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 with traverse of Group I in the reply filed on 08/05/2026 is acknowledged. The traversal is on the ground(s) that when searching and examining the claims of Group I, the Examiner would encounter the subject matter of Group II and vice versa, thus a separate search would not be required. This is not found persuasive because Groups I and II are directed to different statutory categories of invention (an apparatus and a method respectively), which are held to different standards with respect to how claims are interpreted and what features must be present in the prior art to anticipate or render obvious a limitation in the claims. See e.g. MPEP § 2114 and 2115. Further, the actual limitations of claims 1 and 5 differ in their metes and bounds, claim 1 requires a control unit which is not disclosed in claim 5, while claim 5 requires steps which do not carry patentable weight in considering patentability for apparatus claim 1.
The requirement is still deemed proper and is therefore made FINAL.
Claims 5-6 withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b), as being drawn to a nonelected Group II, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Applicant timely traversed the restriction (election) requirement in the reply filed on 08/05/2026.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
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 1-4 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.
Claim 1 recites the limitation "based on the post-melting-of-preceding-layer backscattered electron signal, sets a condition for controlling the beam irradiation device" in lines 19-21. The limitation is indefinite as claim 1 does not disclose which component or phenomenon is based on the signal or sets the condition.
Claim 2 recites the limitation "based on the pre-melting backscattered electron signal and the post-melting-of-preceding-layer backscattered electron signal, sets an amount of the powder material to be supplied" in lines 9-11. The limitation is indefinite as claim 2 does disclose which component or phenomenon is based on the signals or sets the amount of powder to be supplied.
Claim 3 recites the limitation "on the basis of the pre-melting backscattered electron signal and the post-melting-of-preceding-layer backscattered electron signal" in lines 3-5. The limitation is indefinite as the claim does not specify how the image processing unit actually generates the backscattered electron images on the “basis” of the signals (e.g., the signals are used as a reference to generate the images; the images are generated based on, but not directly using, the signals; or the signals are merely used to generate the images).
Claims dependent upon claims rejected above, either directly or indirectly, are likewise rejected under this statute.
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)(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.
(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.
Claim(s) 1-4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kitamura et al. (US 20210154741 A1, cited in IDS filed 12/11/2024).
Regarding claim 1, Kitamura teaches a three-dimensional powder bed fusion additive manufacturing (PBF-AM) apparatus (Abstract, [0002, 0023]), comprising a base plate 10 to which metal powder is supplied (i.e. a build plate) [0035, 0038-0039]. Kitamura teaches hoppers 11 with dispensers 12 (i.e., a powder supply device) configured to supply a powder material to the build plate to form a powder layer [0031-0032], an electron gun 2 which irradiates a preliminary sintered body 22 on the build plate 10 (i.e., a beam irradiation device configured to irradiate the powder layer with an electron beam) [0055-0056, 0062-0063]. Kitamura teaches detectors 16A and 16B (i.e., a detection unit) [0036] which are configured to detect backscattered electrons generated when the electron beam is applied to the powder material [0039-0041], and a shaping control device 60 (i.e., a control unit) [0046-0047] comprising an electron gun control unit 67 configured to control the beam irradiation device [0063]. Kitamura teaches wherein after melting, electron gun control unit 67 controls electron gun 2 to scan the shaping surface to generate backscattered electrons [0072-0073, 0075] (i.e., wherein the control unit acquires a post-melting-of-preceding-layer backscattered electron signal that is a backscattered electron signal), where the electrons are detected by the detection unit 16A/16B after the powder material was melted by the electron beam in a step of building a layer preceding a current layer [0072-0073, 0075]. Kitamura teaches the control unit comprises a CPU 64 [0075], which determines irregularities based a backscattered electron image [0075-0077] and when irregularities are present, the main melting step is performed again (i.e., based on the post-melting-of-preceding-layer backscattered electron signal, sets a condition for controlling the beam irradiation device in a melting step) [0077]. As the remelting would be a current step relative to the previous step or originally melting the layer, Kitamura teaches a step of building the current layer as claimed.
Regarding claim 2, Kitamura teaches wherein the control unit 60 controls the powder supply control unit 66 (i.e., a powder supply drive control unit). Kitamura teaches acquiring a pre-melting backscattered electron signal that is a backscattered electron signal detected by the detection unit 16 [0064-0071] in a period after the powder material is spread by the powder supply device 11/12 [0057-0059] and before the powder material is melted by the electron beam [0072-0073]. Kitamura teaches based on the pre-melting backscattered electron signal and backscattered electron image acquired in the shaping surface checking step (i.e., the post-melting-of-preceding-layer backscattered electron signal) determining whether abnormalities exist in the powder bed [0070, 0074-0079], and then fixing the abnormalities by supplying additional powder material [0068], which would comprise a “following layer” (i.e., sets an amount of the powder material to be supplied from the powder supply device in a step of building a following layer).
Regarding claim 3, Kitamura teaches wherein the control unit comprises a CPU (analogous to an image processing unit) which acquires backscattered electron intensity signals [0040, 0065, 0075], and generates backscattered electron images on the basis of the premelting backscattered electron signal and the post-melting-of preceding-layer backscattered electron signal [0065, 0070, 0075].
Regarding claim 4, Kitamura teaches wherein a plurality of detection units 16A and 16 B are provided [0036]. Kitamura teaches the control unit calculates A-B or (A-B)/(A+B) (i.e., performs arithmetic processing) on a plurality of backscattered electron signals A and B detected by a plurality of detection units [0040-0041].
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Nikolas T Pullen whose telephone number is (571)272-1995. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Thursday: 10:00 AM - 6:00 PM EST.
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/Keith D. Hendricks/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1733
/NIKOLAS TAKUYA PULLEN/Examiner, Art Unit 1733
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