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 .
Specification
Amendments to the specification were received on 27 July 2026. The amendments are acceptable.
Drawings
A replacement drawing (Fig. 6) was received on 27 July 2026. The drawing is acceptable.
Claim Objections
Claim 20 objected to because of the following informalities: Claim 20, line 14 recites “alone” where Examiner assumes the word was meant to be “along”.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Interpretation
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(f):
(f) Element in Claim for a Combination. – An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The claims in this application are given their broadest reasonable interpretation using the plain meaning of the claim language in light of the specification as it would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. The broadest reasonable interpretation of a claim element (also commonly referred to as a claim limitation) is limited by the description in the specification when 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is invoked.
As explained in MPEP § 2181, subsection I, claim limitations that meet the following three-prong test will be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
(A) the claim limitation uses the term “means” or “step” or a term used as a substitute for “means” that is a generic placeholder (also called a nonce term or a non-structural term having no specific structural meaning) for performing the claimed function;
(B) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is modified by functional language, typically, but not always linked by the transition word “for” (e.g., “means for”) or another linking word or phrase, such as “configured to” or “so that”; and
(C) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is not modified by sufficient structure, material, or acts for performing the claimed function.
Use of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim with functional language creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites sufficient structure, material, or acts to entirely perform the recited function.
Absence of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is not to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is not interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites function without reciting sufficient structure, material or acts to entirely perform the recited function.
Claim limitations in this application that use the word “means” (or “step”) are being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action. Conversely, claim limitations in this application that do not use the word “means” (or “step”) are not being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action.
This application includes one or more claim limitations that do not use the word “means,” but are nonetheless being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, because the claim limitation(s) uses a generic placeholder that is coupled with functional language without reciting sufficient structure to perform the recited function and the generic placeholder is not preceded by a structural modifier. Such claim limitation(s) is/are: transfer apparatus in claims 6 and 17 which has been interpreted as a central hub and end effector and equivalents thereto as described in the specification, e.g., at para. 35.
Because this/these claim limitation(s) is/are being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, it/they is/are being interpreted to cover the corresponding structure described in the specification as performing the claimed function, and equivalents thereof.
If applicant does not intend to have this/these limitation(s) interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, applicant may: (1) amend the claim limitation(s) to avoid it/them being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph (e.g., by reciting sufficient structure to perform the claimed function); or (2) present a sufficient showing that the claim limitation(s) recite(s) sufficient structure to perform the claimed function so as to avoid it/them being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 20 and 23 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention. Examiner is unable to find an embodiment or teaching with original support including a combination where “each face plate of the plurality of faceplates seated on the first lid plate overlying an aperture of the plurality of apertures of the first lid plate” as recited in claim 20. Claim 23 remains rejected based on its dependence. The claims have been examined as written.
Note: Examiner’s claim interpretation(s) is for expediting examination, and based on their best understanding of the claim language and the disclosure, in light of the deficiencies addressed under this statute. It is neither an admission nor a suggestion that support exists or that Applicant should unquestioningly support or incorporate the interpretation without confirming that proper support exists. It is Applicant’s responsibility to confirm or correct in accordance with the original disclosure and their desired claimed invention.
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.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 20 and 23 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 applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention. Any claim not specifically mentioned is rejected based on its dependence.
It is not clear how each of the following claim limitation is incorporated in a single embodiment in combination with all other claim limitations: “each face plate of the plurality of faceplates seated on the first lid plate overlying an aperture of the plurality of apertures of the first lid plate” as recited in claim. See above for claim interpretation.
Clarification and/or correction is requested.
Response to Arguments
Applicant has traversed the previously applied rejections of claims 20 and 23 under 35 USC 112. The traversal is based on MPEP 2163 and notes that the specification is not required to recite the claim limitations verbatim, but rather to describe the structural relationship with sufficient clarity. Examiner does not dispute this guidance.
However, nothing in Applicant’s claim language throughout examination, including arguments against previously relied upon prior art and amendments, suggests that the overall arrangement is meant to be a general arrangement, as Applicant now argues. Terms such as “seated atop” and “seated on” were presented and interpreted to include features that physically contact one another. The claimed faceplate is not seated on the first lid plate with physical contact in Fig. 6, and similar figures, where a pumping liner is also included in the lid stack and is seated on/atop the first lid plate with the face plate seated on/atop the pumping linwer. It is however, arranged as such in Figs. 7A and 7B, which is why the feature was previously compliant with 35 USC 112. However, claim 20 has been amended to include an intervening component “the pumping liner” such that the limitation at issue represents unclear subject matter and non-originally disclosed subject matter. Thus, the prior rejections under 35 USC 112 remain. In order to advance examination, Examiner suggests clarifying the arrangement in which the lid stack is arranged in a consistent manner so that the claimed invention is clear and represents the arrangement disclosed in Fig. 6, and claim 10, for example.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-19 and 21-22 are allowed.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance: The prior art fails to teach or fairly suggest the exact relative configuration and location of the claimed chamber body, first lid plate, second lid plate, pumping liner and liner as now specifically set forth in claims 1 and 13 in the context set forth by the overall claimed invention having the plurality of claimed substrate supports and corresponding apertures for processing a plurality of substrates in a plurality of separate processing regions. Further, no other prior art was located that fairly suggested the claimed invention in whole or in part, along with the requisite motivation for combination, to anticipate or render the claimed invention obvious.
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. U.S. Patent Pub. No. 2005/0208217 to Shinriki et al. discloses system with a processing region similar to the ones claimed. USP 6,899,786 disclose a system with a multi-lid structure. U.S. Patent Pubs. 20080178797; 20100279008; 20140367359; 20160237559; 11515176 disclose similar pumping liners and liners/thermal choke plates.
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KARLA MOORE whose telephone number is (571)272-1440. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday, 9am-6pm EST.
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/KARLA A MOORE/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1716
