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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1-7 and 11-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Crowe et al. US 2024/0140733.
Crowe discloses an apparatus (400, 410) capable of transferring a semiconductor element (200), the apparatus comprising: a support base (412); a plurality of adsorption portions (416a, 416b) disposed at a lower surface of the support base; a vacuum portion (417) coupled to the support base and configured to provide a vacuum to the plurality of adsorption portions to thereby hold the semiconductor element; and a heating portion (420, 421) coupled to the support base and configured to heat the semiconductor element, wherein the heating portion comprises a heating plate (421) that is disposed at the lower surface of the support base and surrounded by the plurality of adsorption portions.
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As for claim 2, Crowe discloses wherein the heating plate (421) is disposed above the plurality of adsorption portions (416a, 416b) by a specified height (see Fig. 4 above) toward the lower surface of the support base (412).
As for claim 3, Crowe discloses in Fig. 4 wherein the heating plate (421) is configured to be spaced apart from the semiconductor element (200) by a specified distance based on the semiconductor element being in contact with the plurality of adsorption portions (416a, 416b).
As for claim 4, Crowe discloses wherein the heating portion (420) is connected to the support base (412) and passes through at least a portion of the support base (see Fig. 4), and wherein the heating plate (421) is exposed through the lower surface (see fig. 4) of the support base (412).
As for claim 5, Crowe discloses wherein the heating portion (420) further comprises a main body (420, housing), the main body comprising the heating plate (421) disposed at a lower portion thereof, and wherein at least a portion of the main body passes through the support base (412, see Figs. 3 and 4).
As for claim 6, Crowe discloses wherein the heating portion comprises an infrared heater (¶0046).
As for claim 7, Crowe discloses wherein the heating plate (421) is disposed at a center of the lower surface of the support base (412, see Fig. 4), and wherein the plurality of adsorption portions comprise three or more adsorption portions that surround the heating plate.
As for claim 11, Crowe discloses wherein the plurality of adsorption portions (416a, 416b) are made of a flexible material (suction cup).
As for claim 12, Crowe discloses wherein each of the plurality of adsorption portions defines an adsorption hole (center of 416a, 416b), and wherein the vacuum portion (417) is connected to the adsorption hole of each of the plurality of adsorption portions through the support base (412), the vacuum portion being configured to provide the vacuum to the adsorption hole of each of the plurality of adsorption portions.
As for claim 13, Crowe discloses a camera connected to the support base or the heating portion (machine vision/optical alignment, ¶0042).
As for claim 14, Crowe discloses a connection portion (415) that connects the camera (located at 431) to the support base or the heating portion (see fig. 1).
As for claim 15, Crowe discloses wherein the apparatus is capable of operating the heating portion (420) while moving the support base toward the semiconductor element (200) before operating the vacuum portion (417).
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As for claim 16, Crowe discloses a method of transferring a semiconductor element (200), the method comprising: aligning a transfer apparatus (400), the transfer apparatus including a plurality of adsorption portions (416a, 416b) and a heating portion (420); lowering the transfer apparatus toward the semiconductor element; operating the heating portion while lowering the transfer apparatus toward the semiconductor element to thereby satisfy a temperature condition for the semiconductor element; providing a vacuum to the plurality of adsorption portions to thereby hold the semiconductor element; and transferring the semiconductor element to a transfer position, releasing the vacuum from the plurality of adsorption portions, and raising the transfer apparatus from the semiconductor element (¶0049).
As for claim 17, Crowe discloses wherein the transfer apparatus further includes a camera (¶0042, machine vision), wherein the method further comprises: aligning the semiconductor element (alignment holes 138) and the camera, and imaging the semiconductor element using the camera.
As for claim 18, Crowe discloses wherein imaging the semiconductor element is performed at least one of (i) before lowering the transfer apparatus to the semiconductor element or (ii) after releasing the vacuum from the plurality of adsorption portions and raising the transfer apparatus from the semiconductor element. Alignment between the pins 431 and fiducials 138 is made before lowering the transfer apparatus (¶0049), thus the imaging from the machine vision (¶0042) is provided before lowering the transfer apparatus.
As for claim 19, Crowe discloses wherein the transfer apparatus further includes a support base (412), wherein the plurality of adsorption portions (416a, 416b) are disposed at a lower surface of the support base, and wherein the heating portion (420) comprises a heating plate (421) disposed at the lower surface of the support base and surrounded by the plurality of adsorption portions (see Fig. 4).
As for claim 20, Crowe discloses wherein providing the vacuum to the plurality of adsorption portions is performed to bring the semiconductor element in contact with the plurality of adsorption portions, and wherein transferring the semiconductor element is performed based on the semiconductor element being in contact with the plurality of adsorption portions and spaced apart from the heating plate at a predetermined distance (¶0049).
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.
Claim(s) 8-10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Crowe et al. US 2024/0140733.
As for claim 8, Crowe discloses wherein the plurality of adsorption portions (416a, 416b) are spaced apart from one another, the plurality of adsorption portions comprising a first adsorption portion (416a), a second adsorption portion (416b) that surround the heating plate. Crowe does not specify a third adsorption portion, and a fourth adsorption portion that surround the heating plate. However, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date, through mere duplication of parts to provide additional third and fourth adsorption portions as the additional parts do not provide any unexpected results (In reHarza, 274 F.2d 669, 124 USPQ 378 (CCPA 1960)).
As for claim 9, Crowe discloses wherein the first adsorption portion, the second adsorption portion, the third adsorption portion, and the fourth adsorption portion are arranged symmetrically with respect to the heating plate (see Fig. 4). The third and fourth adsorption portions would be arranged on the two empty corners of the base plate (412) surrounding the heating plate (421).
As for claim 10, Crowe discloses wherein each of the first adsorption portion, the second adsorption portion, the third adsorption portion, and the fourth adsorption portion is disposed between an edge portion of the lower surface of the support base (412) and an edge portion of the heating plate (421). See Figure 4, heating adsorption portions (416) are provided on the four corners of the base plate (412) and surrounding an edge of the heating plate (421).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TYRONE V HALL JR whose telephone number is (571)270-5948. The examiner can normally be reached Mon.-Fri. 7:30am-3:30pm.
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/TYRONE V HALL JR/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3723