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 .
DETAILED ACTION
2. This action is responsive to the Application filed on 7/8/2024. A filing date 7/8/2024 is acknowledged. The sought benefit of EP application 23184014.1 (which was filed on 7/6/2023) is acknowledged. Claims 1-16 are pending in this application. Claims 1, 11, 14 and 16 are independent claims.
Claim Objections
3. Claim 1 is objected to because of the following informalities: AM is a term and needs to be spelled out in full. Appropriate correction is required.
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 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 of this title, 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 set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied 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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
4. Claims 1-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over George Hudelson et al (US Publication 20220032377 A1, hereinafter Hudelson), and in view of Neli Goldfine et al (US Publication 20230152278 A1, hereinafter Goldfine), and Benyamin Buller et al (US Publication 20230390826 A1, hereinafter Buller).
As for independent claim 1, Hudelson discloses: A method for manufacturing, monitoring and classifying an AM metal part manufactured by a powder-bed additive manufacturing machine (Abstract, Systems and methods are disclosed for forming a three-dimensional object using additive manufacturing. One method includes depositing a first amount of powder material onto a powder print bed of a printing system, spreading the first amount of powder material across the powder print bed to form a first layer, measuring a density of powder material within the powder print bed, and adjusting a parameter of the printing system based on the measured density of the powder material within the powder print bed) comprising a build plate ([0028], a build plate), a recoater and at least one electromagnetic sensor mounted on said recoater ([0059], sensors designed in a geometry that may be electromagnetically modeled may be used, and the sensor response may be modeled to simultaneously solve for both lift-off and the magnetic permeability of the powder), the method comprising the steps of: i) spreading a powder layer over the build plate with the recoater and manufacturing a layer of the AM part by selectively illuminating the powder layer to obtain a consolidated layer ([0067], the powder material may tend to consolidate when the binder material 132′ is dispensed on the powder bed), ii) driving the electromagnetic sensor using at least one predefined interrogating frequency, sensing one or more sub-parts of said consolidated layer and storing a measurement of both the in-phase and the out-of-phase electric signals for each of said one or more sub-parts ([0055], The sensor may include a drive loop that is driven at frequencies typically in the range of 50 kHz-10 MHz, and the drive loop may produce a magnetic field; [0067], the powder material may tend to consolidate when the binder material 132′ is dispensed on the powder bed 124, 124′, it may be beneficial to measure the density of the printed object 134, 134′ (i.e., where the binder material 132′ has been dispensed in the powder bed 124, 124′) instead of, or in addition to, the density of the powder in the powder bed); iii) lowering the build plate and repeating steps i) and ii) for building and sensing one or more additional consolidated layers ([0036], build box subsystem 108 may comprise a build box actuator mechanism 138 that lowers powder bed 124 incrementally as each layer of powder is distributed across powder bed); iv) transforming measurements acquired under step ii) into lift off values and frequency values respectively using lift off calibration values and frequency calibration values acquired during a calibration procedure ([0057], a calibration may make use of a correction factor calculated by using the printing system to fabricate an article which can be measured after the printing and depowdering process, compared with the measured magnetic permeability during the printing process, and a correction factor or transfer function derived. In another embodiment, powder from a batch to be used in the printing system may be prepared for a calibration measurement; [0059], a laser displacement sensor, may be used to determine the lift-off of the sensor from the powder surface. The lift-off determined in this manner may be used in conjunction with the measured inductance to calculate or estimate a density of a powder bed; [0060], single point rosette-style sensors may be used for spot measurements of the powder, and may be scanned across an area to produce permeability and lift-off maps); v) calculating a first statistical value based on said lift off values and a second statistical value based on said frequency values ([0068], the rules used for Statistical Process Control may be more complex than comparing a measured density to a predetermined target density, and may include detection of trends (for example, decreasing density over a period of time), detection of variability (for example, an increased range or standard deviation of density measurements within a layer or from layer to layer), or other trends, patterns, or statistical inferences from the collected data), and vi) [classifying the quality of the built AM part as acceptable or not acceptable] by comparing said first statistical value with a first threshold and said second statistical value with a second threshold, wherein said first threshold is a percentage of the downward steps of the build plate ([0070], The detected height of the pile 125 may be compared to a predetermined threshold, and the powder metering rate may be adjusted if the detected height of the pile 125 falls below or exceeds the predetermined threshold, plus or minus an acceptable amount of deviation).
