Detailed Correspondence
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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement filed 09/15/2023 fails to comply with 37 CFR 1.98(a)(2), which requires a legible copy of each cited foreign patent document; each non-patent literature publication or that portion which caused it to be listed; and all other information or that portion which caused it to be listed. It has been placed in the application file, but the information referred to therein has not been considered.
Furthermore, references cited in various foreign offices have not been presented in IDS. Some of these references are applied in the rejection below.
Claim Interpretation
This application includes one or more claim limitations that do not use the word “means,” but are nonetheless being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, because the claim limitation(s) uses a generic placeholder that is coupled with functional language without reciting sufficient structure to perform the recited function and the generic placeholder is not preceded by a structural modifier. Such claim limitation(s) is/are:
The “a supply module” in claim 1, this is considered a gas supply line 121 or equivalents thereof.
The “an exhaust module” in claim 1, this is considered a gas exhaust line 131 or equivalents thereof.
The “a charge module” in claim 1, this is considered a charge gas line or equivalents thereof.
The “a detection module” in claim 4, 6, 11, 14 and 15, this is considered at least one of a pressure gauge 161 and a gas detector 165 as describe in claim 10 or equivalents thereof.
The “a control module” in claim 4, 6, 11, 14 and 15, this is considered an electronic or mechanical controller or equivalents thereof.
The “an introduction module” in claims 11 and 15, this is considered a damper ([0060]) or equivalents thereof for introducing external air into the inner space.
Because this/these claim limitation(s) is/are being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, it/they is/are being interpreted to cover the corresponding structure described in the specification as performing the claimed function, and equivalents thereof.
If applicant does not intend to have this/these limitation(s) interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, applicant may: (1) amend the claim limitation(s) to avoid it/them being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph (e.g., by reciting sufficient structure to perform the claimed function); or (2) present a sufficient showing that the claim limitation(s) recite(s) sufficient structure to perform the claimed function so as to avoid it/them being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph.
The ”a charge module charging a protection gas into the inner space at a pressure higher than an external pressure of the housing to block external air from being introduced into the inner space“ of claim 1 and “an exhaust module disposed in the inner space, and exhausting a gas occurring due to processing of an object in a chamber of the high pressure processing apparatus at a temperature higher than an ignition point of a process gas” of claim 13, the operation of the apparatus is not part of the structure of the apparatus. An apparatus that is capable of performing the operation is considered read into the claim.
The following are also considered an intended use of the apparatus:
The “a pressure of the inner space by the charging of the protection gas has a value biased toward the external pressure rather than a pressure of the chamber by the supply of the process gas” of claim 2,
The “wherein a pressure of the inner space by the charging of the protection gas has a value lower than a pressure of the process gas flowing in the supply module” of claim 3,
The “wherein the charge module includes an emergency open/close charger charging the protection gas at a maximum set flow rate into the inner space during the discharge process of the gas” of claim 9,
The “the object includes a semiconductor wafer, the process gas includes at least one of hydrogen, deuterium, fluorine, ammonia, and chlorine, and the protection gas includes an inert gas” of claim 12,
It has been held that claim language that simply specifies an intended use or field of use for the invention generally will not limit the scope of a claim (Walter, 618 F.2d at 769, 205 USPQ at 409; MPEP 2106). Additionally, in apparatus claims, intended use must result in a structural difference between the claimed invention and the prior art in order to patentably distinguish the claimed invention from the prior art. If the prior art structure is capable of performing the intended use, then it meets the claim (In re Casey, 152 USPQ 235 (CCPA 1967); In re Otto, 136 USPQ 458, 459 (CCPA 1963); MPEP2111.02). When the structure recited in the reference is substantially identical to that of the claims, claimed properties or functions are presumed to be inherent (In re Best, 562 F.2d 1252, 1255, 195 USPQ 430, 433 (CCPA 1977); MPEP 2112.01).
The ”a gas box assembly” of claims 1 and 13, with the inner structure of the gas box component, is very broad. For example, a box containing gas is considered as a gas box.
