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 .
Election/Restrictions
Claims 11-23 are hereby withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim.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 27 January 2026.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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)(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 1-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Kabaria et al. (US 2021/0246959).
The applied reference has a common assignee with the instant application. Based upon the earlier effectively filed date of the reference, it constitutes prior art under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2). This rejection under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) might be overcome by: (1) a showing under 37 CFR 1.130(a) that the subject matter disclosed in the reference was obtained directly or indirectly from the inventor or a joint inventor of this application and is thus not prior art in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(A); (2) a showing under 37 CFR 1.130(b) of a prior public disclosure under 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(B) if the same invention is not being claimed; or (3) a statement pursuant to 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) establishing that, not later than the effective filing date of the claimed invention, the subject matter disclosed in the reference and the claimed invention were either owned by the same person or subject to an obligation of assignment to the same person or subject to a joint research agreement.
In Re claim 1, Kabaria et al. disclose an additively manufactured product, comprising: a lattice including repeating unit cells of a first surface lattice (11) and a second surface lattice (12) and a hybrid surface lattice (see 14) having a characteristic tensile or mechanical property different from the first and second lattice (see figs. 1, 5, and 6), and all formed of the same material (see par. 0012).
In Re claim 2, see par. 0041.
In Re claim 3, see par. 0002.
In Re claim 4, see figs. 1, 5, and 6.
In Re claim 5, see par. 0012.
In Re claim 6, see pars. 0005, 0042, and 0059.
In Re claim 7, see par. 0073.
In Re claim 8, see par. 0073.
In Re claim 9, see par. 0075.
In Re claim 10, see pars. 0017 and 0077.
In Re claim 11, Kabaria et al. further discloses the use of a computer to interpolate said first and second surface lattice unit cells (11, 12) and form at least a third transition lattice unit cells (14), which is selected for it’s useful properties for the production of lattice-filled #d objects by additive manufacturing (see pars. 0024 and 0061-0071).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
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/THOMAS W IRVIN/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3616