Hudelson does not clearly disclose measuring frequency values, in an analogous art of measurement and feedback of additive manufacturing, Goldfine discloses: frequency values (Goldfine: [0039], convert multiple frequency data into more than one property estimate for the material; [0052], the sensing elements are inductive elements with a rectangular form with the response measured at each rectangular shaped sense element at at least one prescribed frequency and the drive is driven with a current at this same frequency to determine the impedance response for each sense element);
Hudelson and Goldfine are analogous arts because they are in the same field of endeavor, measurement and feedback of additive manufacturing. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the invention of Hudelson using the teachings of Goldfine to include using one prescribed frequency to determine the impedance response for each sense element. It would provide Hudelson’s method with enhanced capabilities of measuring and adjusting parameters in additive manufacturing with more accuracy.
Further, Hudelson does not clearly disclose classifying the quality of the part, in another analogous art of measurement and feedback of additive manufacturing, Buller discloses: classifying the quality of the built AM part as acceptable or not acceptable (Buller: [0048], Fixed can be within an acceptable range (e.g., within an error of about and millisecond to an error of about a tenth of a millisecond);
Hudelson and Buller are analogous arts because they are in the same field of endeavor, measurement and feedback of additive manufacturing. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the invention of Hudelson using the teachings of Buller to include using an acceptable range. It would provide Hudelson’s method with enhanced capabilities of providing an integrated and adaptive control scheme of a plurality control variables.
As for claim 2, Hudelson-Goldfine-Buller discloses: wherein said statistical value is the standard deviation of the lift off values and wherein said percentage is within a range from 0 to 30% of the downward steps of the build plate (Hudelson: [0068], increased range or standard deviation of density measurements within a layer or from layer to layer).
As for claim 3, Hudelson-Goldfine-Buller discloses: said statistical value is a mean value of the consolidated layers thickness that is computed using the lift off values and wherein said percentage is within a range from 90% to 110% of the downward steps of the build plate (Buller: [0130], A blending of setpoint values may comprise: an averaging (e.g., mean), weighted averaging, linear interpolation, polynomial interpolation, spline interpolation, or normalization of the first and second setpoint values).
As for claim 4, Hudelson-Goldfine-Buller discloses: wherein the measurements acquired under step ii) are transformed under step iv) into said lift off values and frequency values using interpolation coefficients of said at least one electromagnetic sensor obtained by the calibration procedure (Buller: [0130], A blending of setpoint values may comprise: an averaging (e.g., mean), weighted averaging, linear interpolation, polynomial interpolation, spline interpolation, or normalization of the first and second setpoint values; [0131], The transforming agent power setpoint may comprise a coefficient that modifies the velocity deviation, e.g., P.sub.a=(g*v.sub.d)*P.sub.n. The coefficient may comprise a relationship (e.g., equation or inequality). For example, the coefficient may comprise a polynomial of order 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, or 9).
As for claim 5, Hudelson-Goldfine-Buller discloses: said interpolation coefficients are obtained by executing a 2D interpolation algorithm on both the in-phase and of out-of-phase electric signals measured on a calibration sample for two or more selected frequencies, preferably at least five selected frequencies, for each of at least two lift off positions, preferably at least five lift off positions, wherein said calibration sample is of a predefined quality, for example of a known porosity, and is made of the same material as the material of the AM part to be manufactured (Buller: [0130], A blending of setpoint values may comprise: an averaging (e.g., mean), weighted averaging, linear interpolation, polynomial interpolation, spline interpolation, or normalization of the first and second setpoint values; [0131], The transforming agent power setpoint may comprise a coefficient that modifies the velocity deviation, e.g., P.sub.a=(g*v.sub.d)*P.sub.n. The coefficient may comprise a relationship (e.g., equation or inequality). For example, the coefficient may comprise a polynomial of order 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, or 9).
