DETAILED CORRESPONDENCE
This non-final office action is in response to the Amendments filed on 12 January 2026, regarding application number 18/269,324.
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 12 January 2026 has been entered.
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 .
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.
Response to Amendment
Claims 1-9 remain pending in the application. Claims 1 and 9 were amended in the Amendments to the Claims. Claims 10-11 have been cancelled.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see Pages 5-6, filed 12 January 2026, with respect to the rejections of claims 1-9 under 35 U.S.C. § 103, have been fully considered but are not persuasive. Applicant has made the following arguments:
"The applied references, either alone or in any combination-and especially newly-applied Sasaki-fail to disclose or to have rendered obvious setting a relay position based on predetermined positional ranges corresponding to all possible positional misalignments such that, from the relay position to any corrected picking position within those ranges, each of the three joint motors is driven only in a single, same rotational direction, as required in independent claims 1 and 9.
Examiner respectfully disagrees. In response to applicant's argument that the references fail to show certain features of the invention, it is noted that the features upon which applicant relies (i.e. ”all possible positional misalignments” and “any corrected picking position”) are not recited in the rejected claim(s). Although the claims are interpreted in light of the specification, limitations from the specification are not read into the claims. See In re Van Geuns, 988 F.2d 1181, 26 USPQ2d 1057 (Fed. Cir. 1993). The cited Sasaki reference; however, does explicitly disclose at least the claimed “for each of the three joints, determining a predetermined positional range within which the joint would be oriented for a position in which the corrected picking position would be located due to any possible positional misalignment;” and “setting a location of the relay position so that each joint motor would only need to be driven in one direction for the hand to travel from the relay position to every position located within the predetermined range by setting a relay position orientation of each joint outside of the predetermined positional range determined for that joint;”. See full details below.
“Specifically, Sasaki discloses determining a "measurement teaching point" or via-point outside a corrected movable range so as to avoid joint reversal when moving to a single corrected teaching point associated with a particular attachment operation. However, this is not the same as the claimed determination of a relay position that is expressly configured, joint-by-joint for three different joints, to lie outside a predetermined positional range that encompasses all possible corrected picking positions arising from any possible positional misalignment, such that motion from the relay position to every such corrected picking position is achievable by driving each of the three joint motors in only one direction. This is because Sasaki's via-point is selected with reference to a specific corrected teaching point for a particular workpiece measurement and does not require, teach, or suggest selecting a relay position that guarantees unidirectional joint motion for an entire range of potential corrected positions resulting from misalignment during substrate picking.”
Examiner respectfully disagrees. In response to applicant's argument that the references fail to show certain features of the invention, it is noted that the features upon which applicant relies (i.e. “all possible corrected picking positions”) are not recited in the rejected claim(s). Although the claims are interpreted in light of the specification, limitations from the specification are not read into the claims. See In re Van Geuns, 988 F.2d 1181, 26 USPQ2d 1057 (Fed. Cir. 1993). Additionally, Sasaki explicitly teaches “pre-measurement teaching points", "via-points" and "measurement teaching points”, which each read on the claimed “relay position”. These points all lie outside a predetermined positional range within which each joint would be oriented for a position in which the corrected position would be located due to any possible positional misalignment. That is, the “corrected movable range of joint axis” of Figure 10C and the “corrected movable range R2” of Figures 12A-12B correspond to the claimed predetermined positional range within which the joint would be oriented for a position in which the corrected position would be located due to any possible positional misalignment. See at least:
[0094]-[0098],
[0105 "The corrected movable range J[n] of the axis value (which is the rotational angle in the case of the rotary joint) of the joint Jn (any of J1 to J6) being processed is calculated in the first step S600 of this loop. As shown in FIG. 10C, this corrected movable range J[n] (1405) is calculated as the range of the axis value of the joint Jn at the position and the orientation of the robotic arm 301, which can be taken within the correction ranges corresponding to the attachment correction ranges (FIG. 10B) obtained in step S400."]-[0107 "Here, regarding this joint (Jn), a range corresponding to the attachment correction range (FIG. 10B) calculated by the inverse kinematics calculation in step S400 is assumed to be R2 (from θmin to θmax). In this case, the corrected movable range J[n] corresponding to the attachment correction range of the joint (Jn) is equivalent to the range R2, namely, θmin≦J[n]≦θmax."] and
[0126 "As described above, in this Example 1, the possible corrected movable range of the axis value of the certain one of joints toward the attachment teaching point is obtained based on the possible error ranges of the relative position and the relative orientation of the gripped object (the connector 12) gripped with the robotic hand 302 (the corrected movable range acquisition process)."]-[0128].
Sasaki further teaches the pre-measurement teaching points/via-points/measurement teaching points (corresponding to the claimed “relay position”) lying outside the corrected movable range (corresponding to the claimed “predetermined positional range”) such that that motion from the pre-measurement teaching points/via-points/measurement teaching points to every such corrected picking position is achievable by driving each of the three joint motors in only one direction. See at least:
Figure 12A, ranges R1 and R3; Figure 12B, range R4, especially Jb[n];
[0095],
[0097 "The unit W9 represents a control unit which provides a new teaching point in such a range where each axis value falls out of the corrected movable range during the movement from a pre-measurement teaching point to the attachment teaching point (FIG. 11C), and determines this teaching point as the pre-measurement teaching point immediately preceding to the measurement teaching point."]-[0098],
[0107]-[0109 "For example, when the corrected movable range J[n] of the joint (Jn) is equivalent to the range R2 as shown in FIG. 12A, the range Jt[n] of the via-point is defined as ranges outside the range R2, namely, −180°<Jt[n]<θmin and θmax<Jt[n]≦180°. After step S900, the processing of the relevant joint (Jn) is terminated (the processing returns to step S500)."],
[0113]-[0116] and
[0126]-[0128 "In this Example 1, when the robotic arm 301 is moved from the pre-measurement teaching point to the measurement teaching point and further to the corrected movable range, the robotic arm 301 is controlled in such a way that a certain one (or all) of the joints is driven in the definite driving direction without causing the reverse rotation."].
