DETAILED ACTION
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 with traverse of Invention I (claims 1-4 and 11-12) and Invention II (claim 5-10) in the reply filed on 01/29/2026 is acknowledged. The traversal is on the ground(s) that the apparatus contains the specific features essential to the existence of the method, and the implementation of the method relies on the structural configuration of the apparatus. This is not found persuasive because the product as claimed can be used in a materially different process. MPEP § 806.05(h). The inventions can be shown to be distinct if either or both of the following can be shown: (1) the process for using the product as claimed can be practiced with another materially different product or (2) the product as claimed can be used in a materially different process of using that product. See MPEP § 806.05(h). In the instant case, the product as claimed can be used in a materially different process. Method claim 5 recites of “a grinding disc and a diamond grinding wheel rotating, under an action of the laser, at a constant speed”. However, the apparatus of claim 1 does not require that the grinding disc or diamond grinding wheel rotate under an action of the laser, nor require that they rotate at a constant speed. The structure of claim 1 is fully capable of having the disc and wheels rotate separately from the laser and/or at varying speeds. As such, the product as claimed can be used in a materially different process of using that product and thus the restriction is maintained.
Claim Interpretation
The Office notes that although the claims include many terms, including “a laser machining component”, “a grinding component”, “a polishing component” and “a detection component”, which apparently invocate 112f, these instances include sufficient structural support in the claim such as to fail the third prong of the three prong test.
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.
Claim(s) 1 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over URATA (US 20140008340 A1) in view of Mori (US 20020052165 A1), MICHAEL (JP 6316652 B2), Nelson (US 20200055163 A1), Park (US 20070032177 A1), HO (US 20230125893 A1), and JUNKER (WO 2004007145 A1).
Regarding claim 1, URATA (US 20140008340 A1) teaches a high-efficiency and high-precision combined machining equipment for a diamond wafer sheet (Paragraph 58, workpiece is made of diamond material), comprising a machine frame (hybrid ultraprecision machining device 100), wherein the machine frame comprises a base (Annotated URATA Figure 14 Paragraph 79, base upon which the table 85 for supporting the workpiece is moved upon) and a support frame (Annotated URATA Figure 14, support structure fixedly connected to the base which are connected to the gantries and various other components), and the support frame is fixedly provided on the base (Annotated URATA Figure 14, support structure fixedly connected to the base which are connected to the gantries and various other components is fixedly connected to the base),
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URATA Annotated Figure 14; support frame and base are labeled
and a machining motion platform component configured to fix a workpiece to be machined (Paragraph 79, table 85 for mounting a workpiece) and capable of moving in mutual perpendicular directions of a horizontal plane (Figure 14 Paragraph 79, control is used for controlling the movement of the mounted workpiece in at least one horizontal direction) and rotating in the horizontal plane is installed on the base (Figure 16 Paragraph 80, movable table 85 for mounting the workpiece allows the workpiece to move in the rotation direction, horizontal direction, and/or vertical direction), a laser machining component (Paragraph 80, electromagnetic-wave-machining means 10 comprises a movable laser machining means 15 which has various moving mechanism allowing the laser head or the like to move in the rotation direction, horizontal direction and/or vertical direction; Paragraph 60, electromagnetic-wave-machining is a laser machining means), a grinding component (Paragraph 97, grinding process is performed by a grinding tool equipped with a grindstone), a polishing component (Paragraph 103, precision machining means is equipped with a replaceable tool for polishing) and a detection component are installed on the support frame (Figure 11A Paragraph 74, shape-measurement means 50 includes detectors and imaging means installed on a gantry; Figure 1, electromagnetic-wave-machining means 10 and precision-machining means 30 are installed on gantries movable on the base), wherein the laser machining component comprises a laser emitting apparatus (Figures 14-15 Paragraph 80, laser head of the movable laser machining means 15), a YZ-direction biaxial motion sliding table (Paragraph 80, electromagnetic-wave-machining means 10 comprises a movable laser machining means 15 has various moving mechanism allowing the laser head or the like to move in the rotation direction, horizontal direction and/or vertical direction; laser head is movable is three axis which include a Y and Z motion), and a laser rotating shaft (Paragraph 80, laser head is movable in a rotational direction by means of a shaft visible in Figure 14 connected to electromagnetic-wave-machining means 10), the YZ-direction biaxial motion sliding table is installed on the support frame (Annotated URATA Figure 14, gantries including one which facilitates the movement of the