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 .
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.
Claim Interpretation
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(f):
(f) Element in Claim for a Combination. – An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
This application includes one or more claim limitations that do not use the word “means,” but are nonetheless being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, because the claim limitation(s) uses a generic placeholder that is coupled with functional language without reciting sufficient structure to perform the recited function and the generic placeholder is not preceded by a structural modifier. Such claim limitation(s) is/are: “rotation unit” in claims 1, 3, 6-11; “scanning unit” in claims 1, 5, 7, 10-11; “control unit” in claims 1-2, 4-10; “a detection unit” in claim 2; “first scanning unit” and “second scanning unit” in claim 5.
“rotation unit” is interpreted to comprises an image rotator (applicant’s disclosure: paras. 0019-0020);
“scanning unit”; “first scanning unit” and “second scanning unit” are interpreted to comprise Galvano scanners (applicant’s disclosure: paras. 0051);
“control unit” is interpreted to include a CPU, a memory and the like 9 applicant’s disclosure: para. 0027);
“detection unit” is interpreted to comprise sensor (applicant’s disclosure: para. 0047).
Because this/these claim limitation(s) is/are being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, it/they is/are being interpreted to cover the corresponding structure described in the specification as performing the claimed function, and equivalents thereof.
If applicant does not intend to have this/these limitation(s) interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, applicant may: (1) amend the claim limitation(s) to avoid it/them being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph (e.g., by reciting sufficient structure to perform the claimed function); or (2) present a sufficient showing that the claim limitation(s) recite(s) sufficient structure to perform the claimed function so as to avoid it/them being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph.
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) 1-13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)91) as being anticipated by Nakashiba (JP 6910086 B1, published on 07-28-2021; the corresponding US publication US 2023/0092230 A1 is relied upon in the rejection).
Regarding claim 1, Nakashiba teaches a processing apparatus that processes a workpiece by irradiating the workpiece with laser light, the apparatus comprising:
a rotation unit (14) configured to rotate with a rotation axis as a center, thereby rotating an intensity distribution of the laser light emitted therefrom with the rotation axis as a center (Fig. 1, para. 0045);
a scanning unit (16) configured to scan the laser light applied to the workpiece (Fig. 1, para. 0042); and
a control unit (18, 182) configured to irradiate the workpiece with the laser light while reducing at least one of an angular shift and a positional shift of the laser light entering the workpiece, which occur due to a shift between the rotation axis and a barycentric line of the laser light entering the rotation unit (Figs. 1, 3, para. 0044; Fig. 3 especially shows an angular shift and positional shift of laser beam light L entering the rotation unit).
Regarding claim 2, Nakashiba teaches all the claimed limitations as stated above in claim 1. Nakashiba further teaches a detection unit (12) configured to detect a position of the barycentric line of the laser light, wherein, based on the position detected by the detection unit, the control unit obtains at least one of the angular shift and the positional shift of the laser light entering the workpiece (para. 0043-0044, Figs. 1and 3).
Regarding claim 3, Nakashiba teaches all the claimed limitations as stated above in claim 1. Nakashiba further teaches the shift between the rotation axis and the barycentric line of the laser light entering the rotation unit includes at least one of a positional shift and an angular shift between the rotation axis and the barycentric line (Figs. 1, 3, para. 0044; Fig. 3 especially shows an angular shift and positional shift of laser beam light L entering the rotation unit).
Regarding claim 4, Nakashiba teaches all the claimed limitations as stated above in claim 1. Nakashiba further teaches the control unit irradiates the workpiece with the laser light while reducing, by the scanning unit, at least one of the angular shift and the positional shift of the laser light entering the workpiece (paras. 0042-0044, Fig. 1).
Regarding claim 5, Nakashiba teaches all the claimed limitations as stated above in claim 4. Nakashiba further teaches the scanning unit includes a first scanning unit (141a, 141b) (Fig. 3, para. 0044) configured to change a position of the laser light entering the workpiece, and a second scanning unit (16) (Fig. 1, para. 0044) configured to change an angle of the laser light entering the workpiece, and the control unit irradiates the workpiece with the laser light while reducing the positional shift of the laser light entering the workpiece by the first scanning unit, and reducing the angular shift of the laser light entering the workpiece by the second scanning unit (Figs. 1 and 3, paras. 0044).
Regarding claim 6, Nakashiba teaches all the claimed limitations as stated above in claim 5. Nakashiba further teaches during irradiation of the workpiece with the laser light, the control unit controls the rotation unit such that the rotation unit constantly rotates the intensity distribution of the laser light (Figs. 1 and 3, para. 0044).
Regarding claim 7, Nakashiba teaches all the claimed limitations as stated above in claim 1. Nakashiba further teaches the control unit controls the scanning unit such that the laser light applied to the workpiece draws a trajectory of a circle on the workpiece, and controls the rotation unit such that, during irradiation of the workpiece with the laser light, the laser light beams entering at respective positions on the trajectory have the same shape with respect to a center of the circle (Figs. 1, 13A-13B; paras. 0042 and 0053).
Regarding claim 8, Nakashiba teaches all the claimed limitations as stated above in claim 7. Nakashiba further teaches the control unit controls the rotation unit such that, during irradiation of the workpiece with the laser light, a portion of the laser light entering at each position of the trajectory, where an intensity is higher than a predetermined intensity, is located on the outer side with respect to a center of the circle (Figs. 13A-13B; paras. 0053).
Regarding claim 9, Nakashiba teaches all the claimed limitations as stated above in claim 7. Nakashiba further teaches before irradiating the workpiece with the laser light, the control unit adjusts the rotation unit such that a first direction from a center position of the laser light to a barycenter position of a light amount of the laser light and a second direction from the center position of the laser light at an irradiation start position of the laser light on the trajectory to a center position of the circle coincide with each other (Figs. 1, 13A-13B; paras. 0042 and 0053).
Regarding claim 10, Nakashiba teaches all the claimed limitations as stated above in claim 1. Nakashiba further teaches the control unit controls the scanning unit such that the laser light applied to the workpiece draws a trajectory of a circle on the workpiece, and controls, during irradiation of the workpiece with the laser light, the rotation unit such that the laser light beams entering at respective positions on the trajectory have the same intensity in a radial direction of the circle (Figs. 1, 13A-13B; paras. 0042 and 0053).
Regarding claim 11, Nakashiba teaches all the claimed limitations as stated above in claim 1. Nakashiba further teaches the scanning unit is provided on a subsequent stage of the rotation unit (Fig. 1).
Regarding claim 12, Nakashiba teaches all the claimed limitations as stated above in claim 1. Nakashiba further teaches an image rotation element (142a, 142b) configured to rotate an image of the laser light, and a housing (Fig. 3) configured to accommodate the image rotation element (Fig. 3, para. 0044).
Regarding claim 13, Nakashiba teaches all the claimed limitations as stated above in claim 1. Nakashiba further teaches an article manufacturing method comprising: processing a workpiece using a processing apparatus defined in claim 1; and manufacturing an article by processing the workpiece processed in the processing (Fig. 16, para. 0056).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
US 2013/0175243 A1 discloses a laser processing apparatus comprising a control system, a rotating unit and a scanning unit.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MAXIME M ADJAGBE whose telephone number is (571)272-4920. The examiner can normally be reached M-F: 8-6.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, NATHANIEL E WIEHE can be reached at 571-272-8648. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/MAXIME M ADJAGBE/Examiner, Art Unit 3745
/NATHANIEL E WIEHE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3745