Claim 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.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
The “A gas box assembly for a high pressure processing apparatus” in the preamble of claim 1 and “supplying a process gas to a chamber of the high pressure processing apparatus”, it is not clear whether “a high pressure processing apparatus” is positively part of the gas box assembly or is the object to be delivered to, but not part of the gas box assembly.
Applicants Specification indicates “a high pressure ranging from several atmospheric pressures to tens of atmospheric pressures” ([0036]), and will be examined accordingly. As such, high pressure processing apparatus does not raise relative term issue.
Similar issues for claim 13.
Claims 1 and 13 will be examined inclusive both interpretations (either “a high pressure processing apparatus” is part of the claim 1 (or 13) or not.
The examiner suggests Applicants positively recites “a high pressure processing apparatus” and “a chamber of the high pressure processing apparatus” in the body of the claims.
Dependent claims 2-12 and 14-15 are also rejected under USC 112(b) at least due to dependency to rejected claims 1 and 13, respectively.
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.
Claims 1-8 and 12-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kim et al. (KR 100766303, hereafter ‘303).
‘303 teaches all limitations of:
Claim 1: At a pressure of at least 25 atm (lower portion of P23), the level of differential pressure tolerance, as shown in FIG. 2A or 2B, will be around 2 atm in a typical design of a double wall chamber (P17, last paragraph, while establish high pressure apparatus, this may not be part of the claim requirement, see claim interpretation above), In the double wall chamber design, in FIG. 3, the pressure difference inside the inner chamber interior 206 and the outer chamber 205, respectively, is pressed over the surface of the inner chamber 203 wall (P3, 1st complete paragraph, “A gas box assembly for a high pressure processing apparatus, the assembly comprising: a housing having an inner space”);
Process gas such as hydrogen or deuterium (H2 / D2 ) is injected through process gas injection pipes 208, 209, 210 and exhausted through process gas exhaust pipes 211, 212. On the other hand, an external chamber gas such as nitrogen (N2 ) flows into the chamber through the nitrogen injection pipe 213 and is exhausted through 215. (P17, top paragraph, includes the claimed “a supply module disposed in the inner space and supplying a process gas to a chamber of the high pressure processing apparatus; an exhaust module exhausting a gas occurring due to processing of an object in the chamber and a charge module charging a protection gas into the inner space at a pressure higher than an external pressure of the housing to block external air from being introduced into the inner space”, see also wafer boat 22 in Fig. 2a).
Claims 2-3: by controlling various valves, ‘303 is capable of the claimed “wherein a pressure of the inner space by the charging of the protection gas has a value biased toward the external pressure rather than a pressure of the chamber by the supply of the process gas” of claim 2 and “wherein a pressure of the inner space by the charging of the protection gas has a value lower than a pressure of the process gas flowing in the supply module” of claim 3.
Claims 4-5: During the high pressure process, the leakage of hydrogen or other active gas from the tube to the cell will immediately dilute by surrounding the nitrogen in the shell. If the leak from the tube to the shell is large enough, ie while the leak from the shell to the tube is relatively small, the tube pressure will be reduced below the desired pressure range. In this case, the high pressure process will be interrupted in some embodiments due to software interlocking (a device that prevents the next operation from starting until the end of the ongoing operation) ... It will be appreciated that the pressure sensor devices in the inner chamber and the outer chamber can be connected to the control computer described herein, and such control can be implemented by means of a software program by the computer (bridging paragraph between pages 12 and 13, includes the claimed “further comprising: a detection module detecting an environment of the inner space; and a control module controlling the charge module,
wherein the control module controls the charge module based on a detection result of the detection module” of claim 4 and “wherein the detection module includes a pressure gauge, and the control module controls the charge module to charge the protection gas for the inner space to reach a set pressure when a pressure of the inner space detected by the pressure gauge is lower than the set pressure” of claim 5, see also pressure sensor 14 in Fig. 1a).
