CTFR 17/347,824 CTFR 96248 DETAILED ACTION Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status 07-03-aia AIA 15-10-aia The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA. Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114 07-42-04 AIA A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 10 September,2025 has been entered. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 07-20-fti The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action: (a) A patent may not be obtained though the invention is not identically disclosed or described as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the subject matter sought to be patented and the prior art are such that the subject matter as a whole would have been obvious at the time the invention was made to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which said subject matter pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made. 07-21-aia AIA Claim s 1-3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Takaguchi (US 20180151343, previously presented) in view of Takahashi (6,390,903) . Regarding Claim 1, Takaguchi teaches A dressing apparatus of a substrate rear surface polishing member (Ref. 63, Fig. 2) configured to polish a rear surface of a substrate (Ref. W, Fig. 2), the apparatus comprising: a bus member (Ref. 81, Fig. 6, [0073]) which is equipped with a ceiling plate (Ref. 83, Fig. 6, [0073]) and a cylindrical skirt portion (Ref. 84, fig. 6, [0073]) provided at a bottom surface of the ceiling plate (Fig. 6) and which is configured to accommodate the polishing member from there above (Fig. 6); a nozzle (Ref. 87, Fig. 6, [0073] describes discharging water) provided at the ceiling plate of the bus member (Fig. 6 shows the nozzle at the ceiling of the bus member) and configured to supply a cleaning liquid onto a polishing surface of the polishing member accommodated in the bus member ([0073] describes discharging water onto the plates to clean the surface of debris) such that the cleaning liquid is supplied directly to the polishing member without contacting the substrate serving as a polishing target (Fig. 6 shows the polishing liquid is applied with no substrate); and a dressing member (Ref. 86, Fig. 6, [0073]) provided at the bus member (Fig.6) and configured to come into contact with the polishing surface of the polishing member (63) accommodated in the bus member (Fig. 6), wherein the dressing apparatus is provided at a position where the dressing apparatus does not overlap with the substrate as a polishing target, when viewed from the top (Fig. 2 shows the substrate (W) at a different Y axis than the dressing member (81)). Takaguchi fails to explicitly teach a nozzle penetrating through the ceiling plate of the bus member and configured to supply a cleaning liquid. Takahashi teaches an apparatus to remove material of a substrate and can be considered analogous art because it is within the same field of endeavor. Takahashi teaches a bus member (Ref. 103, Fig. 1) with a ceiling plate (Fig. 2) and a nozzle (Ref. 210, Fig. 2) penetrating through the ceiling plate of the bus member (Fig. 2) and configured to supply a cleaning liquid downward ([Col. 10, Lines 50-59], fig. 2). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to rearrange the nozzle that dispenses liquid directly onto the polishing surface, as taught by Takahashi, to have the nozzle penetrating through the ceiling plate to dispense liquid downwards, as taught by Takaguchi, by rearrangement of parts (MPEP to 2144.04 C.) and since such a modification would achieve the predictable result of dispersing cleaning liquid onto the polishing member. Regarding Claim 2, Takaguchi as modified teaches the limitations of claim 1, as described above, and further teaches wherein a lower end of the skirt portion is located under a surface of the substrate as the polishing target (Fig. 2 annotated below). PNG media_image1.png 503 989 media_image1.png Greyscale Regarding Claim 3, Takaguchi as modified teaches the limitations of claim 1, as described above, and further teaches wherein the dressing member (86) has a planar shape at a side of the polishing surface of the polishing member (Fig. 6), and has a shape covering at least a half of the polishing member (Fig. 6 shows the dressing member (86) covering the polishing member (63)) . 07-22-aia AIA Claim s 4 and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Takaguchi as modified as applied to claim s 1 above, and further in view of Matsuo (US 2015/0056891, previously presented) . Regarding Claim 4, Takaguchi as modified teaches the limitations of claim 1, as described above, but fails to explicitly teach the dressing member is configured to be rotated. Matsuo teaches a dressing apparatus for a polishing member and can be considered analogous art because it is within the same field of endeavor. Matsuo teaches a dressing member (Ref. 20, Fig. 1, [0043]) is configured to be rotated (Fig. 1, [0043]). