DETAILED ACTION
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group I, claims 1-8 in the reply filed on 12/22/2025 is acknowledged.
While applicant indicates that claim 9 was amended to depend from claim 1, Examiner respectfully disagrees because claim 9 refers to claim 1 but does not depend from claim 1 as it does not recite “the gas supply system according to claim 1” in the first line of the claim. Additionally, claim 9 is directed to a method claim. The shared limitations of claim 1 and claim 9 represent the text of claim 1 which is not a special technical feature as explained in the restriction mailed 12/03/2025 and as included in the rejection of claim 1 over the prior art provided below. Therefore applicant has not been persuasive in presenting why the claims share a special technical feature.
Claim 9 is withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 12/22/2025.
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim(s) 1-3 and 5-8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tachibana (prev. presented US 2009/0266296, cited in restriction mailed 12/03/2025) in view of Yamaguchi (prev. presented US 5,803,938, cited in restriction mailed 12/03/2025).
Regarding claim 1, Tachibana teaches first vaporization supply device including a first vaporization section for storing a raw material and having a heater (151 Fig 1), a first valve provided in a flow path downstream of the first vaporization section (154a Fig 1), and a first supply pressure sensor for measuring a gas pressure between the first vaporization section and the first valve (P on buffer tank 152a Fig 1), a second valve provided in a flow path downstream of the vaporization section (154b Fig 1), and a second supply pressure sensor for measuring a gas pressure between the vaporization section and the second valve (P on 152b Fig 1); and a control circuit (156 Fig 1) connected to the first vaporization supply device (Fig 1 and [0019-0021]); wherein a downstream flow path of the first vaporization supply device and a downstream flow path of the second vaporization supply device are communicated with a common flow path (line having valve 155 Fig 1), and the control circuit is configured to control the opening/closing of the first valve and the second valve to shift a timing of opening the first valve and a timing of opening the second valve [0019-0025], [0032-0038], and to flow the gas from the first vaporization section and the gas from the second vaporization section sequentially to the common flow path [0019-0025], [0032-0038]. Tachibana fails to teach a second vaporization supply device because Tachibana teaches only one material vaporizer (151). Initially it is noted that this represents a mere duplication of parts. Further, Yamaguchi demonstrates a plurality of vaporizers (10a-c Fig 43) connected to a shared supply line (line 8 Fig 43), which further demonstrates it would have been obvious to include 2 vaporization supply devices in the apparatus of Yamaguchi.
Regarding claim 2, Tachibana teaches the gas supply system configured so as to start flowing the gas from the first vaporization section to the common flow path by opening the first valve from a closed state when an output of the first supply pressure sensor is a set value or more [0023]; and to start flowing the gas from the second vaporization section to the common flow path by opening the second valve from a closed state when an output of the second supply pressure sensor is a set value or more [0022].
Regarding claim 3, Tachibana teaches the second valve is maintained in a closed state during the opening period of the first valve, and the first valve is maintained in a closed state during the opening period of the second valve [0022-0023].
Regarding claim 5, Tachibana teaches the opening period of the first valve and the opening period of the second valve are provided so as to repeat alternately (Fig. 2, 4 and [0034]).
Regarding claim 6, the combination remains as applied to claim 1 above. In the combination as applied, the first and second vaporization sections have the same shape and volume (note the duplication of parts or Yamaguchi which demonstrates same size and volume vaporizers) and the opening degree at the time of opening the first valve and the opening degree at the time of opening the second valve are same, and the opening period of the first valve and the opening period of the second valve are same length (Fig 2, 4).
Regarding claim 7, Tachibana teaches using a liquid organometallic material [0005] as the source material in the vaporizer.
Regarding claim 8, the combination remains as applied to claim 1 above. Tachibana teaches three or more buffer tanks with lines may be used [0042]. Further, Yamaguchi has taught three vaporizers (10a-c Fig 43). Therefore the inclusion of a third vaporization supply device with the corresponding third valve and third pressure sensor represents a mere duplication of parts and is obvious over the teaching of Tachibana and Yamaguchi which recognize the possibility of a third vaporizer and the corresponding alternating control.
Claim(s) 4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tachibana in view of Yamaguchi as applied to claim 2 above, and further in view of US Patent Application Publication 2005/0260854 of Doan et al., hereinafter Doan.
Regarding claim 4, Tachibana teaches the timing of the valve control can be modified [0033-0034] but fails to teach an overlap period at time of switching is provided between the opening period of the first valve and the opening period of the second valve. In the same field of endeavor of gas supply system (abstract), Doan teaches gas supply valves may be operated to alternate with no overlap or with an overlap [0049]. It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the valve control of Tachibana to include overlapping of the opening of the first and second valves because Doan teaches this is a known configuration and additional control programs increase the number of processes that can be performed on the same apparatus and thereby increase the market value of the apparatus.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. US 6,258,171 teaches two vaporizers to the same chamber (Fig 1). US 2016/0282880 teaches a pressure control of the gas supply (Fig 1-2). US 2007/0079760 teaches an organometallic or Si2Cl6 as the vaporized liquid [0006].
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MARGARET D KLUNK whose telephone number is (571)270-5513. The examiner can normally be reached Mon - Fri 9:30-5:30.
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/MARGARET KLUNK/Examiner, Art Unit 1716
/KEATH T CHEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1716