As for claim 6, Hudelson-Goldfine-Buller discloses: wherein said predefined interrogating frequency is between 1 kHz and 10 MHz and said two or more selected frequencies are set within the range from 80% to 120% (Hudelson: [0055], The sensor may include a drive loop that is driven at frequencies typically in the range of 50 kHz-10 MHz, and the drive loop may produce a magnetic field).
As for claim 7, Hudelson-Goldfine-Buller discloses: wherein said two or more selected frequencies are set within the range from 90% to 110% of the predefined interrogating frequency (Hudelson: [0055], The sensor may include a drive loop that is driven at frequencies typically in the range of 50 kHz-10 MHz, and the drive loop may produce a magnetic field).
As for claim 8, Hudelson-Goldfine-Buller discloses: wherein said second statistical value is the standard deviation of the frequency values acquired under step iv) for at least one sub-part of each of a plurality of consolidated layers, and wherein said second threshold is a standard deviation value above which the quality of the AM part is classified as not acceptable (Buller: [0048], Fixed can be within an acceptable range (e.g., within an error of about and millisecond to an error of about a tenth of a millisecond).
As for claim 9, Hudelson-Goldfine-Buller discloses: wherein said second statistical value is the mean value of frequency values acquired under step iv) for at least one sub-part of each of a plurality of consolidated layers, and wherein said second threshold to classify the AM part as acceptable is a percentage range of the calibration frequency value measured on a calibration sample during the calibration procedure, for example between 90% and 99.9% of said calibration frequency value (Hudelson: [0057], calibrate the density measurement apparatus for the magnetic permeability of a particular batch of metal powder. In one embodiment, a calibration may make use of a correction factor calculated by using the printing system to fabricate an article which can be measured after the printing and depowdering process, compared with the measured magnetic permeability during the printing process, and a correction factor or transfer function derived. In another embodiment, powder from a batch to be used in the printing system may be prepared for a calibration measurement).
As for claim 10, Hudelson-Goldfine-Buller discloses: wherein said second statistical value is correlated to a given density, the AM part above said given density being classified as an acceptable part (Hudelson: Abstract, measuring a density of powder material within the powder print bed, and adjusting a parameter of the printing system based on the measured density of the powder material within the powder print bed).
As for independent claim 11, Hudelson discloses: 11. A method of manufacturing a first consolidated layer of an AM part or of a machined part on top of which a structure will be additively manufactured, wherein said first consolidated layer is manufactured by a powder-bed additive manufacturing machine (Abstract, Systems and methods are disclosed for forming a three-dimensional object using additive manufacturing. One method includes depositing a first amount of powder material onto a powder print bed of a printing system, spreading the first amount of powder material across the powder print bed to form a first layer, measuring a density of powder material within the powder print bed, and adjusting a parameter of the printing system based on the measured density of the powder material within the powder print bed) comprising a build plate ([0028], a build plate), a recoater and at least one electromagnetic sensor ([0059], sensors designed in a geometry that may be electromagnetically modeled may be used, and the sensor response may be modeled to simultaneously solve for both lift-off and the magnetic permeability of the powder) and a distance measurement sensor mounted on said recoater at predefined positions ([0051], a distance between the magnet and the powder, or a distance from the magnet 204 to the base plate 202 (if it is conductive); [0052], a distance between a sensor and the powder, or a distance to the base plate 202; [0059], The sensors may be constructed with sensing elements at two different distances from the drive winding, enabling these two unknowns to be solved simultaneously), the method comprising the steps of: i) spreading with the recoater an initial powder layer over the build plate and/or on the machined part placed on the built plate ([0067], the powder material may tend to consolidate when the binder material 132′ is dispensed on the powder bed); ii) driving the electromagnetic sensor to measure a first distance between one or more sub-parts of the built plate or of the machine part and a first reference point associated with the location of the electromagnetic sensor ([0051], a distance between the magnet and the powder, or a distance from the magnet 204 to the base plate 202 (if it is conductive); [0052], a distance between