DETAILED ACTION
This correspondence is in response to the request for continued examination communications received February 18, 2026. Claims 1-5 and 8-10 are pending. Claims 6-7 have been withdrawn, see details below. Claim 1 has been amended.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments have been considered, however the newly amended claim language of, “further the support surface is formed according to a shape of the curved region”, is fully met by Kanazawa (US 8,052,505) Fig. 7 “support member” (“resin layer 29”, col. 5, line 13) which has a “support surface” (upper surface of 29), where the upper surface shape of 29 that is in contact with the lower surface extremities of 11, matches the curvature of 11.
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 Group I claims 1-5 in the reply filed on May 28, 2025 is acknowledged. Claims 6-7 have been withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected Group II method claims, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on May 28, 2025.
It is noted that once claim 1 has been amended to be in condition for allowance, Examiner intends to rejoin claims 6 and 7.
Applicant’s Claim to Figure Comparison
It is noted that this comparison is merely for the benefit of reviewers of this office action during prosecution, to allow for an understanding of the examiner’s interpretation of the Applicant’s independent claims as compared to disclosed embodiments in Applicant’s Figures. No response or comments are necessary from Applicant.
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Regarding claim 1, the Applicant discloses in Figs. 2a and 7a, a processing device that grinds a back surface of a wafer (20), that includes a bump region (24) in which bumps are formed on a front surface (top surface of 20), and an outer peripheral region (25) around the bump region (25 around 24), and in which a film is attached to the front surface (21), the processing device comprising:
a chuck (40) capable of holding the bump region (24) of the wafer (20);
a support member (30, called either “support ring” or “support member”, ¶ 0056) having a support surface that supports a curved region in which a surface of the film curves from the bump region toward the outer peripheral region and is capable of supporting the outer peripheral region of the wafer (e.g. the shape of the “support ring”); and
a chuck table (16) that accommodates the chuck (40) and accommodates the support member (30) at an outer periphery of the chuck (30 at periphery of 40, both supported by 16).
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 1 and 8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kanazawa et al. (US 8,052,505) in view of Tamamushi (US 2021/0287883).
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Regarding claim 1, the prior art of Kanazawa discloses in Fig. 7, a processing device that grinds a back surface of a wafer (“wafer 20”, col. 5, line 12), that includes a bump region (central region of wafer 20, which has features ‘C’ and ‘B’, which protrude vertically away from 20, hereinafter referred to as ‘BR’) in which bumps are formed on a front surface (lower surface of 20 in Fig. 7), and an outer peripheral region around the bump region (outer periphery of 20, where the surface protrusion features are not present, hereinafter referred to as ‘OPR’), and in which a film (“surface protection film 11”, col. 5, line 3) is attached to the front surface (11 is attached to the front surface of 20), the processing device comprising:
a substrate (“suction section 52”, col. 5, line 10) capable of holding the bump region (BR) of the wafer (20);
a support member (“resin layer 29”, col. 5, line 13) having a support surface (upper surface of 29) that supports a curved region in which a surface of the film curves from the bump region toward the outer peripheral region and is capable of supporting the outer peripheral region of the wafer (outer periphery of the wafer 20 is curved where film 11 covers the C and B bump region to where film 11 transitions to covering only the lower surface of wafer 20, and it shown where 29 supports said curved surface),
further the support surface is formed according to a shape of the curved region (the upper surface shape of 29 that is in contact with the lower surface extremities of 11, matches the curvature).
Kanazawa does not disclose,
wherein the substrate (52) is a “chuck”,
“a chuck table that accommodates the chuck and accommodates the support member at an outer periphery of the chuck.”
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Tamamushi discloses in Fig. 4, provided above,
wherein the substrate is a chuck (21, ¶ 0042),
a chuck table (the “chuck table” is interpreted to be the composite of elements 17, 18, 28, 29, also noted is that the wafer is ‘W’) that accommodates the chuck (21, ¶ 0042) and accommodates the support member (equivalent “support member” is interpreted to be ‘ER’) at an outer periphery of the chuck (ER at periphery of 21).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was effectively filed to utilize, wherein the substrate is a “chuck”, “a chuck table that accommodates the chuck and accommodates the support member at an outer periphery of the chuck”, as disclosed by Tamamushi in the system of Kanazawa, for the purpose of utilizing a substrate which can firmly hold a wafer during processing method steps. G. TSM: Teaching, Suggestion, Motivation Test.
Regarding claim 8, the prior art of Kanazawa et al. disclose the processing device according to claim 1, and Kanazawa discloses in Fig. 7, wherein:
there is no gap between the support surface of said support member and the curved region of the surface of the film that curves from the bump region towards the outer peripheral region of the wafer (there is no gap between 29 both of the curved region where ‘B’ and ‘C’ overlap 20 to the region where 29 directly contacts 20).
Claim 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kanazawa et al. (US 8,052,505) in view of Tamamushi (US 2021/0287883) in view of Hanajima (US 2019/0378732).
Regarding claim 5, the prior art of Kanazawa et al. disclose the processing device according to claim 1, however Kanazawa does not disclose, “further comprising a washing means that injects fluids toward the front surface of the chuck table.”
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Hanajima discloses in Fig. 2, provided above, wherein, further comprising a washing means (“cleaning unit 36”) that injects fluids (“cleaning liquid”) toward the front surface of the chuck table (top surface of “chuck table 38”, ¶ 0029-0030).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was effectively filed to utilize, “further comprising a washing means that injects fluids toward the front surface of the chuck table”, as disclosed by Hanajima in the system of Kanazawa, for the purpose of providing a means to remove the debris post grinding step. G. TSM: Teaching, Suggestion, Motivation Test.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2, 4, 9 and 10 are allowed.
The following is an Examiner's statement of reasons for allowance: The wafer processing device as recited in the claims of the instant invention fail to be taught by the prior art cited of interest.
Regarding claim 2, the prior art of Kanazawa et al. (US 8,052,505) discloses a wafer processing device, but fails to disclose the specific characteristic recited in the claims of the instant invention e.g. the combination of claimed features of a wafer that includes a bump region, front surface and outer peripheral region, a film, a chuck, a support member, a chuck table and an annular groove, and the relative orientation of each of the features with respect to each other, in conjunction with the limitation of,
“wherein the support member is fitted into an annular groove formed at the outer periphery of the chuck.”
Claim 3 is objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Eduardo A Rodela whose telephone number is (571)272-8797. The examiner can normally be reached M-F, 8:30-5:00pm ET.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Yara B Green can be reached on (571) 270-3035. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/EDUARDO A RODELA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2893