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
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group I: claims 1-14 in the reply filed on 7/20/2026 is acknowledged.
Claims 15-20 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim.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 7/20/2026.
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) 1-6 and 10-13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ferrasse et al. (US 2017/0287685), as cited in the IDS dated 5/30/2025, hereinafter “Ferrasse.”
Regarding claim 1, Ferrasse teaches a method of manufacturing an interlayer comprising first material and a second material, providing a first surface, forming a first structure from the first material on the first surface using an additive manufacturing technique, wherein the first structure comprises at least one surface which is not in contact with the first surface and faces towards the first surface at an angle of less than 90 degrees; forming a second structure formed from a second material, such that the second structure conforms to the first structure on a side of the first structure opposite the first surface and extends to a second surface; wherein the first structure and the second structure together form the interlayer, and the first structure and second structure are shaped such that separating the first and second structure requires deforming one or both of the first or second structure ([0087], [0104]-[0106], example 1, Fig. 15A, Fig. 19, claim 11).
Regarding claims 2 and 3, Ferrasse teaches wherein the additive manufacturing technique is a powder bed technique, and comprises providing a layer of powder of the first material on the first surface, bonding a portion of the layer of powder to form a part of the first structure, providing a further layer of powder on top of the sintered powder, and repeating the steps of bonding and providing further layers of powder to form the first structure, and wherein the step of bonding the portion of the layer of powder comprises melting or sintering the portion of the layer of powder by providing heat to the powder using a laser or electron beam ([0104]-[0106], example 1).
Regarding claim 4, Ferrasse teaches wherein the step of bonding the portion of the layer of powder comprises one of applying a binder to the portion of the layer of powder or selectively curing a binder, wherein the binder is present in the portion of the layer of powder prior to the step of bonding, and wherein the additive manufacturing technique further comprises sintering the portions of the layers of powder to form the first structure after completion of all steps of binding and providing further layers ([0073]-[0075]).
With respect to claim 5, Ferrasse teaches wherein the first material has a higher melting point than the second material, and wherein the step of forming the second structure comprises providing the second material as a liquid, flowing the second material onto the first structure, and allowing the second material to solidify ([0075]).
Regarding claims 6 and 10-12, Ferrasse teaches wherein the step of forming the second structure comprises providing the second material as a powder, packing the powder on the side of the first structure opposite the first structure, and sintering the powder, wherein the first structure is a periodic structure which repeats in at least one direction parallel to the first surface, wherein the first structure has a cross section parallel to the first surface which varies such that the cross section of the first structure decreases monotonically through the thickness of the interlayer from the first surface, wherein the function relating the cross section of the first structure to the depth through the interlayer is one of a linear function, a sigmoid function, a polynomial function, or a cubic function ([0087], [0104]-[0106], example 1, Fig. 15A, Fig. 19, claim 11).
Regarding claim 13, Ferrasse teaches wherein the first structure has a first, second, third, and fourth average coefficients of thermal expansion (Fig. 19), aCTE, defined such that each aCTE is the average coefficient of thermal expansion of the first and second material, weighted by their volume fraction, over one quarter of the thickness of the interlayer (Fig. 19), and wherein the first aCTE is defined from the surface of the interlayer opposite the first surface (Fig. 19), the second aCTE is defined from the midpoint of the thickness of the interlayer towards the surface of the interlayer opposite the first surface and is less than a first aCTE (Fig. 19), the third aCTE is defined from the midpoint of the interlayer towards the first surface and is less than the second aCTE (Fig. 19), the fourth aCTE is defined from the first surface and is less than the third aCTE (Fig. 19), wherein either: the difference between the first and second aCTE is greater than the difference between the second and third aCTE, and the difference between the second and third aCTE is greater than the difference between the third and fourth aCTE or the difference between the second and third aCTE is greater than both the difference between the first and second aCTE and the difference between the third and fourth aCTE (Fig. 19).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 7-9 and 14 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: Regarding claims 7-9 and 14, the prior art fails to disclose or fairly suggest a method of manufacturing an interlayer having the limitations as recited. In particular, the closest prior art, Farrasse US 2017/0287685) teaches/renders obvious the subject matter recited in claim 1. However, Farrasse does not teach or adequately suggest a method including the steps as recited in claims 7-9 and 14. Thus, claims 7-9 and 14 are distinct over the teachings of the prior art.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ANTHONY M LIANG whose telephone number is (571)272-0483. The examiner can normally be reached M-F: 9:00am-5:00pm.
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/ANTHONY M LIANG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1734
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