CTNF 18/361,129 CTNF 95698 DETAILED ACTION Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status 07-03-aia AIA 15-10-aia The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA. Election/Restrictions 08-06 AIA Claim s 10-20 withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected Invention II , there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 03/31/2026 . Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112 07-30-02 AIA 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. 07-34-01 Claims 5, 7, and 9 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. Claims 5, 7, and 9 discloses “one or more heating elements” whereas earlier in claim 1 it recites “a plurality of heating elements.” It is unclear if the “one or more heating elements” is the same as the “plurality of heating elements.” For examination, the “one or more heating elements” is interpreted to mean “the plurality of heating elements.” Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 07-06 AIA 15-10-15 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. 07-20-aia AIA 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. 07-21-aia AIA Claim (s) 1-6 and 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kasai (US 20220191974 A1) in view of Elias (US 20220221357 A1) and Moriya (US 20250183101 A1) . Claim 1. Kasai discloses a heating system (heating device 10, Fig. 4) comprising: a plurality of heating elements (LEDs 141 for heating, claim 1) positioned within a housing (LEDs are within the heating device, Fig. 4), each of the heating elements being configured to generate an amount of heat based on an amount of power supplied to the respective heating element (LED controller controls power supplied to the LED and controls the heat output by the LED, par. 33); a plate (top plate, Fig. 4) positioned within the housing, the plate having a bottom surface facing the plurality of heating elements and a top surface opposite the bottom surface (top plate 120’s bottom surface faces the LEDs, Fig. 4); a thermochromic layer covering at least a portion of the top surface of the plate; a camera positioned above the plate, the camera configured to record one or more images of the thermochromic layer at the top surface of the plate; and a controller in communication with the camera and configured to adjust the amount of power supplied to each heating element independent of one another based on information derived from the one or more images (there are plurality of LED units which can be powered to different intensities based on information acquired from the temperature sensor, par. 57 and 72). Kasai does not disclose a thermochromic layer covering at least a portion of the top surface of the plate; a camera positioned above the plate, the camera configured to record one or more images of the thermochromic layer at the top surface of the plate; and a controller in communication with the camera and configured to adjust the amount of power supplied to each heating element independent of one another based on information derived from the one or more images Elias discloses a robot end effector that can sense temperature (par. 94) wherein the surface of the tactile sensor is printed with a layer of thermochromic ink wherein a camera captures the colour of the thermochromic layer to determine the temperature (par. 95). Moriya discloses a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus (par. 16) wherein an electrode is covered with a thermochromic layer to measure the surface temperature of the component (par. 48). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Kasai to incorporate the teachings of Elias and Moriya and use a thermochromic layer to detect temperature of the surface. While Elias is not within the art of furnaces for semiconductor production, Moriya, demonstrates that one of ordinary skill in the art in the area of semiconductor production would know that a thermochromic layer can be used to observe the temperature of a surface (par. 48, Moriya). Claim 2. Kasai in view of Elias and Moriya discloses the heating system of claim 1, wherein each heating element of the plurality of heating elements includes an infrared (IR) light emitting diode (LED) (LEDs 141, Fig. 4). Claim 3. Kasai in view of Elias and Moriya discloses the heating system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of heating elements includes at least 20 heating elements (LED units U1 and U2 exceed more than 20 in Fig. 5, par. 53). Claim 4. Kasai in view of Elias and Moriya discloses the heating system of claim 1, wherein the one or more images recorded by the camera includes a plurality of color images of a top surface of the thermochromic layer recorded at different points in time (camera observing the tactile sensor with the thermochromic layer has a shutter and high frame rate, which indicates that multiple pictures are being taken at different times, par. 118, Elias), and wherein each color image of the top surface of the thermochromic layer at each point in time includes a visual indication of one or more colors visible at the top surface of the thermochromic layer (image can show a temperature gradient which is revealed by the color of the pattern, par. 95-96, Elias). Kasai in view of Elias and Moriya does not explicitly disclose taking multiple pictures at different point in times. However, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to try and take multiple pictures over a period of time and observe the colour change on the thermochromic layer. Doing so would have the benefit of observing a change in temperature on the surface during heating and being able to adjust the power to the LEDs based on the observed temperatures, as disclosed by Kasai (par. 72). Claim 5. Kasai in view of Elias and Moriya discloses the heating system of claim 4, wherein the controller is configured to automatically determine for each color image of the top surface of the thermochromic layer at each point in time, one or more temperature values for one or more areas of the