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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Species A, indicating claims 1, 2, 6, 8-10, 18, and 19 in the reply filed on July 7, 2025 is acknowledged. Claim 1 is generic to the non-elected species.
Claim Objections
Claims 1-19 are objected to because of the following informalities: In claim 1, 18, and 19, the phrase “when the reflective surface is viewed from front” should be rewritten as --when the reflective surface is viewed from the front--. Claims 2-17 depend therefrom. In claim 9, the phrase “area of an adhesive surface between the mirror and the first adhesive is same as a sum of area of an adhesive surface between the mirror and the second adhesive and area of an adhesive surface between the mirror and the third adhesive” should be rewritten as --the area of an adhesive surface between the mirror and the first adhesive is the same as a sum of the area of an adhesive surface between the mirror and the second adhesive and the area of an adhesive surface between the mirror and the third adhesive--. Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claims 1, 2, 8, 18, and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kowaka et al. [JP 3837356 B2] in view of Sakamoto [JP 2004-240140].
For claim 1, Kowaka teaches a line narrowing module (15-20, see Figs. 1-4, 6 and 11) comprising: a prism (19); a mirror (15) including a reflective surface reflecting light transmitted through the prism, a first adjacent surface and a second adjacent surface adjacent to the reflective surface, and an opposing surface opposed to the reflective surface (see all four sides on the rectangle representing the mirror 15); a grating (16) that wavelength-disperses the light reflected by the reflective surface; a holding part (mirror holder 26, see Fig. 5 and [0016]-[0017]) that holds the mirror; and a driving unit (motor 25 or knobs 38 and 39 for adjusting tilt angle, see [0014]-[0017] and [0025]) configured to rotate the holding part so that the mirror rotates about an axis perpendicular to a plane in which the light is wavelength-dispersed.
Kowaka teaches the use of an adhesive to secure the mirror, but fails to teach a first adhesive provided between the holding part and the first adjacent surface or between the holding part and the opposing surface and bonding the mirror to the holding part; a second adhesive provided between the holding part and the second adjacent surface and bonding the mirror to the holding part; the second adhesive being located on an opposite side of the first adhesive with respect to a center line which passes through a center of the mirror in parallel to the axis when the reflective surface is viewed from front.
Sakamoto teaches a first adhesive (adhesive 47 provided on wall 44, see Figs. 7-9 and [0051]-[0060]) provided between the holding part and the first adjacent surface (the side surface of mirror 6 connected to wall 44) or between the holding part and the opposing surface and bonding the mirror to the holding part; a second adhesive (adhesive 47 provided on wall 45) provided between the holding part and the second adjacent surface and bonding the mirror to the holding part (the side surface of mirror 6 connected to wall 45); the second adhesive being located on an opposite side of the first adhesive with respect to a center line which passes through a center of the mirror in parallel to the axis when the reflective surface is viewed from front (side surfaces of the mirror 6 that face walls 44 and 45 are bisected by a line of rotation Oy, see Fig. 6).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide the adhesive arrangement for holding a mirror as taught by Sakamoto in the holding of the mirror as taught by Kowaka in order to provided symmetric adhesion to reduce the likelihood of asymmetric positioning caused by adhesive shrinkage that may occur during curing.
For claim 2, in the combination of Kowaka and Sakamoto, Sakamoto teaches the first adjacent surface is opposed to the second adjacent surface (side surface of the mirror 6, see Fig 8).
For claim 8, in the combination of Kowaka and Sakamoto, Sakamoto teaches the first adhesive adhering to the first adjacent surface and the second adhesive adhering to the second adjacent surface are located at a same height position in a direction perpendicular to the reflective surface (adhesive 47 positions shown in Fig. 9).
For claims 18 and 19, Kowaka teaches a method of manufacturing an electronic device comprising: generating a laser beam by a gas laser device provided with a line narrowing module; outputting the laser beam to an exposure device; and exposing a photosensitive substrate to the laser beam in the exposure device to produce the electronic device (excimer laser for use in the manufacturing of a semiconductor device using a reduction projection exposure apparatus, see [0002] and [0005]).
Claims 1, 6, and 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kowaka et al. [JP 3837356 B2] in view of Ito [US 2003/0165108].
