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
In view of the Notice of Appeal filed on 12/01/2025, PROSECUTION IS HEREBY REOPENED. New grounds of rejection are set forth below.
To avoid abandonment of the application, appellant must exercise one of the following two options:
(1) file a reply under 37 CFR 1.111 (if this Office action is non-final) or a reply under 37 CFR 1.113 (if this Office action is final); or,
(2) initiate a new appeal by filing a notice of appeal under 37 CFR 41.31 followed by an appeal brief under 37 CFR 41.37. The previously paid notice of appeal fee and appeal brief fee can be applied to the new appeal. If, however, the appeal fees set forth in 37 CFR 41.20 have been increased since they were previously paid, then appellant must pay the difference between the increased fees and the amount previously paid.
A Supervisory Patent Examiner (SPE) has approved of reopening prosecution by signing below:
/MICHAEL G HOANG/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3762
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.
Claims 1, 2, 10, 11, and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 2020/0132064 (Takahashi hereinafter) in view of US 2009/0282842 (Koyama hereinafter) in view of US 2002/0074324 (Wang hereinafter) and further in view of US KR 10-2018-0048290 (Asai hereinafter).
Regarding claim 1, Takahashi teaches a cryopump and control scheme (Figure 1) that discloses controlling a variable speed motor (Motor 80) controlling a flow of refrigerant through a refrigerating system of said cryopump to operate at a predetermined speed so as to cool a first stage of the refrigerator (First stage 20) and a second stage of the refrigerator (Second stage 21 and the motor 80 per ¶ 23, 51, and 55); setting a first predetermined temperature for said first stage of a refrigerator and said a second predetermined temperature for a second stage of said refrigerator (¶ 106-107); and while said refrigerating system is cooling said first stage and said second stage, controlling heaters associated with said first and second stages of said refrigerator such that said first and second predetermined temperatures are maintained (Operation detailed in ¶ 106-107), and the use of heaters (Heaters 94 and 96).
Takahashi is silent with respect to a step of following completion of a regeneration cycle controlling said cryopump to perform a predetermined test routine for testing a performance of said cryopump under predetermined conditions wherein said step of controlling said cryopump to perform a predetermined test routine.
However, Koyama teaches a cryopump and method of diagnosing the cryopump that discloses following completion of a regeneration cycle controlling said cryopump to perform a predetermined test routine for testing a performance of said cryopump under predetermined conditions (¶ 66 where the observation is occurring during the working conditions which is being interpreted as after a regeneration cycle).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the control aspect of Takahashi with the control method timing of Koyama to ensure that the pump has completed a cycle prior to testing.
Takahashi is silent with respect to determining a power consumed by the heaters, the power providing an indication of the performance of said cryopump.
However, Wang teaches a vacuum pump system that discloses a step of determining a power consumed by the heaters, the power providing an indication of the performance of said cryopump (Heaters 31-35 with individual sensors per ¶ 30). The resultant combination would use the power sensors of Wang such that there is a step of determining a power consumed by the heaters, the power providing an indication of the performance of said cryopump of Takahashi.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the control of Takahashi with the heater power sensing of Wang to ensure that the heaters are outputting the required heat for the temperature control of the cryopump.
Takahashi is silent with respect to determining a power consumed by the heaters and comparing the determined power with a previous power valve.
However, Asai teaches a vacuum pump and control scheme that discloses diagnostic control based on previous heater power values (“The diagnostic rule of abnormality is defined as a diagnostic rule defined in rule (38). The device status monitoring and controlling section 215e performs an abnormality determination in accordance with this diagnosis rule. For example, the rule 38 indicates that the average value in the current batch process of the measured value of the piping temperature of the first device data to be monitored is a variation smaller than the reference value in comparison with the average value in the previous batch process, (Rule) that the current average value of the heater power values of the pipe heaters of the first and second pipe heaters fluctuates by more than a threshold value in comparison with the previous average value.”) The resultant combination would take the control of Takahashi with the individual heater monitoring of Wang while incorporating the detection and comparison of previous heater values of Asia to disclose determining a power consumed by the heaters and comparing the determined power with a previous power valve.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the control of the cryopump and sensors of Takahashi/Wang with the sensing comparison and control of Asai to ensure that the cryopump is operating within the designed/historical specifications for optimal efficiency.
