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 .
Acknowledgement of Response to Restriction Requirements
Applicant’s Election of Group I, Species A, claims 1-10, without traverse, in the Response of 08/20/2026 is acknowledged. Claims 1-10 are now treated on the Merits.
Non-elected claims 11-20 are now deemed to be withdrawn and are not treated further on the merits.
Claim Interpretation
Independent system claim 1, as well as dependent system claims 2-10, recite system structural limitations followed by the manner to operate said limitations with corresponding functional language, or language regarding intended use of system components.
Independent claim 1, as well as dependent claims 2-10, contain additional such intended functional or intended use language including:
in claim 1, use of the “concentrating unit” for concentrating a waste liquid containing an organic fluorine compound, and discharged from a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, use of the “chemical liquid processing unit” for decomposing and evaporating a concentrated liquid concentrated by a liquid containing sulfuric acid, and a “collecting unit” for liquefying and collecting an evaporated gas, which has been evaporated by the “chemical liquid processing unit”;
claim 2, the “collecting unit” collecting gas, while separating such gas into gas and liquid components;
claim 3, the “detoxifying unit detoxifying a substance obtained after ‘processing by the collecting unit;
claim 4, the “detoxifying unit” combusting and eliminating such substance of claim 3;
claim 5, the “detoxifying unit” performing subcritical processing on such substance;
claim 6, the ”concentrating unit” concentrating waste liquid and separating a solvent contained in such liquid;
claim 7, the “concentrating unit” and “chemical liquid processing unit” respectively, concentrating a substrate processing waste liquid from a lithography apparatus of a semiconductor apparatus, and using a liquid wasted or obtained from a cleaning apparatus of such semiconductor apparatus;
claim 8, “the combustion eliminator” as using an exhaust gas which in turn is used in etching and film-forming apparatus of the semiconductor apparatus;
claim 9, the “inclined member” as receiving a concentrated dripped liquid from the recited first reservoir of the chemical liquid processing unit”; and,
claim 10, the recited “second reservoir” of the “chemical liquid processing unit” as having an added predetermined amount of liquid containing concentrated sulfuric acid mixed with concentrated liquid.
It is noted that neither the manner of operating an apparatus worded as a disclosed device (or “system”), nor material or article worked upon further limit an apparatus claim. Said limitations do not differentiate apparatus claims from prior art. See MPEP § 2114 and 2115. See Ex parte Masham, 2 USPQ2d 1647 (Bd. Pat. App & Inter. 1987) that states a “recitation with respect to the manner in which a claimed apparatus is intended to be employed does not differentiate the claimed apparatus from a prior art apparatus” if the prior art apparatus teaches all the structural limitations of the claim.”
In summary, claims 1-10 are interpreted as positively reciting the respective system components of: concentrating, processing and collecting unit for claim 1, and additional system components of detoxifying unit and with combustion eliminator for claims 3-5, the processing unit also including a 1st reservoir which is continuous with an inclined member for claim 9, and also including 2nd storage reservoir for claim 10, with the above functional and intended end use language, given no or limited patentable weight.
However, for purposes of compact prosecution, the claims have also been examined on the merits with respect to 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103, anticipation or obviousness with respect to as much of the functional and intended end use language as is expedient.
Rejections - 35 USC § 112
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.
Claims 3-5 and 7-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
In claim 3, and claims 4 and 5 dependent therefrom, the terminology “substance obtained after being processed by the collecting unit” is ambiguous or unclear as to meaning (does this refer to the separated gas component or liquid component introduced in claim 2, or portion thereof, or to the liquefied and collected, evaporated gas introduced in claim 1, or portion thereof?).
In claim 5, the meaning of “subcritical processing apparatus” is unclear and ambiguous (does such terminology refer to the processing apparatus being configured to react or otherwise treat a component or substance with subcritical water or other material, operating at a temperature or pressure which is elevated, however below a critical point to perform such treatment. In claim 7, it is unclear what is meant by “concentrated sulfuric acid wasted from the cleaning apparatus”.
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)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
(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.
Claims 1, 2, 6 and 7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1)/(a)(2) as being anticipated by Patent Publication EP 739,228 (Publication ‘228).
Referenced paragraph numbers of the Description of the applied publication are identified with “[ ]” symbols.
