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 § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(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.
Claim 9 is 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 pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention.
Claim 9 Ln 18-22 states the limitation "bringing the first contact surface and the second contact surface into contact with the main surface by applying a force to the second member from the main surface while the lower-layer member supports the second member such that the second contact surface protrudes beyond the first contact surface in an axial direction in which the predetermined axis extends”. It is unclear how the first and second contact surfaces may be in contact with the main surface AND the second contact surface protrudes beyond the first contact surface. Therefore, the scope of the claim is indeterminate. For examination, the limitation was interpreted as --bringing the first contact surface and the second contact surface into contact with the main surface by applying a force to the second member from the main surface while the lower-layer member supports the second member such that the second contact surface aligns with the first contact surface in an axial direction in which the predetermined axis extends--.
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, 8 and 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1), 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by KUBO; Akihiro et al. US 20150133032 A1, hereinafter Kubo.
Regarding claim 1, Kubo discloses (Fig. 3) a substrate cleaning member comprising:
a first member (50) including a first contact surface (50a), an outer edge of which is formed along a circumference around a predetermined axis, wherein the first member is configured to clean or polish a main surface (depicted bottom surface) of a substrate (W) by moving the first contact surface along the main surface while the first contact surface is in contact with the main surface [0063-0065];
a second member (51a) including a second contact surface (51a), an outer edge of which is formed along the circumference outside or inside the first contact surface, wherein the second member is configured to clean the main surface by moving the second contact surface along the main surface while the second contact surface is in contact with the main surface [0063-0065];
a lower-layer member (51) configured to support the second member such that the second contact surface protrudes beyond the first contact surface in an axial direction in which the predetermined axis extends [0063-0065]; and
a base (52) configured to support the first member, the second member and the lower-layer member [0063-0065],
wherein the second contact surface is configured such that at least one of surface roughness and hardness of the second contact surface is different from that of the first contact surface ([0063] states that second contact surface (51a) made of “polyvinyl alcohol, polypropylene, nylon…” is made from a different material than the first contact surface (50a) made of “foamed urethane…”; therefore, the two different materials fundamentally comprise different material properties/characteristics such as surface roughness and hardness), and
wherein the lower-layer member is made of a softer material than the second member such that, when the second member receives a contact force from the main surface, a position of the second contact surface approaches a position of the first contact surface in the axial direction [0063-0065].
To further clarify the rejection, cleaning member (51) is being interpreted as an assembly of different portions/members comprising the portion/second member (51a) which is the second contact surface, and the supporting body portion/member (51) which is the portion(s) of (51) that are not the contact surface.
Regarding claim 8, Kubo discloses (Fig. 3) a substrate processing apparatus (1) comprising:
the substrate cleaning member according to Claim 1 (12);
a substrate holder (10/11) configured to hold the substrate [0055]; and
a driver (60/61) configured to move the first contact surface and the second contact surface along the main surface of the substrate held by the substrate holder [0067].