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify the dressing member, as taught by Takaguchi as modified, to rotate, as taught by Matsuo, to provide adjustable dressing conditions and improve polishing performance by making dressing more efficient ([0043]). Regarding Claim 10, Takaguchi as modified teaches the limitations of claim 1, as described above, and further teaches an imaging device (Ref. 141, fig. 24) that checks a substrates surface to determine the condition ([0075]) but fails to explicitly teach the imaging device to check the polishing surface of the polishing member. Matsuo teaches a dressing apparatus for a polishing member with an imaging device and can be considered analogous art because it is within the same field of endeavor. Matsuo teaches an imaging device (Ref. 30, Fig. 1) configured to check a polishing surface (2) of the polishing member ([0044-0045] describe the imaging device to check roughness of the polishing surface). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to add the imaging device, as taught by Matsuo, to the dressing apparatus, as taught by Takaguchi, to provide a benefit of ensuring the proper surface roughness of the polishing pad for optimal polishing and dressing conditions ([0043]) . 07-22-aia AIA Claim 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Takaguchi as modified as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Nishio (US 5,769,697, previously presented) . Regarding Claim 8, Takaguchi as modified teaches the limitations of claim 1, as described above, but fails to explicitly teach wherein the dressing member is provided at the bus member with an elastic member therebetween. Nishio teaches a dressing apparatus for a polishing member and can be considered analogous art because it is within the same field of endeavor. Nishio further teaches a dressing apparatus (Ref. 8, Fig. 1) is provided at a bus member (Ref. 10, fig. 3) with an elastic member (Ref. 11, Fig. 1, [Col. 10, Line 60-65]) therebetween (Fig. 3). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify the dressing member, as taught by Takaguchi, with an elastic member between the bus member and dressing apparatus, as taught by Nishio, to ensure equal polishing of the substrate and pad ([col. 10, Line 66-Col. 11, line 2]). Response to Arguments Applicant’s arguments, filed 20 January, 2026, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim 1 under 35 USC 103 have been fully considered and are persuasive. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of Takahashi (6,390,903). Applicant has amended the claims to recite “a nozzle penetrating vertically through the ceiling plate of the bus member…” thereby changing the scope of the claim necessitating a new grounds of rejection and reinterpretation of prior art. Examiner has applied Takahashi as set forth in the 35 USC 103 rejection above. Takaguchi teaches a nozzle (Ref. 87, Fig. 6, [0073] describes discharging water) provided at the ceiling plate of the bus member (Fig. 6 shows the nozzle at the ceiling of the bus member) and configured to supply a cleaning liquid onto a polishing surface of the polishing member accommodated in the bus member ([0073] describes discharging water onto the plates to clean the surface of debris) such that the cleaning liquid is supplied directly to the polishing member without contacting the substrate serving as a polishing target (Fig. 6 shows the polishing liquid is applied with no substrate). Takahashi teaches a bus member (Ref. 103, Fig. 1) with a ceiling plate (Fig. 2) and a nozzle (Ref. 210, Fig. 2) penetrating through the ceiling plate of the bus member (Fig. 2) and configured to supply a cleaning liquid downward ([Col. 10, Lines 50-59], fig. 2). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to rearrange the nozzle that dispenses liquid directly onto the polishing surface, as taught by Takahashi, to have the nozzle penetrating through the ceiling plate to dispense liquid downwards, as taught by Takaguchi, by rearrangement of parts (MPEP to 2144.04 C.) and since such a modification would achieve the predictable result of dispersing cleaning liquid onto the polishing member. Conclusion 07-40 AIA Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL . See MPEP § 706.07(a). 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 DANA L POON whose telephone number is (571)272-6164. The examiner can normally be reached on General: 6:30AM-3:30PM. 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, David Posigian can be reached on (313) 446-6546. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see https://ppairmy.uspto.gov/pair/PrivatePair. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /DANA LEE POON/Examiner, Art Unit 3723 /DAVID S POSIGIAN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3723 Application/Control Number: 17/347,824 Page 2 Art Unit: 3723 Application/Control Number: 17/347,824 Page 3 Art Unit: 3723 Application/Control Number: 17/347,824 Page 4 Art Unit: 3723 Application/Control Number: 17/347,824 Page 5 Art Unit: 3723 Application/Control Number: 17/347,824 Page 6 Art Unit: 3723 Application/Control Number: 17/347,824 Page 7 Art Unit: 3723 Application/Control Number: 17/347,824 Page 8 Art Unit: 3723
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