DETAILED ACTION
This Office action is in response to the Preliminary Amendment submitted on 12 August 2022. Claims 1-20 are pending in the application. Claims 21-25 have been cancelled.
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 § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-4, 6-9, and 12-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being clearly anticipated by Minami et al., US 2002/0172908.
With respect to claim 1, Minami et al. disclose a wafer holder, shown in Figs. 19-23, comprising:
a carrier plate 7 having a carrier surface, shown in Fig. 19;
a plurality of blocking devices disposed on the carrier plate 7 (as shown in Fig. 22, there are three (3) blocking devices comprising a plurality of support parts 22, each support part having an opening which engages fastener 19, see paragraphs [0148]-[0149];
a plurality of fasteners 19/23/25, shown in Fig. 22, see paragraph [0150]; and
a cover plate 24 located above the carrier surface, wherein the blocking devices are disposed around the carrier surface, as shown in Fig. 22 and 23 (the three blocking devices are disposed around the surface of carrier plate 7), and
each of the blocking devices has a plurality of openings (one opening in each of the support parts 22), and the fasteners 19/23/25 pass through the openings, and
the cover plate 22 is fastened on the blocking devices through the fasteners 19/23/25, as shown in annotated Figs 22 and Fig. 23 below.
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With respect to claim 2, in the wafer holder of Minami et al., the carrier surface (the surface of carrier plate 7) is rounded, and the blocking devices are evenly separated around the carrier surface, as shown in Fig. 22.
With respect to claim 3, as shown in Fig. 22 of Minami et al., the blocking devices stand at right angles to the carrier surface (the surface of carrier plate 7), see annotated Fig. 22 above), and the openings are arranged along two straight lines on every blocking device, and the two straight lines are perpendicular to the carrier surface, as shown in annotated Fig. 22 below.
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With respect to claim 4, in the wafer holder of Minami et al., the openings of the blocking devices are rounded (to accommodate fasteners 19) and have the same diameter (the diameter of fasteners 19).
With respect to claim 6, in the wafer holder of Minami et al., the wafer holder is adapted to accommodate at least one wafer 5, as shown in Fig. 1, and the openings in every blocking device are in different heights (openings in support parts 22 are at different heights, as shown in Fig. 22, , and the smallest difference among the heights is about a thickness of the wafer, as shown in Fig. 1.
With respect to claim 7, in the wafer holder of Minami et al., the carrier plate 7 is in the shape of a rectangle or a rounded rectangle, as shown in Figs. 10-15. The carrier plate 7 is cut from a rectangular quartz glass block 37, therefore, the carrier plate 7 is a rounded rectangle..
With respect to claim 8, in the wafer holder of Minami et al., each of the blocking devices is adjacent to one of the sides of the rectangle or rounded rectangle, as shown in Fig. 22 of Minami et al..
With respect to claim 9, in the wafer holder of Minami et al., the fasteners 19 are bolts, that is, cylindrical metal rods with threading at the top for nuts 23.
With respect to claim 12, in the wafer holder of Minami et al., each of the blocking devices has a curved wall (the outer wall of each blocking device, as shown in Fig. 22), and the openings are formed on the curved wall (the openings in support parts 22 are formed on the curved wall), as shown in Fig. 22.
With respect to claim 13, in the wafer holder of Minami et al., each of the blocking devices has a side cushion 21, and the side cushions 21 face towards the carrier surface (the surface of carrier plate 7), as shown in Figs. 20-22, see paragraphs [0146]-[0150].
With respect to claim 14, in the wafer holder of Minami et al., the cover plate 24 has a top surface, a bottom surface, a side surface, and a plurality of holes 31, as shown in Fig. 23, and the side surface connects the top surface and the bottom surface, and the holes 31 are formed on the side surface, and the fasteners 19/23/25are inserted into the holes, as shown in Fig. 23.
With respect to claim 15, in the wafer holder of Minami et al., the cover plate is rounded, as shown in Fig. 23.
