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 .
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 11/13/2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
In response to applicant's argument that that the floating body of Suzuki cannot be a carrier because it is a wafer, a recitation of the intended use of the claimed invention must result in a structural difference between the claimed invention and the prior art in order to patentably distinguish the claimed invention from the prior art. If the prior art structure is capable of performing the intended use, then it meets the claim. In this case, the floating body of Suzuki is capable of functioning as a carrier, and is capable of carrying additional electronic components, such as a component that is mounted on the wafer.
Additionally, the claim language is interpreted under the broadest reasonable interpretation of MPEP 2111, and would also read on the floating body of Suzuki because it is capable of functioning as a carrier, and is capable of carrying additional electronic components, such as a component that is mounted on the wafer.
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.
The claims in this application are given their broadest reasonable interpretation using the plain meaning of the claim language in light of the specification as it would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. The broadest reasonable interpretation of a claim element (also commonly referred to as a claim limitation) is limited by the description in the specification when 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is invoked.
As explained in MPEP § 2181, subsection I, claim limitations that meet the following three-prong test will be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
(A) the claim limitation uses the term “means” or “step” or a term used as a substitute for “means” that is a generic placeholder (also called a nonce term or a non-structural term having no specific structural meaning) for performing the claimed function;
(B) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is modified by functional language, typically, but not always linked by the transition word “for” (e.g., “means for”) or another linking word or phrase, such as “configured to” or “so that”; and
(C) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is not modified by sufficient structure, material, or acts for performing the claimed function.
Use of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim with functional language creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites sufficient structure, material, or acts to entirely perform the recited function.
Absence of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is not to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is not interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites function without reciting sufficient structure, material or acts to entirely perform the recited function.
Claim limitations in this application that use the word “means” (or “step”) are being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action. Conversely, claim limitations in this application that do not use the word “means” (or “step”) are not being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action.
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:
“a transducer system comprising a plurality of transducers” in claim 1. The corresponding structure is “a plurality of acoustic transducers configured for generating soundwaves”
“input unit to arrange” in claim 1. The specification discloses that the corresponding structure may include structures such “Input unit 110 comprises a first dispensing unit 111 for dispensing a first attaching agent onto the carrier”, i.e., a dispenser, and “a releasing unit 112 for releasing a semiconductor die from the wafer causing and/or allowing the released semiconductor die to be arranged on the carrier”, i.e., a releaser.
“output unit to receive” in claim 1. The specification discloses that the corresponding structure may include structures such “The output unit may comprise a detaching unit for breaking the attachment of the electronic component to the carrier by the first attaching agent” which might include “a light source” and “The output unit may comprise a holding unit, such as a chuck, for holding a substrate on which the electronic component is to be arranged”
“first dispensing unit” in claim 2 and 4. A person of ordinary skill in the art would appreciate that this term is a broad class of well known and conventional structures that dispense, i.e., dispensers.
“a holding unit” in claim 3. . The specification discloses that the corresponding structure may include “a chuck”.
“second dispensing unit” in claim 3. A person of ordinary skill in the art would appreciate that this term is a broad class of well known and conventional structures that dispense, i.e., dispensers.
“second attaching agent” in claim 3. The specification discloses that “The second attaching agent may comprise an adhesive glue, solder, or the like.”
“third attaching agent” in claim 7. The specification discloses that “the third attaching agent is as a photo-absorbing adhesive”.
“a localization system” in claim 11. The specification discloses that “may comprise a vision system”, that “the localization system can be configured to determine the position and/or orientation of the carrier and/or the position and/or orientation of the electronic component carried by the carrier using echo-localization”
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.
This application includes one or more claim limitations that use the word “means” or “step” OR a generic placeholder but are nonetheless not being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph because the claim limitation(s) recite(s) sufficient structure, materials, or acts to entirely perform the recited function. Such claim limitation(s) is/are:
“controller to control” in claim 1. The term “Processor” or “controller” are known in the art to be a CPU or Microprocessor or Computer.
“first attaching agent” in claim 2 and 4. The claim later defines that this is “a liquid” that is “a photo-absorbing material” in claim 2 and is “water” in claim 4.
“detaching unit” in claim 2 and 4. The claims later defines that this is a light source.
“releasing unit” in claim 7 and 8. The claims later defines that this is a light source.
“third attaching agent” in claim 8. The claim later recites that the third attaching agent “is a photo-absorbing adhesive”.
Because this/these claim limitation(s) is/are not being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, it/they is/are not being interpreted to cover only the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification as performing the claimed function, and equivalents thereof.
If applicant intends 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 remove the structure, materials, or acts that performs the claimed function; or (2) present a sufficient showing that the claim limitation(s) does/do not recite sufficient structure, materials, or acts to perform the claimed function.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim(s) 1 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Suzuki (JP H11301832 A) in view of Tang (US 20210057242 A1).
As to claim 1, Suzuki discloses system for transporting an electronic component (see paragraph 0001, disclosing “The present invention relates to a flotation device for levitating an object by using acoustic energy, and in particular, to a thin plate having a large area, such as a wafer in semiconductor engineering or a L-shaped material.”), comprising:
a carrier (“An object 6 to be levitated is placed on a levitating energy supply plate 4”) to carry the electronic component (“such as a wafer”);
a transducer system comprising a plurality of transducers, the transducer system being configured to generate a levitation field in which the carrier levitates (see for example Figure 3, showing “A plurality of levitation devices (for example, shown as four acoustic resonance tubes 1a, 1b, 1c and 1d) are arranged in a predetermined direction, for example, according to a transport path.”);
an input side (one side of Figure 3),
an output side (the other side of Figure 3),
a controller to control the transducer system to change the levitation field to move the carrier from the input side to the output side (energy flow control device 22 is connected to the acoustic energy generating means of the levitation device).
See, for example, Figure 3, below:
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Suzuki does not disclose an input unit to arrange the electronic component onto the carrier; an output unit to receive the electronic component from the carrier; that the system moves the carrier “from the input unit to the output unit”; and wherein the carrier is made from at least one material selected from the group consisting of polymers, low-density materials, low-density metals, low-density composite materials, and low-density ceramics, and wherein the low-density materials have a density less than 2000 kg/m3.
