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 .
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim(s) 1-15 and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over WO 2021250334, translation attached hereinafter WO’334 listed in IDS in view of TenHouten (US 20210229361).
Regarding Claim 1 WO’334 discloses suction unit for an exhaust device for extracting a process gas out of a process chamber of an additive manufacturing device ([0032]). WO’334 discloses the suction unit with an opening (Figure1-2, Suction unit-40, [0033]). WO’334 didn’t particularly disclose a first suction head and a second suction head for suctioning the process gas within the process chamber; and an exhaust channel for discharging the process gas suctioned by the first suction head and the second suction head. In the related field of endeavor of extracting gas from the chamber Ten Houten discloses the inlet ports which act as the suction head and draws gas into the manifold/chamber and exhaust channel for discharging the process gas suctioned (Figure 3, inlet port drawing the gas /suction head-368, chamber/manifold-338, exhaust channel showing the gas discharged from the outlet port-366); wherein the first suction head is arranged or formed on the exhaust channel in front of the second suction head in an exhaust direction (Figure annotated); wherein the exhaust channel has a first channel segment with a first feed cross-section and a second channel segment with a second feed cross-section (Figure annotated); wherein the first feed cross-section has a flow cross-sectional area that is larger than a flow cross-sectional area of the second feed cross-section ([0039], a number of geometric variations of the manifold is possible hence the feed section as annotated could be configures as according to the claimed limitation); and wherein the first suction head feeds into the first channel segment, and the second suction head and the first channel segment feed into the second channel segment (Figure annotated).
It would have been obvious for one ordinary skilled in the art to combine the suction unit of WO’ 334 with that of the teaching of different feed section of the suction head and exhaust channel for discharging the process gas suctioned as for the purpose of o remove contaminated gas and to add clean gas during the re-coat cycle.
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9. Regarding Claim 2 TenHouten discloses, comprising at least one further channel segment and at least one further suction head (Figure annotated showing the inport-368 with segmented feed channel), wherein the further channel segment is arranged or formed on the exhaust channel downstream of the first channel segment and the second channel segment in the exhaust direction (Figure annotated showing subsequent feed channels in the exhaust directions i.e. the output port-376), wherein the further suction head, and the first channel segment and/or the second channel segment located upstream of the further channel segment in the exhaust direction feed into the further channel segment (Figure annotated).
10. Regarding Claim 3, TenHouten discloses wherein the first channel segment projects into the second channel segment (Figure annotated showing each feed channel projects into the subsequent channels in the exhaust direction) .
11. . Regarding Claim 4, TenHouten discloses wherein the first channel segment projects into the second channel segment, and the second channel segment projects into the further channel segment (Figure annotated above and also as explained in Claim 3).
12. Regarding Claim 5 TenHouten discloses wherein each of the first feed cross-section and the second feed cross-section has a decreasing flow cross-sectional area in the exhaust direction of the exhaust channel (Figure annotated showing each feed channel corresponding to the feed cross section).
13. Regarding Claim 6 TenHouten discloses wherein at least one of the first feed cross- section and the second feed cross-section is configured as a circular sector or as an annular sector ([0039], a number of geometric variations of the manifold is possible hence the feed section as annotated could be configures as according to the claimed limitation).
14. Regarding Claim 7 TenHouten discloses wherein the first channel segment delimits/defines the second suction head (Figure annotated showing above that the second suction head/input port-368 follows first channel segment).
15. Regarding Claim 8 TenHouten discloses , wherein each of the first suction head and the second suction head is delimited/bordered along a longitudinal channel axis by two segment walls, wherein the two segment walls are formed orthogonally to the longitudinal channel axis (Figure 2A, showing the suction head/ inlet port-239 with two segment walls, wherein the two segment walls are formed orthogonally to the longitudinal channel axis; therefore inlet ports disclosed in Ten Houten will have similar structure for the multiple inlets that suck in the air and each suction head/inlet port will be bordered by the segmented walls, [0038]).