a sensor and the powder, or a distance to the base plate 202; [0059], The sensors may be constructed with sensing elements at two different distances from the drive winding, enabling these two unknowns to be solved simultaneously); iii) driving the distance measurement sensor to measure a second distance between the top of the initial powder layer at same location of said one or more sub-parts and a second reference point associated with the location of the distance measurement sensor ([0051], a distance between the magnet and the powder, or a distance from the magnet 204 to the base plate 202 (if it is conductive); [0052], a distance between a sensor and the powder, or a distance to the base plate 202; [0059], The sensors may be constructed with sensing elements at two different distances from the drive winding, enabling these two unknowns to be solved simultaneously);
Hudelson does not clearly disclose determining the powder lay thickness, in an analogous art of measurement and feedback of additive manufacturing, Goldfine discloses: iv) determining the powder layer thickness at the location of said one or more sub-parts based on said first and second distances … v) determining whether the powder layer thickness is below a lower powder layer thickness threshold or above an upper powder layer thickness threshold at the location of said one or more sub-parts, and vi) selectively illuminating said initial power layer if the powder layer thickness at the location of said one or more sub-part is within the range delimited by the lower and upper layer thickness thresholds (Goldfine: [0091], geometric properties (e.g., thickness, sensor lift-off); [0131], a measure of the variation in these properties with depth within the latest layer, and a measure of the metallurgical bond quality between layers (using a model based multivariate inverse method, MIM, that includes a representation of the metallurgical bond layer as an additional thin layer within the model, represented by a conductivity-thickness product with an assumed bond layer thickness));
Hudelson and Goldfine are analogous arts because they are in the same field of endeavor, measurement and feedback of additive manufacturing. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the invention of Hudelson using the teachings of Goldfine to include determining layer thickness. It would provide Hudelson’s method with enhanced capabilities of measuring and adjusting parameters in additive manufacturing with more accuracy.
Further, Hudelson discloses compensating variances in density measurement ([0072]) but does not clearly disclose compensating an offset along the z-direction between sensors, in another analogous art of measurement and feedback of additive manufacturing, Buller discloses: wherein the acquisition of measurements by both electromagnetic and distance measurement sensors are timely synchronized to compensate an offset between the position of the both sensors along the moving direction of the recoater and an offset along the z-direction between said sensors (Buller: [0128], a motion (e.g., of an x-axis, y-axis, and/or z-axis) of a transforming agent may comprise a zero (e.g. unchanging) setpoint value during a full stop command join; [0131], a compensation to at least one control variable may be made considering an analysis that considers the vectoring velocity (e.g., v.sub.a) and the nominal vectoring velocity (e.g., v.sub.n). The analysis may comprise comparing, correlating, matching, equating, or balancing; [0133], a fusion command join controls (e.g., maintains) a requested value of a transforming agent intensity, while modifying (e.g., compensating) a position and/or motion of the transforming agent, in a given command (e.g., in order to maintain an attribute setpoint));
Hudelson and Buller are analogous arts because they are in the same field of endeavor, measurement and feedback of additive manufacturing. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the invention of Hudelson using the teachings of Buller to include compensating a position or motion. It would provide Hudelson’s method with enhanced capabilities of providing an integrated and adaptive control scheme of a plurality control variables.
As for claim 12, Hudelson-Goldfine-Buller discloses: the built plate is moved upward for spreading a new initial powder layer if the powder layer thickness at the location of said one or more sub-parts is above said upper power layer thickness threshold (Hudelson: Abstract, adjusting a parameter of the printing system based on the measured density of the powder material within the powder print bed).
As for claim 13, Hudelson-Goldfine-Buller discloses: the built plate is moved downward for spreading a new initial powder layer if the powder layer thickness at the location of said one or more sub-parts is lower than said lower layer thickness threshold (Hudelson: Abstract, adjusting a parameter of the printing system based on the measured density of the powder material within the powder print bed).