"Stated differently, Sasaki addresses avoiding joint direction changes for a single corrected target derived from a particular measurement result, whereas the present claims require pre- establishing a relay position that is robust against any possible positional misalignment within a defined range and that enforces a one-direction-only constraint on all joint motors from the relay position to every corrected picking position within that range. Sasaki contains no teaching or suggestion of determining joint-specific positional ranges corresponding to misalignment uncertainty, nor of setting a relay orientation outside those ranges for the express purpose of guaranteeing unidirectional joint driving for all possible corrected positions. The remaining references fail to cure this deficiency, as they similarly lack any teaching of selecting a relay position based on misalignment-derived positional ranges to enforce a unidirectional joint-drive constraint across all corrected picking positions.
Thus, claims 1 and 9 are patentable over the applied references. Further claims 2-8 are patentable for at least the same reasons as well as for the additional features they recite. Applicant respectfully requests withdrawal of the rejections.”
Examiner respectfully disagrees. In response to applicant's argument that the references fail to show certain features of the invention, it is noted that the features upon which applicant relies (i.e. “joint-specific positional ranges corresponding to misalignment uncertainty” and “all possible corrected positions”) are not recited in the rejected claim(s). Although the claims are interpreted in light of the specification, limitations from the specification are not read into the claims. See In re Van Geuns, 988 F.2d 1181, 26 USPQ2d 1057 (Fed. Cir. 1993). Additionally, Sasaki explicitly teaches at least the claimed “ setting a location of the relay position so that each joint motor would only need to be driven in one direction for the hand to travel from the relay position to every position located within the predetermined range by setting a relay position orientation of each joint outside of the predetermined positional range determined for that joint” as discussed above and below. See at least:
Figure 12A, ranges R1 and R3; Figure 12B, range R4, especially Jb[n];
[0095],
[0097 "The unit W9 represents a control unit which provides a new teaching point in such a range where each axis value falls out of the corrected movable range during the movement from a pre-measurement teaching point to the attachment teaching point (FIG. 11C), and determines this teaching point as the pre-measurement teaching point immediately preceding to the measurement teaching point."]-[0098],
[0107]-[0109 "For example, when the corrected movable range J[n] of the joint (Jn) is equivalent to the range R2 as shown in FIG. 12A, the range Jt[n] of the via-point is defined as ranges outside the range R2, namely, −180°<Jt[n]<θmin and θmax<Jt[n]≦180°. After step S900, the processing of the relevant joint (Jn) is terminated (the processing returns to step S500)."],
[0113]-[0116] and
[0126]-[0128 "In this Example 1, when the robotic arm 301 is moved from the pre-measurement teaching point to the measurement teaching point and further to the corrected movable range, the robotic arm 301 is controlled in such a way that a certain one (or all) of the joints is driven in the definite driving direction without causing the reverse rotation."].
Additionally, claims 1-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) as discussed below. Therefore, Minami in view of Sasaki teaches each and every element in at least claims 1 and 9 according to the current interpretation(s) of the claim language. See the 35 U.S.C. 112(b) and 35 U.S.C. 103 rejections below.
For at least the reasons discussed above, the claim rejections under 35 U.S.C. § 103 have been maintained. See full details below.
Claim Objections
Claims 1 and 9 are objected to because Examiner recommends to use more explicit language than “that joint”, such as “the joint”, “said joint” or “each respective joint”.
Appropriate correction is required.
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.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Regarding Claims 1-9
Claims 1 and 9 recite “…a corrected position that is the position of the hand after correction…”. It is unclear whether the “a corrected position” is the same or different from the “corrected picking position” recited earlier because it does not contain the term “picking”. As such, the metes and bounds of the claims are unclear. Claims 2-8 are rejected by virtue of dependency on claim 1. For the purpose of compact prosecution, “a corrected position” in claims 1 and 9 will be read as “the corrected picking position”.
Claims 1 and 9 recite “…determining a predetermined positional range within which the joint would be oriented for a position in which the corrected picking position would be located due to any possible positional misalignment;”. The claim limitation is ambiguous because is unclear what the “a position” is referring to. For example, is the “a position” the same as the “corrected picking position” or a distinct position? It’s also unclear what is meant by the claimed a position in which the corrected picking position “would be located”. As such, the metes and bounds of the claims are unclear. Claims 2-8 are rejected by virtue of dependency on claim 1. For the purpose of compact prosecution, “determining a predetermined positional range within which the joint would be oriented for a position in which the corrected picking position would be located due to any possible positional misalignment;” in claims 1 and 9 will be read as “determining a predetermined positional range within which the joint would be oriented corresponding to the corrected picking position location due to any possible positional misalignment;”.
Claims 1, 2 and 9 recite “the predetermined range”. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this element in the claims. As such, the metes and bounds of the claims are unclear. Claims 2-8 are rejected by virtue of dependency on claim 1. For the purpose of compact prosecution, “the predetermined range” in claims 1, 2 and 9 will be read as “a predetermined range”.
Regarding Claim 3
Claim 3 recites “the correction position”. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this element in the claims. As such, the metes and bounds of the claim are unclear. For the purpose of compact prosecution, “the correction position” will be read as “the corrected picking position”. Examiner further recommends to amend “what the” to state “where the” because the position is a location in the context of these claims.
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.
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.
Claims 1-4 and 8-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Minami et al. (US 20130218337 A1 and Minami hereinafter) in view of Sasaki (US 20170361464 A1 and Sasaki hereinafter).