For independent claim 1, Publication ‘228 discloses: a processing system [0044 re Figure 16 shows a system, utilizing the method of this invention, for continuously purifying HC1, HF, HBr and HNO.sub.3 in a ULSI circuit fabrication facility for example], comprising:
a concentrating unit configured to concentrate a waste liquid containing an organic fluorine compound, discharged from a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus ([0039 and 0044 re separation, ‘pre-conditioning or 1st distillation column for mixing a spent gas/liquid chemical solution from a chemical process, to remove “excess water”, where such 1st column is used to remove water and hence, concentrate the remaining liquid solution], and [0002-0006 re such waste liquid chemical solutions being obtained from ultra-large scale (ULSI) semiconductor devices, the solutions including organic and inorganic contaminants such as hydrofluoric acid]);
a chemical liquid processing unit configured to decompose and evaporate a concentrated liquid concentrated by the concentrating unit with a liquid containing concentrated sulfuric acid ([0038, 0039 and 0044 re a 2nd distillation column to remove contaminants from the concentrated solution, and [per 0038 by means of adding a low vapor pressure substance such as sulfuric acid or phosphoric acid… Azeotropes formed between HC1 and HF gases, for example, and liquids are broken by adding the low vapor pressure acid to the solution....The gas is then easily removed from the mixture either by distillation or by bubbling an inert gas through the mixture.]); and
a collecting unit configured to liquefy and collect a gas evaporated by the chemical liquid processing unit ([0038 and 0039 re an adsorption column], and per [0039 “As the gas is removed it is absorbed into high purity DI water in an adsorption column. Alternately, reconstitution may be accomplished via condensation”]).
For claim 2, publication ‘228 also discloses wherein the collecting unit collects the gas while separating the gas into a gas component and a liquid component [0045 re the absorption column as containing several stages including a glass tube containing water through which evolved gas was bubbled , or having a glass frit on the edge of a submerged tube in an absorption column to form small gas bubbles for rapid gas adsorption].
For claim 6, publication ‘228 also discloses wherein the concentrating unit concentrates the waste liquid, and separates a solvent contained in the waste liquid [0039 and 0044 re separation, ‘pre-conditioning or 1st distillation column for mixing a spent gas/liquid chemical solution from a chemical process, to remove “excess water”, where such 1st column is used to remove water and hence, concentrate the remaining liquid solution from the waste solution].
For claim 7, publication ‘228 also discloses wherein the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus includes at least a lithography apparatus and a cleaning apparatus such that the
the concentrating unit concentrates, as the waste liquid containing the organic fluorine compound, a substrate processing waste liquid in the lithography apparatus ([0002 and 0003 re semiconductor devices concerning circuit devices to manufacture chips or wafers and incorporate dielectric films, thus inherently including at least a lithography apparatus] and [0004 re processes used in the fabrication of ULSI devices utilizing wet cleaning solutions, hence inherently including one or more cleaning apparatus components]), and
the chemical liquid processing unit uses, as the liquid containing the concentrated sulfuric acid, a liquid containing concentrated sulfuric acid wasted from the cleaning apparatus ([0005-0006 and 0033 re concentrated sulfuric and other acids being utilized in the production of ULSI devices, and [0033, 0034 and 0044 re recycling of waste acids, including sulfuric acid utilized in cleaning and suggesting sulfuric acid used in the processing unit being recycled from the semiconductor manufacturing]).
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 3-5 and 8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Patent Publication EP 739,228 (Publication ‘228) in view of Publication JP 2004-174387 (Publication ‘387), Publication JP 11-276856 (Publication ‘856) and Publication JP 2002-126797 (Publication ‘797), and their respective English translations.
Referenced paragraph numbers of the Descriptions of the applied EP and JP publication documents are identified with “[ ]” symbols.
Claim 3 differs from publication ‘228 by requiring the processing system of Claim 1, further comprising: a detoxifying unit configured to detoxify a substance obtained after being processed by the collecting unit.
Publication ‘387 teaches detoxifies waste water incl decomposing and detoxifying organic halogen compounds including PFOS., by subcritical water adsorbent (See Abstract, [0005, 0010-0013, 0016 re "cracking treatment chamber 30 is a cracking treatment chamber using supercritical water or subcritical water, and is divided into approximately three equal parts vertically, and in order from the top, a preheating region 33, a supercritical water or a subcritical water region (hereinafter, for convenience). ), ... That is, a heater 36 is disposed below the preheating region 33 and on the outer periphery of the supercritical water region 34, heating reactor implying combustion in [0025 ..."ultrahigh pressures and temperatures]).
Publication ‘856 teaches combustion of organic dioxin compounds to detoxify and decompose by adsorption and subcritical oxidative decomposition ([0002, Detailed Description beginning at [0023]).
