Prosecution Insights
Last updated: May 04, 2026
Application No. 18/280,640

RESISTOR FOR PLATING APPARATUS, AND PLATING APPARATUS

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
Sep 06, 2023
Priority
May 27, 2022 — nonprovisional of PCTJP2022021706
Examiner
RUFO, LOUIS J
Art Unit
1795
Tech Center
1700 — Chemical & Materials Engineering
Assignee
Ebara Corporation
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
54%
Grant Probability
Moderate
1-2
OA Rounds
8m
Est. Remaining
78%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 54% of resolved cases
54%
Career Allowance Rate
379 granted / 695 resolved
-10.5% vs TC avg
Strong +24% interview lift
Without
With
+23.9%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
3y 4m
Avg Prosecution
63 currently pending
Career history
758
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.6%
-39.4% vs TC avg
§103
47.7%
+7.7% vs TC avg
§102
27.4%
-12.6% vs TC avg
§112
20.3%
-19.7% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 695 resolved cases

Office Action

§102
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. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 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)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale , or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention. Claim s 1- 9 a re rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a)(1) as being anticipated by Wang et al (US 2017/0152607 A1) . As to claim 1, Wang discloses a resistor for a plating apparatus, for adjusting an electric field ([0017] “high resistance virtual anode (HRVA)” throughout specification with layers 100 and 200) , the resistor being disposed between an anode and a holder holding a target object to be plated in the plating apparatus (Fig. 6 resistor with layers 100/200 between target holder 300 and target object 300a and anode 500) , the resistor comprising: a first resistance member having a first surface and including a plurality of first through holes formed open on the first surface (Fig. 2 #200 with holes 210 and the second surface deemed to be the bottom of surface) and a second resistance member having a second surface and including a plurality of second through holes formed open on the second surface (Figs. 1, 3a/b , 4 #100 with through holes #110 and a first surface is deemed to be the top surface) , wherein the first resistance member and the second resistance member are arranged with the first surface and the second surface facing each other (See Fig. 3B with bottom surface of 200 facing top surface of 100) , and a size of overlap between the plurality of first through holes and the plurality of second through holes is variable ([0017] “ The first layer and the second layer respectively have first holes and second holes, and the first layer and/or the second layer can be rotated to adjust through hole size. In other words, the high resistance virtual anode including the first layer and the second layer has a pepper pot-like structure to adjust the through hole size. ”) . As to claim 2, Wang discloses wherein wherein one of the first resistance member and the second resistance member is configured to be movable or rotatable with respect to the other along the first surface or the second surface ([0019]). As to claims 3-5, Wang discloses wherein the second resistance member is disposed to cover a part of a side surface of the first resistance member on a side on which the second resistance member is disposed ( second resistance member #106b on the periphery of 1 st resistance member 200 ) and wherein third through holes are formed in a third surface of the side surface of the first resistance member the third surface being not covered with the second resistance member (middle area of 200 commensurate with portion 100a when second resistance member is defined as portion 106b – in other words, the second resistance member 100 is formed of plural sections nested within each other – thus providing different resistance members in line with 200 satisfying the instant claim limitations) , and wherein in the first resistance member, the first surface is formed on an outer peripheral side of the third surface (See annotation below). As to claim 6, Wang discloses wherein the first resistance member includes a first portion having a first outer diameter and a second portion having a second outer diameter smaller than the first outer diameter, the first surface is formed on the first portion, and the third surface is formed on the second portion (See annotation below) . As to claim 7, Wang further discloses a plurality of second resistance members arranged to face the first surface of the first resistance member. (#s 102b/104b/106b which are independently rotatable each other thus deemed to be a plurality of second resistance member ([0020], [0024] “t he rotatable central portion 100a of the first layer 100 and the rotatable peripheral portion 100b (e.g., the rotatable ring-shaped portions 102b, 104b, 106b) can be independently rotated. ”) As to claim 8, Wang discloses A plating apparatus (Fig. 6) comprising: a plating tank (#400 plating bath within the tank shown in Fig. 6) , an anode disposed in the plating tank (#500) , a holder (#300) holding a target object to be plated (#300a) , and the resistor for the plating apparatus according to claim 1 (#100/200 as citations above with respect to instant claim 1). As to claim 9, Wang discloses a drive mechanism that moves or rotates one of the first resistance member and the second resistance member with respect to the other. ([0047] “ In some embodiments, rotating the at least one of the rotatable central portion 100a and the rotatable peripheral portion 100b is conducted by a programmable controller. ” ). Conclusion The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Bonkass et al (US 6,974,530 B2) discloses a diffuser element (Abstract) with a first and second resistant members (#s 330/340) which each comprise passages (#313) and are rotatable with respect to each other ( col. 6 lines 36-47). Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FILLIN "Examiner name" \* MERGEFORMAT LOUIS J RUFO whose telephone number is FILLIN "Phone number" \* MERGEFORMAT (571)270-7716 . The examiner can normally be reached FILLIN "Work Schedule?" \* MERGEFORMAT Monday to Friday, 9 am to 5 pm . 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, FILLIN "SPE Name?" \* MERGEFORMAT Luan Van can be reached at FILLIN "SPE Phone?" \* MERGEFORMAT 571-272-8521 . 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. /LOUIS J RUFO/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1795
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Sep 06, 2023
Application Filed
Mar 29, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §102 (current)

Precedent Cases

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Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
54%
Grant Probability
78%
With Interview (+23.9%)
3y 4m (~8m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 695 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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