electromagnetic-wave-machining means are installed on top of the support frame), and the laser emitting apparatus is fixed on the YZ-direction biaxial motion sliding table through the laser rotating shaft (Figure 14, shaft connected to the laser head is fixed to the gantry for moving said laser head by means of a laser head; Paragraph 80, movable laser machining means 15 has various moving mechanism allowing the laser head or the like to move in the rotation direction, horizontal direction and/or vertical direction), through a movement of the YZ-direction biaxial motion sliding table and the laser rotating shaft, a high-energy laser beam can be focused on a surface of a diamond wafer sheet to be machined, and an incident angle of the high-energy laser beam and a horizontal Y-direction straight reciprocating irradiation of a laser spot are adjusted (Paragraph 80, movable laser machining means 15 has various moving mechanism to allow the laser head to move in a rotational direction, horizontal direction, and/or vertical direction; Paragraph 80, angle of a laser incident light 15a is adjustable with respect to the workpiece; Paragraphs 90-92, laser is preferably used for the electromagnetic-wave machining wherein the laser irradiates the workpiece);
the grinding component comprises a grinding disc (Paragraph 138, grinding tool comprises a diamond grindstone)
the polishing component comprises a disc-shaped diamond grinding wheel (Paragraph 138, grinding tool comprises a diamond grindstone; Paragraph 104, grinding tool for polishing),
the detection component is provided directly above the machining motion platform component (Paragraph 55, shape-measurement means 50 for measuring a shape of the workpiece), which comprises a Z-direction vertical displacement sliding table (Paragraph 77, a shape measurement means 50 is provided movably in a vertical direction; Figure 11a, gantry would facilitate sliding said shape-measurement means in a vertical direction) and a line laser displacement sensor (Paragraph 73, detecting uniting laser light of the shape-measurement means comprises a laser interferometer), wherein the line laser displacement sensor is fixed vertically downward on the Z-direction vertical displacement sliding table (Figures 11A-12 Paragraph 73, detector 54 using laser light is directed downwards onto the workpiece), and configured to scan a surface of diamond to be machined, so as to obtain a morphology height displacement data (Paragraph 74, shape of the workpiece is identified by the detector 54 using the laser light; Paragraph 75, information on the shape and/or position of the workpiece measured by the shape measurement means 50 is fed back to the electromagnetic-wave-machining means 10 in real time such that the shape data is used to calculate the processing position and machining path of the electromagnetic-wave-machining means), wherein
when the grinding component, polishing component, and detection component are all located at a machining station (Figure 14 Paragraphs 52-55, hybrid ultraprecision machining device 100 comprises an electromagnetic-wave-machining means 10/ a precision-machining means 30 for precisely machining the roughly machined workpiece/ a shape-measurement means 50 for measuring a shape of the workpiece), the grinding disc (Paragraph 54, a precision-machining means 30 for precisely machining the roughly machined workpiece; Paragraph 138, grinding tool comprises a diamond grindstone), the line laser displacement sensor (Paragraph 55, a shape-measurement means 50 for measuring a shape of the workpiece; Paragraph 73, detecting uniting laser light of the shape-measurement means comprises a laser interferometer), and the disc-shaped diamond grinding wheel (Paragraph 138, grinding tool comprises a diamond grindstone; Paragraph 104, grinding tool for polishing) are in sequence arranged in a straight line from the grinding station to the polishing station, and the straight line is parallel to a X direction and perpendicularly intersects with a rotation axis of a diamond wafer sheet (The MPEP teaches that mere rearrangement of parts which do not modify the operation of the device is unpatentable. MPEP 2144.04(VI)(C). In this case, having a particular sequence said components is unpatentable); the flexible scraper blade is provided between the grinding station and the polishing station (The MPEP teaches that mere rearrangement of parts which do not modify the operation of the device is unpatentable. MPEP 2144.04(VI)(C). In this case, having a particular sequence said components is unpatentable); and an irradiation area of the laser machining component is located between the grinding station and polishing station (The MPEP teaches that mere rearrangement of parts which do not modify the operation of the device is unpatentable. MPEP 2144.04(VI)(C). In this case, having a particular sequence said components is unpatentable; and
