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 .
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 07/20/2026 has been entered.
Response to Amendment
The amendment filed on 07/20/2026 has been entered. Claim 2 is canceled. Claim(s) 1 and 3 remain pending and have been examined below.
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.
Claims 1 and 3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Asai (US Patent No. 11,398,400) in view of Yamanaka et al (Japanese Patent Publication No. JP2015131354) as evidenced by the machine translation of Yamanaka, hereinafter referred to as Asai and Yamanaka, respectively.
Regarding claims 1 (Currently Amended) and Claim 3 (Previously Presented), Asai discloses a processing apparatus [Asai, fig 1, 1] that flattens a workpiece [Asai, fig 1, 10] with a grinding stone [Asai, fig 1, 426], the processing apparatus comprising:
a suction member capable of suction-holding the workpiece [Asai, fig 2, 321];
an attachment [Asai, fig 2, 322] that is provided on an outer periphery side of the suction member [Asai, fig 2, 322 is on the side of 321], to be detachably attached to a chuck table that accommodates the suction member [Asai, fig 2, showing that 321 is placed within 322b], and the suction member is made of a material that can be ground [Asai, col 4, lines 21-28, 321 can be made of a porous material] and (the attachment) can contact the grinding stone during self-grinding for grinding the suction member [Asai, figs 3-3a, showing that the top surface of 322a and 321 are co-planar], and
wherein the attachment is configured to be removed from the suction member and to be changeable a position relative to the suction member [Asai, fig 2, because 322 is bolted through 8 to 34, 322 can be unbolted and repositioned, and further since 321 can be independently placed, 321 can also be independently removed, thus the angular relationship between 322 and 321 is capable of being changed relative to each other].
Asai does not explicitly disclose the attachment is composed of a material harder to grind than the suction member (clm 1), and wherein the workpiece is formed in a non- circular shape (clm 3).
Yamanaka teaches a processing apparatus that flattens a workpiece with a grinding stone [Yamanaka, fig 1, 1 which process W with 13], the processing apparatus comprising:
a suction member capable of suction-holding the workpiece [Yamanaka, fig 2A, 26 which is capable of holding W];
an attachment [Yamanaka, fig 2A, 28] that is provided on an outer periphery side of the suction member [Yamanaka, fig 1, showing that 27 is held within 28 such that an outer periphery of 28 is around 27], is composed of a material harder to grind than the suction member [Yamanaka, page 14, pp 0025 28 is harder than 26], and can contact the grinding stone during self-grinding for grinding the suction member [Yamanaka, page 17, pp 0029, 27 and 29 are the same height, where 29 is the top surface of 28] (clm 1), and
wherein the workpiece is formed in a non- circular shape [Yamanaka, fig 2A, 26 is rectangularly shaped and operates with a rectangular workpiece of W] (clm 3).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have made the attachment member of Asai to be composed of a material harder to grind than the suction member as taught by Yamanaka because the shape of the suction member and shape of the receiving area for the suction member in the attachment is essential to achieving an even grinding load between and the same heights during self-grinding [Yamanaka 1, pages 18-19, pp’s 0030 – 0031, summarized].
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1 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
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Yamanaka (Japanese Patent Publication No. JP2012033640) teaches a processing apparatus [Yamanaka 2, fig 1] that flattens a workpiece with a grinding stone [Yamanaka 2, fig 1, W is flattened by 3 and/or 4].
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/ROBERT F NEIBAUR/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3723
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