It should be noted that the carrier and the electronic component appears to be the material worked upon, which the system of Suzuki is capable of working with as per MPEP 2114 and 2115. Therefore, Suzuki would be capable of working upon a substrate such as a carrier to carry the electronic component wherein the carrier is made from at least one material selected from the group consisting of polymers, low-density materials, low-density metals, low-density composite materials, and low-density ceramics, and wherein the low-density materials have a density less than 2000 kg/m3. See MPEP 2114 and 2115.
Additionally, Tang discloses an input unit (chip supply station 100) to arrange the electronic component onto the carrier; an output unit (chip placement or bonding station 120 and also an optional surface activation station 130) to receive the electronic component from the carrier; that the system moves the carrier “from the input unit to the output unit” (see Figure 1, below).
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See also Tang, paragraph 0008 and 0014, disclosing:
[0008] The concept of the invention is to only allow the chip handling tools and mechanism to touch the bottom surfaces of the chips, therefore limit chip front surface contamination. The core of the technology solution is to use one of levitation solutions to receive the chip from a tape, either one by one, or multiple chips at the same time. Our proposed chip pick and place tool or bonder provides a great equipment solution for bonding applications which require chip front surfaces particles/contamination free such as direct bonding and hybrid bonding.
…
[0014] FIG. 1 is an embodiment of the station configuration for the proposed chip pick and place tool or bonder. It includes chip supply station 100, chip sitting levitation station 110, chip placement or bonding station 120 and also an optional surface activation station 130. One common design feature for our proposed chip pick and place tool or chip bonder is that the chip front surface will not be touched at all through every process and handling step in the tool to minimize the surface contamination. The chip supplier station 100 supplies chips for the whole tool and has a chip supply stand 101 for holding chips on a tape upside down, together with at least a chip receiving head 102, whose details will be given in FIG. 2 in the following sections. The chip sitting levitation station 110 has a chip pickup arm/tool 111, which pickups the chips from chip receiving head 102 in the chip supply station 100, then put on the chip levitation stand 112. We proposed a dedicated chip sitting levitation station 110 so that we can have a fixed location for the proposed chip receiving head 102 and simplify the mechanical design for the chip supply station 100. The chip placement or bonding station 120 has a chip handling head 121, either a chip placement head or a chip bonding head, which pickups chips from the chip levitation stand 112 then places or bonds on a wafer or a chip on the substrate stand 122. In the proposed chip pick and place tool or chip bonder, there is also an optional station 130 for bonding surface activation. The pickup tool 131, can pick a chip from chip sitting levitation stand 112 for chip surface activation and then returns the chip to 112. The chip sitting levitation station 110 is optional. When the proposed tool does not have chip sitting levitation station 110, the chip handling head 121 can pickup the chips directly from the chip receiving head 102. If so, then the system only has station 100 and station 120 with the optional station 130 depending on the details of the bonding process steps.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the filing of the invention to have utilized an input unit to arrange the electronic component onto the carrier; an output unit to receive the electronic component from the carrier; that the system moves the carrier “from the input unit to the output unit” as suggested by Tang in order to only allow the chip handling tools and mechanism to touch the bottom surfaces of the chips, therefore limit chip front surface contamination.
Claim(s) 2 and 4-5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Suzuki (JP H11301832 A) in view of Tang (US 20210057242 A1) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Li (US 20210005572 A1).
As to claim 2, Suzuki and Tang as applied above do not disclose or make obvious wherein the input unit further comprises a first dispensing unit to dispense a first attaching agent onto the carrier, the first attaching agent being configured to attach the electronic component to the carrier when receiving the electronic component, wherein the first attaching agent is a liquid, wherein the output unit comprises a detaching unit to break the attachment of the electronic component to the carrier by the first attaching agent, wherein the first attaching agent comprises a photo-absorbing material, wherein the detaching unit comprises a light source configured to illuminate the first attaching agent for the purpose of breaking the attachment by the first attaching agent, and wherein the first attaching agent is configured to evaporate as a result of illuminating the first attaching agent.
However, Li makes obvious wherein the input unit further comprises a first dispensing unit to dispense a first attaching agent onto the carrier, the first attaching agent being configured to attach the electronic component to the carrier when receiving the electronic component, wherein the first attaching agent is a liquid, wherein the output unit comprises a detaching unit to break the attachment of the electronic component to the carrier by the first attaching agent, wherein the first attaching agent comprises a photo-absorbing material, wherein the detaching unit comprises a light source configured to illuminate the first attaching agent for the purpose of breaking the attachment by the first attaching agent, and wherein the first attaching agent is configured to evaporate as a result of illuminating the first attaching agent.
Li discloses a liquid can be used as the first attaching agent. See especially paragraph 0043.
[0043] FIG. 10 shows an embodiment of flipped chip sitting stand using pure water surface tension. In details, the flipped chip sitting stand 1000 comprises a special treated hydrophobic surface 1001 to allow pure water drop 1002 set on as shown in FIG. 10a. The chip 1011, which sits on the top of the pure water drop 1002 supported by the surface tension, can then be picked up by pickup tool or bonding head 1012 from the chip back side without touching the chip front surface. After the pickup tool holds the chip securely, water on the chip can be dried by heating.
No dispensing unit is explicitly disclosed, although the liquid is disclosed as being treated with a pure water drop. However, the disclosure of being treated with a pure water drop would make obvious the use of a first dispensing unit which dispenses the disclosed drop.
Li also discloses that light can be used to separate the chip from tape. See paragraph 0035.
