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 .
Status of Claims and Application
This non-final action on the merits is in response to the application for patent received by the office on 22 April 2024. Claims 1-20 are pending.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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) 1-5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Patent Application Publication US 2019/0381732 to Chen et al. (‘732 hereafter) in view of U.S. Patent 4,225,802 to Suzuki et al. (‘802 hereafter).
Regarding claim 1, ‘732 teaches a light-curing 3D printer, comprising: a base (Fig 4 item 414); a display panel, disposed on the base (Fig 4 item 415); a tank, disposed on the base and corresponding to the display panel, wherein the tank is configured to store a printing material (Fig 4 item 408); a printing main body, corresponding to the tank and the display panel and configured to perform 3D printing with the printing material in the tank (Fig 4 item 410); and a vibration detector, disposed in the base wherein the vibration detector is in contact with the display panel (paragraph 0045). ‘802 does not teach the particulars of the vibration sensor.
In the related art of machine vibration detection, ‘802 teaches and comprising a piezoelectric ceramic sheet and a vibration transmission plate (Fig 3 items 2 and 6), wherein the piezoelectric ceramic sheet is disposed on the vibration transmission plate, and the vibration transmission (Fig 3 items 2 and 6) for the benefit of detecting a vibrating condition in a machine. It would have been obvious to one possessed of ordinary skill at the time of effective filing to combine the teachings of ‘732 with those of ‘802 for the benefit of detecting vibrations in a stereolithographic apparatus.
Regarding claim 2, ‘732 does not teach the particulars of the vibration sensor. In the related art, ‘802 teaches the apparatus wherein the vibration transmission plate is provided with an accommodation hole, and the piezoelectric ceramic sheet is disposed in the accommodation hole (Fig 3 items 2 and 6) for the benefit of detecting a vibrating condition in a machine. It would have been obvious to one possessed of ordinary skill at the time of effective filing to combine the teachings of ‘732 with those of ‘802 for the benefit of detecting vibrations in a stereolithographic apparatus.
Regarding claim 3, ‘732 does not teach the particulars of the vibration sensor. In the related art, ‘802 teaches the apparatus wherein the vibration detector further comprises a seat, the seat is disposed in the base, the vibration transmission plate is disposed on the seat, and the piezoelectric ceramic sheet is located in the seat (Fig 3 items 1, 2 and 6) for the benefit of detecting a vibrating condition in a machine. It would have been obvious to one possessed of ordinary skill at the time of effective filing to combine the teachings of ‘732 with those of ‘802 for the benefit of detecting vibrations in a stereolithographic apparatus.
Regarding claim 4, ‘732 does not teach the particulars of the vibration sensor. In the related art, ‘802 teaches the apparatus wherein the vibration detector further comprises a spring, the spring is disposed between and in contact with the seat and the vibration transmission plate (Fig 3 items 7 and 8) for the benefit of detecting a vibrating condition in a machine. It would have been obvious to one possessed of ordinary skill at the time of effective filing to combine the teachings of ‘732 with those of ‘802 for the benefit of detecting vibrations in a stereolithographic apparatus.
Regarding claim 5, ‘732 does not teach the particulars of the vibration sensor. In the related art, ‘802 teaches the apparatus
wherein the seat is provided with a first positioning pillar, the vibration transmission plate is provided with a second positioning pillar, and two opposite ends of the spring are respectively sleeved on the first positioning pillar and the second positioning pillar (Fig 3 items 1 7 and 8) for the benefit of detecting a vibrating condition in a machine. It would have been obvious to one possessed of ordinary skill at the time of effective filing to combine the teachings of ‘732 with those of ‘802 for the benefit of detecting vibrations in a stereolithographic apparatus.
Claim(s) 6 and 12-15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over ‘732 in view of ‘802 as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of CN 216658929 U to Chen et al. (‘929 hereafter).
