DETAILED ACTION
1. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Cross-Reference to Related Applications
2. This application is a 371 of PCT/NL2022/050358 06/22/2021.
Preliminary amendment
3. Preliminary amendment filed on 12/19/2023 has been acknowledged and considered.
In the Preliminary amendment, the applicants have been amended the specification, the abstract and claims 1-20.
Claims 1-20 are currently pending in the application.
Oath/Declaration
4. The oath/declaration filed on 12/19/2023 is acceptable.
Priority
5. Receipt is acknowledged of papers submitted under 35 U.S.C. 119(a)-(d), which papers have been placed of record in the file.
Information Disclosure Statement
6. The office acknowledges receipt of the following items from the applicant:
Information Disclosure Statement (IDS) filed on 12/19/2023 and 02/07/2024.
Claim Objections
7. Claims 1-20 are objected to because of the following informalities:
In claim 1, line 3, a term of “a radiation transparent film (film)” should replace by -- a film --.
In claim 1, line 4, a term of “the radiation transparent film” should replace by – a film --.
In claim 4, line 2, a term of “a transparent film” should change to -- a film --.
In claim 17, line 16, a term of “the radiation transparent film” should replace by – the film --.
In claim 17, line 10, insert – a – before “first lateral region”.
In claim 4, line 2 and in claim 6, line 2, delete -- the -- before “providing”.
In claim 5, line 1, delete -- the -- before “directing”.
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.
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 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.
8. Claims 1 and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Free et al., hereafter “Free” (U.S. Publication No. 2016/0268553 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Free discloses a method of manufacturing a layered three-dimensional (3D) product, the method comprising:
providing a film (922) carrying a resin layer (910) having a free surface at a side of the resin layer (910) facing away from the film, a first thickness portion of the resin layer (910) at a side facing the film (922) being a first sublayer, a second thickness portion of the resin layer (910) having the free surface (951) of the resin layer (910) being a second sublayer, wherein the first sublayer is at least substantially cured in at least a first lateral region (i.e. the shaded regions 912), and wherein the second sublayer is at least substantially uncured;
laminating (achieved after step 9b) the film (922) with a target (convex and concave portions at the top of substrate 100) that comprises a substrate (100) that carries at least a first patterned layer having at least an elevated section (convex portion) and a recessed section (concave portion), wherein the resin layer (910) faces the at least a first patterned layer of the target;
fully curing (step 4 using radiation 961) the resin layer (910) in at least a third lateral region (length of shaded region 912) that coincides with the at least an elevated section (convex portion); and
delaminating (step 5) the film (922) from the substrate (100), thus removing the film (922) and resin material thereon outside the at least a third lateral region from the target, and leaving the fully cured material of the resin layer (910) present in the at least a third lateral region on the target (Fig. 9 and English Text).
Regarding claim 17, claim 17 is the manufacturing apparatus needed to implement the method of claim 1 by applying a deposition device (10, Fig. 1), a controller (32, Fig. 38) and a light source (34, Fig. 38) and laminating/delaminating facilities (Figs. 2A-2C) as claimed (see IKEDA A (JP-2016157911-A).
Allowable Subject Matter
9. The following is a statement of reason for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Claims 2-16 and 18-20 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.
Cited Prior Arts
10. The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant’s disclosure.
KAIZUKA T (EP-3467551-A1) discloses a method of manufacturing a layered 3D product, the method comprising:
providing a film (11) carrying a resin layer (12) having a free surface at a side of the resin layer (12) facing away from the film (11), a first thickness portion of the resin layer (12) at a side facing the film (11) being a first sublayer, a second thickness portion of the resin layer (12) having the free surface of the resin layer (12) being a second sublayer, wherein the first sublayer is at least substantially cured in at least a first lateral region, and wherein the second sublayer is at least substantially uncured (Fig. 7 and English Text).
Conclusion
11. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Phuc T. Dang whose telephone number is 571-272-1776. The examiner can normally be reached on 8:00 am-5:00 pm.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner's supervisor, Jacob Choi can be reached on 469-295-9060. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/PHUC T DANG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2897