Claim 6: On the other hand, nitrogen leakage from the tube to the shell will mix with hydrogen (or other active gas) into the tube. This will result in dilution of the hydrogen (or other active gas) concentration. While the tube pressure remains relatively high, the interlock will also shut down in some embodiments to reduce shell pressure below the desired level when the leak is high enough. When the operation is stopped, the pressure regulating valve 41 discharges gas from both chambers, so that the shell pressure and the tube pressure are simultaneously released (top of P13, includes the claimed “further comprising: a detection module detecting an environment of the inner space; a discharge module discharging a gas from the inner space; and a control module controlling the discharge module, wherein the control module operates the discharge module when determining that a gas leaks from at least one of the supply module and the exhaust module to the inner space based on a detection result of the detection module”).
Claims 7 and 8: During chamber depressurization, the nitrogen flow rate may be increased to further dilute the potentially hazardous exhaust hydrogen / deuterium or other process gas depleted from the heat treatment chamber (P13, middle paragraph, last sentence, includes the claimed “wherein the control module controls the charge module to charge the protection gas into the inner space to dilute the leaking gas during a discharge process of the gas from the inner space” of claim 7 and “wherein the charge module includes a gas regulation charger charging the protection gas into the inner space while regulating a flow rate of the protection gas” of claim 8).
Claim 12: The present invention provides an improved process chamber for processing wafers by pressurizing hydrogen … This embodiment provides a buffer area against the leakage of highly reactive, flammable, toxic and dangerous noxious gases when leaking directly into the atmosphere. Inert gases such as nitrogen can be used in the outer chamber (P7, 2nd complete paragraph), In this embodiment there is a two-zone plug heater 24 atop the chamber bottom 38, which can heat the wafer boat 22 or wafer holder. The wafer boat 22 holds the semiconductor wafer 23 (P11, last paragraph, includes the claimed “wherein the object includes a semiconductor wafer; the process gas includes at least one of hydrogen, deuterium, fluorine, ammonia, and chlorine, and the protection gas includes an inert gas”, note these are intended use of the apparatus).
Claim 13: At a pressure of at least 25 atm (lower portion of P23), the level of differential pressure tolerance, as shown in FIG. 2A or 2B, will be around 2 atm in a typical design of a double wall chamber (P17, last paragraph, while establish high pressure apparatus, this may not be part of the claim requirement, see claim 112(b) rejection above), In the double wall chamber design, in FIG. 3, the pressure difference inside the inner chamber interior 206 and the outer chamber 205, respectively, is pressed over the surface of the inner chamber 203 wall (P3, 1st complete paragraph, “A gas box assembly for a high pressure processing apparatus, the assembly comprising: a housing having an inner space”);
Process gas such as hydrogen or deuterium (H2 / D2 ) is injected through process gas injection pipes 208, 209, 210 and exhausted through process gas exhaust pipes 211, 212. On the other hand, an external chamber gas such as nitrogen (N2 ) flows into the chamber through the nitrogen injection pipe 213 and is exhausted through 215. (P17, top paragraph, includes the claimed “an exhaust module disposed in the inner space, and exhausting a gas occurring due to processing of an object in a chamber of the high pressure processing apparatus at a temperature higher than an ignition point of a process gas; and a charge module charging a protection gas into the inner space at a pressure higher than an external pressure of the housing to block external air from being introduced into the inner space”, note to exhaust when temperature is higher than an ignition point is an intended use of the apparatus).
