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 with traverse of claims 1-9 and 18-20 in the reply filed on 6/5/2026 is acknowledged. The traversal is on the ground(s) that claims 10-17 has been amended to depend from independent claim 1. The arguments are found persuasive in view of the amended claims and are no longer subject to a restriction requirement.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 02/05/2024 and 11/25/2024 was filed. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1, 7, 18, and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Fidalgo (US20030057194A1).
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Fig. 1 of Fidalgo
Regarding claim 1, Fidalgo teaches a method of creating an elastomer gasket ([0017] gasket), comprising:
applying an elastomer material (6, [0022] elastomeric material) on a surface (10) of a part used for substrate processing ([0018] a sheet material 6 containing shaped patterns of articles 8 a and 8 b that will be cut from the sheet 6 is shown. (Shaped patterns of articles 8 c and 8 d are not shown.) The sheet material 6 may be positioned on a platform 10); and
laser engraving the elastomer material (6) to form the elastomer gasket (8a-d) to define a sealing surface on the part ([0024] laser 16 operates by directing a beam 17 of photons having extremely high energy onto the sheet material 6).
Regarding claim 7, Fidalgo teaches the method of claim 1, wherein the surface (10) is a planar surface (Fig. 1) with no gasket grooves (Fig. 1 surface 10 having no gasket grooves), and applying the elastomer material (6) comprises applying the elastomer (6) material on an entirety of the surface (Fig. 1).
Regarding claim 18, Fidalgo teaches a non-transitory, computer readable medium having instructions stored thereon that, when executed, cause a method for creating an elastomer gasket ([0017] gasket) to be performed, the method comprising:
applying an elastomer material (6, [0022] elastomeric material) on a surface (10) of a part used for substrate processing ([0018] a sheet material 6 containing shaped patterns of articles 8 a and 8 b that will be cut from the sheet 6 is shown. (Shaped patterns of articles 8 c and 8 d are not shown.) The sheet material 6 may be positioned on a platform 10); and
laser engraving the elastomer material (6) to form the elastomer gasket (8a-d) to define a sealing surface on the part ([0024] laser 16 operates by directing a beam 17 of photons having extremely high energy onto the sheet material 6).
Regarding claim 19, Fidalgo teaches the method of the non-transitory, computer readable medium of claim 18, wherein including at least one of:
the surface is a gasket groove and applying the elastomer material comprises filling the gasket groove; or
the surface (10) is a planar surface (Fig. 1) with no gasket grooves (Fig. 1 surface 10 having no gasket grooves).
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.
Claims 2-3 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Fidalgo (US20030057194A1) as applied to claims 1 and 18 above, and further in view of Bruck (US20150275687).
Regarding claim 2, Fidalgo teaches the method of claim 1, but is silent on further comprising: cleaning the part prior to forming the elastomer gasket on the sealing surface and adjusting a desired dimension of the elastomer gasket to compensate for changes to the sealing surface caused by cleaning the part.
Bruck teaches cleaning the part prior to forming the elastomer gasket on the sealing surface ([0040] preparing the superalloy material surface to be repaired by grinding as desired to remove defects, cleaning the surface); and
adjusting a desired dimension of the elastomer gasket to compensate for changes to the sealing surface caused by cleaning the part ([0040] then pre-placing or feeding a layer of powdered material containing flux material onto the surface; where pre-placing or feeding of a layer would be understood to have been affected by the previous cleaning of the surface).
Fidalgo and Bruck are considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because they are in the same field of laser engraving and elastomers. It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, to have modified Fidalgo to incorporate the teachings of Bruck to clean the part before applying the material and adjusting the dimensions so that impurities are removed before application to limit any adverse effects from undesired particles (Bruck [0029]).