an output end of the line laser displacement sensor is connected to an input end of a central controller (Paragraphs 75-76, computer 90 as the computing means to which the data from the shape-measurement means is stored), and an output end of the central controller is respectively connected to control input ends of the laser emitting apparatus (Paragraph 76, difference between the data for the correction machining is provided such as to create a machining path for the electromagnetic-wave machining means; Paragraph 101, step (i) is performed based on the result of the measurement; Paragraph 83, step (i) involves subjecting the workpiece to an electromagnetic-wave-machining process), the machining motion platform component (Paragraph 99, operation of at least one axis of the precision machining means and/or the electromagnetic-wave machining means is controlled in synchronization with the operation of at least one axis of a table for mounting the workpiece), the laser machining component (Paragraph 79, used for controlling the movement of the electromagnetic wave machining means 10), the grinding component (Paragraph 79, used for controlling the movement of the precision machining means 30), the polishing component (Paragraph 103, replaceable grinding tool for polishing; The MPEP teaches that broadly providing an automatic or mechanical means to replace a manual activity which accomplished the same result is not sufficient to distinguish over the prior art. MPEP §2144.04.VI.B. In this case having the control system control the polishing component is not sufficient to distinguish over the prior art), and the detection component (Paragraph 72, shape-measurement means is used for an onboard measuring of the shape; Paragraph 102, feedback control is performed by the computing means; The MPEP teaches that broadly providing an automatic or mechanical means to replace a manual activity which accomplished the same result is not sufficient to distinguish over the prior art. MPEP §2144.04.VI.B. In this case having the control system control when to perform detection using the detection component is not sufficient to distinguish over the prior art); wherein:
the central controller is configured to perform data processing in real time to obtain a current machined surface precision of the diamond wafer sheet (Paragraph 74, shape of the workpiece is identified by the detector 54 using the laser light; Paragraph 75, information on the shape and/or position of the workpiece measured by the shape measurement means 50 is fed back to the electromagnetic-wave-machining means 10 in real time such that the shape data is used to calculate the processing position and machining path of the electromagnetic-wave-machining means).
URATA fails to teach:
the grinding component comprises a first swing frame, a first pressing cylinder, a grinding motorized spindle, a grinding disc, a grinding liquid filtering and circulating apparatus and a flexible scraper blade, wherein one end of the first swing frame is installed on the support frame and can make arc swing around its own rotating shaft in the horizontal plane; the first pressing cylinder is fixed on the first swing frame, the first pressing cylinder is provided vertically downward, a movable end of the first pressing cylinder is connected to the grinding motorized spindle, and a rotating shaft of the grinding motorized spindle is connected to the horizontally arranged grinding disc, and the grinding disc is driven by the first swing frame to move to a grinding station above the machining motion platform component; and the flexible scraper blade is fixed on a shell of the grinding motorized spindle, and is close tightly to an outside of the grinding disc;
the polishing component comprises a second swing frame, a second pressing cylinder, a polishing motorized spindle, and a disc-shaped diamond grinding wheel, wherein one end of the second swing frame is installed on the support frame, and can make arc swing around its own rotating shaft in the horizontal plane; the second pressing cylinder is fixed on the second swing frame, the second pressing cylinder is provided vertically downward, a movable end of the second pressing cylinder is connected to the polishing motorized spindle, and a rotating shaft of the polishing motorized spindle is connected to the horizontally arranged disc-shaped diamond grinding wheel, the diamond grinding wheel is driven by the second swing frame to move to a polishing station above the machining motion platform component;
the first pressing cylinder and the second pressing cylinder are pneumatic cylinders
Mori (US 20020052165 A1) teaches an on-line roll grinding apparatus, wherein:
the grinding component (roll grinding device unit 5) comprises a first pressing cylinder (Figure 2 Paragraph 30, grindstone feeding device 23), a grinding motorized spindle (grindstone rotary shaft 21), and a grinding disc (rotary grindstone 20); the first pressing cylinder is fixed on the first swing frame (Paragraph 25, roll grinding device unit 5 comprises a grindstone feeding device 23), the first pressing cylinder is provided vertically downward (Figure 2, grindstone feeding device 23 is positioned downwardly toward the rolling roll 1a), a movable end of the first pressing cylinder is connected to the grinding motorized spindle (Figure 2 Paragraph 25, grindstone feeding device 23 is connected to the rotary grindstone as it pushed said rotary grindstone and the rotary grindstone is attached to grindstone rotary shaft 21), and a rotating shaft of the grinding motorized spindle is connected to the horizontally arranged grinding disc (Figure 2 Paragraph 25, horizontally positioned rotary grindstone 20 is attached to grindstone rotary shaft 21)
It would have thus been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the claimed invention to have modified URATA with Mori and have the grinding component comprise a pressing cylinder for moving the grinding disc toward the diamond. This would have been done to press the grindstone to the workpiece (Mori Paragraph 25).
