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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
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:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim(s) 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Iwasaka et al (WO 2013027828) in view of Sakai et al (KR 20170060575).
Regarding claim 1, Iwasaka et al teaches a conveyance device that applies suction to and conveys a plate-shaped object to be conveyed (Abstract), the device comprising:
A plate-shaped main body (11) configured to face the plate-shaped object (W) to be conveyed (Page 2, paragraph 13; Fig. 1, element 11);
A plurality of recesses (21) formed in the plate-shaped main body (11) and configured to face an outer circumferential portion of the plate-shaped object (W) to be conveyed (Page 2, paragraphs 13, 14; Fig. 5, element 21);
A plurality of discharge channels (23) formed inside the plate-shaped main body (21) (Page 2, paragraph 15; Page 3, paragraph 4; Fig. 4, elements 21, 23);
Wherein each discharge channel (23) is connected to one of the recesses (21), and the discharge channels (23) are configured to form a swirling flow in each recess (21) with fluid from the discharge channels (23) (Page 3, paragraph 4; Fig. 6, elements 21, 23).
However, Iwasaka et al does not teach restriction members. Sakai et al teaches a wafer transfer device with a plurality of movement restriction members (13, 14) formed on the main body (11) and configured to contact with and restrict lateral movement of the plate-shaped object (W) to be conveyed (Page 2, paragraph 13; Page 3, paragraph 2; Fig. 3, elements 13, 14); and
In each of the plurality of recesses, a portion of an opening not covered by the plate-shaped object (W) to be conveyed is covered by one of the plurality of movement restriction members (13, 14) so as to restrict a flow of external air into the recesses (Page 2, paragraph 13; Page 3, paragraph 2; Fig. 3, elements 13, 14).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to include the teachings of Sakai et al in Iwasaka et al to facilitate the creation of restricting members that can secure the wafer during transport as taught by Sakai et al (Page 3, paragraph 3).
Regarding claim 2, Iwasaka et al teaches the plurality of recesses (21) are formed at each of one end and another end of the main body (11) in opposing relation to each other (Fig. 1, elements 2; annotated figure), and
The plurality of discharge channels (23) are formed so that fluid flowing out of the plurality of recesses (21) connected to the plurality of discharge channels (23) flows in a direction from outside to inside of the plate-shaped object to be conveyed (W) (Page 3, paragraph 4). Additional details are provided in the figure below.
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Regarding claim 3, Iwasaka et al teaches a swirling flow that travels from the inside to the outside of the plate-shaped object (W) to be conveyed (Page 3, paragraph 4). Iwasaka et al does not teach restricting members. Sakai et al teaches a wafer conveyance device wherein the restriction members (13) form an outlet path between the plate-shaped main body (11) and the fluid flowing out of the recesses (15) (Fig. 3, elements 11, 13, 15).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to include the teachings of Sakai et al in Iwasaka et al to facilitate the creation of restriction members that can help align the wafer as taught by Sakai et al (Page 3, paragraph 2).
Regarding claim 4, Iwasaka et al teaches a swirling flow that travels from the inside to the outside of the plate-shaped object (W) to be conveyed (Page 3, paragraph 4). Iwasaka et al does not teach restricting members. Sakai et al teaches a wafer conveyance device wherein the restriction members (13) form an outlet path between the plate-shaped main body (11) and the fluid flowing out of the recesses (15) (Fig. 3, elements 11, 13, 15).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to include the teachings of Sakai et al in Iwasaka et al to facilitate the creation of restriction members that can help align the wafer as taught by Sakai et al (Page 3, paragraph 2).
Regarding claim 5, Iwasaka et al teaches each recess (21) has a rounded shape in plain view, and each discharge channel (23) enters one of the recesses (21) in a tangential direction of the rounded shape (Fig. 4, element 21; Fig. 6, elements 21, 23).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SYDNEY JEANINE SIMMONS whose telephone number is (571)272-7472. The examiner can normally be reached Monday through Friday from 7:00am to 4:30pm.
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/SYDNEY JEANINE SIMMONS/Examiner, Art Unit 3654
/GENE O CRAWFORD/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3651
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