Regarding Claim 1
Minami teaches a controller for a substrate transfer robot (see all Figs., especially Fig. 3; [0011] and [0055]), the controller that controls the substrate transfer robot comprising:
a hand capable of holding a substrate (see Figs. 1-2, hand 16; [0021] and [0045 "...a hand 16 capable of holding a wafer 3 as a target object to be transferred.]);
three joints whose axes are oriented in a vertical direction (see the joint between the body unit 12 and arm 14, between arm 14 and arm 15 and between arm 15 and hand 16 in Fig. 2; [0044 "As shown in FIG. 2, the first robot 10 is a horizontal articulated robot including two arms horizontally swinging about respective vertical axes."]-[0046 "More specifically, the base end portion of the first arm 14 is rotatably connected to the upper portion of the body unit 12. The base end portion of the second arm 15 is rotatably connected to the upper portion of the tip end portion of the first arm 14. The hand 16 is rotatably connected to the tip end portion of the second arm 15."] and [0047]); and
three joint motors, each switchable in a direction of rotation to drive a respective one of the three joints (see [0047 "The first arm 14, the second arm 15 and the hand 16 are rotatable with respect to one another and are rotated by a mechanism including a motor and a speed reducer."]-[0048]), wherein
the controller corrects a picking position of the hand in picking the substrate based on positional misalignment information indicating a positional misalignment of the substrate (see Fig. 5-6, all; Fig. 7, steps S109-S111; [0011], [0032]-[0034], [0040], [0069] and [0077]-[0079], especially [0033 "In the meantime, the first robot control device 30 calculates correction information pursuant to the absolute deviation amount between the center position of the positioned wafer 3 received from the substrate positioning device 50 and the rotation center of the mounting table 51. The first robot control device 30 corrects the unloading position of the wafer 3 pursuant to the correction information thus calculated."] and [0069 "When the wafer 3 placed on the substrate positioning device 50 is unloaded by the first robot 10, the correcting unit 32 corrects the unloading position of the wafer 3 with respect to the first robot 10 based on the calculated correction information."]),
the controller controls the hand to pass through a relay position before the hand reaches a corrected position that is the position of the hand after correction (see Fig. 7, step S112; [0048 "The first robot 10 causes the hand 16 to move to a target position by rotating the first arm 14, the second arm 15, and the hand 16. The first robot 10 can cause the hand 16 to move linearly by synchronously operating the first arm 14 and the second arm 15."] and [0078 "Thereafter, the first robot control device 30 causes the first robot 10 to move to the unloading position (the vector PC0) corrected by the correcting unit 32, thereby unloading and transferring the wafer 3 placed on the substrate positioning device 50."]; the first robot controls the hand to move to the unloading/target position (corresponding to the claimed "corrected position") indicated by vector PC0, therefore the hand inherently passes through a relay position which could be any position between the hands starting position and the unloading/target position.), and
the controller controls the hand to reach the relay position by driving each joint motor in the one direction and controls the hand to reach the corrected picking position from the relay position (see Fig. 7, step S112; [0048 "The first robot 10 causes the hand 16 to move to a target position by rotating the first arm 14, the second arm 15, and the hand 16. The first robot 10 can cause the hand 16 to move linearly by synchronously operating the first arm 14 and the second arm 15."] and [0078 "Thereafter, the first robot control device 30 causes the first robot 10 to move to the unloading position (the vector PC0) corrected by the correcting unit 32, thereby unloading and transferring the wafer 3 placed on the substrate positioning device 50."]; the first robot controls the hand to move to the unloading/target position (corresponding to the claimed "corrected position") indicated by vector PC0, therefore the hand inherently passes through a relay position which could be any position between the hands starting position and the unloading/target position.)
Minami is silent regarding the relay position being set by:
for each of the three joints, determining a predetermined positional range within which the joint would be oriented for a position in which the corrected picking position would be located due to any possible positional misalignment;
setting a location of the relay position so that each joint motor would only need to be driven in one direction for the hand to travel from the relay position to every position located within the predetermined range by setting a relay position orientation of each joint outside of the predetermined positional range determined for that joint; and
driving each joint motor in the one direction to reach the set relay position orientation of that joint and driving each joint motor in the same one direction from the set relay position orientation of that joint.
Sasaki teaches a controller for a transfer robot (see all Figs.; [0011]), the controller that controls the transfer robot comprising:
a hand (see robotic hand 302 in most Figs.; [0038]);
three joints whose axes are oriented in a vertical direction (see Fig. 17, joints J1-J6; [0011] and [0036 "The robot apparatus 300 in FIG. 17 includes a six-axis vertically articulated robotic arm 301, a control device 200 to control the robotic arm 301, a teaching pendant 1300 connected to the control device 200, and a visual sensor 500."]-[0037]); and
three joint motors, each switchable in a direction of rotation to drive a respective one of the three joints (see "servo motors" in [0042 "When the drive system of each of the joints J1 to J6 is of a rotary drive system, a servo motor or the like is used as a rotary drive source of this drive system, and a transmission (a decelerator) that changes gears therein (mostly in a decelerating manner) is disposed in the drive system (a transmission system)."], [0052 "Operating keys 1301 and 1302 used for turning the joints J1 to J6 of the robotic arm 301 respectively in + and − directions, for example, are disposed on the operation screen of the teaching pendant 1300 in FIG. 16."] and [0087]), wherein
the controller corrects a position of the hand based on positional misalignment information (see Fig. 11C, all; the "attachment teaching point"/"corrected teaching point" correspond(s) to the claimed "corrected picking position"; [0012], [0072 "The control device 200 of the robot apparatus 300 controls the position or the orientation when the gripped object (the connector 12) is attached to the attachment target object (the connector 16) being the target for attachment at an attachment teaching point that is corrected based on the measurement result by the measurement device."], [0094] and [0126 "As described above, in this Example 1, the possible corrected movable range of the axis value of the certain one of joints toward the attachment teaching point is obtained based on the possible error ranges of the relative position and the relative orientation of the gripped object (the connector 12) gripped with the robotic hand 302 (the corrected movable range acquisition process)."."]-[0128]),