Claim 14: Process gas such as hydrogen or deuterium (H2 / D2 ) is injected through process gas injection pipes 208, 209, 210 and exhausted through process gas exhaust pipes 211, 212. On the other hand, an external chamber gas such as nitrogen (N2 ) flows into the chamber through the nitrogen injection pipe 213 and is exhausted through 215. (P17, top paragraph, includes the claimed “a discharge module discharging a gas from the inner space”);
During the high pressure process, the leakage of hydrogen or other active gas from the tube to the cell will immediately dilute by surrounding the nitrogen in the shell. If the leak from the tube to the shell is large enough, ie while the leak from the shell to the tube is relatively small, the tube pressure will be reduced below the desired pressure range. In this case, the high pressure process will be interrupted in some embodiments due to software interlocking (a device that prevents the next operation from starting until the end of the ongoing operation) ... It will be appreciated that the pressure sensor devices in the inner chamber and the outer chamber can be connected to the control computer described herein, and such control can be implemented by means of a software program by the computer (bridging paragraph between pages 12 and 13, includes the claimed “further comprising: a detection module detecting an environment of the inner space” and “a control module controlling the discharge module,
wherein the control module operates the discharge module when determining that a gas leaks from the exhaust module to the inner space based on a detection result of the detection module”).
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.
Claim 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over ‘303.
‘303 further teaches the limitations of:
Claim 10: When the shell pressure and the tube pressure dropped at the same time, it means that gas leaked from both the inner chamber and the outer chamber into the atmosphere (top of P13), In some embodiments, the gas control panel 303 is protected by using additional machinery under pressurized nitrogen environment or under vacuum environment. This prevents hydrogen from leaking directly into the atmosphere. In some embodiments, an alarm or alarm system is used to detect gas leaks from gas control panels (P18, 1st complete paragraph), in some embodiments, a hydrogen / deuterium (H2 / D2 ) sensing sensor will be included to monitor hydrogen leakage in the loading zone (P14, last sentence of last paragraph, obvious to have added hydrogen / deuterium sensor to the outer chamber 205, includes the claimed “wherein the detection module includes at least one of a pressure gauge and a gas detector and the control module determines that the gas leaks when a pressure of the inner space detected by the pressure gauge is higher than a set pressure or the gas detector detects the process gas”).
Claim 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over ‘303, as being applied to claim 7 rejection above, in view of Zhu et al. (CN 110389602, hereafter ‘602).
‘303 further teaches that a method and apparatus for diluting hydrogen at tube pressure with shell pressure nitrogen during an emergency process interruption, while reducing the pressure in the process chamber after completion of the process. Furthermore, in some embodiments, additional diluents are used in combustion exhaust pipes or dilution tanks to dilute hydrogen / deuterium or other harmful gases (P10, 4th complete paragraph).
‘303 does not expressly teach the limitations of:
Claim 9: wherein the charge module includes an emergency open/close charger charging the protection gas at a maximum set flow rate into the inner space during the discharge process of the gas.
‘602 is analogous art in the field of A Method For Controlling The Content Of A Particular Gas In The Target Container (title), including combustible gas (P1, bottom). ‘602 teaches that the target vessel 20 is connected with a pipeline. As shown in FIG. 1, the pipeline comprises a first diluent line 30. under the normal condition, the first dilution pipeline flow of the dilution gas 30 is relatively stable (P4, 4th paragraph), when in emergency danger condition, the detector 50 of the detection value reaches a second predetermined value, the second diluting gas pipeline of the quick open valve 60 to rapidly start the dilution gas to the target container 20 conveying the large flow of quickly diluting specific gas content in target container 20 (P5, last paragraph).
Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to have added a second diluting gas pipeline of the quick open valve to rapidly start the dilution gas to the target container during emergency, as taught by ‘602, to the outer chamber 205 of ‘303, for the purpose of emergency dilution of combustible gas, as taught by ‘602 (P5, last paragraph).
Claims 11 and 15, and alternatively claim 10, are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over ‘303, as being applied to claims 1 and 13 rejection above, in view of Lim (KR 102396669, hereafter ‘669).
‘303 further teaches some limitations of:
Claim 11: During the high pressure process, the leakage of hydrogen or other active gas from the tube to the cell will immediately dilute by surrounding the nitrogen in the shell. If the leak from the tube to the shell is large enough, ie while the leak from the shell to the tube is relatively small, the tube pressure will be reduced below the desired pressure range. In this case, the high pressure process will be interrupted in some embodiments due to software interlocking (a device that prevents the next operation from starting until the end of the ongoing operation) ... It will be appreciated that the pressure sensor devices in the inner chamber and the outer chamber can be connected to the control computer described herein, and such control can be implemented by means of a software program by the computer (bridging paragraph between pages 12 and 13, includes the claimed “further comprising: a detection module detecting an environment of the inner space” Fig. 3 shows the lids or door 202 can be opened to outside air, reads into the claimed “an introduction module introducing external air into the inner space; and a control module controlling the introduction module”).
