DETAILED ACTION
Response to Amendment
The Amendment filed 3/12/2026 has been entered. Claims 1-5 and 7 remain pending in the application. Claim 5 was cancelled.
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 3/12/2026 has been entered.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 3/12/2026 and 1/08/2026 were filed after the filing date of the application on 8/07/2023. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement has been considered by the examiner.
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 1-5 and 7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yoshii (JPH 11175771 A) in view of Liu (US 20190164771 A1), Adachi (JP 2002329685 A) and Kouichi (JPH 03147954 A).
Regarding claim 1, Chen teaches a cutting apparatus (see Figure 5) comprising:
a chuck table (T, paragraph 0011) for holding thereon a workpiece having a plurality of devices including electrodes that are constructed in respective areas demarcated on a face side of the workpiece by a plurality of projected dicing lines (see Figure 3), wherein an X-axis (left and right axis direction in Figure 2) and a Y-axis (in and out axis direction in Figure 2) are perpendicular and are aligned within a plane parallel to a plane of the chuck table (see Figures 1-5);
a cutting unit (3) having a rotatable cutting blade (2) for cutting the workpiece held on the chuck table, the cutting blade extending along the X-axis (see Figure 2);
an X-axis feed mechanism for cutting-feeding the chuck table and the cutting unit relatively to each other along the X-axis (paragraph 0011 and Figure 3);
a Y-axis feed mechanism for indexing-feeding the chuck table and the cutting unit relatively to each other along the Y-axis (paragraph 0011 and Figure 3);
a cutting liquid supply nozzle (5) disposed adjacent to a cover of the cutting unit (cover of 3), for supplying a cutting liquid to a point of contact between the cutting blade and the workpiece (see Figure 2); and
a supply nozzle (7), the supply nozzle being fixed to a portion of the cutting unit so that the fluid moves in unison with the cutting unit (see Figures 1-3), and the supply nozzle having a hollow body which includes a plurality of ejection ports aligned in a same direction (see Figure 3), such that a length of the hollow body along the Y-axis is in excess of the width of the workpiece along the Y-axis (see Figures 2-3), and the hollow body of the supply nozzle is arranged along a direction intersecting to the cutting direction of the cutting blade of the cutting unit (see Figure 2-3).
Yoshii fails to teach a cutting liquid supply nozzle disposed with a cover of the cutting unit, the supplying nozzle is a rust inhibitor supply nozzle supplying a rust inhibitor to the workpiece on the chuck table to prevent the electrodes of the devices from being rusted, a cylindrical hollow body.
Liu teaches a semiconductor wafer manufacturing method using both a rust inhibitor and water via two separate nozzles/tanks (paragraph 0029 and 0035, see Figure 1B of Liu).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in art to modify the device of Yoshii to have to change the cutting fluid to water and the supplying nozzle to supply with a rush inhibitor, as taught Liu, in order to provide a suitable liquid for the cutting environment for cutting wafer (paragraph 0029 and 0035, see Figure 1B of Liu). The resulting device of modified Yoshii teaches the supplying nozzle is a rust inhibitor supply nozzle supplying a rust inhibitor to the workpiece on the chuck table to prevent the electrodes of the devices from being rusted (as modified by Liu, paragraph 0035 of Liu).
Adachi teaches a cutting apparatus including a cutting liquid supply nozzle (24) disposed with a cover (23) of the cutting unit (See Figures 3 and 5).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in art to modify the device of Yoshii to have to change the location of the cutting liquid supply nozzle, as taught by Adachi. Since the courts have held that a rearrangement of parts is generally recognized as being within the level of ordinary skill in the art, absent any showing of unexpected results. In re Japikse, 181 F.2d 1019, 86 USPQ 70 (CCPA 1950) MEPE 2144.04 VI. C.
Kouichi teaches a wafer cutting device with a supply nozzle having a cylindrical hollow body which includes a plurality of ejection ports aligned in a same direction (see Figure 11).
It would have been an obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the device of modified Yoshii to change the shape of the hollow body into whatever form or shape was desired or expedient, such as cylindrical shape, as taught by Kouichi. As a change in form or shape is generally recognized as being within the level of ordinary skill in the art, absent any showing of unexpected results. In re Dailey et al., 149 USPQ 47. MEPE 2144.04 IV. B.
Regarding claim 2, modified Yoshii further teaches the cutting liquid supply nozzle supplies pure water or a mixture of an organic acid and an oxidizing agent as the cutting liquid (as modified by Liu, water, paragraph 0035 of Liu).
Regarding claim 3, modified Yoshii further teaches the cutting liquid supply nozzle is disposed on an opposite side of the cutting blade as the rust inhibitor supply nozzle along the X-axis (See Figure 3 of Yoshii).
Regarding claim 4, modified Yoshii further teaches the cutting liquid supply nozzle is constructed within a cover member (cover of 3) disposed around the cutting blade and supplies the cutting liquid through an ejection port to the point of contact between the cutting blade and the workpiece (See Figures 1-3 of Yoshii).
Regarding claim 5, modified Yoshii further teaches the rust inhibitor supply nozzle trails the cutting blade along the X-axis (See Figure 3 of Yoshii).
Regarding claim 7, modified Yoshii further teaches a rust inhibitor storage tank which stores the rust inhibitor and a rust inhibitor path interconnecting the rust inhibitor storage tank and rust inhibitor supply nozzle (as modified by Liu, tank 102, see Figure 1B); and a cutting liquid storage tank which stores the cutting liquid and a cutting liquid path interconnecting the cutting liquid storage tank and the cutting liquid supply nozzle (as modified by Liu, tank 102a, see Figure 1B), wherein the rust inhibitor is a liquid different from the cutting liquid (as modified by Liu, paragraph 0035, see Figure 1B).
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 3/12/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1-5 and 7 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
In response to applicant’s argument that Yoshii teaches away from make the hollow body cylindrical. The examiner disagree and notes that Yoshii teaches a way of making a hollow body but not the only way to make the hollow body. And furthermore MPEP 2041.03 states that “A person of ordinary skill in the art is also a person of ordinary creativity, not an automaton”, thus if one of ordinary skill in the art would want to make the cylindrical hollow body and make change the shape of other assorted part to fit the new shape.
Conclusion
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.
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, Ashley Boyer can be reached at 571-272-4502. 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.
/LIANG DONG/Examiner, Art Unit 3724 3/19/2026