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/Restriction
Applicant’s election without traverse of Invention I (claims 1-9, 11-16, and 18) in the reply filed on 11/24/2025 is acknowledged.
Claims 10 and 17 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected Invention II, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 11/24/2025.
Specification
The specification is objected to as failing to provide proper antecedent basis for the claimed subject matter. See 37 CFR 1.75(d)(1) and MPEP § 608.01(o). Correction of the following is required:
Claims 9 and 16 recite the limitation “the light engine includes a plurality of light engines arranged along the X-axis” in lines 1-2, respectively. The Specification does not provide proper antecedent basis for the limitation. Although the limitation is recited in an originally filed claim, the limitation is not consistent with Instant Specification. Instant Specification discloses that “projector 22 includes multiple projectors 22 that are arranged along the Y-axis,” and “the lateral movement mechanism operates to sequentially position the carriage and the light engine at a series of X-stop positions” (Instant Specification: [0045-0046], [0006], fig. 5, as published in US 20250001675 A1). Thus, the recited limitation has a discrepancy compared to the corresponding portions of the Instant specification, and rather, the specification support “along the Y-axis.” Also, of note, the provisional application (i.e., 63/510,957 filed on 06/29/2023) potentially lacks 112(a) support for the limitation “along the X-axis” rather than “along Y-axis.”
Claims 11 and 18 recite the limitation “a controller programed to” perform functional operation(s) as recited in lines 24-25 and lines 21-32, respectively. The Specification does not provide proper antecedent basis for the limitation. Rather, the Specification discloses that “the controller is configured” to perform the functions (Instant Specification: [0006, 0025, 0039], as published). It is also noted that the provisional application (i.e., 63/510,957 filed on 06/29/2023) potentially lacks 112(a) support for the limitation “programmed to” rather than “configured to.”
Claim Objections
Claims 1, 7, 11, 15, and 18 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 1 should be corrected to “a/the lateral X-axis” (lines 11, 21, and 22, respectively).
Claim 7 should be corrected to “the 3D article” (line 4).
Claim 11 should be corrected to “a lateral movement mechanism configured to position the carriage and the projector together” (lines 21-22).
Claim 15 should be corrected to “the 3D article” (line 5) and “operate the lateral movement mechanism to position” (line 6).
Claim 18 should be corrected to “a/the lateral X-axis” (lines 10-11, 18, and 19, respectively), “an optical path closed by a transparent plate” (line 12), and “maintains” (line 31).
Appropriate correction is required.
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 16 and 18 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 16 recites the limitation “the light engine” in line 1. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Also, it is unclear whether the limitation means (1) a projector (claim 11 line 19), or (2) another new light engine. For the purpose of examination, either of these interpretations would read on the claim.
Claim 18 recites the limitation “the vertical movement mechanism” in line 20. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. For the purpose of examination, the limitation would be interpreted as “a vertical movement mechanism.”
Appropriate correction or clarification is required.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-9 and 11-15 would be allowed.
Claim 16 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Claim 18 would be allowable if rewritten or amended to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action.
Regarding claim 1, Korol (US 20210129439 A1) teaches a three-dimensional (3D) printing system (claim 1, fig. 1) configured to manufacture a 3D article comprising:
[a machine chassis] including a vessel support (support plate 4) and a gas pressure source (a gas pressure source 34) ([0019-0022], fig. 1);
a build vessel (a vessel wherein a photosensitive material 8 is contained) supported by the vessel support ([0020]; fig. 1), the build vessel including:
a vessel base having a central opening ([0020]: support plate 4 includes a structural plate 10 that defines a central opening 12; fig. 1);
a vessel wall extending upward from the vessel base ([0021]: a substructure 24; fig. 1); and
a transparent sheet closing the central opening of the vessel base ([0021]: a transparent sheet 26; fig. 1), the vessel wall and the transparent sheet cooperate to define a fluid reservoir for containing a photocurable fluid ([0020-0021]; fig. 1);
the vessel support or the vessel base including a carriage having a top surface and is configured to be positioned along a lateral X axis under the transparent sheet ([0020]: a transparent plate 14 including a transparent central portion 16; fig. 1; of note, here, the stationary transparent plate 14 meet the broadest reasonable limitation of “configure to be positioned along a lateral X-axis”), the carriage defining:
an optical path ([0020, 0028]: a light engine 52 is configured to illuminate the build plane 50 through the transparent plate 14; fig. 1); and
a fluid channel that at least partially surrounds the optical path ([0021]: a central chamber 32; fig. 1);
the gas pressure source coupled to the fluid channel, gas flowing from the gas pressure source and out of the fluid channel is configured to maintain a vertical spacing between the top surface of the carriage and the transparent sheet ([0021-0022]: the gas pressure source 34 coupled to the gas inlet 18 via a conduit 36 through the gas outlet 20);
a light engine configured to selectively transmit radiation through the optical path and to a build plane that is above the transparent sheet ([0028-0030]: a light engine 52; fig. 1); and
[a lateral movement mechanism configured to position the carriage and the light engine along the lateral X axis, the carriage and the light engine are configured to move together with respect to the lateral X axis].