thermochromic layer based on the visual indication of the one or more colors visible at the top surface of the thermochromic layer (the colour of the pattern allows the user to determine the temperature of the tactile sensor, par. 95, Elias, where it is understood that the use of “determine the temperature” means temperature value and not just a subjective level), and the controller is configured to automatically adjust the amount of power supplied to one or more heating elements based on the one or more temperature values (observing the temperature on the surface during heating and adjust the power to the LEDs based on the observed temperatures to make the surface temperature more uniform, par. 19 and 72). Claim 6. Kasai in view of Elias and Moriya discloses the heating system of claim 5, wherein the plurality of heating elements are arranged in an array and the plate is positioned above the plurality of heating elements (LEDs are arrayed below the plate, Fig. 4), and wherein the controller is configured to increase the amount of power supplied to one or more of the heating elements positioned below an area of the thermochromic layer having a temperature value that is less than a temperature value at one or more other areas of the thermochromic layer (observing the temperature on the surface during heating and adjust the power to the LEDs based on the observed temperatures to make the surface temperature more uniform, par. 72). Claim 8. Kasai in view of Elias and Moriya discloses the heating system of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to increase or decrease the amount of power supplied to the plurality of heating elements independent of one another while the plate is being heated by the plurality of heating elements such that the temperature of the plate is substantially homogeneous across the entire top surface of the plate (LEDs are adjusted such that the temperature distribution is made uniform, where the LEDs can be adjusted independently, par. 57 and 72) . 07-22-aia AIA Claim (s) 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kasai in view of Elias and Moriya as applied to claim 4 above, and further in view of Abrams (US 20020122073 A1) and Roche (US 20080063026 A1) . Claim 7. Kasai in view of Elias and Moriya does not explicitly disclose the heating system of claim 4 further comprising: a server in communication with the controller and camera, the server configured to receive the one or more images from the camera and, for each of the one or more images: automatically determine a temperature heat map including one or more temperature values for one or more areas of the thermochromic layer based on the visual indication of the one or more colors visible at the top surface of the thermochromic layer; and automatically transmit the temperature heat map to the controller, wherein the controller is configured to automatically adjust the amount of power supplied to one or more heating elements based on the one or more temperature values included in the temperature heat map. Abrams discloses a camera system with an image server that receives the images (par. 25). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Kasai in view of Elias and Moriya to incorporate the teachings of Abrams and have a server to receive the images that is connected to the controller. Abrams demonstrate that one of ordinary skill in the art would be capable of setting up this communication scheme between the camera, server, and controller. Roche discloses using thermochromic liquid crystal systems to monitor local temperatures and temperature gradients of electronic devices, wherein the temperature maps are used to identify the hottest areas (par. 4). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Kasai in view of Elias, Moriya, and Abrams to incorporate the teachings of Roche and observe the temperature map from the thermochromic layer and transmit the temperature map to the controller. Doing so would allow the user to observe the hottest area of the surface and control the LED heaters to obtain a more uniform temperature distribution (par. 72, Kasai) . 07-22-aia AIA Claim (s) 9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kasai in view of Elias and Moriya as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Yokouchi (US 9831108) . Claim 9. Kasai in view of Elias and Moriya does not disclose the heating system of claim 1, wherein a position of the plate relative to the one or more heating elements is adjustable. Yokouchi discloses a thermal processing apparatus for wafers wherein the heating elements (halogen lights, HL, Fig. 1) are fixed in place and the substrate (susceptor 70, Fig. 1) holding the wafer (W) can be moved up and down with the support shaft. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Kasai in view of Elias and Moriya to incorporate the teachings of Yokouchi and have the wafers be able move and up and down the support shaft. Doing so would have the benefit of obtaining a more uniform temperature distribution (abstract, col 15, lines 20-25). Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SIMPSON A CHEN whose telephone number is (571)272-6422. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 8-5. Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Steven Crabb can be reached at (571) 270-5095. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /SIMPSON A CHEN/ Examiner, Art Unit 3761 /ELIZABETH M KERR/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3761 Application/Control Number: 18/361,129 Page 2 Art Unit: 3761 Application/Control Number: 18/361,129 Page 3 Art Unit: 3761 Application/Control Number: 18/361,129 Page 4 Art Unit: 3761 Application/Control Number: 18/361,129 Page 5 Art Unit: 3761 Application/Control Number: 18/361,129 Page 6 Art Unit: 3761 Application/Control Number: 18/361,129 Page 7 Art Unit: 3761 Application/Control Number: 18/361,129 Page 8 Art Unit: 3761 Application/Control Number: 18/361,129 Page 9 Art Unit: 3761
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