Regarding claim 3, Fidalgo and Bruck teach the method of claim 2, and Fidalgo teaches further comprising: removing the elastomer gasket that is formed [0035] the parts can be manually removed or the optional pick-and-place system will remove them);
cleaning the part ([0036] after removing the parts, the processing stage can be manually cleaned of the resulting debris, or the rubbish removal system can automatically perform the same task);
applying a new elastomer material on the surface of the part ([0032] roll material onto the processing stage); and
laser engraving the new elastomer material to form a new elastomer gasket ([0035] cut parts, where it is understood that the process is repetitive).
Regarding claim 20, Fidalgo teaches the method of the non-transitory, computer readable medium of claim 18, but is silent on further comprising at least one of: The method of the non-transitory, computer readable medium of claim 18, further comprising at least one of: cleaning the part prior to forming the elastomer gasket on the sealing surface curing the elastomer material after applying the elastomer material on the surface; heating the part prior to applying the elastomer material; or tilting at least one of the part or a laser used for laser engraving the elastomer material.
Bruck teaches comprising at least one of: cleaning the part prior to forming the elastomer gasket on the sealing surface ([0040] preparing the superalloy material surface to be repaired by grinding as desired to remove defects, cleaning the surface), heating the part prior to applying the elastomer material; or tilting at least one of the part or a laser used for laser engraving the elastomer material.
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, to have modified Fidalgo to incorporate the teachings of Bruck to clean the part before applying the material so that impurities are removed before application to limit any adverse effects from undesired particles (Bruck [0029]).
Claims 4-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Fidalgo (US20030057194A1) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of De Boer (EP2902177B1) with citations made to attached machine translation.
Regarding claim 4, Fidalgo teaches the method of claim 1, but is silent on wherein the surface includes a gasket groove and applying the elastomer material comprises filling the gasket groove.
De Boer teaches wherein the surface (4) includes a gasket groove (6) and applying the elastomer material (12) comprises filling the gasket groove ([0009] deposit a layer of the filling material with a maximum thickness greater than the predefined depth, the layer of filling material extending inside and in line with the cavity and over at least part of the free surface, overlapping the protective layer and forming an excess of filling material).
Fidalgo and De Boer are considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because they are in the same field of laser engraving and elastomers. It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, to have modified Fidalgo to incorporate the teachings of De Boer to have a groove that is filled with elastomer so that a made component may be created with the elastomer in the desired shape, being that of the groove (De Boer [0007-0008]).
Regarding claim 5, Fidalgo and De Boer teach the method of claim 4, but Fidalgo is silent on wherein laser engraving the elastomer material comprises removing the elastomer material from portions of the surface outside of the gasket groove and removing a portion of the elastomer material from within the gasket groove.
De Boer teaches wherein laser engraving ([0038] ablation operation may be performed in several steps, by the implementation of one or more conventional methods, such as, for example, mechanical machining, chemical etching or heat treatment, in particular by laser beam) the elastomer material comprises removing the elastomer material from portions of the surface outside of the gasket groove and removing a portion of the elastomer material from within the gasket groove ([0009] remove the portion of the filler material layer opposite the opening by laser treatment until its final surface is level with or lower than the free surface).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, to have modified Fidalgo to incorporate the teachings of De Boer to have removing portions outside of the groove so that a made component may be created with the elastomer in the desired shape, being that of the groove (De Boer [0007-0008]).
Claim 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Fidalgo (US20030057194A1) and De Boer (EP2902177B1) as applied to claim 4 above, and further in view of Hirai (US6763581B2).
Regarding claim 6, Fidalgo and De Boer teach the method of claim 4, but are silent on wherein the gasket groove is spiral shaped, and laser engraving the elastomer material forms the elastomer gasket in a spiral shape.
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Fig. 10 of Hirai
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Fig. 11 of Hirai
Hirai teaches wherein the gasket groove (2) is spiral shaped, and laser engraving the elastomer material forms the elastomer gasket in a spiral shape (Col. 12 lines 1-5 Fig. 11 (b) a spiral probe 2 is formed on an insulating substrate having a through hole 3 to insert an elastomer 11 a formed).