As for independent claim 14, Hudelson discloses: A method for manufacturing an AM metal part by a powder-bed additive manufacturing machine (Abstract, Systems and methods are disclosed for forming a three-dimensional object using additive manufacturing. One method includes depositing a first amount of powder material onto a powder print bed of a printing system, spreading the first amount of powder material across the powder print bed to form a first layer, measuring a density of powder material within the powder print bed, and adjusting a parameter of the printing system based on the measured density of the powder material within the powder print bed) comprising a build plate ([0028], a build plate), a recoater and at least one electromagnetic sensor mounted on said recoater ([0059], sensors designed in a geometry that may be electromagnetically modeled may be used, and the sensor response may be modeled to simultaneously solve for both lift-off and the magnetic permeability of the powder), the method comprising the steps of: i) spreading a powder layer over the build plate with the recoater and manufacturing a layer of the AM part by selectively illuminating the powder layer to obtain a consolidated layer ([0067], the powder material may tend to consolidate when the binder material 132′ is dispensed on the powder bed), ii) driving the electromagnetic sensor using at least one predefined interrogating frequency, sensing one or more sub-parts of said consolidated layer and storing a measurement of both the in-phase and the out-of-phase electric signals for each of said one or more sub-parts ([0055], The sensor may include a drive loop that is driven at frequencies typically in the range of 50 kHz-10 MHz, and the drive loop may produce a magnetic field; [0067], the powder material may tend to consolidate when the binder material 132′ is dispensed on the powder bed 124, 124′, it may be beneficial to measure the density of the printed object 134, 134′ (i.e., where the binder material 132′ has been dispensed in the powder bed 124, 124′) instead of, or in addition to, the density of the powder in the powder bed);
iii) lowering the build plate and repeating steps i) and ii) for building and sensing one or more additional consolidated layers ([0036], build box subsystem 108 may comprise a build box actuator mechanism 138 that lowers powder bed 124 incrementally as each layer of powder is distributed across powder bed); iv) transforming measurements acquired under step ii) into lift off values using lift off calibration values acquired during a calibration procedure ([0057], a calibration may make use of a correction factor calculated by using the printing system to fabricate an article which can be measured after the printing and depowdering process, compared with the measured magnetic permeability during the printing process, and a correction factor or transfer function derived. In another embodiment, powder from a batch to be used in the printing system may be prepared for a calibration measurement; [0059], a laser displacement sensor, may be used to determine the lift-off of the sensor from the powder surface. The lift-off determined in this manner may be used in conjunction with the measured inductance to calculate or estimate a density of a powder bed; [0060], single point rosette-style sensors may be used for spot measurements of the powder, and may be scanned across an area to produce permeability and lift-off maps); v) calculating a standard deviation of the lift off values acquired under step iv) for at least one sub-part of each of a plurality of consolidated layers ([0068], the rules used for Statistical Process Control may be more complex than comparing a measured density to a predetermined target density, and may include detection of trends (for example, decreasing density over a period of time), detection of variability (for example, an increased range or standard deviation of density measurements within a layer or from layer to layer), or other trends, patterns, or statistical inferences from the collected data); vi) comparing said standard deviation with a threshold value, and vii) controlling at least one process parameter of the additive manufacturing machine to ensure that said standard deviation does not exceed said threshold value ([0070], The detected height of the pile 125 may be compared to a predetermined threshold, and the powder metering rate may be adjusted if the detected height of the pile 125 falls below or exceeds the predetermined threshold, plus or minus an acceptable amount of deviation. Adjusting the powder metering rate may adjust the height of the pile 125 of powder on top surface 123 ahead of the one or more spreaders 122′ or compaction rollers, which may affect powder bed density as more or less powder is compacted into a layer having a pre-determined height).
Hudelson does not clearly disclose measuring frequency values, in an analogous art of measurement and feedback of additive manufacturing, Goldfine discloses: frequency values (Goldfine: [0039], convert multiple frequency data into more than one property estimate for the material; [0052], the sensing elements are inductive elements with a rectangular form with the response measured at each rectangular shaped sense element at at least one prescribed frequency and the drive is driven with a current at this same frequency to determine the impedance response for each sense element);
Hudelson and Goldfine are analogous arts because they are in the same field of endeavor, measurement and feedback of additive manufacturing. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the invention of Hudelson using the teachings of Goldfine to include using one prescribed frequency to determine the impedance response for each sense element. It would provide Hudelson’s method with enhanced capabilities of measuring and adjusting parameters in additive manufacturing with more accuracy.