Publication ‘797 teaches combustion utilized to decompose various organic sludge contaminants [0001, 0009, Summary of the Invention paragraphs 1-5].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the water treatment art to have modified the system of Publication ‘228, by incorporating a detoxifying unit configured to detoxify a substance obtained after being processed by the collecting unit, as cumulatively taught by Publication JP 2004-174387 (Publication ‘387), Publication JP 11-276856 (Publication ‘856) and Publication JP 2002-126797 (Publication ‘797), and their respective English translations, in order to eliminate the need for disposal or offsite removal of the toxic substances which are concentrated by the ‘228 system, and prevent environmental exposure of such toxic substances (‘387, [0002-0005]), greatly reducing operating costs (noted in the Summary of the Invention of ‘797
For claim 4, which requires the detoxifying unit being a combustion eliminator configured to combust and eliminate the collected substance, Publication ‘856 teaches combustion of organic dioxin compounds to detoxify and decompose by adsorption and subcritical oxidative decomposition ([0002, Detailed Description beginning at [0023]), and
Publication ‘797 teaches combustion utilized to decompose various organic sludge contaminants [0001, 0009, Summary of the Invention paragraphs 1-5].
It would have been obvious to have specifically utilized such combustion to completely remove the organic contaminants.
For claim 5 which specifically requires wherein the detoxifying unit is a subcritical processing apparatus configured to perform a subcritical processing on the substance obtained after being processed by the collecting unit, Publication ‘387 teaches detoxifies waste water incl decomposing and detoxifying organic halogen compounds including PFOS., by subcritical water adsorbent (See Abstract, [0005, 0010-0013, 0016 re "cracking treatment chamber 30 is a cracking treatment chamber using supercritical water or subcritical water, and is divided into approximately three equal parts vertically, and in order from the top, a preheating region 33, a supercritical water or a subcritical water region (hereinafter, for convenience). ), ... That is, a heater 36 is disposed below the preheating region 33 and on the outer periphery of the supercritical water region 34, heating reactor implying combustion in [0025 ..."ultrahigh pressures and temperatures]); and, Publication ‘856 teaches combustion of organic dioxin compounds to detoxify and decompose by adsorption and subcritical oxidative decomposition ([0002, Detailed Description beginning at [0023]).
It would have been specifically obvious to have incorporated a detoxifying unit equipped to utilizes such subcritical water adsorbent, as cumulatively taught by Publication JP 2004-174387 (Publication ‘387), Publication JP 11-276856 (Publication ‘856), since ‘387 and ‘856 cumulatively teach such detoxifying unit equipped to utilizes such subcritical water adsorbent, as effective at removing a wide variety of types organic substance contamination from the environment, further reducing disposal costs.
Regarding claim 8 which also recites wherein the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus includes at least an etching apparatus and a film forming apparatus, and wherein the combustion eliminator performs a combustion elimination processing by using an exhaust gas containing organic fluorine compound used in the etching apparatus and the film forming apparatus, none of the prior art teaches such at least one etching and film forming apparatus components, or utilization of exhaust gas thereof.
However, such limitations are all deemed to constitute additional intended use and descriptive functional characterization of the system, so are deemed to not structurally further narrow the system. The primary reference, publication ‘228 suggests system use with such etching apparatus and a film forming apparatus at [0002-0006 concerning manufacture of semiconductor devices incorporating design line widths of less than 1 micron, and dielectric films.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 9 and 10 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) set forth in this Office action and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Claim 9 is deemed to distinguish and be non-obvious in view of recitation of the processing system of Claim 7, further comprising wherein the chemical liquid processing unit includes a first reservoir in which the liquid containing the concentrated sulfuric acid wasted is stored, and an inclined member which is continuous with the first reservoir and which extends in an inclined shape, and the inclined member receives the concentrated liquid dripped thereon, and guides the received concentrated liquid toward the first reservoir.
None of the prior art now of record teaches or suggests such chemical liquid processing unit having such configuration of reservoir and inclined member which is continuous with the first reservoir and which extends in an inclined shape, and the inclined member receives the concentrated liquid dripped thereon, and guides the received concentrated liquid toward the first reservoir.
Claim 10 would distinguish and be non-obvious in view of its dependency on claim 9 which is distinguished and non-obvious.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Primary Examiner Joseph Drodge at his direct government formal facsimile phone number telephone number of 571-272-1140. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday from approximately 8:00 AM to 1:00PM and 2:30 PM to 5:30 PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner are unsuccessful, the examiner' s supervisor, Benjamin Lebron, of Technology Center Unit 1773, can reached at 571-272-0475.
The telephone number, for official, formal communications, for the examining group where this application is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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JWD
09/25/2026
/JOSEPH W DRODGE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1773
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