Regarding claim 6, ‘732 in view of does not teach a feeding mechanism. In the same field of endeavor as ‘732 and the instant application, stereolithography, ‘929 teaches the light-curing 3D printer comprising at least one feeding mechanism configured to feed the printing material into the tank, a conveyor mechanism and a control mechanism, wherein the at least one feeding mechanism comprises a bottle (Fig 1 item 1), a pump assembly (Fig 1 item ), a first communication pipe (Fig 1 item 6) and a second communication pipe (Fig 2 item 3), the bottle stores the printing material, an input end of the pump assembly is connected to the bottle via the first communication pipe, the conveyor mechanism comprises a conveying main body and a first detecting assembly, the conveying main body is provided with at least one inlet and an outlet, the at least one inlet is connected to an output end of the pump assembly via the second communication pipe (Fig 1 items 3 and 6), the first detecting assembly is configured to detect a liquid level of the printing material in the tank, the outlet communicates with the tank, the control mechanism is electrically connected to the printing main body, the at least one feeding mechanism and the conveyor mechanism, the control mechanism is configured to drive the pump assembly to extract the printing material in the bottle into the tank according to the liquid level of the printing material in the tank when the printing main body is in a printing state, and the control mechanism is configured to drive the pump assembly to extract the printing material in the tank into the bottle according to the liquid level of the printing material in the tank after the printing main body ends the printing state (Fig 2 item 412) for the benefit of preserving resin materials. It would have been obvious to one possessed of ordinary skill at the time of effective filing to combine the teaching of ‘732 in view of ‘802 with those of ‘929 for the benefit of preserving the unused resin.
Regarding claim 12, ‘732 in view of ‘802 does not teach the particulars of the level detector, in the same field of endeavor, ‘929 teaches the light-curing 3D printer wherein the first detecting assembly comprises a first liquid level detector, a second liquid level detector and a third liquid level detector, the first liquid level detector, the second liquid level detector and the third liquid level detector stick into the tank for detecting whether the liquid level of the printing material in the tank reaches a tank highest liquid level, a tank middle liquid level, and a tank lowest liquid level (Fig 2 item 412 is a multi-element capacitive sensor which can detect the level of resin in the tank at multiple points) for the benefit of preserving resin materials. It would have been obvious to one possessed of ordinary skill at the time of effective filing to combine the teaching of ‘732 in view of ‘802 with those of ‘929 for the benefit of preserving the unused resin.
Regarding claim 13, ‘732 in view of ‘802 does not teach the particulars of the feed system. In the same field of endeavor, ‘929 teaches the light-curing 3D printer wherein during the printing state of the printing main body, when the liquid level of the printing material in the tank reaches the tank middle liquid level, the control mechanism drives the pump assembly to extract the printing material in the bottle into the tank; when the liquid level of the printing material in the tank reaches the tank highest liquid level, the control mechanism stops the pump assembly (Fig 2 items 412, 8, 2, 5) insofar as these limitations are recitations of intended use of a claimed apparatus and the prior art apparatus is structurally capable of being used in this manner. Applicant is reminded that the manner of operating an apparatus does not distinguish a claimed apparatus from the prior art (See MPEP 2114 (II) for more information). It would have been obvious to one possessed of ordinary skill at the time of effective filing to combine the teaching of ‘732 in view of ‘802 with those of ‘929 for the benefit of preserving the unused resin.
Regarding claim 14, ‘732 in view of ‘802 does not teach the particulars of the feed system. In the same field of endeavor, ‘929 teaches the light-curing 3D printer wherein the at least one feeding mechanism further comprises a second detecting assembly, the second detecting assembly comprises a fourth liquid level detector and a fifth liquid level detector for detecting whether a liquid level of the printing material in the bottle reaches a bottle lowest liquid level and a bottle highest liquid level (Fig 2 item 412 is a multi-element capacitive sensor which can detect the level of resin in the tank at multiple points) for the benefit of preserving resin materials. It would have been obvious to one possessed of ordinary skill at the time of effective filing to combine the teaching of ‘732 in view of ‘802 with those of ‘929 for the benefit of preserving the unused resin.
Regarding claim 15, ‘732 in view of ‘802 does not teach the particulars of the feed system. In the same field of endeavor, ‘929 teaches the light-curing 3D printer wherein the bottle comprises a body portion, a cap portion and a discharging pipe, the cap portion is disposed at an opening of the body portion, the cap portion is provided with a through hole and a vent hole, the discharging pipe is a hollow structure with two openings at two opposite ends thereof, the discharging pipe is disposed through the through hole, seals the through hole and extends into the body portion, and one end of the discharging pipe located outside the body portion is connected to the input end of the pump assembly via the first communication pipe (Fig 2 items 1, 111, 11, 2, and 5) for the benefit of preserving resin materials. It would have been obvious to one possessed of ordinary skill at the time of effective filing to combine the teaching of ‘732 in view of ‘802 with those of ‘929 for the benefit of preserving the unused resin.