URATA modified with Mori fails to teach:
a first swing frame, a grinding liquid filtering and circulating apparatus and a flexible scraper blade, wherein one end of the first swing frame is installed on the support frame and can make arc swing around its own rotating shaft in the horizontal plane;
the grinding disc is driven by the first swing frame to move to a grinding station above the machining motion platform component; and the flexible scraper blade is fixed on a shell of the grinding motorized spindle, and is close tightly to an outside of the grinding disc;
the polishing component comprises a second swing frame, a second pressing cylinder, a polishing motorized spindle, and a disc-shaped diamond grinding wheel, wherein one end of the second swing frame is installed on the support frame, and can make arc swing around its own rotating shaft in the horizontal plane; the second pressing cylinder is fixed on the second swing frame, the second pressing cylinder is provided vertically downward, a movable end of the second pressing cylinder is connected to the polishing motorized spindle, and a rotating shaft of the polishing motorized spindle is connected to the horizontally arranged disc-shaped diamond grinding wheel, the diamond grinding wheel is driven by the second swing frame to move to a polishing station above the machining motion platform component;
the first pressing cylinder and the second pressing cylinder are pneumatic cylinders
MICHAEL (JP 6316652 B2) teaches a griding device, comprising:
a grinding liquid filtering and circulating apparatus (Paragraph 2, grinding means wherein the grinding apparatus grinds the workpiece by supplying grinding fluid to the upper surface of the workpiece; Paragraphs 15 and 22, grinding fluid supply means supplies liquid and includes a suction unit 47 that sucks up the grinding fluid supplied from the grinding fluid supply port) and a flexible scraper blade (Figure 2B Paragraph 16, ring-shaped opening 411 formed between the outer peripheral portion 410 of the plate portion 41 and the inner peripheral wall 450 of the cover portion 45 wherein the surrounding casing of the grinding fluid supply means serves as a scraper blade to block liquid from spilling)
the flexible scraper blade is fixed on a shell of the grinding motorized spindle (Figure 4, grinding fluid supply means 40 acts as a shell to the grinding wheel as its casing wherein the outer surface of the grinding fluid supply means 40 surrounding the ring-shaped opening 411 is fixed to the rest of the grinding fluid supply means 40; The Office further notes that the MEPE teaches that the use of one-piece construction instead of a separate structure would be merely a matter of obvious engineer choice. MPEP §2144.04.V.B. In this case, having the flexible scraper blade be fixed to a shell of the grinding motorized spindle would be merely a matter of obvious engineer choice), and is close tightly to an outside of the grinding disc (Paragraph 25, grinding wheel 26 is inserted into the ring-shaped opening 411 of the grinding fluid supply means);
It would have thus been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the claimed invention to have modified URATA with MICHAEL and have the grinding component comprise a grinding liquid filtering and circulating apparatus. This would have been done to effectively remove grinding debris generated in the machining area and to sufficiently cool the heat generated in the machining area (MICHAEL Paragraph 28).
While Mori does not explicitly teach that the scrapper blade is flexible, Nelson (US 20200055163 A1) teaches that splash guides for grinders are known in the art to be made elastic or impact-absorbing material. It would have thus been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the claimed invention to have modified URATA with Nelson and have the outer surface of the grinding fluid supply means 40 surrounding the ring shaped opening 411 be made of elastic or flexible material. This would have been done to help absorb energy from the splashing water to help reduce the water bouncing off the splash guard (Nelson Paragraph 26)
Mori modified with MICHAEL and Nelson fails to teach:
a first swing frame
wherein one end of the first swing frame is installed on the support frame and can make arc swing around its own rotating shaft in the horizontal plane;
the grinding disc is driven by the first swing frame to move to a grinding station above the machining motion platform component;
the polishing component comprises a second swing frame, a second pressing cylinder, a polishing motorized spindle, and a disc-shaped diamond grinding wheel, wherein one end of the second swing frame is installed on the support frame, and can make arc swing around its own rotating shaft in the horizontal plane; the second pressing cylinder is fixed on the second swing frame, the second pressing cylinder is provided vertically downward, a movable end of the second pressing cylinder is connected to the polishing motorized spindle, and a rotating shaft of the polishing motorized spindle is connected to the horizontally arranged disc-shaped diamond grinding wheel, the diamond grinding wheel is driven by the second swing frame to move to a polishing station above the machining motion platform component;
the first pressing cylinder and the second pressing cylinder are pneumatic cylinders
Park (US 20070032177 A1) teaches a wafer processing apparatus, wherein:
