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
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 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, 2, 8, 9, 11, 13-16, and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Austrheim et al. 2023/0116192.
In Re Claim 1, Austrheim et al. teach a rotational interface comprising: a base column (450) extending in a first direction; a rotary unit (401); and a carrier plate (402) extending from the base column in a second direction and connected to the rotary unit, wherein the carrier plate includes: a plate body (402) extending in the second direction and coupled to the base column; and a storage pot (104a, b) disposed on the plate body and having an upper surface, and wherein the storage pot includes a fixing pin (407) located on the upper surface of the storage pot and configured to fix a semiconductor carrier (106) to the plate body.
In Re Claim 2, Austrheim et al. teach wherein the rotary unit includes: a motor (paragraph 196); and a gear (700) configured to transmit power of the motor to the carrier plate. (Fig. 11) (Paragraph 199)
In Re Claim 8, Austrheim et al. teach a plurality of carrier plates, including the carrier plate, and a plurality of rotary units, including the rotary unit, (Fig. 10-13) wherein the plurality of carrier plates are spaced apart from each other in the first direction, (Fig. 10-13) and wherein the plurality of carrier plates are rotatable by the plurality of rotary units, respectively; (Paragraph 182)
In Re Claim 9, Austrheim et al. teach wherein the plurality of rotary plates includes between 2 to 4 rotary plates. (Fig. 10-14)
In Re Claim 11, Austrheim et al. teach a carrier transfer system comprising: a travel rail: (408) an overhead hoist transport (301) movably coupled to the travel rail; (Fig. 14) and a rotational interface (400); wherein the rotational interface comprises: a base column (450) extending in a first direction; (Fig. 11) a rotary unit (401); and a carrier plate (402) extending in a second direction from the base column and connected to the rotary unit, and wherein the carrier plate includes a plate body (402) coupled to the base column and extending in the second direction.
In Re Claim 13, Austrheim et al. teach wherein the rotary unit includes: a motor (paragraph 196); and a gear (700) configured to transmit power of the motor to the carrier plate. (Fig. 11) (Paragraph 199)
In Re Claim 14, Austrheim et al. teach the carrier plate including a storage pot (104a, b) disposed on the plate body and having an upper surface, and wherein the storage pot includes a fixing pin (407) located on the upper surface of the storage pot and configured to fix a semiconductor carrier (106) to the plate body.
In Re Claim 15, Austrheim et al. teach a plurality of carrier plates are spaced apart from each other in the first direction, (Fig. 10-13) and
In Re Claim 16, Austrheim et al. teach wherein the plurality of rotary plates includes between 2 to 4 rotary plates. (Fig. 10-14)
In Re Claim 18, Austrheim et al. teach a manufacturing method comprising: moving an overhead hoist transport (301) to a rotational interface (400) comprising a first carrier plate (402) and a second carrier plate (402) spaced apart in a vertical direction; (Fig. 10-12) (Paragraph 175) rotating the second carrier plate to be unaligned with the first carrier plate; (Paragraph 158, one carrier plate is rotated) and loading, by the overhead hoist transport, a semiconductor carrier onto the first carrier plate. (Paragraph 122)
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.
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 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Austrheim et al. and in view of Li et al. CN 105730960.
In Re Claim 3, Austrheim et al. teach the interface of Claim 1 as discussed above.
Austrheim et al. are silent concerning the gear including a planetary gear.
However, Li et al. teach a gear including a planetary gear (Fig. 4)
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the application was filed to use a planetary gear in the interface of Austrheim et al. as taught by Li et al. with a reasonable expectation for success in order to provide a smooth, precise, quiet transmission.
Claim 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Austrheim et al. and in view of Hearth et al. 2017/0313458.
In Re Claim 5, Austrheim et al. teach the interface of Claim 1 as discussed above.
Austrheim et al. are silent concerning the rotary unit including an angle sensor configured to detect a rotational angle of the carrier plate.
However, Hearth et al. teach the rotary unit (3) including an angle sensor (4) configured to detect a rotational angle of the carrier plate (1).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the application was filed to add an angle sensor to the interface of Austrheim et al. as taught by Hearth et al. with a reasonable expectation for success in order to track part locations.
Claim 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Austrheim et al. and in view of Bonora et al. 8,882,433.
In Re Claim 6, Austrheim et al. teach the interface of Claim 1 as discussed above.
Austrheim et al. do not teach a plurality of storage pots disposed on the plate body and spaced apart from each other in the second direction.
However, Bonora et al. teach a plurality of storage pots (120) disposed on the plate body (129) and spaced apart from each other in the second direction. (Fig. 1)
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the application was filed to space the storage pots apart in a second direction in the interface of Austrheim et al. as taught by Bonora et al. with a reasonable expectation for success in order increase storage capacity of the system.
Claim 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Austrheim et al. and in view of Ito et al. 2024/0128108.
In Re Claim 7, Austrheim et al. teach the interface of Claim 1 as discussed above.
Austrheim et al. is silent concerning an upper portion of the fixing pin (30) having a rounded shape.
However, Ito et al. teach an upper portion of the fixing pin (30) having a rounded shape. (Fig. 4b)
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the application was filed to use fixing pins with rounded shape upper portion in the interface of Austrheim et al. as taught by ito et al. with a reasonable expectation for success in order to prevent wear when interfacing with carriers.
Claim 17 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Austrheim et al. and in view of Oh et al. 2023/0133865.
In Re Claim 17, Austrheim et al. teach the interface of Claim 11 as discussed above.
Austrheim et al. does not teach an overhead hoist transport that comprises: a transport body; a transfer wheel disposed on the travel rail, the transfer wheel being configured to move the transport body along the travel rail; a coupling member coupled to the travel rail; a horizontal slider extendable from the transport body in the second direction; and a gripper connected to the horizontal slider and being movable in the first direction;
However, Oh et al. teach an overhead hoist transport that comprises: a transport body (113b); a transfer wheel (wheels shown, Fig. 3) disposed on the travel rail, (fig. 3) the transfer wheel being configured to move the transport body along the travel rail; a coupling member (111b) coupled to the travel rail; a horizontal slider (115b) extendable from the transport body in the second direction; and a gripper (117b) connected to the horizontal slider and being movable in the first direction;
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the application was filed to use an overhead transport comprising a horizontal slider in the interface of Austrheim et al. as taught by Oh et al. with a reasonable expectation for success in order improve the delivery range of the overhead transport.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4, 10, 12, 19 and 20 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.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure: Marubayashi et al., Hirano, Abrutani and Iwasawa et al. teach a rotational interface comprising a base column, a rotary unit and a carrier plate including a plate body.
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GLENN F. MYERS
Examiner
Art Unit 3652
/GLENN F MYERS/ Examiner, Art Unit 3652