Fidalgo, De Boer, and Hirai are considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because they are in the same field of laser engraving and elastomers. It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, to have modified Fidalgo and De Boer to incorporate the teachings of Hirai to have a gasket groove be spiral shaped as the spiral shape is understood to allow flexibility when causing connections in semiconductor components (Hirai Col. 2 lines 30-60).
Claim 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Fidalgo (US20030057194A1) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Morita (US20170033076A1).
Regarding claim 8, Fidalgo teaches the method of claim 1, but is silent on heating the part prior to applying the elastomer material and curing the elastomer material after applying the elastomer material on the surface.
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Fig. 18 of Morita
Morita teaches heating the part prior to applying the elastomer material ([0142] As illustrated in FIG. 18, the lower heating plate 41 and the upper heating plate 42 are used to hot-press the stacked structure body 2 in a parallel-flat-plate manner to form a sealed structure body 71. P); and curing the elastomer material after applying the elastomer material on the surface ([0145] Next, the sealed structure body 71 is heated to cure the thermosetting resin sheet 12 to forma cured structure body 72. Preferred conditions for the heating are the same as described in Embodiment 1).
Fidalgo and Morita are considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because they are in the same field of laser engraving and elastomers. It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, to have modified Fidalgo to incorporate the teachings of Morita to heat a part to applying an elastomer and curing the elastomer to reduce voids being created in the set material, to increase the reliability of the component (Morita [0004]).
Claim 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Fidalgo (US20030057194A1) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of De Boer (EP2902177B1) and Marin (WO2017090069A1).
Regarding claim 9, Fidalgo teaches the method of claim 1, but is silent on wherein the part includes gasket grooves and further comprising tilting at least one of the part or a laser used for laser engraving the elastomer material to reach undercut areas of the gasket groove.
De Boer teaches wherein the part (1) includes gasket grooves (6, [0026]).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, to have modified Fidalgo to incorporate the teachings of De Boer to have a groove so that a made component may be created with the elastomer in the desired shape, being that of the groove (De Boer [0007-0008]).
Fidalgo and De Boer are silent on and further comprising tilting at least one of the part or a laser used for laser engraving the elastomer material to reach undercut areas of the gasket groove.
Marin teaches and further comprising tilting at least one of the part or a laser used for laser engraving the elastomer material to reach undercut areas of the gasket groove (Pg. 11 lines 10-25 permits tilting of the upper mobile platform 102 in controlled degrees as desired for building of the printed object 105).
Fidalgo, De Boer, and Marin are considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because they are in the same field of laser engraving and elastomers. It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, to have modified Fidalgo and De Boer to incorporate the teachings of Marin to allow tilting so that the object may be easily removed from the groove once completed (Marin Pg. 11 lines 10-25).
Claims 10-13 and 15-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Fidalgo (US20030057194A1) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Bruck (US20150275687) and De Boer (EP2902177B1) with citations made to attached machine translation.
Regarding claim 10, Fidalgo teaches the method of claim 1, but is silent on cleaning the part prior to applying the elastomer materials wherein the surface of the part includes a gasket groove for interfacing with the elastomer gasket and adjusting a desired dimension of the elastomer gasket to compensate for changes to the gasket groove caused by cleaning the part.
Bruck teaches cleaning the part prior to applying the elastomer materials ([0040] preparing the superalloy material surface to be repaired by grinding as desired to remove defects, cleaning the surface), adjusting a desired dimension of the elastomer gasket to compensate for changes to the gasket groove caused by cleaning the part ([0040] then pre-placing or feeding a layer of powdered material containing flux material onto the surface; where pre-placing or feeding of a layer would be understood to have been affected by the previous cleaning of the surface).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, to have modified Fidalgo to incorporate the teachings of Bruck to clean the part before applying the material and adjusting the dimensions so that impurities are removed before application to limit any adverse effects from undesired particles (Bruck [0029]).
Fidalgo and Bruck are silent on wherein the surface of the part includes a gasket groove for interfacing with the elastomer gasket.
