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 Objections
Claim 1 is objected to because of the following informalities: “An system” (line 1) should be --A system--, or the like. 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 1-20 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 claim 1, “the exterior” (lines 10 and 13) lacks proper antecedent basis and it is unclear as to what “the exterior” is. It is unclear if “the exterior” is the volume outside of just the “interior volume” within the inner frame or the space outside the outer frame, which could include outside the structure in which the system is stored.
Claims 2-20 are rejected based on their dependency to claim 1.
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, 2, 7, 8, 16, and 17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Ikushima (JP 5470036).
Regarding claim 1, Ikushima teaches a system comprising: an inner frame defining an interior volume, wherein the inner frame (any of the interior cubes in Fig. 5) comprises a front wall 34 and a rear wall 50 covering respective front and rear sides of the interior volume (Fig. 5); a tool disposed in the interior volume, wherein the tool is a semiconductor metrology tool or a semiconductor inspection tool (background art teaches that the tool may be a semiconductor defect inspection device); and an outer frame disposed on the inner frame, wherein the outer frame comprises: a first section comprising a first top wall (the top panels), a first left wall (the panels in Fig. 6), and a first right wall (the side on the opposite side of the first left wall (Fig. 5); and a second section comprising a second top wall (the top wall above the frame sticking out in Fig. 5), a second left wall (front with door 32), and a second right wall (the back side opposite door 32 in Fig. 5); wherein in a closed position, the first top wall, the second top wall, the first left wall, the second left wall, the first right wall, and the second right wall cover respective top, left, and right sides of the interior volume, the interior volume is at least partially sealed from the exterior (there are no openings when all the doors are closed so it is partially sealed from the exterior (Fig. 5)), and the first section is sealed with the second section (Fig. 5); wherein the outer frame (the door 31a/b or 32) is movable relative to the inner frame to an open position where at least a portion of the top, left, and right sides of the interior volume are open to the exterior (Fig. 5).
Regarding claim 2, Ikushima teaches the system of claim 1, wherein the first section and the second section are independently movable relative to the inner frame. The doors (31a/b, and 32) move independently (Fig. 5).
Regarding claim 7, Ikushima teaches the system of claim 1, wherein the inner frame is secured to a ground surface (by the feet, Fig. 6).
Regarding claim 8, Ikushima teaches the system of claim 1, further comprising: a base member (the system must be on a surface and that surface is the base member), wherein the inner frame and the outer frame are disposed on top of the base member (the system is not floating in the air and must be on top of the ground or floor).
Regarding claim 16, Ikushima teaches the system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the first left wall, the second left wall, the first right wall, and the second right wall of the outer frame comprises a door (31a/b or 32, Fig. 5) that is openable when the outer frame is in the closed position (Fig. 5).
Regarding claim 17, Ikushima teaches the system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the first left wall, the second left wall, the first right wall, and the second right wall of the outer frame is at least partially transparent (Ikushima teaches that the shaded area in Fig. 6 is transparent (second to last paragraph in “construction” section).
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/A.V.D/Examiner, Art Unit 2852 /WALTER L LINDSAY JR/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2852