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
Status of the Claims
Claims 1-38 are pending. Claims 1-2 and 4-11 are the subject of this NON-FINAL Office Action. This is the first action on the merits.
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Invention I (claims 1-12), and the species of extruder device of Figure 1 in the reply filed on 02/16/2026 is acknowledged. This election reads on claims 1-2 and 4-11. Claims 3 and 12-38 are withdrawn because Figure 1 does not include “void eliminator” or “homogenizer.”
Claim Interpretations
Although the specification discloses an extruder, yet claim 1 does not require this. Instead, claim 1 is simply a “device” with “channel,” “heater,” “thermal conditioner,” and “driver.” This encompasses a lot of prior art. For the sake of compact prosecution, the Examiner applied extruder prior art in the rejection below. Applicants are encouraged to amend claim 1, consistent with their disclosed invention, to require an extruder nozzle.
In claim 1, the channel is any channel of any material, shape, etc. This is because nothing in the specification defines a channel “configured to receive one or more threads of a first material[] and one or more threads of a second material different from the first material” in any way different from any other channel found in the prior art.
Similarly, defining the heater by how it is intended to be used (“to elevate a temperature within at least a portion of the channel to a temperature at which the second material becomes flowable”) does not distinguish any other heater in the prior art from the heater here.
The “thermal conditioner” is never defined; thus it encompasses anything capable of reducing a temperature (e.g. fan, heat sink, air, exposed surface, etc.).
Finally, describing how the “driver” is intended to “pull[] [and] advance[e] the one or more threads of the first material and the second material through the channel” does not distinguish the claimed generic driver over prior art drivers.
In claim 2, nothing in the specification defines how the channel is “configured to consolidate”; thus, this encompasses any channel configuration.
As to claim 5, anything is separable into parts (e.g. via diamond cutter wheel, or other devices capable of cutting metal, plastic, etc.). Thus, the “channel [] separable into at least two components along a length of the channel from the entrance of the channel to the exit of the channel” encompasses any channel.
As to claim 6, anything is movable. In other words, claim 6 only describes an intended use. Thus, the walls of the channels are movable, e.g. by cutting them and removing them.
Claim 11 only describes an intended use of the claimed device, thus failing to further distinguish the device over the prior art.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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) A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(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; or
(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.
Claims 1-2 and 4-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by RUDOLPH (US 20170341300).
As to claim 1, RUDOLPH teaches a device, comprising:
a channel 28 extending between an entrance and an exit, the entrance configured to receive one or more threads of a first material and one or more threads of a second material different from the first material (Figs. 1-2);
one or more heaters 42 thermally coupled to the channel, and configured to elevate a temperature at which the second material above a melting temperature of the second material becomes flowable (Figs. 1-2);
a thermal conditioner 50 positioned downstream of the channel and configured to reduce the temperature of the second material below the temperature at which the second material is flowable after the second material exits the channel (fan/cooling gas; Figs. 1-2, para. 0050, 0056); and
a driver 52 configured to pull a composite thread formed from the one or more threads of the first material and the second material, the pulling advancing the first material and the one or more threads of the second material through the channel (rollers; Figs. 1-2).
PNG
media_image1.png
492
334
media_image1.png
Greyscale
PNG
media_image2.png
374
192
media_image2.png
Greyscale
As to claim 2, RUDOLPH teaches the channel is further configured to consolidate the one or more threads of the first material and the one or more threads of the second material into a single consolidated thread (reducer die 24; Fig. 2).
As to claim 4, RUDOLPH teaches a blade assembly 72/74 positioned after the exit of the channel, wherein the blade assembly includes:
a blade having an edge designed to cut the single consolidated composite thread after it exits the channel (Figs. 1, 4-5); and
an actuator mechanism operably connected to the blade to control its movement, wherein the actuator mechanism is configured to engage the blade in response to a cutting signal, thereby severing the single consolidated composite thread with minimal disruption to direction or flow of the single consolidated composite thread (Figs. 1, 4-5).
As to claim 5, RUDOLPH teaches the channel is separable into at least two components along a length of the channel from the entrance of the channel to the exit of the channel (Figs. 1-2).
As to claims 6-7, RUDOLPH teaches the channel further includes at least one moveable wall (Figs. 1-2).
As to claim 8, RUDOLPH teaches a densifying mechanism assembly connected to the at least one moveable wall, wherein the densifying mechanism assembly is configured to apply a compressive force to densify the one or more threads of first material and the second material (“Referring now also to FIG. 3, a partially cured filament 46 may exit the heated die 42 along axis 43 generally coaxial with the passages through the reducer die 24 and heated die 42 and may have extremely high density of fibers 20 compressed and centered at its core with a thin outer skin of the same partially cured thermoset, material 48 (the apparent boundary line in the figure denotes the edge of the fiber bundle and not anew thermoset material). The density by volume of fibers 20 in the partially cured filament 46 will be in excess of 50 percent and preferably in excess of 65 percent and desirably as high as 80 percent.”; para. 0049).
As to claim 9, RUDOLPH teaches the densifying mechanism assembly includes a compression regulator configured to control pressure applied to the one or more threads of the first material and the second material (paras. 0046, 0048, 0056, 0064-65, 0069).
As to claim 10, RUDOLPH teaches one or more sensors operatively coupled to at least one of the one or more heaters, the channel, the thermal conditioner, and the driver; and
an adaptive controller operatively coupled to the one or more sensors, wherein the adaptive controller is configured to adjust at least one of: applied by the densifying mechanism assembly, a set point temperature of one or more heaters, and speed of the driver based on real-time feedback received from the one or more sensors (paras. 0046, 0048, 0056, 0064-65, 0069).
As to claim 10, RUDOLPH teaches the one or more threads of the first material and the one or more threads of the second material are twisted together or woven together prior to entering the channel (Figs. 1-2).
Prior Art
The following prior art also teaches extruders with conventional heaters, coolers, drivers/wheels/rollers, cutters, densifying mechanisms, etc.: US 20140328963; US 20170157826; US 20160236409; WO 2016140420; US20190375149; US 20200164574.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MELODY TSUI whose telephone number is (571)272-1846. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday, 9am - 5pm.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Galen Hauth can be reached at 571-270-5516. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/YUNG-SHENG M TSUI/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1743