the controller controls the hand to pass through a relay position before the hand reaches a corrected position that is the position of the hand after correction (see Figs. 11A-11B, all; the "pre-measurement teaching point"/"via-point" and/or "measurement teaching point" correspond(s) to the claimed "relay position"; [0012], [0072 "...determining the measurement teaching point such that the driving direction of each of the joints (J1 to J6) from the measurement teaching point to the attachment teaching point mentioned above is set to the definite driving direction."]-[0073 "In the pre-measurement teaching point determination process, the pre-measurement teaching point is determined such that the driving direction of each of the joints from the pre-measurement teaching point to the measurement teaching point where the measurement with the visual sensor 500 takes place is set to the definite driving direction. In this Example 1, the gripped object is moved to the measurement teaching point via the pre-measurement teaching point determined in the pre-measurement teaching point determination process."], [0091]-[0098] and [0127 "Then, the robotic arm 301 is moved from the pre-measurement teaching point to the measurement teaching point, and is then caused to execute the action in the corrected movable range based on the measurement conducted at the measurement teaching point with the visual sensor 500."]-[0128 "In this Example 1, when the robotic arm 301 is moved from the pre-measurement teaching point to the measurement teaching point and further to the corrected movable range, the robotic arm 301 is controlled in such a way that a certain one (or all) of the joints is driven in the definite driving direction without causing the reverse rotation."]),
the relay position being set by:
for each of the three joints, determining a predetermined positional range within which the joint would be oriented for a position in which the corrected position would be located due to any possible positional misalignment (see Fig. 10C, corrected movable range of joint axis; Figs. 12A-12B, corrected movable range R2; [0094]-[0098], [0105 "The corrected movable range J[n] of the axis value (which is the rotational angle in the case of the rotary joint) of the joint Jn (any of J1 to J6) being processed is calculated in the first step S600 of this loop. As shown in FIG. 10C, this corrected movable range J[n] (1405) is calculated as the range of the axis value of the joint Jn at the position and the orientation of the robotic arm 301, which can be taken within the correction ranges corresponding to the attachment correction ranges (FIG. 10B) obtained in step S400."]-[0107 "Here, regarding this joint (Jn), a range corresponding to the attachment correction range (FIG. 10B) calculated by the inverse kinematics calculation in step S400 is assumed to be R2 (from θmin to θmax). In this case, the corrected movable range J[n] corresponding to the attachment correction range of the joint (Jn) is equivalent to the range R2, namely, θmin≦J[n]≦θmax."] and [0126 "As described above, in this Example 1, the possible corrected movable range of the axis value of the certain one of joints toward the attachment teaching point is obtained based on the possible error ranges of the relative position and the relative orientation of the gripped object (the connector 12) gripped with the robotic hand 302 (the corrected movable range acquisition process)."]-[0128]);
setting a location of the relay position so that each joint motor would only need to be driven in one direction for the hand to travel from the relay position to every position located within the predetermined range by setting a relay position orientation of each joint outside of the predetermined positional range determined for that joint (see Fig. 12A, ranges R1 and R3; Fig. 12B, range R4, especially Jb[n]; [0095], [0097 "The unit W9 represents a control unit which provides a new teaching point in such a range where each axis value falls out of the corrected movable range during the movement from a pre-measurement teaching point to the attachment teaching point (FIG. 11C), and determines this teaching point as the pre-measurement teaching point immediately preceding to the measurement teaching point."]-[0098], [0107]-[0109 "For example, when the corrected movable range J[n] of the joint (Jn) is equivalent to the range R2 as shown in FIG. 12A, the range Jt[n] of the via-point is defined as ranges outside the range R2, namely, −180°<Jt[n]<θmin and θmax<Jt[n]≦180°. After step S900, the processing of the relevant joint (Jn) is terminated (the processing returns to step S500)."], [0113]-[0116] and [0126]-[0128 "In this Example 1, when the robotic arm 301 is moved from the pre-measurement teaching point to the measurement teaching point and further to the corrected movable range, the robotic arm 301 is controlled in such a way that a certain one (or all) of the joints is driven in the definite driving direction without causing the reverse rotation."]); and
the controller controls the hand to reach the relay position by driving each joint motor in the one direction to reach the set relay position orientation of that joint and controls the hand to reach the corrected position from the relay position by driving each joint motor in the same one direction from the set relay position orientation of that joint (see [0012], [0072 "...determining the measurement teaching point such that the driving direction of each of the joints (J1 to J6) from the measurement teaching point to the attachment teaching point mentioned above is set to the definite driving direction."]-[0073 "In the pre-measurement teaching point determination process, the pre-measurement teaching point is determined such that the driving direction of each of the joints from the pre-measurement teaching point to the measurement teaching point where the measurement with the visual sensor 500 takes place is set to the definite driving direction. In this Example 1, the gripped object is moved to the measurement teaching point via the pre-measurement teaching point determined in the pre-measurement teaching point determination process."], [0074], [0109]-[0113 "Next, in step S1200, the CPU 1201 performs the calculation to acquire the measurement range. As shown in FIG. 12B, the measurement range means a range R4 between an axis value Jb[n] of a certain joint (Jn) corresponding to the pre-measurement teaching point acquired in step S1100 and the corrected movable range R2 of the certain joint (Jn). In step S1200, the CPU 1201 acquires this range R4 as a measurement range (R4)."] and [0126]-[0128 "In this Example 1, when the robotic arm 301 is moved from the pre-measurement teaching point to the measurement teaching point and further to the corrected movable range, the robotic arm 301 is controlled in such a way that a certain one (or all) of the joints is driven in the definite driving direction without causing the reverse rotation. For this reason, it is possible to properly suppress a control error attributed to a backlash of a drive system of each of the joints of the robotic arm 301, thereby manufacturing an article while conducting accurate and reliable workpiece attachment."]).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the controller of Minami to further determine a predetermined positional range within which the joint would be oriented for a position in which the corrected picking position would be located due to any possible positional misalignment; set a location of the relay position so that each joint motor would only need to be driven in one direction for the hand to travel from the relay position to every position located within the predetermined range by setting a relay position orientation of each joint outside of the predetermined positional range determined for that joint; and control the hand to reach the corrected picking position by driving each joint motor in the one direction to reach the set relay position orientation of that joint and controls the hand to reach the corrected picking position from the relay position by driving each joint motor in the same one direction from the set relay position orientation of that joint, as taught by Sasaki, in order to remove backlash in the joints and thus to achieve robot control at high accuracy.
Regarding Claim 2
Modified Minami teaches the controller for the substrate transfer robot according to claim 1 (as discussed above in claim 1),
Minami is silent regarding wherein the relay position is distant from the location of the predetermined range.
