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 .
Claim Objections
Claim 3 is objected to because of the following informalities: “robot arm robot arm” should be “robot arm.” 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 (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.
Claim(s) 1-2 and 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Stranberg (US 2022/0339872 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Stranberg discloses a three-dimensional (3D) printer deposition tool (10) comprising: a filament feeder mechanism (44) for feeding thermoplastic filament into a print head nozzle (16), a carbon fiber towpreg feeder mechanism for feeding carbon fiber towpreg into the print head nozzle (MPEP 2115 states material or article worked upon my does not limit apparatus claims); a carbon fiber towpreg cutting mechanism (210); and a controller (20) configured to co-extrude continuous carbon fiber towpreg with the thermoplastic filament in a multi-axis path and cut and re-feed the carbon fiber towpreg into the print head nozzle for non-continuous toolpaths [0107-0109, 0115].
Regarding claim 2, Stranberg teaches a servo motor (214) and fiber feeder wheels (212) for activating the carbon fiber towpreg cutting mechanism (210).
Regarding claim 5, Stranberg discloses a print head (16) wherein the print head comprises the print head nozzle (58) and a heatblock element [0036].
Claim(s) 3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Stranberg (US 2022/0339872 A1) in view of Yan (US2020/0031057 A1).
Regarding claim 3, Stranberg teaches a mount with mounting holes (bracket 208 has bearing, fasteners, shims, dampers, couplers, retaining rings, etc) but doesn’t explicitly disclose for coupling the 3d printer tool to a 6-degree-of-fredom robot arm robot arm. However, analogous 3D printer art, Yan, discloses a six degree of freedom robot [0031] attached to a mounting hole 32. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have incorporated a six degree of freedom robot for the benefit of improving flexibility [0032].
Claim(s) 4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Stranberg (US 2022/0339872 A1) in view of CN115556346A, herein referred to as ‘346.
Regarding claim 4, Stranberg does not explicitly disclose wherein the carbon fiber towpreg feed mechanism utilizes a needle for guiding the carbon fiber towpreg into the print head nozzle. However, analogous art, ‘346, discloses a needle for guiding the carbon fiber towpreg into the print head nozzle (12). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have incorporated a need into a nozzle in order to efficiently deliver material and "A person of ordinary skill has good reason to pursue the known option within his or her technical grasp. If this leads to the anticipated success, it is likely the product not of innovation but of ordinary skill and common sense." KSR int'l Co. v. Teleflex Inc., 127 S.Ct. 1727,82 USPQ2d 1385 (2007).
Claim(s) 6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Stranberg (US 2022/0339872 A1) in view of CN117656466 A, herein referred to as ‘466.
Regarding claim 6, Stranberg does not explicitly disclose the heatblock element has a curved, constant diameter internal channel. Analogous art, ‘466, depicts heatblock elements 14-2 while figures 1a and 1b show the curved pipe with a constant diameter for the benefit of smoothly extruding product (pg. 15 paragraph 9). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have incorporated the heatblock element has a curved, constant diameter internal channel for the benefit of smoothly extruding product.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FARAH N TAUFIQ whose telephone number is (571)272-6765. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday: 8:00 am-4:30 pm.
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/FARAH TAUFIQ/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1754
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