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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on 12/12/2023 and 10/10/2024 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner except where stricken through.
Claim Objections
Claims 1 and 18 objected to because of the following minor informalities: "substate" in line 6 of claim 1 and line 3 of claim 18 should say "substrate". Appropriate correction is required.
Claims 2 and 12 are objected to for having unclear wording: “both sides” of the substrate claimed in claims 2 and 12 imply that two sides of the substrate were previous claimed.
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.
Claim(s) 1-5, 7, 9, 11, 19-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by OGAWA et al. (US 20050118010 A1).
Regarding Claim 1, Ogawa et al. teaches a substrate transfer apparatus comprising:
a base (100);
a first transfer arm (200) configured to have a first arm link (210, 220) connected to the base and a first end effector (300) connected to the first arm link (see Fig. 10), and which operates between a contract position and an expand position ([0058]; Fig. 10-11); and
a guide member (310, 320, 400) aligning a substrate placed on the first end effector while the first transfer arm backwardly moves from the expand position to the contract position ([0058]; Fig. 10-11).
Regarding Claim 2, Ogawa et al. teaches the substrate transfer apparatus of claim 1, wherein the guide member includes a first guide (310, 320) and a second guide (400) for guiding both sides of the substrate (Fig.11); and
while the first transfer arm backwardly moves, the first guide moves and the second guide does not move (See Fig. 10-11).
Regarding Claim 3, Ogawa et al. teaches the substrate transfer apparatus of claim 2, wherein the first guide moves together with the first arm link ([0055], [0064]; see Fig. 10-11).
Regarding Claim 4, Ogawa et al. teaches the substrate transfer apparatus of claim 2, wherein the first arm link includes: a first arm (210) which is rotatable in a horizontal direction on the base ([0050]); and a second arm (220) which is rotatable in a horizontal direction on a front end of the first arm ([0051]), and wherein the first guide is installed on the second arm (See Fig. 10).
Regarding Claim 5, Ogawa et al. teaches the substrate transfer apparatus of claim 4, wherein the first guide includes: a fixing bracket (310) installed on a side of the second arm (installed through 305); and a touch block (312) provided at the fixing bracket and which contacts a side of the substrate ([0055]; see figure 14).
Regarding Claim 7, Ogawa et al. teaches the substrate transfer apparatus of claim 2, wherein the second guide is fixedly installed on the base ([0057]).
Regarding Claim 9, Ogawa et al. teaches the substrate transfer apparatus of claim 2 further comprising:
a second transfer arm (200B; Fig. 12) configured to have a second arm link (210, 220 of 200B) connected to the base ([0050]; Fig. 12) and a second end effector (300B) connected to the second arm link ([0050]) and which operates between the contract position and the expand position ([0065]; Fig 12-13), and
wherein the first end effector and the second end effector overlap each other when the first transfer arm and the second transfer arm are each in the contract position (see Fig. 13), and the second guide is provided at the second arm link (Fig. 12).
Regarding Claim 11, Ogawa et al. teaches substrate transfer apparatus comprising:
a base (100);
a left transfer arm (200B, Fig. 12) configured to have a first arm link connected to the base and a first end effector (300B) on which a substrate is placed and which operates between a contract position and an expand position ([0065]; See Fig. 12-13);
a right transfer arm (200A) configured to have a second arm link connected to the base and a second end effector (300A) on which the substrate is placed and which operates between the contract position and the expand position ([0065]; see Fig. 12-13);
and a guide member (310, 320, 400) for aligning the substrate when the left transfer arm or the right transfer arm backwardly moves from the expand position to the contact position.
Regarding Claim 19, Ogawa teaches A substrate transfer apparatus comprising:
a base (100);
a left transfer arm (200B; Fig. 12) having a first arm link (210 of 200A) connected to the base (see Fig. 12), a first guide installed on the first arm link (310, 320 of 200B), and a first end effector connected to the first arm link (300B), and configured to operate between a contract position and an expand position ([0065]; see Fig 12-13); and
a right transfer arm(200A) having a second arm link connected to the base (210 of 200A), a second guide installed on the second arm link (310,320 of 200A), and second end effector connected to the second arm link(300A), and configured to operate between the contract position and the expand position ([0065] see Fig 12-13); and
wherein the first end effector and the second end effector overlap each other when the left transfer arm and the right transfer arm are each in the contract position (see Fig. 13), and
when the left transfer arm backwardly moves, the first guide moves to align the substrate placed on the first end effector (first guide moves with the arm), while the second guide does not move, and when the right transfer arm backwardly moves, the second guide moves to align the substrate placed on the second end effector (second guide moves with the arm), while the first guide does not move.
Regarding Claim 20, the substrate transfer apparatus of claim 19, wherein the first arm link includes: a left first arm (210 of 200B) which is rotatable in a horizontal direction on the base ([0065]);
a left second arm (220 of 200B) which is rotatable in a horizontal direction on a front end of the left first arm ([0065]), and
the second arm link includes: a right first arm (210 of 200A) which is rotatable in the horizontal direction on the base ([0065]);
a right second arm which is rotatable in the horizontal direction on the front of the right first arm ([0065]),
and wherein the first guide is installed on the left second arm ([0065]), and
the second guide is installed on the right second arm ([0065]).
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.
Claim(s) 6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over OGAWA et al. (US 20050118010 A1) in view of HASHIMOTO et al. (US 20110187140 A1)
Regarding Claim 6, Ogawa et al. teaches the substrate transfer apparatus of claim 5
Ogawa et al. does not teach wherein a surface of the touch block in contact with the side of the substrate is curved.
Hashimoto et al. teaches a touch block (13) which contacts a side of the substrate, wherein a surface of the touch block in contact with the side of the substrate is curved ([0037]; see Fig. 2).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill the in art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the touch block of Ogawa et al. with the touch block in contact with the side of the substrate is curved of Hashimoto et al. so the touch block is curved for the purpose of having the touch block contact more of the surface of the substrate therefore better securing the substrate.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 8, 10, 12-18 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. Yakota et al. (US 20030053902 A1) and Sundar (US 20020009359 A1) and Yumagishi et al. (US 6305898 B1) disclose similar wafer aligning means.
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/ERNESTO A SUAREZ/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3655
/A.N./ Examiner, Art Unit 3655
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