For claim 1, Kowaka teaches a line narrowing module (15-20, see Figs. 1-4, 6 and 11) comprising: a prism (19); a mirror (15) including a reflective surface reflecting light transmitted through the prism, a first adjacent surface and a second adjacent surface adjacent to the reflective surface, and an opposing surface opposed to the reflective surface (see all four sides on the rectangle representing the mirror 15); a grating (16) that wavelength-disperses the light reflected by the reflective surface; a holding part (mirror holder 26, see Fig. 5 and [0016]-[0017]) that holds the mirror; and a driving unit (motor 25 or knobs 38 and 39 for adjusting tilt angle, see [0014]-[0017] and[0025]) configured to rotate the holding part so that the mirror rotates about an axis perpendicular to a plane in which the light is wavelength-dispersed.
Kowaka teaches the use of an adhesive to secure the mirror, but fails to teach a first adhesive provided between the holding part and the first adjacent surface or between the holding part and the opposing surface and bonding the mirror to the holding part; a second adhesive provided between the holding part and the second adjacent surface and bonding the mirror to the holding part; the second adhesive being located on an opposite side of the first adhesive with respect to a center line which passes through a center of the mirror in parallel to the axis when the reflective surface is viewed from front.
Ito teaches a first adhesive (13B, see Figs. 2 and 3) provided between the holding part and the first adjacent surface (the side surface 5D of mirror 5 connected to frame 12) or between the holding part and the opposing surface and bonding the mirror to the holding part; a second adhesive (one of adhesive 13A provided on frame 11) provided between the holding part and the second adjacent surface and bonding the mirror to the holding part (the side surface 5C of mirror 5 connected to frame 11); the second adhesive being located on an opposite side of the first adhesive with respect to a center line which passes through a center of the mirror in parallel to the axis when the reflective surface is viewed from front (center line parallel to surfaces 5C and 5D that bisects mirror 5).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide the adhesive arrangement as taught by Ito in the holding of the mirror as taught by Kowaka in order to provided support in a plane while reducing the likelihood of adhesive separation due to warp or rotation of the holder.
For claim 6, in the combination of Kowaka and Ito, Ito teaches a third adhesive (second adhesive 13a, see Figs. 2 and 3) provided between the holding part (11) and the second adjacent surface (5C) and bonding the mirror to the holding part.
For claim 9, in the combination of Kowaka and Ito, Ito teaches a third adhesive (second adhesive 13a, see Figs. 2 and 3) located on an opposite side (5C) of the first adhesive with respect to the center line when the reflective surface is viewed from the front, the third adhesive being provided between the holding part (11) and the second adjacent surface (5C) and bonding the mirror to the holding part, wherein area of an adhesive surface (5D) between the mirror and the first adhesive is same as a sum of area (5C) of an adhesive surface between the mirror and the second adhesive and area of an adhesive surface between the mirror and the third adhesive (surfaces 5C and 5D for adhesion are the same size because they are opposing sides of a rectangular prism, see Figs. 2 and 3).
Claim 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kowaka and Sakamoto as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Geuppert [US 2005/0223539].
For claim 10, Kowaka fails to teach the holding part further includes a member that is attachable and detachable to and from the holding part and to which one of the first adhesive and the second adhesive adheres, and the member is fixed to the holding part by adjusting a position in a thickness direction of the adhesive orthogonal to the center line and to an axis perpendicular to the reflective surface.
Geuppert teaches in Fig. 5 and [0075] the holding part further includes a member (241) that is attachable and detachable to and from the holding part (attached by screws 255) and to which one of the first adhesive and the second adhesive adheres (attachment pad 253 is glued to a side of mirror 270), and the member is fixed to the holding part by adjusting a position in a thickness direction of the adhesive orthogonal to the center line and to an axis perpendicular to the reflective surface (movement in plane of the mirror by flexible joints).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide the members as taught by Geuppert in the support of the mirror as taught by Kowaka in order to accommodate for the movement and thermal expansion of the mirror during use.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Shiraishi [US 2003/0147161] teaches in Fig. 3(b) a mirror support that introduces a tensile force on the adhesive.
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/Steven H Whitesell/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1759