Sasaki teaches wherein the relay position is distant from the location of the predetermined range (see [0095]-[0097 "The unit W9 represents a control unit which provides a new teaching point in such a range where each axis value falls out of the corrected movable range during the movement from a pre-measurement teaching point to the attachment teaching point (FIG. 11C), and determines this teaching point as the pre-measurement teaching point immediately preceding to the measurement teaching point."]-[0098], [0107]-[0111], [0116] and [0126]-[0128 "In this Example 1, when the robotic arm 301 is moved from the pre-measurement teaching point to the measurement teaching point and further to the corrected movable range, the robotic arm 301 is controlled in such a way that a certain one (or all) of the joints is driven in the definite driving direction without causing the reverse rotation."]).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to further modify the controller of modified Minami to pass the hand through the relay position which is distant from the location of the predetermined range, as taught by Sasaki, in order to remove backlash in the joints and thus to achieve robot control at high accuracy.
Regarding Claim 3
Modified Minami teaches the controller for the substrate transfer robot according to claim 1 (as discussed above in claim 1),
Minami is silent regarding the one direction is the same direction no matter what the correction position is.
Sasaki teaches the one direction is the same direction no matter what the correction position is (see [0011], [0073 "In the pre-measurement teaching point determination process, the pre-measurement teaching point is determined such that the driving direction of each of the joints from the pre-measurement teaching point to the measurement teaching point where the measurement with the visual sensor 500 takes place is set to the definite driving direction."]-[0074 "The control to cause the robot apparatus 300 to determine the measurement teaching point (the teaching point at which the measurement with the visual sensor 500 takes place) such that it is possible to create the corrective action which can avoid the occurrence of the reversal of the rotation (the reverse rotation) of each of the joints (J1 to J6) of the robotic arm 301 as mentioned above will be described below in further detail."], [0095] and [0128 "...he robotic arm 301 is controlled in such a way that a certain one (or all) of the joints is driven in the definite driving direction without causing the reverse rotation. For this reason, it is possible to properly suppress a control error attributed to a backlash of a drive system of each of the joints of the robotic arm 301, thereby manufacturing an article while conducting accurate and reliable workpiece attachment."]).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the controller of Minami to further control the hand to reach the relay position by driving the joint in one direction by the joint motor and the hand to reach the corrected position from the relay position by driving the joint in the same direction no matter what the correction position is, as taught by Sasaki, in order to remove backlash in the joints and thus to achieve robot control at high accuracy.
Regarding Claim 4
Modified Minami teaches the controller for the substrate transfer robot according to claim 1 (as discussed above in claim 1),
Minami further teaches wherein
the positional misalignment information is information on the positional misalignment of the substrate set on a substrate aligner that is measured by the substrate aligner (see Fig. 4-6, all; Fig. 7, steps S108-S110; [0011 "...at least an absolute deviation amount between the rotation center of the mounting table and a center position of the substrate positioned..."], [0030] and [0069 "The correcting unit 32 calculates correction information pursuant to the absolute deviation amount between the center position of the wafer 3 received from the position acquiring unit 31 and the rotation center C of the mounting table 51."]-[0080]), and
based on the positional misalignment information, the controller corrects the position of the hand when the substrate set on the substrate aligner is picked (see Fig. 7, steps S111-112; [0032]-[0034], [0040], [0069] and [0077]-[0078], especially [0034 "When the wafer 3 placed on the substrate positioning device 50 is unloaded by the first robot 10, the first robot control device 30 causes the first robot 10 to move to the corrected unloading position of the wafer 3."] and [0069 "When the wafer 3 placed on the substrate positioning device 50 is unloaded by the first robot 10, the correcting unit 32 corrects the unloading position of the wafer 3 with respect to the first robot 10 based on the calculated correction information."]).
Regarding Claim 8
Modified Minami teaches a robot system comprising:
the controller for the substrate transfer robot according to claim 1 (as discussed above in claim 1), and
Minami teaches the substrate transfer robot (see Fig. 1, robot 1; [0011] and [0024]).
Regarding Claim 9
Minami teaches a control method for a joint motor applied to a substrate transfer robot (see all Figs., especially Fig. 3; [0011]), the substrate transfer robot comprising:
a hand capable of holding a substrate (see Figs. 1-2, hand 16; [0021] and [0045 "...a hand 16 capable of holding a wafer 3 as a target object to be transferred.]);
three joints whose axes are oriented in a vertical direction (see the joint between the body unit 12 and arm 14, between arm 14 and arm 15 and between arm 15 and hand 16 in Fig. 2; [0044 "As shown in FIG. 2, the first robot 10 is a horizontal articulated robot including two arms horizontally swinging about respective vertical axes."]-[0046 "More specifically, the base end portion of the first arm 14 is rotatably connected to the upper portion of the body unit 12. The base end portion of the second arm 15 is rotatably connected to the upper portion of the tip end portion of the first arm 14. The hand 16 is rotatably connected to the tip end portion of the second arm 15."] and [0047]); and
three joint motors, each switchable in a direction of rotation to drive a respective one of the three joints (see [0047 "The first arm 14, the second arm 15 and the hand 16 are rotatable with respect to one another and are rotated by a mechanism including a motor and a speed reducer."]-[0048]), wherein,
the control method comprises:
correcting a picking position of the hand in picking the substrate based on positional misalignment information indicating a positional misalignment of the substrate (see Fig. 5-6, all; Fig. 7, steps S109-S111; [0011], [0032]-[0034], [0040], [0069] and [0077]-[0079], especially [0033 "In the meantime, the first robot control device 30 calculates correction information pursuant to the absolute deviation amount between the center position of the positioned wafer 3 received from the substrate positioning device 50 and the rotation center of the mounting table 51. The first robot control device 30 corrects the unloading position of the wafer 3 pursuant to the correction information thus calculated."] and [0069 "When the wafer 3 placed on the substrate positioning device 50 is unloaded by the first robot 10, the correcting unit 32 corrects the unloading position of the wafer 3 with respect to the first robot 10 based on the calculated correction information."]);
controlling the hand to pass through a relay position before the hand reaches a corrected position that is the position of the hand after correction (see Fig. 7, step S112; [0048 "The first robot 10 causes the hand 16 to move to a target position by rotating the first arm 14, the second arm 15, and the hand 16. The first robot 10 can cause the hand 16 to move linearly by synchronously operating the first arm 14 and the second arm 15."] and [0078 "Thereafter, the first robot control device 30 causes the first robot 10 to move to the unloading position (the vector PC0) corrected by the correcting unit 32, thereby unloading and transferring the wafer 3 placed on the substrate positioning device 50."]; the first robot controls the hand to move to the unloading/target position (corresponding to the claimed "corrected position") indicated by vector PC0, therefore the hand inherently passes through a relay position which could be any position between the hands starting position and the unloading/target position.); and
controlling the hand to reach the relay position by driving each joint motor in the one direction and controls the hand to reach the corrected picking position from the relay position (see Fig. 7, step S112; [0048 "The first robot 10 causes the hand 16 to move to a target position by rotating the first arm 14, the second arm 15, and the hand 16. The first robot 10 can cause the hand 16 to move linearly by synchronously operating the first arm 14 and the second arm 15."] and [0078 "Thereafter, the first robot control device 30 causes the first robot 10 to move to the unloading position (the vector PC0) corrected by the correcting unit 32, thereby unloading and transferring the wafer 3 placed on the substrate positioning device 50."]; the first robot controls the hand to move to the unloading/target position (corresponding to the claimed "corrected position") indicated by vector PC0, therefore the hand inherently passes through a relay position which could be any position between the hands starting position and the unloading/target position.).