[0035] FIG. 4 shows an embodiment of the chip detaching and floating from a diced wafer on the diced wafer station 202 (shown in FIG. 2) via the electrostatic levitation so that the pickup tool is capable of accessing the chip from its bottom side. As shown in FIG. 4a, the incoming wafer system 400 has a diced wafer 402 sitting on a piece of UV sensitive dicing tape 401 with all the necessary post dicing front surface treatment to ensure there is no front surface particles and contamination for chip-to-wafer or chip-to-chip. Then the dicing tape is stretched to establish some gaps between the diced chips as shown in FIG. 4b. In fact the process described in FIG. 4b is not necessary to get done on the proposed system on its diced wafer station. After the dicing tape stretching, the chips are electrically charged from the bottom side by charging device with metallic pins 421 as shown in FIG. 4c. Then in order to pickup chip 431, a UV light radiation 432 is used from the back of dicing tape to reduce the stickiness (or adhesive force strength) locally as shown in FIG. 4d. To enable the chips to float via electrostatic levitating, a high voltage is applied between the ground electrode 441 and top electrode 442 while dicing tape is hold firmly by a mechanical clamp device 443. As shown in FIG. 4e, the chip under the electrostatic force is now floating within the gap between the pair of electrodes, which enables the chip pickup tool 451 to pick up the chip from edge to center one-by-one or in parallel fashion from the bottom surfaces of the chips as shown in FIG. 4f.
Thus, Li discloses that UV light can be used to reduce the stickiness for adhesive, which would make obvious drying water to reduce the stickiness for adhesive substitutes such as water.
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the filing of the invention to have utilized wherein the input unit further comprises a first dispensing unit to dispense a first attaching agent onto the carrier, the first attaching agent being configured to attach the electronic component to the carrier when receiving the electronic component, wherein the first attaching agent is a liquid, wherein the output unit comprises a detaching unit to break the attachment of the electronic component to the carrier by the first attaching agent, wherein the first attaching agent comprises a photo-absorbing material, wherein the detaching unit comprises a light source configured to illuminate the first attaching agent for the purpose of breaking the attachment by the first attaching agent, and wherein the first attaching agent is configured to evaporate as a result of illuminating the first attaching agent in order to enable temporary holding of the chip.
As to claim 4, Suzuki and Tang does not disclose wherein the input unit further comprises a first dispensing unit to dispense a first attaching agent onto the carrier, the first attaching agent being configured to attach the electronic component to the carrier when receiving the electronic component, wherein the first attaching agent is water, wherein the output unit comprises a detaching unit to break the attachment of the electronic component to the carrier by the first attaching agent, wherein the first attaching agent comprises a photo-absorbing material, wherein the detaching unit comprises a light source configured to illuminate the first attaching agent for the purpose of breaking the attachment by the first attaching agent, and wherein the first attaching agent is configured to evaporate as a result of illuminating the first attaching agent.
However, Li makes obvious wherein the input unit further comprises a first dispensing unit to dispense a first attaching agent onto the carrier, the first attaching agent being configured to attach the electronic component to the carrier when receiving the electronic component, wherein the first attaching agent is water, wherein the output unit comprises a detaching unit to break the attachment of the electronic component to the carrier by the first attaching agent, wherein the first attaching agent comprises a photo-absorbing material, wherein the detaching unit comprises a light source configured to illuminate the first attaching agent for the purpose of breaking the attachment by the first attaching agent, and wherein the first attaching agent is configured to evaporate as a result of illuminating the first attaching agent.
Li discloses a liquid can be used as the first attaching agent. See especially paragraph 0043.
[0043] FIG. 10 shows an embodiment of flipped chip sitting stand using pure water surface tension. In details, the flipped chip sitting stand 1000 comprises a special treated hydrophobic surface 1001 to allow pure water drop 1002 set on as shown in FIG. 10a. The chip 1011, which sits on the top of the pure water drop 1002 supported by the surface tension, can then be picked up by pickup tool or bonding head 1012 from the chip back side without touching the chip front surface. After the pickup tool holds the chip securely, water on the chip can be dried by heating.
No dispensing unit is explicitly disclosed, although the liquid is disclosed as being treated with a pure water drop. However, the disclosure of being treated with a pure water drop would make obvious the use of a first dispensing unit which dispenses the disclosed drop.
Li also discloses that light can be used to separate the chip from tape. See paragraph 0035.
[0035] FIG. 4 shows an embodiment of the chip detaching and floating from a diced wafer on the diced wafer station 202 (shown in FIG. 2) via the electrostatic levitation so that the pickup tool is capable of accessing the chip from its bottom side. As shown in FIG. 4a, the incoming wafer system 400 has a diced wafer 402 sitting on a piece of UV sensitive dicing tape 401 with all the necessary post dicing front surface treatment to ensure there is no front surface particles and contamination for chip-to-wafer or chip-to-chip. Then the dicing tape is stretched to establish some gaps between the diced chips as shown in FIG. 4b. In fact the process described in FIG. 4b is not necessary to get done on the proposed system on its diced wafer station. After the dicing tape stretching, the chips are electrically charged from the bottom side by charging device with metallic pins 421 as shown in FIG. 4c. Then in order to pickup chip 431, a UV light radiation 432 is used from the back of dicing tape to reduce the stickiness (or adhesive force strength) locally as shown in FIG. 4d. To enable the chips to float via electrostatic levitating, a high voltage is applied between the ground electrode 441 and top electrode 442 while dicing tape is hold firmly by a mechanical clamp device 443. As shown in FIG. 4e, the chip under the electrostatic force is now floating within the gap between the pair of electrodes, which enables the chip pickup tool 451 to pick up the chip from edge to center one-by-one or in parallel fashion from the bottom surfaces of the chips as shown in FIG. 4f.
Thus, Li discloses that UV light can be used to reduce the stickiness for adhesive, which would make obvious drying water to reduce the stickiness for adhesive substitutes such as water.
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the filing of the invention to have utilized wherein the input unit further comprises a first dispensing unit to dispense a first attaching agent onto the carrier, the first attaching agent being configured to attach the electronic component to the carrier when receiving the electronic component, wherein the first attaching agent is water, wherein the output unit comprises a detaching unit to break the attachment of the electronic component to the carrier by the first attaching agent, wherein the first attaching agent comprises a photo-absorbing material, wherein the detaching unit comprises a light source configured to illuminate the first attaching agent for the purpose of breaking the attachment by the first attaching agent, and wherein the first attaching agent is configured to evaporate as a result of illuminating the first attaching agent in order to enable temporary holding of the chip.