the polishing component comprises a second pressing cylinder (Paragraph 44, wheel moving units include cylinders 132’ and 232’), a polishing motorized spindle (Figure 1, spindle which connects motor 121 with grinding wheel 127), and a disc-shaped diamond grinding wheel (Paragraphs 34-35, grinding wheel includes a circular disc-shaped wheel body 124; Paragraphs 36 and 56, wheel blade may include diamond materials), the second pressing cylinder is fixed on the second swing frame (Paragraph 34, processing head 120 includes grinding wheel 127 which includes wheel moving units 130 and 230), the second pressing cylinder is provided vertically downward (Figures 8-9 Paragraph 44, cylinders 132 and 232 of the wheel moving units 130 and 230 are air cylinders which lower and raise the piston rods and are directed vertically downward), a movable end of the second pressing cylinder is connected to the polishing motorized spindle (Paragraph 40, connecting shafts 139 and 239 are connected to parts of the wheel blades 125 and 126; Paragraph 50, grinding wheel 127 clamped by the wheel clamp 123 is rotated by the head motor; thus the connecting shafts are connected to the wheel blades of the grinding wheel which are rotated by the head motor through a rotating shat visible in Figure 1), and a rotating shaft of the polishing motorized spindle is connected to the horizontally arranged disc-shaped diamond grinding wheel (Paragraph 50, grinding wheel 127 clamped by the wheel clamp 123 is rotated by a head motor 121 through a rotating shaft visible in Figure 1);
the second pressing cylinder are pneumatic cylinders (Paragraph 44, cylinders 132 and 232 are air cylinders)
It would have thus been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the claimed invention to have modified URATA with Park and have the polishing device as taught by Park. This would have been done to reduce the time needed to polish and process a wafer (Park Paragraph 68).
URATA modified with Park fails to teach:
a first swing frame
wherein one end of the first swing frame is installed on the support frame and can make arc swing around its own rotating shaft in the horizontal plane;
the grinding disc is driven by the first swing frame to move to a grinding station above the machining motion platform component;
the polishing component comprises a second swing frame
wherein one end of the second swing frame is installed on the support frame, and can make arc swing around its own rotating shaft in the horizontal plane;
the diamond grinding wheel is driven by the second swing frame to move to a polishing station above the machining motion platform component;
the first pressing cylinder is a pneumatic cylinder
HO (US 20230125893 A1) teaches a hybrid material processing method, wherein:
a first swing frame (Figure 2 Paragraph 31, robotic arm 30)
wherein one end of the first swing frame is installed on the support frame (Figure 5, robotic arm 30 is installed on a machine bed 41) and can make arc swing around its own rotating shaft in the horizontal plane (Paragraph 43, robotic arm 30 is capable of swinging around, in an arc, a processing tool 60 around the shaft of said processing tool);
the grinding disc is driven by the first swing frame to move to a grinding station above the machining motion platform component (Figure 5, robotic arm 30 drives the machining tool 60 such as to perform modifications and processing in desired areas of the workpiece; Paragraph 59, machine tool can be a grinding machine);
the polishing component comprises a second swing frame (Figure 2 Paragraph 31, robotic arm 30)
wherein one end of the second swing frame is installed on the support frame (Figure 5, robotic arm 30 is installed on a machine bed 41), and can make arc swing around its own rotating shaft in the horizontal plane (Paragraph 43, robotic arm 30 is capable of swinging around, in an arc, a processing tool 60 around the shaft of said processing tool);
the diamond grinding wheel is driven by the second swing frame to move to a polishing station above the machining motion platform component (Figure 5, robotic arm 30 drives the machining tool 60 such as to perform modifications and processing in desired areas of the workpiece; Paragraph 59, machine tool can be a polishing machine);
It would have thus been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the claimed invention to have modified URATA with HO and have the grinding device and polishing device each be installed on a robotic arm individually capable of making an arc swing around a rotating shaft. This would have been done to facilitate processing machines which can function as five-axis machine tools (HO Paragraph 34).
The Office further notes that having a swing arm move a machining tool in an arc is well known in the art as evidenced by CHEN (CN 201092005 Y).
URATA modified with HO fails to explicitly teach:
the first pressing cylinder is a pneumatic cylinder
JUNKER (WO 2004007145 A1) teaches a method and device for grinding using a rotating roller, wherein:
the first pressing cylinder is a pneumatic cylinder (Page 5, contact force between the roller and the grinding disc can be controlled by pneumatically actuating; Page 8, pneumatic push cylinder is used to facilitate control of the contact force)
It would have thus been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the claimed invention to have modified URATA with JUNKER and used a pneumatic cylinder as the first pressing cylinder. This would have been done to provide easily manageable control of the actuating force between the disc and the wafer when grinding (JUNKER Page 6).
