DETAILED ACTION
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 Species I (Fig. 6-8, 9A-9C), (claims 1-9) in the reply filed on 01/21/2026 is acknowledged.
Claims 10-13 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim.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 1/21/26.
Drawings
Figure 1,2, 3, 4A, 5A, 5B should be designated by a legend such as --Prior Art-- because only that which is old is illustrated. See MPEP § 608.02(g). Corrected drawings in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. The replacement sheet(s) should be labeled “Replacement Sheet” in the page header (as per 37 CFR 1.84(c)) so as not to obstruct any portion of the drawing figures. If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
Claims 1-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
Claim 1 defines “a second table that is movable in a state of floating above the first table and includes a first portion a second portion below the first portion” is indefinite as it is not clear which one is the second table and the second portion in Fig. 6. Fig. 6 and para [0066] describes the first portion of the X table 102 is an upper surface of the top table 101, the second portion of the X table 102 is a portion below the first portion and below the rotation center 604 of the X table 102 in the X table 102 and shows/describes three tables 101, 102, 104. Is the second portion the top surface of the table 102 or the bottom surface of the table 102 as both of these surfaces are below the rotation center 604. For examination purposes the bottom surface of the table 102 is considered as the second portion. Appropriate correction is required.
Claims 2-9 are also rejected being dependent on rejected claim 1.
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 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 of this title, 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, 3, 6, 8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being obvious over Applicant Admitted Prior Art (AAPA) in view of Takahashi et al (US 2021/0027978 A1).
Regarding claim 1: AAPA teaches in Figs 2, 3 A stage apparatus comprising:
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a base 106;
a first table 104 that is movable on the base;
a second table 102 that is movable in a state of floating above the first table and includes a first portion (upper surface of the 101) and a second portion (bottom surface of 102) below the first portion;
a first position measuring device that measures a position of the first portion of the second table ([0006] teaches about laser interferometer); a second position measuring device 300 that measures a position of the second portion of the second table [0006];
a motor that drives the second table [0004], [0007], [0047] - [0050]; and
a computer that controls the motor,
wherein the computer drives the second table based on information on the position of the first portion measured by the first position measuring device and information on the position of the second portion measured by the second position measuring device ([0006], [0056], [0058] teaches By performing feedback control using the position detected by these methods, the position of the floating stage can be controlled with high accuracy).
AAPA does not explicitly show about a first position measuring device that measures a position of the first portion of the second table, a computer that controls the motor,
wherein the computer drives the second table based on information on the position of the first portion measured by the first position measuring device and information on the position of the second portion measured by the second position measuring device.
Takahashi teaches in Fig. 10-12 about a first position measuring device 204 that measures a position of the first portion of the second table, a computer 50/205 that controls the motor [0032],
wherein the computer drives the second table based on information on the position of the first portion measured by the first position measuring device and information on the position of the second portion measured by the second position measuring device ([0074] – [0075], [0080]).
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the application was filed to use a computer/controller to drive motors and the second table according to the teachings of Takahashi in AAPA’s device to increase the speed and the acceleration of positioning and to suppress the leakage of a magnetic field (Takahashi, [0011]) and the optimum drive characteristics can be constantly obtained by automatically adjusting the control system using learning control (Takahashi, [0076]).
Regarding claim 3: AAPA in view of Takahashi teaches wherein the computer obtains at least one of a translation distance ([0005] and a rotation angle [0006] of the second table based on a measurement value of the first position measuring device and a measurement value of the second position measuring device.
Regarding claim 6: AAPA teaches in Fig. 2 wherein the first portion of the second table is a portion above a rotation center (As marked above) while the second table is floating, and the second portion of the second table is a portion below the rotation center.
Regarding claim 8: AAPA in view of Takahashi teaches wherein the first position measuring device is a laser interferometer including a mirror 14 (Takahashi, [0080]) installed on an upper portion of the second table, and the second position measuring device is an optical sensor (AAPA, [0006]) that measures a relative position of the second table with respect to the first table.
Claims 2, 4-5, 7, 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being obvious over Applicant Admitted Prior Art (AAPA) in view of Takahashi et al (US 2021/0027978 A1) and further in view of Kato et al (US P2019/0252151 A1)
Regarding claims 2, 7: AAPA in view of Takahashi does not teach wherein the computer derives a frequency of rotational vibration of the first table based on a measurement value of the first position measuring device and a measurement value of the second position measuring device, and drives the second table by using the frequency.
Kato teaches in an analogous art on Fig.1, 4, 9, 11 about the computer derives a frequency of rotational vibration of the first table based on a measurement value of the first position measuring device and a measurement value of the second position measuring device, and drives the second table by using the frequency (Fig. 9 teaches fourier transformation is used for analyze frequency after measurements).
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the application was filed to have the feature as claimed according to the teachings of Kato to use frequency analysis of the measurements in AAPA in view of Takahashi’s modified apparatus and thereby calibration and maintenance can be performed within a short period of time (Kato, [0079]).
Regarding claim 4: Kato teaches in [0064] wherein the computer performs filter processing of removing a component of the frequency from the measurement value of the second position measuring device, and drives the second table by using the measurement value of the second position measuring device subjected to the filter processing.
Regarding claim 5: Kato teaches in step S908 and [0067] wherein the computer calculates a drive signal for offsetting a component of the frequency with respect to the motor, and applies the drive signal to the motor to drive the second table.
Regarding claim 9: Kato teaches in Fig. 4, [0067] wherein a frequency of rotational vibration of the first table is known in advance, and the computer stores a map 401 in which the frequency is recorded for each coordinate on the first table.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MOHAMMED SHAMSUZZAMAN whose telephone number is (571)270-1839. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 7 am -4 pm EST.
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/Mohammed Shamsuzzaman/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2897