As to claim 5, Suzuki does not disclose wherein system comprises: an input part in which the input unit is arranged in combination with some of the plurality of transducers; an output part in which the output unit is arranged in combination with some of the plurality of transducers; and a transfer part arranged in between the input part and the output part in which some transducers of the plurality of transducers are arranged; wherein the some of the plurality of transducers arranged in the transfer part are configured to rotate and/or flip the carrier while supporting the electronic component arranged thereon to cause the electronic component to face the output unit when the output unit receives the electronic component from the carrier.
However, Tang disclose and make obvious wherein system comprises: an input part in which the input unit is arranged in combination with some of the plurality of transducers; an output part in which the output unit is arranged in combination with some of the plurality of transducers; and a transfer part arranged in between the input part and the output part in which some transducers of the plurality of transducers are arranged;
See especially paragraph 0020, disclosing:
[0020] FIG. 3 shows an embodiment of chip sitting levitation stand 300 (shown as 112 in station 110 of FIG. 1) based on acoustic levitation system. In details, as shown in FIG. 3a an acoustic standing wave is produced from the interference between the acoustic waves 302 from a set of ultrasonic generator array in the acoustic wave generator 301. The standing wave provides a supporting force to balance the gravity of a chip to enable its levitation. As shown in FIG. 3b, a fine pickup tool 312 (shown as 111 in FIG. 1) with a chip 311 is delivered on this chip sitting levitation stand with its bottom face up. Once the fine pickup tool 312 is removed away, the chip 311 is then levitated as shown in FIG. 3c supported by the acoustic standing wave. As shown in FIG. 3b, a pickup tool from a chip handling head 341 (shown as 121 in FIG. 1) is moved into the chip sitting levitation stand 300 then pick up the chip without disturbing the standing wave generated by the multiple acoustic wave generator 301. The chip handling head associated component 342 may include other parts with dedicated functions, such as chip heating, if needed. Nevertheless, the associated component 342 may not be a must-have part for some direct bonding or hybrid bonding processes.
[0021] The similar design of chip sitting levitation stand 300 shown here in FIG. 3a can also be used as chip receiving head 102 in the chip supply station 100 of FIG. 1.
[0022] FIG. 4 shows a schematic embodiment of a streamline design for a proposed chip pick and place tool or chip bonder to increase its productivity. The core concept of the innovation is to streamline the chip fishing process from the tape, which is set upside-down in the chip supply stand 101 as shown in FIG. 1 by introducing multiple chip receiving heads shown as 102 in FIG. 1. As shown in FIG. 4a, the incoming chip system 400, which includes tape 401 and a set of chips 402 placed upside down on chip supply stand (no shown here but can be referred as 101 in FIG. 1). If the adhesion strength of tape used is high enough to hold the chip during the incoming pin pushing out process, which is assumed here, a full wafer or bar level UV exposure shown as 403 is carried out to weak the adhesion to prepare for incoming pin pushing process if a UV sensitive tape, other than pressure sensitive tape, is used here. Otherwise, local UV exposure, which is not shown here for the drawing's simplicity, can be arranged by introducing side illumination from the pushing tool assemble shown as 411 in FIG. 4b. No UV exposure is needed if a pressure sensitive tape is used.
[0023] As shown in FIG. 4b, a pin pushing tool assemble 411 is introduced on top of the targeted chip. The pushing tool assemble has at least one set of pushing tool with its own pushing pin(s), which can be activated to push the target chip downwards to detach from the tape 401. The detached chip 416 is picked up by a chip receiving head shown here as 412, 413, 414, 415 (also represents the location on the conveyor belt 410), with a good synchronization between the chip pushing from pushing tool assemble 411 and chip receiving head. In other words, every detached chip 416 has a chip receiving head waiting for it while it drops. This could be relatively easy to achieve by fixing the location of the chip receiving head, e.g. the location of chip receiving head 414, while moving the whole incoming chip system 400 setting on the chip supply stand (shown as 101 in FIG. 1) laterally as shown by the arrow 417. On the other hand, all the chip receiving heads 412, 413, 414, 415, are placed on conveyor belt 410 and they move coordinately—once the chip receiving head 414 pick up its chip, it moves forward as shown in arrow 418 direction, and the chip receiving head 415 moves into the location 414. At the location indicated by 412 (also a fixed location), the chip handling head 419 picks up the chip for placement or bonding in the chip placement or bonding station shown as 120 in FIG. 1. The offloaded chip receiving head 412 can then be sent back by the conveyor belt 410 queuing after chip receiving head 415. By using such streamline design, the productivity of bonded unit (chip) per hour (UPH) can be increased to meet the volume production requirement.
[0024] The incoming chip system 400 can be a full diced wafer on a dicing tape or just chips on tape as shown above.
Additionally, Li discloses wherein the some of the plurality of transducers arranged in the transfer part are configured to rotate and/or flip the carrier while supporting the electronic component arranged thereon to cause the electronic component to face the output unit when the output unit receives the electronic component from the carrier.
See especially paragraph 0042, disclosing:
[0042] FIG. 9 shows an embodiment of flipped chip sitting stand by acoustic levitation in station 210 in FIG. 2. The 900 flipped chip sitting stand comprises an acoustic wave generator 901 and a wave reflector 902. A standing wave 903 between 901 and 902 is established which can be used to hold light objects in floating by balance its gravity against the acoustic wave holding force as shown in FIG. 9b. The chip 912 with it front side facing down can then be picked up from its bottom side by tool 911, which can be either a bonding head 221 from station 220 or pickup tool 231 from station 230 in FIG. 2.
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the filing of the invention to have utilized wherein system comprises: an input part in which the input unit is arranged in combination with some of the plurality of transducers; an output part in which the output unit is arranged in combination with some of the plurality of transducers; and a transfer part arranged in between the input part and the output part in which some transducers of the plurality of transducers are arranged as in Tang in order that the standing wave provides a supporting force to balance the gravity of a chip to enable its levitation and wherein the some of the plurality of transducers arranged in the transfer part are configured to rotate and/or flip the carrier while supporting the electronic component arranged thereon to cause the electronic component to face the output unit when the output unit receives the electronic component from the carrier as in Li in order to enable the front side facing down can then be picked up from its bottom side by the tool.