16. Regarding Claim 9 TenHouten discloses wherein the two segment walls are configured in a form of a circular sector or an annular sector ([0039], a number of geometric variations of the manifold is possible hence the feed section as annotated could be configured as according to the claimed limitation).
17. Regarding Claim 10 TenHouten discloses, wherein each of the first suction head and the second suction head has a first funnel wall and a second funnel wall, wherein each of the first funnel wall and the second funnel wall forms a funnel angle (Figure 2A between the two inlet ports/suction head-239 there is first and second funnel wall as annotated, a number of configurations of the inlet ports/suction head are possible; [0039]).
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18. Regarding Claim 11 TenHouten discloses wherein the funnel angle is between 300 and 2700. (A number of configurations of the inlet ports are possible , ([0039]; however the prior art of TenHOUTEN didn’t disclose that funnel angle is between 300 and 2700; Where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, it is not inventive to discover the optimum or workable ranges by routine experimentation. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art to have determined the optimum values of the relevant process parameters through routine experimentation in the absence of a showing of criticality , In re Aller, 220 F.2d 454, 456, 105 USPQ 233, 235)
19. Regarding Claim 12 TenHouten discloses, wherein the first suction head and the second suction head have common funnel walls (Figure annotated the funnel walls of the fist suction head and second suction head have shared region).
20. Regarding Claim 13 TenHouten discloses, wherein the first suction head/input port and/or the second suction head/input port are configured in a form of a cylindrical sector (A number of configurations of the inlet ports are possible, ([0039]).
21. Regarding Claim 14 TenHouten discloses, wherein the first suction head and the second suction head have a same extension along a longitudinal axis of the channel (Figure 3) .
22. Regarding Claim 15 WO’334/TenHouten disclose an additive manufacturing device comprising an exhaust device for extracting process gases from a process chamber of the additive manufacturing device, and at least one suction unit according to claim 1 (as explained in Claim 1).
24. Claim(s) 16-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over WO 2021250334, translation attached hereinafter WO’334 in view of TenHouten US 20210229361 a applied in Claim 15 further in view of KANEKO (US 20190134707)
23. Regarding Claim 16, WO’334/TenHouten disclose a coating unit for distributing process powder in a working plane of the additive manufacturing device (Figure 2A, [0007], TenHouten), but didn’t specifically disclose a coating unit for distributing process powder in a working plane of the additive manufacturing device, wherein the at least one suction unit is arranged or formed on the coating unit and is configured to follow a movement along an axis of movement of the coating unit. In the related field of endeavor pertaining to the art, KANEKO discloses at least one suction unit is arranged or formed on the coating unit and is configured to follow a movement along an axis of movement of the coating unit (Figure 11-12, suction units- 11fs, 11rs, coating unit-11, [0032]).
24. It would have been obvious for one ordinary skilled in the art to combine the suction unit of WO’ 334/TenHOUTEN with that of the teaching of suction unit is arranged on the coating unit and is configured to follow a movement along an axis of movement of the coating unit KANEKO for the purpose of clear excess loose powder, fumes/ gas along its movement axis.
25. Regarding Claim 17 , KANEKO discloses comprising at least two suction units, wherein a first suction unit is arranged or formed on the coating unit upstream along the axis of movement of the coating unit, and a second suction unit is arranged or formed on the coating unit downstream along the axis of movement of the coating unit (Figure 11-12, suction unit-11fs, 11rs, coating unit-11, [0032]).
18. Regarding Claim 19 WO’334/TenHouten wherein each of the first suction head and the second suction head of the at least one suction unit has a first funnel wall and a second funnel wall (Figure 2A between the two inlet ports/suction head-239 there is first and second funnel wall as annotated), at least one of the first funnel wall and the second funnel wall of the first suction head or the second suction head is formed parallel to a working plane of the additive manufacturing device (Figure annotated above showing the first funnel wall and the second funnel wall formed parallel to a working plane of the additive manufacturing device).
Conclusion
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/DEBJANI ROY/Examiner, Art Unit 1741
/NAHIDA SULTANA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1743
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