DETAILED ACTION
Response to Amendment
The Amendment filed 10/02/2025 has been entered. Claims 1 and 4-12 remain pending in the application. Claims 2-3 were cancelled.
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 4-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Burt (US 5871315) in view of Ji (CN 202493618 U).
Regarding claim 1, Burt teaches a holding device (assembly of 23 and 25) applied to an ingot cutting apparatus for holding an ingot to be cut (11, cut via 12, as the Ingot is the work piece, which is not required by the claims, therefore the holding device can be applied to a ingot cutting device), said holding device comprising:
a holding element (like 21 in Figure 2 or the holding element for 11 in Figure 8, for the embodiment of Figure 3) for holding said object fixedly (see Figure 3), a damper (28) extending inwardly from an external surface of said holding element (see Figure 3), the damper configure to reduce vibrations generated from the object during the cutting process and thereby reduce surface warpage of a plurality of small-volume objects produced after the cutting process (col. 4 lines 17-24),
wherein the holding element has a first surface and a second surface arranged opposite to the first surface (top and bottom surface of 23 in Figure 3 of Burt, at least opposite in the Y direction).
Burt fails to teach including at least one accommodating cavity, each of which forming an accommodating space extending inwardly from an external surface of said holding element; and a plurality of damping particles filled in at least one accommodating cavity; wherein the plurality of damping particles performs collision and friction between each other or with a cavity wall of at least one accommodating cavity to reduce vibrations generated from the object during the cutting process and thereby reduce surface warpage of a plurality of wafers slices produced after the cutting process, each accommodating cavity extends from the first surface toward the second surface along an axial direction substantially perpendicular to the first surface, wherein, when the holding element holds the ingot, the axial direction corresponding to each accommodating cavity is substantially perpendicular to both a cutting direction of the ingot cutting apparatus and a length direction of the ingot.
Ji teaches at least one accommodating cavity (space in 6, see Figure 1), each of which forming an accommodating space (see Figure 1); and a plurality of damping particles (7) filled in at least one accommodating cavity (see Figure 1); wherein the plurality of damping particles performs collision and friction between each other or with a cavity wall of at least one accommodating cavity to reduce vibrations (paragraph 0004-0005 of the translation of ji).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the device of Burt to exchange the damper into the particles damper, as taught by Ji, in order to more effectively damping the vibration (paragraph 0004-0005 of the translation of ji). The resulting device of modified Burt teaches including at least one accommodating cavity (as modified by Ji, see Figure 1 of Ji), each of which forming an accommodating space extending inwardly from an external surface of said holding element (as element 28 of Burt, the added cavity extend down in the Y direction, see Figure 4 of Burt); and a plurality of damping particles filled in at least one accommodating cavity (as modified by Ji, see Figure 1 of Ji); wherein the plurality of damping particles performs collision and friction between each other or with a cavity wall of at least one accommodating cavity to reduce vibrations generated from the object during the cutting process and thereby reduce surface warpage of a plurality of wafers slices produced after the cutting process (as modified by Ji, see Figure 1 of Ji in the same way as Burt), each accommodating cavity extends from the first surface toward the second surface along an axial direction substantially perpendicular to the first surface (as element 28 of Burt, the added cavity extend down in the Y direction, see Figure 4 of Burt), wherein, when the holding element holds the ingot (on the right side in Figure 3 of Burt), the axial direction corresponding to each accommodating cavity is substantially perpendicular to both a cutting direction of the ingot cutting apparatus (as the cutter 12 can come in and out in the X direction in Figure 3 (or alternatively Z direction in Figure 2 as an example) to cut) and a length direction of the ingot (as shown in Figure 3 of Burt, the length direction of the Ingot mounted on the right wall of 23 is consider to be in and out of the page in the Z direction (or alternatively X direction in Figure 2 as an example)).
Regarding claim 4, modified Burt further teaches when there is one accommodating cavity, it is arranged at the center of the holding element (as modified by Ji, 28 of Burt is replaced, see Figure 3 of Burt).
Regarding claim 5, modified Burt further teaches plural accommodating cavities are arranged symmetrically on a center area of the holding element (as modified by Ji, 28 of Burt is replaced, see Figure 3 of Burt).
Regarding claim 6, modified Burt further teaches the plurality of damping particles is filled into at least one of the accommodating cavities (as modified by Ji, see Figure 1 of Ji).
Regarding claim 7, modified Burt further teaches at least one accommodating cavity is in a cylindrical, rectangular, or elliptical column shape (as modified by Ji, see Figure 1 of Ji).
Regarding claim 8, modified Burt further teaches at least one accommodating cavity is either a blind hole or a through hole (as modified by Ji, see Figure 1 of Ji).
Regarding claim 9, modified Burt further teaches the plurality of damping particles is made from metals, alloys or plastic materials (as modified by Ji, paragraph 0024 of the translation of Ji).
Regarding claim 10, modified Burt further teaches the plurality of damping particles has a solid or hollow structure (as modified by Ji, see Figure 1 of Ji).
Regarding claim 11, modified Burt further teaches the plurality of damping particles is spherical or non-spherical (as modified by Ji, see Figure 1 of Ji).
Regarding claim 12, modified Burt further teaches an ingot cutting apparatus that performs cutting to an object to be cut, comprising: a holding device defined in claim 1 for holding said object to be cut; a driving device connected to said holding device (see Figure 2 of Burt for example), driving said holding device to move towards or away from a cutting device (via the Z direction); and said cutting device arranged correspondingly to said holding device, displacing along a cutting direction on said object back and forth or repeatedly in a cycle, in order to perform the cutting process (see Figure 2).
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 10/02/2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
In response to applicant’s argument that Burt and Ji fails to teach “the axial direction corresponding to each accommodating cavity is substantially perpendicular to both a cutting direction of the ingot cutting apparatus and a length direction of the ingot. The examiner disagrees and notes that modified Burt teaches the axial direction corresponding to each accommodating cavity is substantially perpendicular to both a cutting direction of the ingot cutting apparatus (as the cutter 12 can come in and out in the X direction in Figure 3 (or alternatively Z direction in Figure 2 as an example) to cut) and a length direction of the ingot (as shown in Figure 3 of Burt, the length direction of the Ingot mounted on the right wall of 23 is consider to be in and out of the page in the Z direction (or alternatively X direction in Figure 2 as an example)), as the device of Burt does not only cut in the Y direction, at least the cutting x direction in Figure 3 or alternatively cutting Z direction in Figure 2 of Burt meets the limitation.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to LIANG DONG whose telephone number is (571)270-0479. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Thursday 8 AM-6 PM.
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/LIANG DONG/Examiner, Art Unit 3724 11/26/2025