Claim(s) 3 and 6-13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Suzuki (JP H11301832 A) in view of Tang (US 20210057242 A1) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Chen (US 20200273730 A1).
As to claim 3, Suzuki does not disclose wherein the output unit comprises a holding unit to hold a substrate on which the electronic component is to be arranged, and wherein the output unit comprises a second dispensing unit to dispense a second attaching agent onto the substrate to attach the electronic component received from the carrier on the substrate.
However, Chen discloses wherein the output unit comprises a holding unit (motion stage 21) to hold a substrate on which the electronic component is to be arranged, and wherein the output unit comprises a second dispensing unit to dispense a second attaching agent onto the substrate to attach the electronic component received from the carrier on the substrate. See especially paragraph 0014, which discloses:
[0014] Optionally, the packaging module may further comprise an adhesive storage and supply unit disposed below the injection molding unit and an adhesive application unit disposed above the adhesive storage and supply unit. The adhesive storage and supply unit is configured to supply the adhesive application unit with a bonding adhesive, and the adhesive application unit is configured to apply the bonding adhesive to a surface of the carrying board.
…
[0033] Referring to FIG. 6, in this embodiment, in addition to the packaging material supply unit 51, injection molding unit 52 and packaging motion stage 53, the packaging module 5 further includes an adhesive storage and supply unit 54 and an adhesive application unit 55. Preferably, a plurality of adhesive storage and supply units 54 and a plurality of adhesive application units 55 may be included in order to achieve a higher adhesive application efficiency. The adhesive storage and supply unit 54 is configured to provide a bonding adhesive to the adhesive application unit 55, while the adhesive application unit 55 is configured to apply the bonding adhesive to the surface of the carrying board 22. Preferably, the adhesive application unit 55 is able to pressurize the bonding adhesive, so as to achieve a better control of flow rate of the adhesive.
[0034] Specifically, at first, the carrying board 22 stays at POS D, and the packaging motion stage 53 of the packaging module 5 moves downward to allow the adhesive application unit 55 to uniformly apply the bonding adhesive to the surface of the carrying board 22. After completion of the application, the packaging motion stage 53 returns to the original position, and the carrying board 22 is moved to POS C. After the transfer stage 12 has arrived at POS C, the carrying board 22 cooperates with the transfer stage 12 to bond the chips 431 to the carrying board 22. After the chips 431 have been firmly bonded to the carrying board 22 and the bonded chips have been thereby formed, the transfer stage 12 is returned to its original position, and the carrying board 22 again moves to POS D. Afterward, the packaging module 5 moves downward and performs packaging to form the packaged chips 23n. Subsequently, the carrying board motion stage 21 continues to carry the carrying board 21 having packaged chips 23n to POS E, where the carrying board motion stage 21 heats the packaged chips 23n to make the bonding adhesive between the packaged chips 23n and the carrying board 22 lose tackiness. The unloading manipulator 24 then grabs the packaged chips 23n and places them into the packaged chip store 23, and the carrying board 22 is again moved to POS D. The above operations are repeatedly performed in the above-mentioned manner.
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the filing of the invention to have utilized wherein the output unit comprises a holding unit to hold a substrate on which the electronic component is to be arranged, and wherein the output unit comprises a second dispensing unit to dispense a second attaching agent onto the substrate to attach the electronic component received from the carrier on the substrate as suggested by Chen in order to achieve a packaging module high production efficiency.
As to claim 6, Suzuki does not disclose wherein the controller is configured to return the carrier from the output unit to the input unit after having transported the electronic component to transport another electronic component.
However, Chen discloses and makes obvious wherein the controller is configured to return the carrier from the output unit to the input unit after having transported the electronic component to transport another electronic component. See paragraph 0025, which discloses:
[0025] Referring to FIG. 1, which schematically illustrates a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to embodiment 1. As shown in FIG. 1, the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus includes a chip supply module, a chip picker 6, a chip transfer module 1, a carrying board supply module and a packaging module 5. The chip transfer module 1 comprises the chip transfer stage 12 that is able to suck a plurality of chips, and the carrying board supply module comprises the carrying board 22 and the carrying board motion stage 21. The chip picker 6 is configured to pick up chips from the chip supply module and transfer them to the chip transfer stage 12. The chip transfer stage 12 carries the plurality of chips and moves to the bonding work position, and the carrying board motion stage 21 carries the carrying board 22 and moves to the bonding work position. The relative motion of the chip transfer stage 12 and the carrying board motion stage 21 allows the plurality of chips 431 to be bonded to the carrying board 22 and fol ns bonded chips. The packaging module 5 packages the bonded chips carried on the carrying board motion stage 21 to form packaged chips. The semiconductor manufacturing apparatus of the present application integrates bonding procedure and packaging procedure into a single optimized manufacturing process, allowing to decrease process steps and equipment cost. The equipment cost is reduced in that the operation which is completed by more than one device in the current technique is finished by only one device. In addition, the carrying board in the present application is able to be quickly and repeatedly used, enabling to save material cost of current manufacturing process.
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[0031] After completion of the packaging, the packaging module 5 is returned to the original position, and the transfer stage 12 moves above the chip supply module to receive next batch of chips. In addition, the packaged chips 23n are carried by the carrying board 22, and the carrying board 22 is moved, by the carrying board motion stage 21 to an unloading work position (i.e., “POS B” work position). Here, the unloading work position refers to the position of the packaged chips on the carrying board for transferring to the packaged chip store. The unloading manipulator 24 grabs the packaged chips 23n from the carrying board 22 and places them into the packaged chip store 23. Afterward, the carrying board motion stage 21 moves the carrying board 22 back to POS A. The above operations are repeatedly performed in the above-mentioned manner.
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the filing of the invention to have utilized wherein the controller is configured to return the carrier from the output unit to the input unit after having transported the electronic component to transport another electronic component as taught by Chen in order the the carrying board or carrier is able to be quickly and repeatedly used, enabling to save material cost of current manufacturing process.
