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 .
Status of Claims
Claims 6-7, 12-23, 26, 28, and 33-58 have been canceled by the applicants in the amendments.
Claims 1-5, 8-11, 24-25, 27, 29-32, and 59-62 are now pending.
Claims 1-5, 8, 24-25, 27, 29-30, and 32 have been amended.
Claims 59-62 have been added.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to latest amended claim(s) have been considered. It is noted that some of the changes to the claims have been made in response to the interview on June 4, 2026. The changes include features to some of the claims which are persuasive.
However, a new ground of rejection have been made in light of the latest amendment as it is noted that independent claim 24 have been amended that include a broadening of the features including the removal of the receiving grooves, and further removal of the “insulation” material and instead listed as different materials for the respective elements. Whereupon, YUDOVSKY teaches of the claimed features of claim 24 as shown below.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claim(s) 24 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as anticipated by or, in the alternative, under 35 U.S.C. 103 as obvious over YUDOVSKY (US 2007/0084408 A1, cited in previous PTO-892).
Re 24, YUDOVSKY teaches of a liner structure comprising: a liner 212 configured to be arranged on an inner sidewall of a reaction chamber 213 configured to receive a heater and a substrate; and a first block 211 connected to the liner, wherein an upper surface of the liner and an upper surface of the first block are coplanar with each other (see Fig. 3).
Regarding the claimed “a material of the first block being different from the material of the liner”
YUDOVSKY teaches of in [0052], wherein 212 is a quartz, the outer chamber 213 is of metal. Further, in another embodiment by YUDOVSKY, see [0059], that teaches of the heater blocks can be ceramic resistive heaters, see [0057].
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art to have recognized and modify the teaching from the different embodiments of YUDOVSKY for the different elements being comprised of different types of materials.
The claimed configured to receive a heater and substrate are noted and in which the liner of YUDOVSKY would be capable of such manner in the broadest interpretation, see Fig. 3.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-5, 8-11, 29-32, and 62 are allowed over the prior art references.
Claims 25, 27, and 59-61 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
The prior art references fail to teach of the liner structure having the liner that is of a liner and connected to a first block with different materials, and the liner includes a receiving groove, the first block detachably received in the groove, and further the liner being of ring shape or partial ring shape, with the first block conforms to the shape of the liner.
The closest reference include:
CHITRADURGA (US 2023/0377855 A1) teaches of ring insulators 404, the CHITRADURGA fails to teach of the particular first block and material, and the groove.
YUDOVSKY (US 2007/0084408 A1) teaches of a liner structure comprising of a liner 212 and a first block 211 connected to the liner, wherein an upper surface of the liner and an upper surface of the first block are coplanar with each other (see Fig. 3). YUDOVSKY fails to teach of the particular ring shape and grooves.
ZHAO (EP 1041171 A1, see IDS) teaches in [0075-0076] of aluminum nitride ceramic for the disk 148 for the high thermal conductivity, excellent corrosion resistance and thermal shock resistance. Could be used to cover top and sides of the base or platform 136.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). 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 EMMANUEL S LUK whose telephone number is (571)272-1134. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 9 to 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, Xiao S Zhao can be reached at 571-270-5343. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/EMMANUEL S LUK/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1744