De Boer teaches wherein the surface of the part (1) includes a gasket groove (6) for interfacing with the elastomer gasket (12).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, to have modified Fidalgo and Bruck to incorporate the teachings of De Boer to have a groove so that a made component may be created with the elastomer in the desired shape, being that of the groove (De Boer [0007-0008]).
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Fig. 2 of Fidalgo
Regarding claim 11, Fidalgo, Bruck, and De Boer teach the method of claim 10, and Fidalgo teaches further comprising: forming the elastomer gasket (8a-d) with a cross-section profile of a circle, a rectangle, a polygon, or a triangle (Fig. 2 circle).
Regarding claim 12, Fidalgo, Bruck, and De Boer teach the method of claim 10, and Fidalgo teaches wherein the elastomer gasket (6) is formed of one type of material ([0022]).
Regarding claim 13, Fidalgo, Bruck, and De Boer teach the method of claim 10, but Fidalgo and Bruck are silent on wherein the part is made of metal.
De Boer teaches wherein the part is made of metal ([0025] substrate 1 which may in particular be composed at least partially of a metal).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, to have modified Fidalgo and Bruck to incorporate the teachings of De Boer to have the part be metal as metal is known to allow deposition of elastomer materials (De Boer [0003]).
Regarding claim 15, Fidalgo, Bruck, and De Boer teach the method of claim 10, and Fidalgo teaches wherein the elastomer gasket comprises a thermoplastic polyurethane material, a thermoplastic elastomer material, or a thermoplastic copolyester material ([0022] polymeric sheet materials made from polymers such as polycarbonates, polyolefins, acrylics, vinyls, polyesters, and elastomers can be used. The material can be a rubber or elastomeric material. Suitable elastomeric polymers include, for example, styrene-butadiene copolymers, polychloroprene, ethylene-propylene copolymers, silicones, and polyurethane rubbers).
Regarding claim 16, Fidalgo, Bruck, and De Boer teach the method of claim 10, and Fidalgo teaches wherein laser engraving is performed via a CO2 laser, a cold ultraviolet (UV) laser, or a green laser ([0024] CO2 laser).
Claim 14 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Fidalgo (US20030057194A1), Bruck (US20150275687), and De Boer (EP2902177B1) as applied to claim 10 above, and further in view of Hirai (US6763581B2).
Regarding claim 14, Fidalgo, Bruck, and De Boer teach the method of claim 10, but are silent on wherein the sealing surface is arranged in a spiral pattern.
Hirai teaches wherein the sealing surface is arranged in a spiral pattern (Col. 12 lines 1-5 Fig. 11 (b) a spiral probe 2 is formed on an insulating substrate having a through hole 3 to insert an elastomer 11 a formed).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, to have modified Fidalgo, Bruck, and De Boer to incorporate the teachings of Bruck to have the surface be spiral shaped as the spiral shape is understood to allow flexibility when causing connections in semiconductor components (Hirai Col. 2 lines 30-60).
Claim 17 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Fidalgo (US20030057194A1), Bruck (US20150275687), and De Boer (EP2902177B1) as applied to claim 10 above, and further in view of Park (KR 20220134190 A) with citations made to attached machine translation.
Regarding claim 17, Fidalgo, Bruck, and De Boer teach the method of claim 10, but are silent on wherein applying the elastomer material comprises applying a liquid elastomer material via pouring or spin coating.
Park teaches wherein applying the elastomer material comprises applying a liquid elastomer material via pouring or spin coating ([0042] a spray method, a spin coating method, or a deep coating method).
Fidalgo, De Boer, Bruck, and Park are considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because they are in the same field of laser engraving and elastomers. It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, to have modified Fidalgo, De Boer, and Bruck to incorporate the teachings of Park so that the elastomer may be applied to patterns that are curved or having complex shapes efficiently (Park [0005]).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ABIGAIL RHUE whose telephone number is (571)272-4615. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday, 10-6.
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/ABIGAIL H RHUE/Examiner, Art Unit 3761 8/6/2026
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