Further, Hudelson discloses an acceptable amount of deviation ([0070]), but does not clearly disclose an acceptable range, in another analogous art of measurement and feedback of additive manufacturing, Buller discloses: vi) comparing said standard deviation with a threshold value (Buller: [0048], Fixed can be within an acceptable range (e.g., within an error of about and millisecond to an error of about a tenth of a millisecond);
Hudelson and Buller are analogous arts because they are in the same field of endeavor, measurement and feedback of additive manufacturing. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the invention of Hudelson using the teachings of Buller to include using an acceptable range. It would provide Hudelson’s method with enhanced capabilities of providing an integrated and adaptive control scheme of a plurality control variables.
As for claim 15, Hudelson-Goldfine-Buller discloses: wherein said at least one process parameter is selected among laser and scanning parameters, powder bed parameters and build environment parameters of the additive manufacturing machine (Hudelson: [0013], in laser-based additive manufacturing (e.g., direct metal laser sintering (DMLS)), or any other suitable additive manufacturing method in which an object is formed in a powder bed or in which powder is spread layer-by-layer; [0061], perform area scans of a printed block, provide area scans of powder that was tamped in regions and spread flat, or scans of other powder beds (such as an area where powder is distributed from)).
As for independent claim 16, Hudelson discloses: A method for manufacturing, monitoring and classifying an AM metal part manufactured by a powder-bed additive manufacturing machine (Abstract, Systems and methods are disclosed for forming a three-dimensional object using additive manufacturing. One method includes depositing a first amount of powder material onto a powder print bed of a printing system, spreading the first amount of powder material across the powder print bed to form a first layer, measuring a density of powder material within the powder print bed, and adjusting a parameter of the printing system based on the measured density of the powder material within the powder print bed) comprising a build plate ([0028], a build plate), a recoater and at least one electromagnetic sensor mounted on said recoater ([0059], sensors designed in a geometry that may be electromagnetically modeled may be used, and the sensor response may be modeled to simultaneously solve for both lift-off and the magnetic permeability of the powder), the method comprising the steps of: i) spreading a powder layer over the build plate with the recoater and manufacturing a layer of the AM part by selectively illuminating the powder layer to obtain a consolidated layer ([0067], the powder material may tend to consolidate when the binder material 132′ is dispensed on the powder bed), ii) driving the electromagnetic sensor using at least one predefined interrogating frequency, sensing one or more sub-parts of said consolidated layer and storing one or more measurements of both the in-phase and the out-of-phase electric signals for each of said one or more sub-parts ([0055], The sensor may include a drive loop that is driven at frequencies typically in the range of 50 kHz-10 MHz, and the drive loop may produce a magnetic field; [0067], the powder material may tend to consolidate when the binder material 132′ is dispensed on the powder bed 124, 124′, it may be beneficial to measure the density of the printed object 134, 134′ (i.e., where the binder material 132′ has been dispensed in the powder bed 124, 124′) instead of, or in addition to, the density of the powder in the powder bed); iii) transforming said one or more measurements into one or more lift off values using lift off calibration values acquired during a calibration procedure ([0057], a calibration may make use of a correction factor calculated by using the printing system to fabricate an article which can be measured after the printing and depowdering process, compared with the measured magnetic permeability during the printing process, and a correction factor or transfer function derived. In another embodiment, powder from a batch to be used in the printing system may be prepared for a calibration measurement; [0059], a laser displacement sensor, may be used to determine the lift-off of the sensor from the powder surface. The lift-off determined in this manner may be used in conjunction with the measured inductance to calculate or estimate a density of a powder bed; [0060], single point rosette-style sensors may be used for spot measurements of the powder, and may be scanned across an area to produce permeability and lift-off maps), and vi) [classifying the quality of the built AM part as acceptable or not acceptable] by comparing said one or more lift off values with a threshold, wherein said threshold is a percentage of the downward steps of the build plate ([0070], The detected height of the pile 125 may be compared to a predetermined threshold, and the powder metering rate may be adjusted if the detected height of the pile 125 falls below or exceeds the predetermined threshold, plus or minus an acceptable amount of deviation).