As to claim 7, Suzuki does not disclose wherein the electronic component is a semiconductor die, wherein the input unit is configured to hold a wafer comprising a plurality of physically separated semiconductor dies, the input unit further comprising a releasing unit to release a semiconductor die from the wafer causing and/or allowing the released semiconductor die to be arranged on the carrier; wherein the physically separated semiconductor dies are attached to a material selected from the group consisting of a tape, a foil, and a film, using a third attaching agent, wherein the releasing unit comprises a light source to illuminate the third attaching agent for the purpose of breaking the attachment of a semiconductor die among the physically separated semiconductor dies to the tape, foil, or tape, by the third attaching agent; wherein the input unit is arranged, relative to the Earth’s gravitational field, above the carrier at a time of arranging the electronic component on the carrier, wherein the input unit is configured to cause the electronic component to fall onto the carrier, and/or wherein the output unit is arranged, relative to the Earth’s gravitational field, below the carrier at a time of receiving the electronic component from the carrier, and wherein the output unit is configured to cause the electronic component to fall from the carrier.
However, Tang discloses and makes obvious wherein the electronic component is a semiconductor die, wherein the input unit is configured to hold a wafer comprising a plurality of physically separated semiconductor dies, the input unit further comprising a releasing unit (pushing tool 231) to release a semiconductor die from the wafer causing and/or allowing the released semiconductor die to be arranged on the carrier; wherein the physically separated semiconductor dies are attached to a material selected from the group consisting of a tape, a foil, and a film (see paragraph 0019, disclosing “a full diced wafer on a dicing tape or just chips on a piece of tape”), using a third attaching agent, wherein the releasing unit comprises a light source (local UV radiation 221) to illuminate the third attaching agent for the purpose of breaking the attachment of a semiconductor die among the physically separated semiconductor dies to the tape, foil, or tape, by the third attaching agent; wherein the input unit is arranged, relative to the Earth’s gravitational field, above the carrier at a time of arranging the electronic component on the carrier, wherein the input unit is configured to cause the electronic component to fall onto the carrier, and/or wherein the output unit is arranged, relative to the Earth’s gravitational field, below the carrier at a time of receiving the electronic component from the carrier, and wherein the output unit is configured to cause the electronic component to fall from the carrier.
See especially paragraphs 0016-19
[0016] FIG. 2c, FIG. 2d, and FIG. 2e show the process to fish the known good die/chip 222 and the equipment setup to facilitate the process, which also provides the equipment design concept for our proposed equipment invention.
[0017] As shown in FIG. 2c, a local UV radiation 221 is shined behind the designated known good die/chip 222 to reduce the adhesive strength so that the chip 222 can be pushed out mechanically with the pushing tool 231 with pins 232 as shown in FIG. 2d. Depending on the tape used and its adhesive strength, it may not need a local UV source but a cross whole wafer UV illumination while a UV sensitive tape other than a pressure sensitive tape is used as long as the chips do not drop under its gravity during the chip fishing process.
[0018] Below the chip supply stand (shown as 101 in FIG. 1), there is a chip receiving head shown here as 241 (shown as 102 in FIG. 1). The chip receiving head 241 has a mechanism to provide levitation for the chip 222 pushed out and dropping under the influence of its gravity. The levitation mechanism and hardware can be either sonic levitation with a ultrasonic generator array; or sonic levitation based on MEMS speaker array; or aerodynamic levitation with gas outlets array with air pressure control; or even electrostatic levitation with electronic charged plates. For the simplicity, in FIG. 2d we show a case of sonic-levitation-based design for the chip receiving head. In details, the chip receiving head 241 is an acoustic wave generator, which produces a set of mechanical waves (if needed, together with its wave reflection from the chips and tape) to form a standing wave 242. The standing wave 242 can support the chip 222 against its gravity and enable it floating. The chip 222 is then picked by a pickup tool 251, which can be the chip pickup arm/tool 111 from station 110 or the chip handling head of 121 from the chip placement or bonding station 120 as shown in FIG. 1 depending on the tool configurations.
[0019] The incoming chip system 200 can be a full diced wafer on a dicing tape or just chips on a piece of tape as shown above.
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the filing of the invention to have utilized wherein the electronic component is a semiconductor die, wherein the input unit is configured to hold a wafer comprising a plurality of physically separated semiconductor dies, the input unit further comprising a releasing unit to release a semiconductor die from the wafer causing and/or allowing the released semiconductor die to be arranged on the carrier; wherein the physically separated semiconductor dies are attached to a material selected from the group consisting of a tape, a foil, and a film, using a third attaching agent, wherein the releasing unit comprises a light source to illuminate the third attaching agent for the purpose of breaking the attachment of a semiconductor die among the physically separated semiconductor dies to the tape, foil, or tape, by the third attaching agent; wherein the input unit is arranged, relative to the Earth’s gravitational field, above the carrier at a time of arranging the electronic component on the carrier, wherein the input unit is configured to cause the electronic component to fall onto the carrier, and/or wherein the output unit is arranged, relative to the Earth’s gravitational field, below the carrier at a time of receiving the electronic component from the carrier, and wherein the output unit is configured to cause the electronic component to fall from the carrier as taught by Tang in order to achieve transport of the chips to the bonding or placement station.
As to claim 8, Suzuki does not disclose wherein the electronic component is a semiconductor die, wherein the input unit is configured to hold a wafer comprising a plurality of physically separated semiconductor dies, the input unit further comprising a releasing unit to release a semiconductor die from the wafer causing and/or allowing the released semiconductor die to be arranged on the carrier; wherein the physically separated semiconductor dies are attached to a material selected from the group consisting of a tape, a foil, and a film, using a third attaching agent that is a photo-absorbing adhesive, wherein the releasing unit comprises a light source to illuminate the third attaching agent for the purpose of breaking the attachment of a semiconductor die among the physically separated semiconductor dies to the tape, foil, or tape, by the third attaching agent; wherein the input unit is arranged, relative to the Earth’s gravitational field, above the carrier at a time of arranging the electronic component on the carrier, wherein the input unit is configured to cause the electronic component to fall onto the carrier, and/or wherein the output unit is arranged, relative to the Earth’s gravitational field, below the carrier at a time of receiving the electronic component from the carrier, and wherein the output unit is configured to cause the electronic component to fall from the carrier.
