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):
(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(s) 5-7 is/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.
Claim 5 recites the limitation "the at least one" in line 6. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. It is unclear to the examiner if applicant is referring to “at least one linear guide” or potentially some other structural limitations. For the purposes of advancing prosecution, the examiner has construed the claims as reciting “combined with the at least one linear guide in a movable manner…”
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.
Claim(s) 1-3 and 8-10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tang et al. US 2020/0381319 in view of Matsumoto US 4944650.
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Tang discloses a wafer holding device (200) having function of positioning a wafer (240), configured to fix the wafer thereon and position the wafer, wherein the wafer is provided with a positioning structure; comprising: a base (106); a holder plate (202), disposed on the base; wherein the holder plate includes an upper surface and a lower surface; the upper surface is provided for the wafer to be placed thereon; and the upper surface is provided with an adsorption structure (204) for adsorbing and fixing the wafer.
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Tang discloses a plurality of wafer securing mechanisms (201) disposed on an upper surface in a protruding manner at internals around the holder plate with respect to a predetermined datum center on the holder plate but does not specify a plurality of pushing pins, disposed on the upper surface in a protruding manner; wherein each of the pushing pins is disposed on the holder plate at intervals around the holder plate with respect to a predetermined datum center on the holder plate; a linear actuator, disposed on the base; wherein an actuating direction of the linear actuator is in parallel to the upper surface; and a positioning member, configured to be driven by the linear actuator to move in the actuating direction to contact and push against the positioning structure of the wafer.
However, Matsumoto teaches a wafer holding device having function of positioning a wafer (14), configured to fix the wafer thereon and position the wafer, wherein the wafer is provided with a positioning structure (38); comprising: a base (robot not shown); a holder plate (12), disposed on the base; wherein the holder plate includes an upper surface and a lower surface; the upper surface is provided for the wafer (14) to be placed thereon; a plurality of pushing pins (22), disposed on the upper surface in a protruding manner; wherein each of the pushing pins is disposed on the holder plate at intervals around the holder plate with respect to a predetermined datum center on the holder plate; a linear actuator (30, 40, 42), disposed on the base; wherein an actuating direction of the linear actuator is in parallel to the upper surface; and a positioning member (28), configured to be driven by the linear actuator to move in the actuating direction to contact and push against the positioning structure of the wafer (col. 2, lines 42-65). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date, to modify the wafer and wafer holding device of Tang with a wafer having a positioning structure and a holding device having a plurality of push pins, a linear actuator and a positioning member as taught by Matsumoto in order to provide a means for correctly centering and positioning the wafer onto the holding device to be processed.
As for claim 2, the modified Tang teaches wherein the adsorption structure includes a vacuum adsorption orifice (vacuum source) and air-conducting grooves (Tang, 204) connected to the vacuum adsorption orifice, and the vacuum adsorption orifice communicates the upper surface and the lower surface (see Tang, Fig. 12 above).
As for claim 3, the modified Tang teaches an air evacuating pump (not shown but vacuum pump is provided for a vacuum pressure); wherein the vacuum adsorption orifice is connected to the air evacuating pump at the lower surface as is commonly known in the art (see Tang, Fig. 12).
As for claim 8, the modified Tang teaches wherein the positioning member (Matsumoto, 28) is provided with a position plane at a front end (see 36, Matsumoto, Figs. 1-2).
As for claim 9, the modified Tang teaches wherein the positioning member (Matsumoto, 28) is flat, perpendicular to the upper surface, and extends toward the predetermined datum center (see Matsumoto, Figs. 1-2).
As for claim 10, the modified Tang teaches wherein the holder plate is provided with a trough (Matsumoto, 26) and the trough is located on the upper surface and communicates an edge of the holder plate (Matsumoto, Fig. 1); wherein a part (32) of the positioning member (28) and part of the linear actuator (42) are movably disposed in the trough (Matsumoto, Fig. 2).
Claim(s) 4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tang et al. US 2020/0381319 in view of Matsumoto US 4944650 as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Tran US 2005/0111161.
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As for claim 4, the modified Tang teaches all the limitations as recited above but does not specify wherein a plurality of lifting pins, disposed in the holder plate in a rising and lowering manner; wherein the lifting pins are able to lower and embedded in the holder plate or rise to protrude on the upper surface. However, the use of lifting pins for lifting and lowering a wafer towards and away from a holder plate is well known in the art as evidence by Tran who teaches a wafer holder plate (5) having vacuum channels (513) and lifting pins (518, 53, 531) disposed in the holder plate in a rising and a lowering manner (¶0020). It would have been obvious to one ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date, to modify the holding device of Tang to include lifting pins as taught by Tran in order to provide a means for lifting and lowering the wafer towards and away from the holding device before and after positioning and processing the wafer.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5-7 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action and to include 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: Claims 5-7 recites specific structural limitations to the linear actuator and its connection to the base via a bracket. The prior art of Matsumoto discloses a linear actuator provided with a plunger (40) connected via a wire (42) to a movable block (stopper 28) which is guided within the groove space (26) via a guide block portion (32). The prior art of record fails to disclose a leadscrew having one end connected to the bracket in a rotatable manner and the other end passing through a hollow space of the movable block and connected to the movable block in a rotatable manner as claimed. For the above reasons, the claims overcome the prior art of record.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TYRONE V HALL JR whose telephone number is (571)270-5948. The examiner can normally be reached Mon.-Fri. 7:30am-3:30pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Monica Carter can be reached at (571) 272-4475. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/TYRONE V HALL JR/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3723