Hudelson does not clearly disclose measuring frequency values, in an analogous art of measurement and feedback of additive manufacturing, Goldfine discloses: frequency values (Goldfine: [0039], convert multiple frequency data into more than one property estimate for the material; [0052], the sensing elements are inductive elements with a rectangular form with the response measured at each rectangular shaped sense element at at least one prescribed frequency and the drive is driven with a current at this same frequency to determine the impedance response for each sense element);
Hudelson and Goldfine are analogous arts because they are in the same field of endeavor, measurement and feedback of additive manufacturing. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the invention of Hudelson using the teachings of Goldfine to include using one prescribed frequency to determine the impedance response for each sense element. It would provide Hudelson’s method with enhanced capabilities of measuring and adjusting parameters in additive manufacturing with more accuracy.
Further, Hudelson does not clearly disclose classifying the quality of the part, in another analogous art of measurement and feedback of additive manufacturing, Buller discloses: classifying the quality of the built AM part as acceptable or not acceptable (Buller: [0048], Fixed can be within an acceptable range (e.g., within an error of about and millisecond to an error of about a tenth of a millisecond);
Hudelson and Buller are analogous arts because they are in the same field of endeavor, measurement and feedback of additive manufacturing. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the invention of Hudelson using the teachings of Buller to include using an acceptable range. It would provide Hudelson’s method with enhanced capabilities of providing an integrated and adaptive control scheme of a plurality control variables.
Examiner’s Note
Examiner has cited particular columns/paragraph and line numbers in the references applied to the claims above for the convenience of the applicant. Although the specified citations are representative of the teachings of the art and are applied to specific limitations within the individual claim, other passages and figures may apply as well. It is respectfully requested from the applicant in preparing responses, to fully consider the references in entirety as potentially teaching all or part of the claimed invention, as well as the context of the passage as taught by the prior art or disclosed by the Examiner.
In the case of amending the Claimed invention, Applicant is respectfully requested to indicate the portion(s) of the specification which dictate(s) the structure relied on for proper interpretation and also to verify and ascertain the metes and bounds of the claimed invention. This will assist in expediting compact prosecution. MPEP 714.02 recites: “Applicant should also specifically point out the support for any amendments made to the disclosure. See MPEP § 2163.06. An amendment which does not comply with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.121(b), (c), (d), and (h) may be held not fully responsive. See MPEP § 714.” Amendments not pointing to specific support in the disclosure may be deemed as not complying with provisions of 37 C.F.R. 1.131(b), (c), (d), and (h) and therefore held not fully responsive. Generic statements such as “Applicants believe no new matter has been introduced” may be deemed insufficient.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant’s disclosure. Applicants are required under 37 C.F.R. § 1.111(c) to consider these references fully when responding to this action.
Shkolnik (US Publication 20100125356) System And Method For Manufacturing
Bamberg (US Publication 20140159266) METHOD AND DEVICE FOR THE GENERATIVE PRODUCTION OF A COMPONENT
Ralls (US Publication 20180111192) SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR IN-SITU INSPECTION OF ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING MATERIALS AND BUILDS
Litichever (US Publication 2026016000) Additive 3D Manufacturing Using Light-Cured Resin
It is noted that any citation to specific pages, columns, lines, or figures in the prior art references and any interpretation of the references should not be considered to be limiting in any way. A reference is relevant for all it contains and may be relied upon for all that it would have reasonably suggested to one having ordinary skill in the art. In re Heck, 699 F.2d 1331, 1332-33, 216 U.S.P.Q. 1038, 1039 (Fed. Cir. 1983) (quoting In re Lemelson, 397 F.2d 1006, 1009, 158 U.S.P.Q. 275, 277 (C.C.P.A. 1968)).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Hua Lu whose telephone number is 571-270-1410 and fax number is 571-270-2410. The examiner can normally be reached on Mon-Fri 9:00 am to 6:00 pm EST. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Scott Baderman can be reached on 571-272-3644. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 703-273-8300.
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/Hua Lu/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2118
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