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 .
The amendment filed July 23, 2025 has been entered.
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)(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 22-28 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Redding (US 2018/0250749).
Claim 22: Redding discloses a method of fabricating an object via additive fabrication, the additive fabrication including sintering a powder material (abstract). The method includes moving a material deposition mechanism over a fabrication bed including powder material and operating the material deposition mechanism to deposit additional powder material onto a first portion of the fabrication bed (¶¶ 52-53; figs. 4-5); and directing an energy source onto a second portion of the fabrication bed while the material deposition mechanism deposits the additional powder material onto the first portion of the fabrication bed (figs. 5-6; ¶¶ 52-54; recoater (405/605) and the irradiation emission directing device (303/401/601) are mounted at spatially distinct locations on the single moving build unit, and as the build unit traverses the bed the recoater deposits/levels fresh powder onto a first portion of the bed while the irradiation emission directing device simultaneously directs the energy beam onto a different, already-laid second portion of the bed.)
Claim 23: Redding discloses directing the energy source causes sintering of at least some powder material in the second portion of the fabrication bed (¶¶ 8, 49, 52-54).
Claims 24-25: Redding discloses recoater blade 411/511 that smooths/levels the deposited powder into a substantially even layer (¶¶ 52-53).
Claim 26: Redding discloses that the recoater (405/605) and the emission directing device (303/401/601) are both mounted to and carried by a single build unit 302/400/600 (figs. 3-6), which moves over the fabrication bed such that the material deposition mechanism and the energy source move over the fabrication bed via their coupling to the assembly (¶¶ 52-54).
Claim 27: Redding discloses that during the simultaneous deposit-and-irradiate operation, the recoater leads and the energy source trails (figs. 5-6; ¶¶ 52-54).
Claim 28: Redding discloses the assembly capable of rotating such that the material deposition mechanism moves over the fabrication bed followed by the energy source moving over the fabrication bed (¶¶ 47, 52-54).
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to the claims have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Conclusion
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 LARRY THROWER whose telephone number is (571)270-5517. The examiner can normally be reached 9am-5pm MT M-F.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Susan Leong can be reached at 571-270-1487. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/LARRY W THROWER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1754
Prosecution Insights