Korol does not specifically teach the bracketed limitation(s) as presented above – i.e., (A) “a machine chassis,” (B) “a lateral movement mechanism configured to position the carriage and the light engine along the lateral X axis, the carriage and the light engine are configured to move together with respect to the lateral X axis.”
Regarding deficiency (A), Ji (CN 112497733 A) teaches a three-dimensional (3D) printing system (figs. 33-35) configured to manufacture a 3D article comprising a machine chassis (frames such as frame 91) including a vessel support (frames such as a vertical connecting column 38a and a horizontal connecting plate 38b) and a gas pressure source (a medium source device 62) ([0092-0093], figs. 33-35). However, Ji does not specifically teach the deficiency (B).
Regarding deficiency (B), Lawless (US 20220152917 A1) teaches an additive manufacturing device including a light source (abstract, claim 1). The device further includes a mask carrier configure to support a mask and is movable during operation in a plane parallel with a surface disposed at least partially in a bed within a vessel (abstract, claim 1, [0209-0211, 0214], figs. 48A-D). Here, although the mask is configured to move along the carrier 5730 to control relative orifice size of irradiation, Lawless does not specifically teach the carriage and the light source move together along the lateral X-axis as recited.
Childers (US 20200039142 A1) teaches a 3D printing system comprising a support scaffold 28 including at least one ridge 30 to support the lower surface 12 of the transparent sheet 8, and the scaffold 28 moves to different lateral positions to allow the light engine 22 to reach the entire build plane 26 ([0033], fig. 1). Here, although the scaffold 28 is movable, the scaffold does not move together with the light source.
Lobovsky (US 20190369566 A1) teaches an additive fabrication device including a force sensor configured to measure a force applied to a build platform during fabrication (abstract, claim 1, figs. 1A-1D). The device further includes an exposure module 109 is configured to move along axis 108 (as the X axis), such that roller elements 111 are in contact with the lower surface of the film 103, and the exposure module 109 comprises an exposure source 110 of actinic radiation 115 which selectively emits actinic radiation along its length (i.e., the axis running orthogonally to both axis 106 and 108 ([0038-0039, 0041-0042]; figs. 1A-1D).
Similarly, Beauchamp (US 20200324480 A1) teaches a 3D printing system comprising a lateral movement mechanism configured to position the carriage and the light engine along the lateral X axis, the carriage and the light engine are configured to move together with respect to the lateral X axis ([0025-0028]: carriage 22 holding imaging bar 18 including an array 40 of light emitting devices; fig. 2).
Here, Lobovsky or Beauchamp teaches that a carriage and a light engine are configured to move together along the X-axis. However, the carriage does not define the fluid channel nor is coupled to the gas pressure source through the fluid channel as recited in claim 1.
Although the references of record teach the recited elements individually, the combination of many prior art does not suggest combining because the combination would rely on impermissible hindsight as the carriage comprising the fluid channel of Korol is not configured to move along the X-axis as being integrated into the support plate 4 (Korol: fig. 1).
Thus, claim 1 would be allowed. Claims 11 and 18 would be allowed or allowable for the same reason as presented above. Claims 2-9 and 12-16 would be allowed or allowable as being dependent from claims 1 or 11.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Mueller (US 20190134899 A1) teaches a 3D printing device comprising a controllable pressure source for exerting a gas pressure over the lower surface of the transparent sheet and a controller configure to control the pressure source to vary the gas pressure to compensate for variations in a force exerted by the resin upon the upper surface of the transparent sheet (claim 1, fig. 1).
Poelma (US 20230078824 A1) teaches a 3D printing device comprising a light transmissive window 11 including a gas permeable member connected to a gas supply source (abstract, [0070, 0074], figs. 1, 2).
Lo (US 20230079547 A1) teaches a 3D printing apparatus comprising a fluid space between a first transparent plate and a second transparent plate disposed below the first plate (abstract, claim 1, fig. 1).
Goodrich (US 20240100778 A1) teaches control systems and methods for efficiently and effectively achieving and/or maintaining a parallel configuration between a build plate and a printing release surface of an additive manufacturing printer (abstract, fig. 2C, 3A).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to INJA SONG whose telephone number is (571)270-1605. The examiner can normally be reached Mon. - Fri. 8 AM - 5 PM.
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/INJA SONG/Examiner, Art Unit 1744