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 .
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the “inerting powder being removed downstream of the application of the radiation after cooling of a melt pool produced by said application of the radiation, the laser beam being projected through the powder and focused on the material to be treated” must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
In claim 1, the limitation “wherein the material to be treated is coated with an inerting powder, the inerting powder being removed downstream of the application of the radiation after cooling of a melt pool produced by said application of the radiation, the laser beam being projected through the powder and focused on the material to be treated” is unclear how is the material coated with an inerting powder? Is it coated while applying the laser radiation or before applying the laser radiation? how is the inerting powder removed? is it removed by laser, suction, or any other process? Is it a removal of debris or is it a removal of the entire coating? None of the figures disclose a coating, so how is the laser beam projected through the powder and focused on the material to be treated? How is the melt pool cooled?
Claim 1 recites the limitation "the material" in line 4. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
In claim 2, the limitation “the method for forming metallic material” is unclear since there is no previous recitation of a method for forming metallic material in claim 1.
Claims 3-6 are rejected due to their dependency from claim 1.
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.
Claims 1-6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by von der Heydt et al. (US 2022/0193820).
Regarding claim 1, von der Heydt et al. teaches a method for welding two metal parts (1, 2) by fusion then cooling (abstract; para. 0055; 0073), comprising an application of laser radiation (by laser beam 6), and a progressive displacement of said laser radiation at the join between the two parts to be welded (as shown in Fig. 1 and 3), wherein the material to be treated is coated with an inerting powder (para. 0014; 0032-0033; 0069-0071; 0082), the inerting powder being removed downstream of the application of the radiation after cooling of a melt pool produced by said application of the radiation (by gas line 8), the laser beam being projected through the powder and focused on the material to be treated (as shown in Fig. 1 and 3), the parts being affixed previously with surface to be welded against surface to be welded (as shown in Fig. 1 and 3), the surfaces complementing one another (as shown in Fig. 1 and 3).
Regarding claim 2, von der Heydt et al. teaches the method for forming metallic material according to claim 1, wherein characterized in that the two metal parts are of the same composition (abstract; 0042; 0055).
Regarding claim 3, von der Heydt et al. teaches the method for forming metallic material according to claim 1, the material to be treated comprises a steel (abstract; 0042; 0055).
Regarding claim 4, von der Heydt et al. teaches the method for forming metallic material according to claim 1, being implemented with or without an inerting box containing an inerting gas to protect the melt pool (as shown in Fig. 1 and 3).
Regarding claim 5, von der Heydt et al. teaches the method for forming metallic material according to claim 1, wherein the laser beam is delivered by an Nd-YAG source (0072).
Regarding claim 6, von der Heydt et al. teaches the method for forming metallic material according to claim 1, wherein the powder is deposited in the form of a smoothed flux (para. 0032-0033; 0082).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Hanschmann (US 2015/0251274) is considered relevant art in the field of laser welding, as shown in Fig. 1-3, comprising an application of laser radiation (by laser beam 34), and a progressive displacement of said laser radiation at the join between the two parts (22, 24) to be welded (as shown in Fig. 3), wherein the material to be treated is coated with an inerting powder (30), the laser beam being projected through the powder and focused on the material to be treated (as shown in Fig. 3), the parts being affixed previously with surface to be welded against surface to be welded (as shown in Fig. 1-3), the surfaces complementing one another (as shown in Fig. 1-3)…but it fails to disclose wherein the inerting powder being removed downstream of the application of the radiation after cooling of a melt pool produced by said application of the radiation.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ALBA T ROSARIO-APONTE whose telephone number is (571)272-9325. The examiner can normally be reached M to F; 8am-5pm.
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/ALBA T ROSARIO-APONTE/Examiner, Art Unit 3761 09/15/2026
/ELIZABETH M KERR/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3761
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