However, Tang discloses and makes obvious wherein the electronic component is a semiconductor die, wherein the input unit is configured to hold a wafer comprising a plurality of physically separated semiconductor dies, the input unit further comprising a releasing unit (pushing tool 231) to release a semiconductor die from the wafer causing and/or allowing the released semiconductor die to be arranged on the carrier; wherein the physically separated semiconductor dies are attached to a material selected from the group consisting of a tape, a foil, and a film (see paragraph 0019, disclosing “a full diced wafer on a dicing tape or just chips on a piece of tape”), using a third attaching agent that is a photo-absorbing adhesive (UV sensitive tape), wherein the releasing unit comprises a light source (local UV radiation 221) to illuminate the third attaching agent for the purpose of breaking the attachment of a semiconductor die among the physically separated semiconductor dies to the tape, foil, or tape, by the third attaching agent; wherein the input unit is arranged, relative to the Earth’s gravitational field, above the carrier at a time of arranging the electronic component on the carrier, wherein the input unit is configured to cause the electronic component to fall onto the carrier, and/or wherein the output unit is arranged, relative to the Earth’s gravitational field, below the carrier at a time of receiving the electronic component from the carrier, and wherein the output unit is configured to cause the electronic component to fall from the carrier.
See especially paragraphs 0016-19
[0016] FIG. 2c, FIG. 2d, and FIG. 2e show the process to fish the known good die/chip 222 and the equipment setup to facilitate the process, which also provides the equipment design concept for our proposed equipment invention.
[0017] As shown in FIG. 2c, a local UV radiation 221 is shined behind the designated known good die/chip 222 to reduce the adhesive strength so that the chip 222 can be pushed out mechanically with the pushing tool 231 with pins 232 as shown in FIG. 2d. Depending on the tape used and its adhesive strength, it may not need a local UV source but a cross whole wafer UV illumination while a UV sensitive tape other than a pressure sensitive tape is used as long as the chips do not drop under its gravity during the chip fishing process.
[0018] Below the chip supply stand (shown as 101 in FIG. 1), there is a chip receiving head shown here as 241 (shown as 102 in FIG. 1). The chip receiving head 241 has a mechanism to provide levitation for the chip 222 pushed out and dropping under the influence of its gravity. The levitation mechanism and hardware can be either sonic levitation with a ultrasonic generator array; or sonic levitation based on MEMS speaker array; or aerodynamic levitation with gas outlets array with air pressure control; or even electrostatic levitation with electronic charged plates. For the simplicity, in FIG. 2d we show a case of sonic-levitation-based design for the chip receiving head. In details, the chip receiving head 241 is an acoustic wave generator, which produces a set of mechanical waves (if needed, together with its wave reflection from the chips and tape) to form a standing wave 242. The standing wave 242 can support the chip 222 against its gravity and enable it floating. The chip 222 is then picked by a pickup tool 251, which can be the chip pickup arm/tool 111 from station 110 or the chip handling head of 121 from the chip placement or bonding station 120 as shown in FIG. 1 depending on the tool configurations.
[0019] The incoming chip system 200 can be a full diced wafer on a dicing tape or just chips on a piece of tape as shown above.
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the filing of the invention to have utilized wherein the electronic component is a semiconductor die, wherein the input unit is configured to hold a wafer comprising a plurality of physically separated semiconductor dies, the input unit further comprising a releasing unit to release a semiconductor die from the wafer causing and/or allowing the released semiconductor die to be arranged on the carrier; wherein the physically separated semiconductor dies are attached to a material selected from the group consisting of a tape, a foil, and a film, using a third attaching agent that is a photo-absorbing adhesive, wherein the releasing unit comprises a light source to illuminate the third attaching agent for the purpose of breaking the attachment of a semiconductor die among the physically separated semiconductor dies to the tape, foil, or tape, by the third attaching agent; wherein the input unit is arranged, relative to the Earth’s gravitational field, above the carrier at a time of arranging the electronic component on the carrier, wherein the input unit is configured to cause the electronic component to fall onto the carrier, and/or wherein the output unit is arranged, relative to the Earth’s gravitational field, below the carrier at a time of receiving the electronic component from the carrier, and wherein the output unit is configured to cause the electronic component to fall from the carrier as taught by Tang in order to achieve transport of the chips to the bonding or placement station.
As to claim 9, Suzuki discloses wherein the plurality of transducers comprises a plurality of acoustic transducers configured to generate soundwaves and wherein the levitation field is an acoustic levitation field, wherein the soundwaves generated by the plurality of acoustic transducers have a frequency in a range between 20 kHz and 200 kHz (see paragraph 0028, disclosing “the f0 frequency is often set in a band of 50 to 100 Hz, which is lower than the lowest resonance frequency of the acoustic resonance tube 1.”), and/or wherein the transducers are configured to generate an acoustic potential well in which the carrier and the component carried by the carrier can be trapped (“A floating body 6 such as a wafer can be arranged on the floating energy supply plate 4.”), and wherein the controller is configured to control the transducer system to change a position and/or orientation of the acoustic potential well to move the carrier (“At the same time, it is also input to the transport direction controller 31. The acoustic wave from the sound generating tube 45 and the acoustic wave from the sound generating tube 46 are”).
See the translation, which discloses:
Preferably, the control is such that the floating distance of the floating body 6 is always kept constant. For example, when the levitation distance obtained from the distance sensor 10 is larger than a desired value, the internal monitoring device 11 controls so that the output signal from the acoustic signal output device 12 becomes smaller.
At that time, the acoustic state in the acoustic resonance tube 1 is monitored constantly or at predetermined intervals by the sensor 10 so that a stable levitation state can be obtained.
As to claim 10, the apparatus of Suzuki as modified by Tang and Chen is capable of being used and capable of working of a material wherein wherein the carrier has a first surface configured to support the electronic component, and wherein the carrier has a maximum thickness that in a direction perpendicular to the first surface is less than 1/3 times a wavelength of the soundwaves generated by the acoustic transducers; wherein the first surface has a surface area that is at least 3 times greater than a maximum cross-sectional area of the electronic component; and/or wherein the acoustic potential well and/or the carrier is elongated, and wherein the first surface is rectangular or oval.