Regarding claim 2, Takahashi’s modified teachings are described above in claim 1 where the combination of Takahashi, Koyama, Wang, and Asai would further disclose that said method controlling said cryopump to perform said predetermined test routine periodically after at least a subset of said regeneration cycles (Under the broadest reasonable interpretation, the monitoring/testing of Takahashi/Koyama is constantly sensing and therefore the test routine will be running after any regeneration cycle).
Regarding claim 10, Takahashi teaches a cryopump and control scheme (Figure 1) that discloses controlling a variable speed motor (Motor 80) controlling a flow of refrigerant through a refrigerating system of said cryopump to operate at a predetermined speed so as to cool a first stage of the refrigerator (First stage 20) and a second stage of the refrigerator (Second stage 21 and the motor 80 per ¶ 23, 51, and 55); setting a first predetermined temperature for said first stage of a refrigerator and said a second predetermined temperature for a second stage of said refrigerator (¶ 106-107); and while said refrigerating system is cooling said first stage and said second stage, controlling heaters associated with said first and second stages of said refrigerator such that said first and second predetermined temperatures are maintained (Operation detailed in ¶ 106-107), and the use of heaters (Heaters 94 and 96).
Takahashi is silent with respect that said control circuitry being configured to determine when a regeneration cycle has completed and to control said cryopump following completion of said regeneration cycle to perform a predetermined test routine for testing a performance of said cryopump under predetermined conditions.
However, Koyama teaches a cryopump and method of diagnosing the cryopump that discloses control circuitry being configured to determine when a regeneration cycle has completed and to control said cryopump following completion of said regeneration cycle to perform a predetermined test routine for testing a performance of said cryopump under predetermined conditions (¶ 66 where the observation is occurring during the working conditions which is being interpreted as after a regeneration cycle).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the control aspect of Takahashi with the control method timing of Koyama to ensure that the pump has completed a cycle prior to testing.
Takahashi is silent with respect to determining a power consumed by the heaters, the power providing an indication of the performance of said cryopump.
However, Wang teaches a vacuum pump system that discloses a step of determining a power consumed by the heaters, the power providing an indication of the performance of said cryopump (Heaters 31-35 with individual sensors per ¶ 30). The resultant combination would use the power sensors of Wang such that there is a step of determining a power consumed by the heaters, the power providing an indication of the performance of said cryopump of Takahashi.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the control of Takahashi with the heater power sensing of Wang to ensure that the heaters are outputting the required heat for the temperature control of the cryopump.
Takahashi is silent with respect to determining a power consumed by the heaters and comparing the determined power with a previous power valve.
However, Asai teaches a vacuum pump and control scheme that discloses diagnostic control based on previous heater power values (“The diagnostic rule of abnormality is defined as a diagnostic rule defined in rule (38). The device status monitoring and controlling section 215e performs an abnormality determination in accordance with this diagnosis rule. For example, the rule 38 indicates that the average value in the current batch process of the measured value of the piping temperature of the first device data to be monitored is a variation smaller than the reference value in comparison with the average value in the previous batch process, (Rule) that the current average value of the heater power values of the pipe heaters of the first and second pipe heaters fluctuates by more than a threshold value in comparison with the previous average value.”) The resultant combination would take the control of Takahashi with the individual heater monitoring of Wang while incorporating the detection and comparison of previous heater values of Asia to disclose determining a power consumed by the heaters and comparing the determined power with a previous power valve.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the control of the cryopump and sensors of Takahashi/Wang with the sensing comparison and control of Asai to ensure that the cryopump is operating within the designed/historical specifications for optimal efficiency.
Regarding claim 11, Takahashi’s modified teachings are described above in claim 1 where the combination of Takahashi, Koyama, Wang, and Asai would further disclose that said control circuitry being configured to control said cryopump to perform said predetermined test routine periodically after at least a subset of said regeneration cycles (Under the broadest reasonable interpretation, the monitoring/testing of Takahashi/Koyama is constantly sensing and therefore the test routine will be running after any regeneration cycle).
Regarding claim 18, Takahashi teaches a cryopump (Figure 1) that discloses a refrigerator unit (Cryocooler 16); a variable speed motor for controlling a flow of refrigerant through a cooling system of said cryopump (Motor 80 per ¶ 32, 51, and 55); and control circuitry according to claim 10 (Please refer to the above rejection of Claim 10).
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1, 2, 10, 11, and 18 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CONNOR J. TREMARCHE whose telephone number is (571)272-2175. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Thursday 0700-1700 Eastern.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, MICHAEL HOANG can be reached at (571) 272-6460. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/CONNOR J TREMARCHE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3762