Claim(s) 2 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over URATA (US 20140008340 A1) in view of Mori (US 20020052165 A1), MICHAEL (JP 6316652 B2), Nelson (US 20200055163 A1), Park (US 20070032177 A1), HO (US 20230125893 A1), and JUNKER (WO 2004007145 A1) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Olgado (US 20030141673 A1), Yudovsky (US 20210384063 A1), and WU (US 20170062252 A1).
Regarding claim 2, URATA as modified teaches the high-efficiency and high-precision combined machining equipment for a diamond wafer sheet according to claim 1, wherein
the machining motion platform component (Paragraph 79, table 85 for mounting a workpiece) comprises an XY-direction two-dimensional horizontal motion platform in a horizontal plane (Paragraph 79, control is used for controlling the movement of the mounted workpiece in at least one direction), a rotating carrier platform (Figure 16 Paragraph 80, movable table 85 for mounting the workpiece allows the workpiece to move in the rotation direction, horizontal direction, and/or vertical direction), wherein the XY-direction two-dimensional horizontal motion platform, the rotating carrier platform, and the transition carrier plate are in sequence provided from bottom to top (The MPEP teaches that mere rearrangement of parts which do not modify the operation of the device is unpatentable. MPEP 2144.04(VI)(C). In this case, having a particular sequence said components is unpatentable); the transition carrier plate and the rotating carrier platform are provided coaxially (The MPEP teaches that mere rearrangement of parts which do not modify the operation of the device is unpatentable. MPEP 2144.04(VI)(C). In this case, having a particular sequence said components is unpatentable);
URATA as modified fails to explicitly teach:
a transition carrier plate and a vacuum adsorption apparatus
an upper end surface of the rotating carrier platform is provided with gas holes and gas passages, and the gas holes and the gas passages are connected to a suction port of the vacuum adsorption apparatus through a rotating joint
a central position of an upper end surface of the transition carrier plate is provided with a circular groove configured for placement of the workpiece to be machined, and several through holes are evenly distributed in the circular groove, the through holes communicate with the gas passages on the upper end surface of the rotating carrier platform; a diameter of the circular groove of the transition carrier plate is the same as a diameter of the diamond wafer sheet to be machined, and a depth of the circular groove is smaller than a thickness of the diamond wafer sheet to be machined.
Olgado (US 20030141673 A1) teaches a rotary vacuum-check, comprising:
a transition carrier plate (Figure 1 Paragraph 10, conventional chuck surface 16) and a vacuum adsorption apparatus (Figure 1 Paragraph 13, stationary block 26 which generates a venturi pumping action)
an upper end surface of the rotating carrier platform is provided with gas holes and gas passages (Figure 1 Paragraph 10, conventional chuck surface 16 having openings 17 through which vacuum is applied to the substrate), and the gas holes and the gas passages are connected to a suction port of the vacuum adsorption apparatus through a rotating joint (Figure 1 Paragraph 11, hollow rotary shaft 18 is mounted for rotation on the bearings 28 and 30 such as to allow rotation of the church surface 16 and the substrate 14 while securing by vacuum the substrate 14 to the chuck surface 16; Paragraph 10, vacuum is applied to the rotary shaft 18 through a lower end 22 which is connected to a compressed air source 42)
the through holes communicate with the gas passages on the upper end surface of the rotating carrier platform (Figure 1 Paragraph 10, conventional chuck surface 16 having openings 17 through which vacuum is applied to the substrate)
It would have thus been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the claimed invention to have modified URATA with Olgado and have platform comprise a vacuum suction device. This would have been done to securely hold a substate on a chuck surface while allowing said chuck surface and substrate to rotate (Olgado Paragraph 1).
URATA modified with Olgado fails to teach:
a central position of an upper end surface of the transition carrier plate is provided with a circular groove configured for placement of the workpiece to be machined, and several through holes are evenly distributed in the circular groove;
a diameter of the circular groove of the transition carrier plate is the same as a diameter of the diamond wafer sheet to be machined, and a depth of the circular groove is smaller than a thickness of the diamond wafer sheet to be machined.
