly:
Claim 13 recites the limitation “heating means” has been interpreted broadly as any structure that is capable of heating.
Claim 13 recites the limitation “direct heating means …” has been interpreted broadly as any structure that is capable of directly heating.
Claim 18 recites “preheating means” has been interpreted broadly as any structure that is capable of preheating.
Claim 19 recites “cutting means” has been interpreted broadly as any structure that is capable of cutting.
Claim 20 recites “mixing and degassing means” has been interpreted broadly as any structure that is capable of mixing and degassing.
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) 13, 15, and 19-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1)/(a)(2) as being anticipated by US2017/0028636 (“Evans et al” hereinafter Evans).
Regarding Claim 13, Evans teaches a three-dimensional printing system of composite materials (Figure 1 and abstract, system and method for forming composite part), comprising:
- at least one three-dimensional printing device (Figure 1, system 100) provided with:
- at least one feeding assembly of at least one thermosetting resin (Figure 1, resin metering system 256 configured to actively control a flow of thermosetting resin 252 to the delivery guide 112 [0096]);
- at least one feeding channel of at least one filament comprising at least one fiber (Figure 1 and [0054], delivery guide 112 comprises first inlet 170 , configured to receive non-resin component 108, where non-resin component 108 of continuous flexible line 106, which is equivalent to filament, comprises one or more of a fiber [0142]);
- at least one extrusion channel (Figure 1, outlet 206) communicating with said feeding assembly (Figure 1) and with said feeding channel adapted to receive said at least one thermosetting resin (Figure 1 and [0054], Delivery guide 112 comprises second inlet 250, configured to receive at least first part 253 of thermosetting resin 252) and said at least one filament to form a composite material ([0055], the combination of non-resin component 108 with the thermosetting resin 252 formed composite material), wherein said at least one filament is wrapped by said at least one thermosetting resin ([0054], apply first part 253 of thermosetting resin 252 and second part 255 of thermosetting resin 252 to non-resin component 108) and adapted to distribute said composite material on a work surface to obtain at least one layer (Figure 1 and [0267], segment 120 of continuous flexible line 106 as at least a portion of first layer 140 is being deposited by delivery guide 112 against surface 114 and to further cure first layer 140);
- heating means (Figure 1, source 116 of curing energy 118) associated with said at least one three-dimensional printing device and adapted to induce a cure of said at least one thermosetting resin ([0149]), wherein
said heating means (Figure 1, source 116) comprise direct heating means (Figure 1 and[0155], source 116 of curing energy 118 comprises one or more curing lasers 134) of said at least one filament adapted to directly heat said at least one filament (the source 116 directly heat the filament) and to indirectly heat said at least one thermosetting resin by conduction of heat from said at least one filament ([0150], the curing energy 118 in the form of heat is delivered via radiation, convention, and/or conduction cured the thermosetting resin component; as the heat are applied to the fiber, heating the fiber will indirectly heat the resin as well), and
said direct heating means comprise at least one radiation emitting device (Figure 1, source 116 of curing energy 118 comprises one or more curing lasers 134) adapted to emit radiation towards said composite material ([0140]), said at least one thermosetting resin being permeable to said radiation (due to lack of specification definition in the specification, the limitation “permeable” is interpreted as any permeability. Since all thermosetting resin inherently has some permeability, the thermosetting resin taught by Evans reads upon the claim).
Furthermore, the Claims contain limitations (at least one thermosetting resin being permeable to said radiation) which are directed to articles or products worked upon by the claimed apparatus. These limitations are only given patentable weight to the extent which effects the structure of the claimed invention. Please see MPEP 2115. In this particular case, the at least one thermosetting resin being permeable to said radiation does not add additional structure to the device and is thus not given patentable weight.
Regarding Claim 15, Evans teaches the system according to claim 13, wherein said at least one radiation emitting device is selected from a laser device (Figure 1, source 116 of curing energy 118 comprises one or more curing lasers 134) and a microwave device.
Regarding Claim 19, Evans teaches the system according to claim 13, further comprising: cutting means of said at least one filament (Figure 18, cutter 208 configured to selectively cut continuous flexible line 106 adjacent to outlet 206 [0374]).
Regarding Claim 20, Evans teaches the system according to claim 13, further comprising: mixing and degassing means (Figure 1, internal mixing structure 259 and [0088], the internal mixing structure is capable of mixing and remove undesired byproducts from the delivery guide 112) of at least one polymeric material and of at least one curing compound to obtain said at least one thermosetting resin ([0065] and [0066]), connected in a fluid-operated manner to said feeding assembly (Figure 1, the internal mixing structure 259 is connected in fluid manner to the resin metering system 256 through inlet 250 of the delivery guide 112).
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim 18 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US2017/0028636 (“Evans et al” hereinafter Evans) as applied to claim 13above, and further in view of US2019/0009462 (“Wilenski et al” hereinafter Wilenski).
Regarding Claim 18, Evans teaches the system according to claim 13, but fails to teach further comprising preheating means of at least said at least one thermosetting resin adapted to induce at least a partial cure of said at least one thermosetting resin.
However, Wilenski teaches preheating means (Figure 2, deposited-feedstock-line heater 140) of at least said at least one thermosetting resin adapted to induce at least a partial cure of said at least one thermosetting resin ([0054]).
Evans (abstract) and Wilenski ([0022] and [0024]) are considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because both are in the field of additive manufacturing of composite materials comprises of thermosetting resin and fibers. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modified the system of Evans such that it teaches all of the abovementioned limitations as taught by Wilenski to prepare the feedstock line prior to being deposited to facilitate adhesion between a subsequent layer of feedstock line ([0052]).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to XINWEN (Cindy) YE whose telephone number is (571)272-3010. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Thursday 8:30 - 17:00.
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XINWEN (CINDY) YE
Examiner
Art Unit 1754
/SUSAN D LEONG/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1754