See MPEP 2114 and 2115.
As to claim 11, Suzuki discloses a localization system (such as sensor 10 and distance sensor 13) to determine a position and/or orientation of the carrier and/or the electronic component carried by the carrier, wherein the controller is configured to control the transducer system in dependence of the determined position and/or orientation, wherein the localization system comprises a vision system (“The distance sensor 13 measures the distance between the distance sensor 13 and the levitation body 6”; the distance sensor would be functionally equivalent to the disclosed vision system as it measures distance and/or position); and/or wherein the localization system is configured to determine the position and/or orientation of the carrier and/or the position and/or orientation of the electronic component carried by the carrier using echo-localization (“the acoustic energy in the acoustic resonance tube 1 measured by the sensor 10 is measured”), wherein the plurality of transducers is further configured to generate soundwaves used to perform the echo-localization, and wherein the soundwaves have a different frequency when compared to the soundwaves for creating the levitation field.
See the translation, which discloses:
A sensor 10 is provided in the acoustic resonance tube 1. The signal detected by the sensor 10 is sent to an internal monitoring device 11 connected to the sensor 10. Internal monitoring device 11
The acoustic signal output device 12 connected to the internal monitoring device 11 transmits a desired signal to the acoustic energy generating means 2 according to the signal from.
A distance sensor 13 is provided above the floating body 6.
Is arranged. The position of the distance sensor 13 is fixed by fixing means (not shown). The distance sensor 13 measures the distance between the distance sensor 13 and the levitation body 6.
The operation of the second embodiment having such a configuration will be described. The levitation distance is the levitation energy supply plate 4
Depends on the energy supplied from the Therefore, when it is desired to keep the levitation distance constant, it is necessary to monitor the acoustic energy and control the supplied signal as needed.
Specifically, the acoustic energy in the acoustic resonance tube 1 measured by the sensor 10 is measured. If the measured sound energy is within a desired value range, the output of the sound energy generating means is maintained. When the sound energy is out of the desired value range, a signal detected by the sensor 10 is sent to the internal monitoring device 11. The internal monitoring device 11 includes a distance sensor 13 measured by the distance sensor 13.
A signal corresponding to the distance between the object and the floating body 6 is supplied.
The signals sent from the sensor 10 and the distance sensor 13 allow the internal monitoring device 11 to
The output of the acoustic energy to be supplied to the inside is calculated and determined.
As to claim 12, Suzuki is capable of operation wherein the system is configured to transport a plurality of electronic components simultaneously, and wherein the transducer system is configured to trap each of the plurality of electronic components that is to be transported simultaneously in a respective acoustic potential well.
In any event, Tang explicitly discloses wherein the system is configured to transport a plurality of electronic components simultaneously, and wherein the transducer system is configured to trap each of the plurality of electronic components that is to be transported simultaneously in a respective acoustic potential well. See paragraph 0008, disclosing “The core of the technology solution is to use one of levitation solutions to receive the chip from a tape, either one by one, or multiple chips at the same time.”. See also paragraph 0022, disclosing “The core concept of the innovation is to streamline the chip fishing process from the tape, which is set upside-down in the chip supply stand 101 as shown in FIG. 1 by introducing multiple chip receiving heads shown as 102 in FIG. 1.”
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the filing of the invention to have utilized wherein the system is configured to transport a plurality of electronic components simultaneously, and wherein the transducer system is configured to trap each of the plurality of electronic components that is to be transported simultaneously in a respective acoustic potential well as suggested by Tang in order to enable the processing of multiple chips at the same time in order to streamline the chip fishing process from the tape.
As to claim 13, Suzuki discloses wherein the transducer system comprises one or more reflectors (“the bottom plate for resonance enhancement 3 is a plate capable of realizing a strong and completely reflecting state”) to reflect the soundwaves emitted by the transducers to create standing waves (“to generate a traveling wave in the transport direction”);
wherein the system comprises a housing (resonance tube 1) in which the acoustic field is generated, wherein the one or more reflectors are at least partially formed by an inner wall of the housing; and/or wherein the semiconductor wafer partially forms the one or more reflectors; and/or wherein the substrate and/or the holding unit holding the substrate partially forms the one or more reflectors.
See the translation, disclosing:
And multiple reflections occur between the floating energy supply plate 4 and the levitation energy supply plate 4. Since acoustic energy for levitation is continuously input from the sound source 2 into the acoustic resonance tube 1, the acoustic wave input so far matches the phase of the multiply-reflected wave so that It becomes possible to amplify the acoustic energy in the resonance tube 1.
In order to match the phase of the sound newly input into the acoustic resonance tube 1 with the acoustic wave that has already undergone multiple reflection, it is determined by the axial length L of the acoustic resonance tube 1. The sound source 2 is driven by the resonance frequency. The resonance frequency fn at that time is determined as in the following equation (1).
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Further, the bottom plate for resonance enhancement 3 is a plate capable of realizing a strong and completely reflecting state so that acoustic energy in the acoustic resonance tube 1 is not dissipated. An object 6 to be levitated is placed on a levitating energy supply plate 4 vibrating at a driving frequency by acoustic energy in the acoustic resonance tube 1. The levitation force generated by the radiation pressure acts between the vibrating levitation energy supply plate 4 and the levitated object 6, and the levitation is performed. At this time, since the radiation pressure needs to uniformly act on the levitated object 6, the flatness of both must be good. In order to make the radiation pressure act uniformly on the levitated object 6, it is necessary to pay attention to the selection of the frequency. That is, as shown in FIG. 12, for example, in a mode in which sound pressures having phases opposite to each other act on the levitation surface (the levitation energy supply plate 4), as shown in FIG. Since the phase shifts to the opposite phase, the phase of the radiation pressure also becomes the opposite phase.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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 GEORGE R KOCH whose telephone number is (571) 272-5807. The examiner can also be reached by E-mail at george.koch@uspto.gov if the applicant grants written authorization for e-mails. Authorization can be granted by filling out the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) Form.
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/GEORGE R KOCH/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1745
GRK