Claim(s) 7-11 are is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over ‘732 in view of ‘802 in view of ‘929 as applied to claim 6 above, and further in view of CN111168995A to Xia et al. (‘995 hereafter).
Regarding claim 7, ‘732 in view of ‘802 in view of ‘929 does not teach a multi-bottle material feed system. In the same field of endeavor as ‘732, ‘929 and the instant application, stereolithography, ‘995 teaches the light-curing 3D printer wherein the at least one feeding mechanism comprises a plurality of feeding mechanisms, the at least one inlet of the conveying main body comprises a plurality of inlets, the plurality of inlets are respectively connected to the output ends of the pump assemblies via the second communication pipes (Fig 1 items 61 and 64) for the benefit of additively manufacturing with multiple materials. It would have been obvious to one possessed of ordinary skill in the art at the time of effective filing to combine the teachings of ‘732 in view of ‘802 in view of ‘929 with those of ‘995 for the benefit of printing with a plurality of materials.
Regarding claim 8, ‘732 in view of ‘802 in view of ‘929 in view of ‘995 teaches the light-curing 3D printer wherein when the printing main body is in the printing state, the control mechanism drives the pump assemblies to extract the printing material in the bottles of the plurality of feeding mechanisms one by one into the tank according to the liquid level of the printing material in the tank until the liquid level of the printing material in the tank reaches a tank highest liquid level insofar as these limitations are recitations of intended use of a claimed apparatus and the prior art apparatus is structurally capable of being used in this manner. Applicant is reminded that the manner of operating an apparatus does not distinguish a claimed apparatus from the prior art (See MPEP 2114 (II) for more information). It would have been obvious to one possessed of ordinary skill in the art at the time of effective filing to combine the teachings of ‘732 in view of ‘802 in view of ‘929 with those of ‘995 for the benefit of printing with a plurality of materials.
Regarding claim 9, ‘732 in view of ‘802 in view of ‘929 does not teach multi-material feeding. In the same field of endeavor, ‘995 teaches the light-curing 3D printer wherein the plurality of feeding mechanisms are respectively provided with equipment numbers which have an order according to an arrangement order of the plurality of feeding mechanisms, the control mechanism drives the pump assemblies to extract the printing material in the bottles of the plurality of feeding mechanisms into the tank one by one in an increasing order of the equipment numbers of the plurality of feeding mechanisms according to the liquid level of the printing material in the tank (Fig 1 items 61 A-D) for the benefit of additively manufacturing with multiple materials. It would have been obvious to one possessed of ordinary skill in the art at the time of effective filing to combine the teachings of ‘732 in view of ‘802 in view of ‘929 with those of ‘995 for the benefit of printing with a plurality of materials.
Regarding claim 10, ‘732 in view of ‘802 in view of ‘929 in view of ‘995 teaches the light-curing 3D printer wherein after the printing main body ends the printing state, the control mechanism drives the pump assemblies to extract the printing material in the tank into the bottles of the plurality of feeding mechanisms one by one according to the liquid level of the printing material in the tank until the liquid level of the printing material in the tank reaches a tank lowest liquid level insofar as these limitations are recitations of intended use of a claimed apparatus and the prior art apparatus is structurally capable of being used in this manner. Applicant is reminded that the manner of operating an apparatus does not distinguish a claimed apparatus from the prior art (See MPEP 2114 (II) for more information). It would have been obvious to one possessed of ordinary skill in the art at the time of effective filing to combine the teachings of ‘732 in view of ‘802 in view of ‘929 with those of ‘995 for the benefit of printing with a plurality of materials.