Yudovsky (US 20210384063 A1) teaches an apparatus for wafer chucking, comprising:
a central position of an upper end surface of the transition carrier plate is provided with a circular groove configured for placement of the workpiece to be machined (Figure 6 Paragraph 33, recess 133 in the top surface 131 of the susceptor assembly 130 is sized so that a wafer 120 supported in the recess 133)
a diameter of the circular groove of the transition carrier plate is the same as a diameter of the diamond wafer sheet to be machined (Paragraph 33, recess can be any suitable shape and size depending on the shape and size of the wafer; The MEPE also teaches that where the only difference between the prior art and the claims was a recitation of relative dimensions of the claimed device and a device having the claimed relative dimensions would not perform differently than the prior art device, the claimed device was not patentably distinct from the prior art device. MPEP §2144.04.IV.A. In this case having the diameter of the circular groove as the same diameter of the diamond sheet would not perform differently than the prior art device), and a depth of the circular groove is smaller than a thickness of the diamond wafer sheet to be machined (Paragraph 33, recess can be any suitable shape and size depending on the shape and size of the wafer; The MEPE also teaches that where the only difference between the prior art and the claims was a recitation of relative dimensions of the claimed device and a device having the claimed relative dimensions would not perform differently than the prior art device, the claimed device was not patentably distinct from the prior art device. MPEP §2144.04.IV.A. In this case having the depth of the circular groove is smaller than a thickness of the diamond wafer sheet would not perform differently than the prior art device).
It would have thus been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the claimed invention to have modified URATA with Yudovsky and have a recess for receiving the wafer. This would have been done to keep a wafer in position during the process to prevent accidental damage to the wafer (Yudovsky Paragraph 5).
URATA modified with Wu fails to explicitly teach that “several through holes are evenly distributed in the circular groove”. WU (US 20170062252 A1) teaches a laser marking device with a vacuum suction chuck device wherein a vacuum pump absorbs the lower surface of the wafer through evenly-distributed pores. It would have thus been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the claimed invention to have modified URATA with WU and have the pore be evenly distributed. This would have been done to evenly distribute the suction force to the wafer.
Claim(s) 3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over URATA (US 20140008340 A1) in view of Mori (US 20020052165 A1), MICHAEL (JP 6316652 B2), Nelson (US 20200055163 A1), Park (US 20070032177 A1), HO (US 20230125893 A1), and JUNKER (WO 2004007145 A1) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of ELFIZY (US 20150202742 A1) and Beccia (US 5209526 A).
Regarding claim 3, URATA as modified teaches the high-efficiency and high-precision combined machining equipment for a diamond wafer sheet according to claim 1.
URATA as modified fails to teach:
an edge position of a lower disk surface of the grinding disc is provided with a circular ring protrusion, and a grid-shaped diversion trench is provided on the circular ring protrusion, and multiple diversion holes are evenly distributed in the diversion trench, a liquid flow channel is provided inside the grinding disc, and the liquid flow channel is communicated with all the diversion holes, an end of the liquid flow channel is led to a total liquid inlet in a center of the grinding disc and communicated with a liquid outlet of the grinding liquid filtering and circulating apparatus through a rotating joint and a hose.
ELFIZY (US 20150202742 A1) teaches a grinding wheel, comprising:
an edge position of a lower disk surface of the grinding disc is provided with a circular ring protrusion (Figure 4 Paragraph 28, blades 122 extend outwardly beyond the front and rear walls of the grinding wheel), and a grid-shaped diversion trench is provided on the circular ring protrusion (Figure 6 Paragraph 29, circumferentially spaced blades 122 define a plurality of grooves extending and communicating with the annular passage 128), and multiple diversion holes are evenly distributed in the diversion trench (Figure 6, holes are formed evenly distributed between each of the circumferentially spaced blades), a liquid flow channel is provided inside the grinding disc (Paragraph 18, coolant nozzle 80 function in association with the grinding wheel 100 to circulate coolant through the grinding wheel 100), and the liquid flow channel is communicated with all the diversion holes (Paragraph 30, coolant is introduced though the inlet and flows into the annular passage wherein it forces the coolant to flow into the inlet 130 of each groove between each circumferentially spaced blade until it reaches the groove outlet between the blade walls), an end of the liquid flow channel is led to a total liquid inlet in a center of the grinding disc (Figure 7 Paragraph 30, coolant is introduced through the inlet 112 located at annular center portion of the grinding disc compared with the outlet) and communicated with a liquid outlet of the grinding liquid filtering and circulating (Figure 1 Paragraph 19, inlet 82 which receives a coolant fluid delivered by a coolant supply pump wherein the coolant is supplied to the nozzle 80).