Regarding claim 9, Kubo discloses (Fig. 3) a substrate cleaning method comprising:
polishing a main surface of a substrate by a substrate cleaning member; and
cleaning the main surface by the substrate cleaning member after the polishing of the main surface,
wherein the substrate cleaning member includes:
a first member (50) including a first contact surface (50a), an outer edge of which is formed along a circumference around a predetermined axis, wherein the first member is configured to clean or polish a main surface (depicted bottom surface) of a substrate (W) by moving the first contact surface along the main surface while the first contact surface is in contact with the main surface [0063-0065];
a second member (51a) including a second contact surface (51a), an outer edge of which is formed along the circumference outside or inside the first contact surface, wherein the second member is configured to clean the main surface by moving the second contact surface along the main surface while the second contact surface is in contact with the main surface [0063-0065];
a lower-layer member (51, depicted body portion) configured to support the second member such that the second contact surface protrudes beyond the first contact surface in an axial direction in which the predetermined axis extends [0063-0065]; and
a base (52) configured to support the first member, the second member and the lower-layer member [0063-0065],
wherein the second contact surface is configured such that at least one of surface roughness and hardness of the second contact surface is different from that of the first contact surface ([0063] states that second contact surface (51a) made of “polyvinyl alcohol, polypropylene, nylon…” is made from a different material than the first contact surface (50a) made of “foamed urethane…”; therefore, the two different materials fundamentally comprise different material properties/characteristics such as surface roughness and hardness), and
wherein the polishing of the main surface includes:
bringing the first contact surface and the second contact surface into contact with the main surface by applying a force to the second member from the main surface while the lower-layer member supports the second member such that the second contact surface aligns with the first contact surface in an axial direction in which the predetermined axis extends (depicted in Fig. 5, [0063-0065]; and
moving the first contact surface and the second contact surface along the main surface while the first contact surface and the second contact surface are in contact with the main surface [0063-0067, 0072-0073], and
wherein the cleaning of the main surface includes:
moving the second contact surface along the main surface while the first contact surface is not in contact with the main surface and the second contact surface is in contact with the main surface (depicted in Fig. 4, [0074]).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-7 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:
Regarding claim 2, Kubo discloses the claimed invention substantially as claimed, as set forth above for Claim 1 except fails to explicitly state that each of the second member (51/51a) and the lower-layer member (51) is made of a material including pores, and wherein a pore diameter in the lower-layer member is larger than a pore diameter in the second member.
The prior art does not anticipate nor render obvious the combination set forth in the claim, and specifically does not show the claimed materials comprising pores. Although Kubo discloses a second member and lower-layer member, there is no teaching in the prior art of record that would, reasonably and absent impermissible hindsight, motivate one having ordinary skill in the art to modify the teachings of Kubo to incorporate the details of the second member and the lower-layer member is made of a material including pores, and wherein a pore diameter in the lower-layer member is larger than a pore diameter in the second member, along with the other claimed components of substrate cleaning member. Therefore, when viewed as a whole and for at least the foregoing reasons, the prior art of record neither anticipates nor rendered obvious the present invention as set forth in the claim.
Regarding claim 3, Kubo discloses the claimed invention substantially as claimed, as set forth above for Claim 1 except fails to explicitly state that the substate cleaning member further comprising: a middle-layer member disposed between the second member (51/51a) and the lower-layer member (51) and made of a material harder than the second member and the lower-layer member, wherein the second member, the middle-layer member, and the lower-layer member are formed in an annular shape to extend along the circumference.
The prior art does not anticipate nor render obvious the combination set forth in the claim, and specifically does not show the claimed middle layer and associated material. Although Kubo discloses a second member and lower-layer member, there is no teaching in the prior art of record that would, reasonably and absent impermissible hindsight, motivate one having ordinary skill in the art to modify the teachings of Kubo to incorporate the details of a middle-layer member disposed between the second member and the lower-layer member and made of a material harder than the second member and the lower-layer member, wherein the second member, the middle-layer member, and the lower-layer member are formed in an annular shape to extend along the circumference, along with the other claimed components of substrate cleaning member. Therefore, when viewed as a whole and for at least the foregoing reasons, the prior art of record neither anticipates nor rendered obvious the present invention as set forth in the claim.
Claims 4-7 depend upon claim 3.
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
Relevant Art
The following is a listing of relevant art:
US 5389032 A discloses a cleaning/polishing member comprising layers comprising different materials at different ‘elevations’
US 11986922 B2, US 9089943 B2, US 6315645 B1 discloses a cleaning/polishing member comprising different materials at different ‘elevations’.
US 20140158160 A1 discloses a substrate cleaning/polishing member having a trapezoidal cross-sectional shape.
US 20210220878 A1 discloses a substrate processing apparatus.
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MATTHEW WIBLIN whose telephone number is (571)272-9836. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday 8:00 am - 4:00 pm.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, NATHANIEL WIEHE can be reached on 571-272-8648. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/MATTHEW WIBLIN/ Examiner, Art Unit 3745