Regarding claim 11, ‘732 in view of ‘802 in view of ‘929 in view of ‘995 teaches the light-curing 3D printer wherein the plurality of feeding mechanisms are respectively provided with equipment numbers which have an order according to an arrangement order of the plurality of feeding mechanisms, the control mechanism drives the pump assemblies to extract the printing material in the tank into the bottles of the plurality of feeding mechanisms one by one in a decreasing order of the equipment numbers of the plurality of feeding mechanisms according to the liquid level of the printing material in the tank insofar as these limitations are recitations of intended use of a claimed apparatus and the prior art apparatus is structurally capable of being used in this manner. Applicant is reminded that the manner of operating an apparatus does not distinguish a claimed apparatus from the prior art (See MPEP 2114 (II) for more information). It would have been obvious to one possessed of ordinary skill in the art at the time of effective filing to combine the teachings of ‘732 in view of ‘802 in view of ‘929 with those of ‘995 for the benefit of printing with a plurality of materials.
Claim(s) 16-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over ‘732 in view of ‘802 as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of U.S. Patent 4,456,042 to Clark et al. (‘042 hereafter).
Regarding claim 16, ‘732 in view of ‘802 does not teach the particulars of the lifting system. In the related art of tool height setting, ‘042 teaches the apparatus comprising a guiding mechanism and an adjustment assembly, wherein the guiding mechanism comprises a screw rod and a guide rail, the screw rod is disposed on the base and is connected to a ball nut via screw threads, the ball nut and the guide rail are connected to an arm of the printing main body; when the screw rod is driven, the ball nut moves the arm along the guide rail (Fig 3 items 68, ’78, 82); the adjustment assembly is flexibly connected to the arm and the ball nut for eliminating a lateral force produced when the screw rod and the guide rail are non-parallel to each other (Fig 3 item 88) for the benefit of adjusting to minor misalignments of the elements. It would have been obvious to one possessed of ordinary skill in the art at the time of effective filing to combine the teachings of ‘732 in view of ‘802 with those of ‘042 for the benefit of adjusting to minor misalignments in the stereolithographic lift system.
Regarding claim ’17, ‘723 in view of ‘802 does not teach the claimed lift system assembly. In the related art, ‘042 teaches the apparatus wherein the adjustment assembly comprises a first metal sheet, a flexible component and a second metal sheet, the first metal sheet is connected to the second metal sheet via the flexible component, the first metal sheet is connected to the screw rod via screw threads, and the second metal sheet is connected to the arm via screw threads (Fig 3 items 88, 90 and 92) for the benefit of adjusting to minor misalignments of the elements. It would have been obvious to one possessed of ordinary skill in the art at the time of effective filing to combine the teachings of ‘732 in view of ‘802 with those of ‘042 for the benefit of adjusting to minor misalignments in the stereolithographic lift system.
Regarding claim 18, ‘732 in view of ‘802 does not teach the particulars of the guiding mechanism. In the related art, ‘042 teaches the apparatus wherein the guiding mechanism comprises a stand, the stand is provided with a step portion, a first side surface of the step portion is disposed vertically, and the guide rail is in contact with the first side surface and removably connected to the stand (Fig 3 items 82, 44, 124 and 68) for the benefit of adjusting to minor misalignments of the elements. It would have been obvious to one possessed of ordinary skill in the art at the time of effective filing to combine the teachings of ‘732 in view of ‘802 with those of ‘042 for the benefit of adjusting to minor misalignments in the stereolithographic lift system.
Regarding claim 19, ‘732 in view of ‘802 does not teach the particulars of the guiding mechanism. In the related art, ‘042 teaches the apparatus wherein the guiding mechanism further comprises a slidable component, and the slidable component is disposed on the guide rail and connected to the arm (Fig 5 item 110) for the benefit of adjusting to minor misalignments of the elements. It would have been obvious to one possessed of ordinary skill in the art at the time of effective filing to combine the teachings of ‘732 in view of ‘802 with those of ‘042 for the benefit of adjusting to minor misalignments in the stereolithographic lift system.
Regarding claim 20, ‘732 in view of ‘802 does not teach the particulars of the guiding mechanism. In the related art, ‘042 teaches the apparatus wherein the guiding mechanism further comprises a driving component, and the driving component is connected to the screw rod for rotating the screw rod (Fig 9A item 80) for the benefit of adjusting to minor misalignments of the elements. It would have been obvious to one possessed of ordinary skill in the art at the time of effective filing to combine the teachings of ‘732 in view of ‘802 with those of ‘042 for the benefit of adjusting to minor misalignments in the stereolithographic lift system.
Conclusion
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/JPR/Examiner, Art Unit 1743
/GALEN H HAUTH/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1743