Minami is silent regarding the relay position being set by:
for each of the three joints, determining a predetermined positional range within which the joint would be oriented for a position in which the corrected picking position would be located due to any possible positional misalignment;
setting a location of the relay position so that each joint motor would only need to be driven in one direction for the hand to travel from the relay position to every position located within the predetermined range by setting a relay position orientation of each joint outside of the predetermined positional range determined for that joint; and
driving each joint motor in the one direction to reach the set relay position orientation of that joint and driving each joint motor in the same one direction from the set relay position orientation of that joint.
Sasaki teaches a control method for a joint motor applied to a transfer robot (see all Figs.; [0011]), the transfer robot comprising:
a hand (see robotic hand 302 in most Figs.; [0038]);
three joints whose axes are oriented in a vertical direction (see Fig. 17, joints J1-J6; [0011] and [0036 "The robot apparatus 300 in FIG. 17 includes a six-axis vertically articulated robotic arm 301, a control device 200 to control the robotic arm 301, a teaching pendant 1300 connected to the control device 200, and a visual sensor 500."]-[0037]); and
three joint motors, each switchable in a direction of rotation to drive a respective one of the three joints (see "servo motors" in [0042 "When the drive system of each of the joints J1 to J6 is of a rotary drive system, a servo motor or the like is used as a rotary drive source of this drive system, and a transmission (a decelerator) that changes gears therein (mostly in a decelerating manner) is disposed in the drive system (a transmission system)."], [0052 "Operating keys 1301 and 1302 used for turning the joints J1 to J6 of the robotic arm 301 respectively in + and − directions, for example, are disposed on the operation screen of the teaching pendant 1300 in FIG. 16."] and [0087]), wherein,
the control method comprises
correcting a position of the hand based on positional misalignment information (see Fig. 11C, all; the "attachment teaching point"/"corrected teaching point" correspond(s) to the claimed "corrected picking position"; [0012], [0072 "The control device 200 of the robot apparatus 300 controls the position or the orientation when the gripped object (the connector 12) is attached to the attachment target object (the connector 16) being the target for attachment at an attachment teaching point that is corrected based on the measurement result by the measurement device."], [0094] and [0126 "As described above, in this Example 1, the possible corrected movable range of the axis value of the certain one of joints toward the attachment teaching point is obtained based on the possible error ranges of the relative position and the relative orientation of the gripped object (the connector 12) gripped with the robotic hand 302 (the corrected movable range acquisition process)."."]-[0128]),
controlling the hand to pass through a relay position before the hand reaches a corrected position that is the position of the hand after correction (see Figs. 11A-11B, all; the "pre-measurement teaching point"/"via-point" and/or "measurement teaching point" correspond(s) to the claimed "relay position"; [0012], [0072 "...determining the measurement teaching point such that the driving direction of each of the joints (J1 to J6) from the measurement teaching point to the attachment teaching point mentioned above is set to the definite driving direction."]-[0073 "In the pre-measurement teaching point determination process, the pre-measurement teaching point is determined such that the driving direction of each of the joints from the pre-measurement teaching point to the measurement teaching point where the measurement with the visual sensor 500 takes place is set to the definite driving direction. In this Example 1, the gripped object is moved to the measurement teaching point via the pre-measurement teaching point determined in the pre-measurement teaching point determination process."], [0091]-[0098] and [0127 "Then, the robotic arm 301 is moved from the pre-measurement teaching point to the measurement teaching point, and is then caused to execute the action in the corrected movable range based on the measurement conducted at the measurement teaching point with the visual sensor 500."]-[0128 "In this Example 1, when the robotic arm 301 is moved from the pre-measurement teaching point to the measurement teaching point and further to the corrected movable range, the robotic arm 301 is controlled in such a way that a certain one (or all) of the joints is driven in the definite driving direction without causing the reverse rotation."]),
the relay position being set by:
for each of the three joints, determining a predetermined positional range within which the joint would be oriented for a position in which the corrected position would be located due to any possible positional misalignment (see Fig. 10C, corrected movable range of joint axis; Figs. 12A-12B, corrected movable range R2; [0094]-[0098], [0105 "The corrected movable range J[n] of the axis value (which is the rotational angle in the case of the rotary joint) of the joint Jn (any of J1 to J6) being processed is calculated in the first step S600 of this loop. As shown in FIG. 10C, this corrected movable range J[n] (1405) is calculated as the range of the axis value of the joint Jn at the position and the orientation of the robotic arm 301, which can be taken within the correction ranges corresponding to the attachment correction ranges (FIG. 10B) obtained in step S400."]-[0107 "Here, regarding this joint (Jn), a range corresponding to the attachment correction range (FIG. 10B) calculated by the inverse kinematics calculation in step S400 is assumed to be R2 (from θmin to θmax). In this case, the corrected movable range J[n] corresponding to the attachment correction range of the joint (Jn) is equivalent to the range R2, namely, θmin≦J[n]≦θmax."] and [0126 "As described above, in this Example 1, the possible corrected movable range of the axis value of the certain one of joints toward the attachment teaching point is obtained based on the possible error ranges of the relative position and the relative orientation of the gripped object (the connector 12) gripped with the robotic hand 302 (the corrected movable range acquisition process)."]-[0128]);
