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 the Claims
Claims 1-2 are pending and are currently under examination.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
Claims 1-2 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Botinha et al. (WO 2020/187368 A1).
In regard to claim 1, Botinha et al. (WO ‘368) discloses nickel base alloys having compositions relative to of the instant invention as set forth below (abstract and page 6).
Element
Instant Claim
(mass percent)
Botinha et al. (WO ‘368)
(weight percent)
Overlap
Cr
15 – 25
17 – 21
17 – 21
Mo
0.10 – 12
greater than 0 – 9
0.10 – 9
Nb
3 – 7
1 – 5.7
3 – 5.7
Al
0.10 – 1.5
0.4 – 4.0
0.4 – 1.5
Ti
0.10 – 2.0
greater than 0 – 3
0.10 – 2.0
Si
0.01 – 0.40
0 – 0.35
0.01 – 0.35
C
0.001 – 0.15
0.001 – 0.045
0.001 – 0.045
B
0.0002 – 0.004
0.001 – 0.01
0.001 – 0.004
S
0 – 0.002
0 – 0.01
0 – 0.002
Element
Instant Claim
(mass percent)
Botinha et al. (WO ‘368)
(weight percent)
Overlap
W and/or Co
0 – 7
0 – 12 W + Co
0 – 7
Ni
40 – 70
50 – 55
50 – 55
Fe
Balance
Balance
Balance
The Examiner notes that the amounts of chromium, molybdenum, tungsten, niobium, tantalum, titanium, aluminum, cobalt, manganese, silicon, carbon, sulfur, boron, iron and nickel in the alloys disclosed by Botinha et al. (WO ‘368) overlap the amounts of the instant invention which is prima facie evidence of obviousness. MPEP 2144.05 I. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art prior to the filing of the instant invention to select the claimed amounts of chromium, molybdenum, tungsten, niobium, tantalum, titanium, aluminum, cobalt, manganese, silicon, carbon, sulfur, boron, iron and nickel from the amounts disclosed by Botinha et al. (WO ‘368) because Botinha et al. (WO ‘368) discloses the same utility throughout the disclosed ranges.
Botinha et al. (WO ‘368) discloses alloys such as one having 0.01 weight percent carbon, 20 weight percent chromium, 8 weight percent molybdenum, 5 weight percent tungsten, 2 weight percent cobalt, 4 weight percent niobium, 1 weight percent aluminum, 1 weight percent titanium, 0.004 weight percent boron and 0.001 weight percent sulfur, 50 weight percent nickel and 8.985 weight percent iron. A1 in this instance would be 216.6 and A2 in this instance would 180.1 which would read on the instant invention.
With respect to the recitation “additively manufactured article using the Ni-based alloy powder” in claim 2, Botinha et al. (WO ‘368) discloses wherein powders would be used in additive manufacturing (page 22).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Graybill, Benjamin, et al. "Additive manufacturing of nickel-based superalloys." International manufacturing science and engineering conference. Vol. 51357. American Society of Mechanical Engineers, 2018.
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/JESSEE R ROE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1759
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