It would have thus been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the claimed invention to have modified URATA with ELFIZY and have the grinding disc comprise a liquid flow channel for delivering coolant to the workpiece. This would have been done to ensure extraction of heat at the machining zone (ELFIZY Paragraph 2)
URATA modified with ELFIZY fails to explicitly teach that coolant flows “through a rotating joint and a hose”. Beccia (US 5209526 A) teaches a rotary joint assembly for supplying coolant through a joint assembly to a rotary body wherein a hose is used to deliver coolant to a rotary joint (Beccia Column 1 Lines 21-30). It would have thus been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the claimed invention to have modified URATA with Beccia and have a coolant supply hose deliver coolant to a rotary joint of the grinder. This would have been done to facilitate fluid connection to stationary coolant supplies while the roller accommodates the rotary motion of a rotary component (Beccia Column 1 Lines 21-30).
Claim(s) 4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over URATA (US 20140008340 A1) in view of Mori (US 20020052165 A1), MICHAEL (JP 6316652 B2), Nelson (US 20200055163 A1), Park (US 20070032177 A1), HO (US 20230125893 A1), and JUNKER (WO 2004007145 A1) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view White (US 6488565 B1)
Regarding claim 4, URATA as modified teaches the high-efficiency and high-precision combined machining equipment for a diamond wafer sheet according to claim 1.
URATA as modified fails to teach:
a metal housing, wherein the metal housing is covered on the base for wrapping and protection.
White (US 6488565 B1) teaches an apparatus for polishing a workpiece, comprising:
a metal housing, wherein the metal housing is covered on the base for wrapping and protection (Figure 2 Column 3 Lines 46-65, system is enclosed by an enclosure 230 which is generally a steel or aluminum frame having panels connected to enclose a system environment 240 wherein the system has a base 140 disposed within the enclosure).
It would have thus been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the claimed invention to have modified URATA with White and have a metal housing for covering the base. This would have been done to enclose a system environment for the processing.
Claim(s) 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over URATA (US 20140008340 A1) in view of Mori (US 20020052165 A1), MICHAEL (JP 6316652 B2), Nelson (US 20200055163 A1), Park (US 20070032177 A1), HO (US 20230125893 A1), JUNKER (WO 2004007145 A1), Olgado (US 20030141673 A1), Yudovsky (US 20210384063 A1), and WU (US 20170062252 A1) as applied to claim 2 above, and further in view of White (US 6488565 B1).
Regarding claim 11, URATA as modified teaches the high-efficiency and high-precision combined machining equipment for a diamond wafer sheet according to claim 2.
URATA as modified fails to teach:
a metal housing, wherein the metal housing is covered on the base for wrapping and protection.
White (US 6488565 B1) teaches an apparatus for polishing a workpiece, comprising:
a metal housing, wherein the metal housing is covered on the base for wrapping and protection (Figure 2 Column 3 Lines 46-65, system is enclosed by an enclosure 230 which is generally a steel or aluminum frame having panels connected to enclose a system environment 240 wherein the system has a base 140 disposed within the enclosure).
It would have thus been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the claimed invention to have modified URATA with White and have a metal housing for covering the base. This would have been done to enclose a system environment for the processing.
Claim(s) 12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over URATA (US 20140008340 A1) in view of Mori (US 20020052165 A1), MICHAEL (JP 6316652 B2), Nelson (US 20200055163 A1), Park (US 20070032177 A1), HO (US 20230125893 A1), JUNKER (WO 2004007145 A1), ELFIZY (US 20150202742 A1) and Beccia (US 5209526 A) as applied to claim 3 above, and further in view of White (US 6488565 B1).
Regarding claim 12, URATA as modified teaches the high-efficiency and high-precision combined machining equipment for a diamond wafer sheet according to claim 3.
URATA as modified fails to teach:
a metal housing, wherein the metal housing is covered on the base for wrapping and protection.
White (US 6488565 B1) teaches an apparatus for polishing a workpiece, comprising:
a metal housing, wherein the metal housing is covered on the base for wrapping and protection (Figure 2 Column 3 Lines 46-65, system is enclosed by an enclosure 230 which is generally a steel or aluminum frame having panels connected to enclose a system environment 240 wherein the system has a base 140 disposed within the enclosure).
It would have thus been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the claimed invention to have modified URATA with White and have a metal housing for covering the base. This would have been done to enclose a system environment for the processing.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FRANKLIN JEFFERSON WANG whose telephone number is (571)272-7782. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 10AM-6PM (E.S.T).
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/F.J.W./Examiner, Art Unit 3761
/WOODY A LEE JR/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3761
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