Claim 15: During the high pressure process, the leakage of hydrogen or other active gas from the tube to the cell will immediately dilute by surrounding the nitrogen in the shell. If the leak from the tube to the shell is large enough, ie while the leak from the shell to the tube is relatively small, the tube pressure will be reduced below the desired pressure range. In this case, the high pressure process will be interrupted in some embodiments due to software interlocking (a device that prevents the next operation from starting until the end of the ongoing operation) ... It will be appreciated that the pressure sensor devices in the inner chamber and the outer chamber can be connected to the control computer described herein, and such control can be implemented by means of a software program by the computer (bridging paragraph between pages 12 and 13, includes the claimed “further comprising: a detection module detecting an environment of the inner space”);
Fig. 3 shows the lids or door 202 can be opened to outside air, reads into the claimed (reads into the claimed “an introduction module introducing external air into the inner space”);
and such control can be implemented by means of a software program by the computer (top of page 13, includes the claimed “and a control module controlling the introduction module”).
‘303 does not teach the other limitations of:
Claims 11 and 15: wherein the control module controls oxygen concentration in the inner space to reach set oxygen concentration by operating the introduction module based on the oxygen concentration in the inner space that is detected through the detection module.
‘669 is analogous art in the field of Residual Gas Detection Device Before And After Processing In Semiconductor Chamber (title), a device which stably detects gas before and after a high-pressure process in a semiconductor chamber and checks residual gas in the chamber before driving the semiconductor chamber to prevent an explosion accident that occurs while driving the semiconductor chamber and an explosion accident caused by high concentrations of deuterium and hydrogen leaking into the public (abstract). ‘669 teaches that As shown in FIG. 2, the fluid control unit 20 includes a case module 210 having an accommodating space therein, and an exhaust line module 220 installed at the upper end of the case module 210 to communicate with the accommodating space inside. and an air line module 230 installed at the lower end of the case module 210 to communicate with the receiving space inside (P4, 2nd last complete paragraph), As such, the residual gas detection apparatus 1 before and after the process of the semiconductor chamber includes a double chamber unit 10, a fluid control unit 20, an oxygen detection unit 30, a hydrogen detection unit 40, and a purging gas supply unit 50, and A control unit (not shown) for controlling the fluid control unit 20 and the like are included as components (P3, 2nd last paragraph), and the case module 210 including the first valve 201 , the second valve 202 and the third valve 203 is installed in the accommodating space, and one end of the case module 210. and the exhaust line module 220 connected to the exhaust pipe 401 of at least one of the oxygen detection unit 30 or the hydrogen detection unit 40, and an external air injection module at a different location from the exhaust line module 210. , Residual gas detection apparatus before and after the process of the semiconductor chamber, including an air line module 230 for allowing air to be introduced into the accommodating space (P7, lower portion).
Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to have added an air line module 230 and oxygen sensor 30 of ‘669, to the outer chamber 205 of ‘303, for the purpose of preventing an explosion accident, as taught by ‘669 (abstract).
Note the air line module 230 read into the “an introduction module” and the oxygen detection unit 30 or the hydrogen detection unit 40 reads into the limitations of claim 10.
Notice also the combination of ‘303 and ‘669, perhaps using ‘669 as primary reference, appears to have various elements as shown in Applicants’ Fig. 1.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. TW 202143275 is cited for an insulating box 11, a poisonous gas detector 33, and inert gas feed 15 (Fig. 3 or 4).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KEATH T CHEN whose telephone number is (571)270-1870. The examiner can normally be reached 8:30am-5:00 pm.
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/KEATH T CHEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1716