setting a location of the relay position so that each joint motor would only need to be driven in one direction for the hand to travel from the relay position to every position located within the predetermined range by setting a relay position orientation of each joint outside of the predetermined positional range determined for that joint (see Fig. 12A, ranges R1 and R3; Fig. 12B, range R4, especially Jb[n]; [0095], [0097 "The unit W9 represents a control unit which provides a new teaching point in such a range where each axis value falls out of the corrected movable range during the movement from a pre-measurement teaching point to the attachment teaching point (FIG. 11C), and determines this teaching point as the pre-measurement teaching point immediately preceding to the measurement teaching point."]-[0098], [0107]-[0109 "For example, when the corrected movable range J[n] of the joint (Jn) is equivalent to the range R2 as shown in FIG. 12A, the range Jt[n] of the via-point is defined as ranges outside the range R2, namely, −180°<Jt[n]<θmin and θmax<Jt[n]≦180°. After step S900, the processing of the relevant joint (Jn) is terminated (the processing returns to step S500)."], [0113]-[0116] and [0126]-[0128 "In this Example 1, when the robotic arm 301 is moved from the pre-measurement teaching point to the measurement teaching point and further to the corrected movable range, the robotic arm 301 is controlled in such a way that a certain one (or all) of the joints is driven in the definite driving direction without causing the reverse rotation."]); and
controlling the hand to reach the relay position by driving each joint motor in the one direction to reach the set relay position orientation of that joint and controls the hand to reach the corrected position from the relay position by driving each joint motor in the same one direction from the set relay position orientation of that joint (see [0012], [0072 "...determining the measurement teaching point such that the driving direction of each of the joints (J1 to J6) from the measurement teaching point to the attachment teaching point mentioned above is set to the definite driving direction."]-[0073 "In the pre-measurement teaching point determination process, the pre-measurement teaching point is determined such that the driving direction of each of the joints from the pre-measurement teaching point to the measurement teaching point where the measurement with the visual sensor 500 takes place is set to the definite driving direction. In this Example 1, the gripped object is moved to the measurement teaching point via the pre-measurement teaching point determined in the pre-measurement teaching point determination process."], [0074], [0109]-[0113 "Next, in step S1200, the CPU 1201 performs the calculation to acquire the measurement range. As shown in FIG. 12B, the measurement range means a range R4 between an axis value Jb[n] of a certain joint (Jn) corresponding to the pre-measurement teaching point acquired in step S1100 and the corrected movable range R2 of the certain joint (Jn). In step S1200, the CPU 1201 acquires this range R4 as a measurement range (R4)."] and [0126]-[0128 "In this Example 1, when the robotic arm 301 is moved from the pre-measurement teaching point to the measurement teaching point and further to the corrected movable range, the robotic arm 301 is controlled in such a way that a certain one (or all) of the joints is driven in the definite driving direction without causing the reverse rotation. For this reason, it is possible to properly suppress a control error attributed to a backlash of a drive system of each of the joints of the robotic arm 301, thereby manufacturing an article while conducting accurate and reliable workpiece attachment."]).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the process of Minami to further include steps to determine a predetermined positional range within which the joint would be oriented for a position in which the corrected picking position would be located due to any possible positional misalignment; set a location of the relay position so that each joint motor would only need to be driven in one direction for the hand to travel from the relay position to every position located within the predetermined range by setting a relay position orientation of each joint outside of the predetermined positional range determined for that joint; and control the hand to reach the corrected picking position by driving each joint motor in the one direction to reach the set relay position orientation of that joint and controls the hand to reach the corrected picking position from the relay position by driving each joint motor in the same one direction from the set relay position orientation of that joint, as taught by Sasaki, in order to remove backlash in the joints and thus to achieve robot control at high accuracy.
Claims 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Minami (in view of Sasaki) as applied to claim 4 above, and further in view of Yoshida et al. (US 20200083086 A1 and Yoshida hereinafter).
Regarding Claim 5
Modified Minami teaches the controller for the substrate transfer robot according to claim 4 (as discussed above in claim 4),
Minami is silent regarding wherein the controller controls the substrate transfer robot so that the hand waits at the relay position after setting the substrate on the substrate aligner and before picking the substrate from the substrate aligner.