With respect to claim 16, Minami et al. disclose an operating method of a wafer holder, shown in Fig. 1, comprising:
disposing at least one wafer 5 on a carrier surface of a carrier plate 1; as shown in Fig. 1,
disposing a cover plate 24 on the wafer 5, as shown in Figs. 1 and 23;
inserting a plurality of fasteners 19/23/25 to a plurality of openings of a plurality of blocking devices located around the carrier surface (surface of carrier plate 1), as shown in Figs. 22 and 23, see annotated Figs. 22 and 23 below; and
fastening the cover plate 24 on the blocking devices, wherein the wafer holder comprises the carrier plate 1, the blocking devices, the fasteners 19/23/25, and the fasteners 19/23/25 pass through the openings, and the cover plate 24 is fastened on the blocking devices through the fasteners 19/23/25, as shown in Figs. 1 and 19-23, and disclosed in paragraphs [0146]-[0154].
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With respect to claim 17, in the operating method of Minami et al., the method further comprises: disposing at least one cushion layer 21 on the wafer 5, as shown in Figs. 20-22, see paragraphs [0146]-[0150].
With respect to claim 18, in the operating method of Minami et al., the cover plate 24 has a top surface, a bottom surface, a side surface, and a plurality of holes 31, as shown in Fig. 23, and the side surface connects the top surface and the bottom surface, and the holes 31 are formed on the side surface, and the step of fastening the cover plate 24 comprises: inserting the fasteners 19/23/25 into the holes, as shown in Fig. 23.
With respect to claim 19, in the operating method of Minami et al., the fastener are bolts, that is, cylindrical metal rods with threading at the top for nuts 23, and, after the step of inserting the fasteners19/23/25, the method further comprises: fastening the fasteners 19/23/25 to the holes 31, as shown in Fig. 23, see also paragraph [0150].
With respect to claim 20, in the operating method of Minami et al., before disposing the wafer 5, the method further comprises: disposing a base cushion 21 on the carrier surface, as shown in Fig. 21.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
Claims 5 and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Minami et al., US 2002/0172908, as applied to claims 1 and 9 above.
With respect to claim 5, the wafer holder of Minami et al. is adapted to accommodate at least one wafer 5, as shown in Fig. 1. However, Minami et al. do not disclose that a diameter of every opening is twice a thickness of the wafer. The wafers 5 are spaced apart by spacers 21 and support parts 22, as shown in Figs. 21 and 22, so the wafers do not touch, as shown in Fig. 1. As shown in Figs. 1 and 22, the spacing provided between wafers 5 is equal to the thickness of spacer 21. As shown in Fig. 22, the diameter of the opening is equal to the diameter of fastener 19. From what is shown in Fig. 22, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention that a diameter of every opening (equal to the diameter of 19) is twice a thickness of the wafer 5, which is clearly less than the thickness of spacer 21 (in order to provide spacing between wafers 5).
With respect to claim 10, Fig. 19 shows bolt 19 without the threading at the top. Fig. 23 shows threading at the top of bolt 10. Therefore, accordingly, in the wafer holder of Minami et al., it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention that a thread length (shown in Fig. 23) of every bolt 19 is shorter than a shank length of the bolt 19, since threading is only shown at the top of the bolt.
Claim 11 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Minami et al., US 2002/0172908, as applied to claim 9 above, further in view of Hatter, US 1,081,668.
With respect to claim 11, in the wafer holder of Minami et al., the nut 23 on the head of bolts 19 is hexagonal, as shown in Fig. 23. Therefore, Minami et al. fail to teach the bolts have square head. However, Hatter teaches the functional equivalence of hexagonal and square nuts, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. In light of the disclosure of Hatter, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention that a square nut could have been substituted for the hexagonal nut 23 in the wafer holder of Minami et al. in fastening the cover plate 24 to the blocking devices, thereby the bolts 19 would have square head.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. The additionally cited references disclose various wafer holders having cover plates.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MARY A WILCZEWSKI whose telephone number is (571)272-1849. The examiner can normally be reached M-TH 7:30 AM-5:00 PM.
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MARY A. WILCZEWSKI
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2898
/MARY A WILCZEWSKI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2898