DETAILED ACTION
This Notice is responsive to communication filed on 06/29/2026.
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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 12/19/2023 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Species 1 reading on Fig. 15, Fig. 16 in the reply filed on 06/29/2026 is acknowledged.
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.
Rejection Note: Italicized claim limitations indicate limitations that are not explicitly disclosed in the primary reference(s).
Claims 1-4, 6, and 7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Oka (US 20050242305), and further in view of Irie et al. (US 20160349502).
Regarding claim 1, Oka discloses:
A semiconductor wafer detection device detecting a semiconductor wafer, comprising:
a light sensor Fig. 1A: 52, comprising a light emitter Fig. 1A: 52A having a light emitting surface that emits light, and a light receiver Fig. 1A: 52B having a light receiving surface that receives the light (para. 0041);
a detector, detecting the semiconductor wafer based on the light received by the light receiver (para. 0044 “scanning operation /operation unit…obtained from the light receiving signal of the light receiving unit 52B); and
one or a plurality of droplet guide members, causing a droplet adhering to a sensor surface that is at least one of the light emitting surface and the light receiving surface to flow down,
wherein the one or plurality of droplet guide members comprise a liquid guide part of a plate shape, and the liquid guide part is arranged with a tip facing a center of the sensor surface when viewed in an optical axis direction of the sensor surface.
Irie et al. disclose the following claim limitations not disclosed by Oka:
one or a plurality of droplet guide members Fig. 3: 21 (para. 0054), causing a droplet adhering to a sensor surface (i.e. surface of camera) that is at least one of the light emitting surface and the light receiving surface Fig. 3: 20 (para. 0055) to flow down,
wherein the one or plurality of droplet guide members Fig. 3: 21 comprise a liquid guide part of a plate shape Fig. 4: 27 (para. 0063), and the liquid guide part Fig. 4: 27 is arranged with a tip facing a center of the sensor surface when viewed in an optical axis direction of the sensor surface (shown in Fig. 4, guiding plate member 27 comes to a tip facing a surface of the camera/lens/imagine element in para. 0055 not pictured).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify Oka with Irie in order to include a plate-shaped droplet guide member in order to prevent water droplets from obstructing or distorting the light passing through the optically active area and improving the visibility of images from the imaging device (para. 0087).
Regarding claim 2, Irie discloses the semiconductor wafer detection device according to claim 1, wherein a portion of the liquid guide part Fig 4: 27 that comprises at least the tip overlaps the sensor surface Fig. 4: 20 (i.e surface of camera/imaging element) when viewed in the optical axis direction (shown in Fig. 4).
Regarding claim 3, Irie discloses the semiconductor wafer detection device according to claim 1, wherein a facing surface of the liquid guide part Fig 3: 27 facing the sensor surface Fig. 3: 20 (i.e surface of camera/imaging element) is an inclined surface that descends in a direction away from the sensor surface Fig. 3: 20 (i.e surface of camera/imaging element). This is shown in Fig. 3.
Regarding claim 4, Irie discloses the semiconductor wafer detection device according to claim 1, wherein the liquid guide part Fig 3: 27 is formed in a blade shape whose thickness decreases toward the tip (shown in Fig. 3; para. 0065 teaches trapezoidal shape).
Regarding claim 6, Oka discloses the semiconductor wafer detection device according to claim 1, further comprising: a support Fig. 1A: 51, supporting both the light emitter Fig. 1A: 52A and the light receiver Fig. 1A: 52B (para. 0038).
Regarding claim 7, Irie discloses a droplet guide member Fig. 3: 21 (para. 0054) used in a semiconductor wafer detection device (semiconductor detection device taught by Oka US 20050242305) equipped with a light sensor and a detector, the light sensor comprising a light emitter having a light emitting surface that emits light and a light receiver having a light receiving surface that receives the light, the detector detecting a semiconductor wafer based on the light received by the light receiver, wherein the droplet guide member comprises:
a liquid guide part of a plate shape Fig. 4: 27 (para. 0063), and
the liquid guide part Fig. 4: 27 is arranged with a tip facing a center of the sensor surface when viewed in an optical axis direction of the sensor surface (shown in Fig. 4, guiding plate member 27 comes to a tip facing a surface of the camera/lens/imagine element in para. 0055 not pictured).
Claim 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Oka (US 20050242305) and Irie et al. (US 20160349502) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Ina et al. (US 20190100171 A1).
Regarding claim 5, Ina discloses the following claim limitations not disclosed by Oka and Irie:
The semiconductor wafer detection device according to claim 1, further comprising:
a spraying mechanism Fig. 4: 7, spraying a gas in a direction approaching the liquid guide part Fig. 4: 4a (i.e. constriction used as a guide) when viewed in the optical axis direction onto the sensor surface Fig. 4: 3 (shown in Fig. 4).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify Oka and Irie with Ina in order to include a gas or air spraying mechanism that removes water collected on a lens (i.e. light receiving surface), thereby stabilizing optical signal or imaging data being obtained (para. 0011).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to NKECHINYERE ESIABA whose telephone number is (571)272-0720. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 10am-5pm EST.
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/Nkechinyere Esiaba/Examiner, Art Unit 2817
/Kretelia Graham/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2817
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