Yoshida teaches a controller for a substrate transfer robot (see all Figs.; [0009]), the controller that controls the substrate transfer robot comprising:
a hand capable of holding a substrate (see Figs. 1-2 and 5, substrate holding hand 72; [0009] and [0027]);
three joints whose axes are oriented in a vertical direction (see Figs. 1-2, joints A1-A3; [0028]); and
three joint motors, each switchable in a direction of rotation to drive a respective one of the three joints (see Fig. 3, joint driving devices 77-78; [0028], especially "Each of the joint driving devices 77, 78, and 79 includes a servomotor angularly displaced in accordance with a signal given from the controller 6…"]), wherein
the controller corrects a position of the hand in picking the substrate based on positional misalignment information indicating a positional misalignment of the substrate (see Fig. 4, steps S8-9; Fig. 5, placement transfer position P5; [0009 "...move the substrate holding hand to the placement position to transfer the substrate from the aligner to the substrate holding hand..."]-[0010] and [0040]-[0041], especially [0040 "When the substrate 24 is positioned, the aligner control unit 63 issues an alignment completion signal to the robot control unit 62 (step S25)."] and [0041 "Upon receipt of the alignment completion signal (YES in step S8), the robot control unit 62 operates the substrate transport robot 7 (step S9) so that the substrate transport robot 7 transfers the substrate 24 from the turntable 35 to the hand 72."]),
the controller controls the hand to pass through a relay position before the hand reaches a corrected position that is the position of the hand after correction (see Fig. 4, step S6; Fig. 5, waiting position P6; [0009 "...until alignment by the aligner is completed, at a predetermined waiting position defined at a position closer to the placement position than the ready position is…"] and [0038]-[0041], especially [0038 "Next, the robot control unit 62 operates the substrate transport robot 7 so that the substrate transport robot 7 moves the hand 72 to a predetermined waiting position P6 (step S6). Here, the waiting position P6 is located closer to the placement position P5 than the ready position P4 is."] and [0041 "Upon receipt of the alignment completion signal (YES in step S8), the robot control unit 62 operates the substrate transport robot 7 (step S9) so that the substrate transport robot 7 transfers the substrate 24 from the turntable 35 to the hand 72. Here, the hand 72 moves downward from the waiting position P6 to a position below the substrate 24, slightly ascends from this position, and moves to a transfer position P5."]), and
the controller controls the hand to reach the relay position by driving each joint motor in the one direction and controls the hand to reach the corrected picking position from the relay position (see Fig. 4, step S6; Fig. 5, waiting position P6; [0009 "...until alignment by the aligner is completed, at a predetermined waiting position defined at a position closer to the placement position than the ready position is…"] and [0038]-[0041], especially [0038 "Next, the robot control unit 62 operates the substrate transport robot 7 so that the substrate transport robot 7 moves the hand 72 to a predetermined waiting position P6 (step S6). Here, the waiting position P6 is located closer to the placement position P5 than the ready position P4 is."] and [0041 "Upon receipt of the alignment completion signal (YES in step S8), the robot control unit 62 operates the substrate transport robot 7 (step S9) so that the substrate transport robot 7 transfers the substrate 24 from the turntable 35 to the hand 72. Here, the hand 72 moves downward from the waiting position P6 to a position below the substrate 24, slightly ascends from this position, and moves to a transfer position P5."]),
wherein the controller controls the substrate transfer robot so that the hand waits at the relay position after setting the substrate on the substrate aligner and before picking the substrate from the substrate aligner (see Fig. 4, step S6; Fig. 5, waiting position P6; [0009 "...until alignment by the aligner is completed, at a predetermined waiting position defined at a position closer to the placement position than the ready position is…"] and [0038]-[0041] and [0046], especially [0038 "Next, the robot control unit 62 operates the substrate transport robot 7 so that the substrate transport robot 7 moves the hand 72 to a predetermined waiting position P6 (step S6). Here, the waiting position P6 is located closer to the placement position P5 than the ready position P4 is."] and [0041 "Upon receipt of the alignment completion signal (YES in step S8), the robot control unit 62 operates the substrate transport robot 7 (step S9) so that the substrate transport robot 7 transfers the substrate 24 from the turntable 35 to the hand 72. Here, the hand 72 moves downward from the waiting position P6 to a position below the substrate 24, slightly ascends from this position, and moves to a transfer position P5."]).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to further modify the controller of modified Minami to instruct the hand to wait at the relay position after setting the substrate on the substrate aligner and before picking the substrate from the substrate aligner, as taught by Yoshida, in order to improve throughput of processing substrates without requiring movement of the hand to a home position while the substrate is placed on the substrate aligner.
Claims 6-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Minami (in view of Sasaki) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Takizawa et al. (US 20090252580 A1 and Takizawa hereinafter).
Regarding Claim 6
Modified Minami teaches the controller for the substrate transfer robot according to claim 1 (as discussed above in claim 1),
Minami is silent regarding wherein based on the positional misalignment information, the controller corrects the position of the hand when the substrate is set in a storage container.
Takizawa teaches a controller for a substrate transfer robot (see all Figs.; [0002], [0010] and [0029]), the controller that controls the substrate transfer robot comprising:
a hand capable of holding a substrate (see Figs. 1-3, end effector 21; [0029] and [0054]);
three joints whose axes are oriented in a vertical direction (see "joints" in Figs. 1-3 and [0054 "The wafer transfer device 1 comprises an end effector 21 rotatably connected to arms 22 having joints."]); and
three joint motors, each switchable in a direction of rotation to drive a respective one of the three joints (see Fig. 5, actuator 54; [0060 "...the control part 53 outputs a control signal indicating the correction amount to a wafer handling device actuator 54 in order to control the wafer handling device and correct the position of the wafer as it is loaded into the processing chamber."), wherein
the controller corrects a picking position of the hand in picking the substrate based on positional misalignment information indicating a positional misalignment of the substrate (see [0010], [0039], [0042]-[0043] and [0061]);
wherein based on the positional misalignment information, the controller corrects the position of the hand when the substrate is set in a storage container (see Figs. 1 and 4, all.; [0010 "…and correct the deviation amount, thereby allowing the wafer to be loaded to the correct position in the processing chamber."], [0039 "(vi) adjusting the movement of the end effector based on the detected deviations in the x-axis and y-axis directions when loading the wafer in the wafer processing chamber."] and [0042]).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to further modify the controller of modified Minami to correct the position of the hand when the substrate is set in a storage container, as taught by Takizawa, in order to correct for the positional misalignment on the fly and therefore increase productivity.
Regarding Claim 7
Modified Minami teaches the controller for the substrate transfer robot according to claim 6 (as discussed above in claim 6),
Minami is silent regarding wherein the positional misalignment information is acquired with the substrate being held by the hand.
Takizawa teaches wherein the positional misalignment information is acquired with the substrate being held by the hand (see Figs. 3, 6-7 and 12A-B, all.; [0010 "...where the output signal from the forward photosensor is detected while the wafer handling device is stationary, and the output signal from the side photosensor is detected at the time the wafer passes the sensor as the wafer handling device loads the wafer to the processing chamber, and the two detected output signals are compared against the pre-registered signal corresponding to the correct wafer position in order to calculate the amount of deviation of the wafer and correct the deviation amount..."], [0039 "(ii) moving the end effector with the wafer at a ready-to-load position; (iii) detecting a deviation of the wafer from a standard position on the end effector ... (v) detecting a deviation of the wafer from the standard position on the end effector in a y-axis direction..."], [0041]-[0043] and [0061]).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to further modify the controller of modified Minami to acquire the positional misalignment information with the substrate being held by the hand, as taught by Takizawa, in order to detect and correct for the positional misalignment on the fly and therefore increase productivity.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TANNER LUKE CULLEN whose telephone number is (303)297-4384. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 7:30-4:30 MT.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Khoi Tran can be reached on (571)272-6919. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/TANNER L CULLEN/Examiner, Art Unit 3656
/KHOI H TRAN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3656