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/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of claims 18-30 in the reply filed on 09/02/2026 is acknowledged.
Claims 1-17 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 09/02/2026.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the following features must be shown or canceled from the claim(s):
in producing a first layer of the plurality of layers, the irradiation plane includes an overlap region within the common irradiation area where the laser can be irradiated from each of the first irradiation apparatus and the second irradiation apparatus; and,
in producing a second layer of the plurality of layers that is different from the first layer, within the irradiation plane, irradiating the common irradiation area with the first irradiation apparatus until the irradiation from the first irradiation apparatus reaches a boundary, and continue to irradiate the common irradiation area beyond the boundary with the second irradiation apparatus,
wherein positioning the boundary outside the overlap region of the first layer.
No new matter should be entered.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
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.
Claims 18-30 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 pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention.
Claim 18, line 11 recites "the plurality of layers". This term is not previously used and does not have proper antecedent basis, making it unclear what structure is being referenced. Dependent claims fall herewith.
Claim 18, line 12 recites "the laser". This term is not previously used and does not have proper antecedent basis, making it unclear what structure is being referenced. Dependent claims fall herewith.
Claim 18, line 13 recites "the first irradiation apparatus and the second irradiation apparatus". Each of these terms is not previously used and does not have proper antecedent basis, making it unclear what structures are being referenced. Dependent claims fall herewith.
Claim 18, line 19 recites "wherein positioning the boundary outside the overlap region of the first layer". It is unclear which of the preceding steps is being further defined by this wherein clause, rendering the claim indefinite. Furthermore, it is unclear whether this recitation requires positioning of the boundary is performed or not. Dependent claims fall herewith.
Claim 18, line 13 recites "the overlap region of the first layer". There is no antecedent basis in the claim for overlap region of the first layer, making it unclear what structures are being referenced. Furthermore, it is unclear whether this overlap region is the same or different from the overlap region of the irradiation plane. Dependent claims fall herewith.
Prior Art of Record
Claim 18 was not found in a search of the prior art, but is indefinite for the reasons given above with a high degree of uncertainty about the scope of the claim and therefore rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b). Therefore, per MPEP 2173.06, where there is a great deal of confusion and uncertainty as to the proper interpretation of the limitations of a claim, it would not be proper to reject such a claim on the basis of prior art. As stated in In re Steele, 305 F.2d 859, 134 USPQ 292 (CCPA 1962), a rejection over prior art should not be based on considerable speculation about the meaning of terms employed in a claim or assumptions that must be made as to the scope of the claims.
In view of the above considerations, claims 18-30 have not been rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 or 103, but instead stand rejected under U.S.C. 112(b).
Wiesner (EP2862651A1) and Schwarze (EP2875897A1) teach methods for controlling an irradiation system which are pertinent to claim 18 and are made of record herein.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JIM R SMITH whose telephone number is (303)297-4318. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri. 9-6 MST.
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/JIMMY R SMITH JR./Examiner, Art Unit 1745
