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 2 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 applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 2 recites the limitation "each movable joint" in line 1. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Furthermore, changing “each movable joint” to “a movable joint” creates further confusion because the movable joint has no context vis-à-vis the structure disclosed in claim 1.
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.
Claim(s) 1, 6-9, and 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Grundy (US 5,944,602).
With respect to claim 1 Grundy discloses a housing [reference character 20 in Fig. 7] defining an accommodation cavity [reference character 23 in Fig. 3] therein and formed with an air inlet [reference character 29] and an air outlet [reference character 55] ; a gas circulation device [reference character 78, 35, 35’, 45, and 31] arranged at the housing, with two ends thereof being connected to the air inlet and the air outlet respectively [see Fig. 7], the housing and the gas circulation device being both sealed to define a confined space without gas exchange with the outside [see Fig. 7 and column 7 lines 55-62]; and a filter [reference character 31] arranged in the gas circulation device, wherein a gas in the accommodation cavity is drawn out from the air outlet through the gas circulation device, filtered by the filter, and sent back to the accommodation cavity from the air inlet [see Fig. 7].
With respect to claim 6 Grundy discloses a partition wall [reference character 36] arranged in the housing, wherein, the partition wall divides the accommodation cavity within the housing into a first cavity [reference character 23] and a second cavity [reference character 50], the air inlet being arranged at a part of the housing corresponding to the first cavity, the air outlet being arranged at a part of the housing corresponding to the second cavity [see Fig. 7]; the partition wall is provided with a communication hole [reference character 70 in Fig. 5]; the gas in the second cavity being drawn out from the air outlet through the gas circulation device, filtered by the filter, sent into the first cavity from the air inlet, and returned to the second cavity through the communication hole [see airflow path in Fig. 7].
With respect to claim 7 Grundy discloses that the communication hole is arranged at a side of the partition wall away from the gas circulation device [see Fig. 7].
With respect to claim 8 Grundy discloses that the first cavity serves as a working space within the clean room, and is located in the middle of the accommodation cavity [see Fig. 7].
With respect to claim 9 Grundy discloses that the second cavity serves as a working space within the clean room, and is located in the middle of the accommodation cavity [see Fig. 7, the accommodation cavity serves as a working space accessed by door 62].
With respect to claim 11 Grundy discloses that communication holes are dispersedly arranged in the partition wall [see Fig. 5].
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.
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(s) 2 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Grundy (US 5,944,602) in view of Thienel (US 2010/0107580 A1).
With respect to claim 2 Grundy does not disclose that each movable joint of the clean room module is provided with a silicone rubber ring.
Thienel discloses an air filter [reference character 6] which includes a sealable ring [reference character 15] forming a movable joint1 and the interface with the filter housing [reference character 2], Thienel further discloses that the ring may be made from silicone [paragraph 0004].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the filing date of the invention to modify the filter arrangement taught by Grundy by providing a silicone sealing between the filter and the housing, as taught by Thienel, in order to ensure that air does not leak around the filter.
Claim(s) 3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Grundy (US 5,944,602) in view of Shields (US 4,637,301).
With respect to claim 3 Grundy discloses that the housing is further provided with an openable side cover [reference character 62].
Grundy does not disclose that the gas circulation device is arranged on the top of the housing.
Shields discloses a contamination control work station [see Fig. 2] that includes a gas circulation device [see annotated Fig. below] on top of the housing [see Fig. 2] accessed between an access panel [reference character 21].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the filing date of the invention to modify the portable clean room cabinet taught by Grundy by placing the gas circulation device on top of the housing, as taught by Shields, in order to make the blower and filter easier to access for repair, cleaning, or replacement.
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Claim(s) 4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Grundy (US 5,944,602) in view of Tanaka (US 2002/0129707 A1).
With respect to claim 4 Grundy does not disclose that the gas circulation device comprises: a cassette, the filter being arranged within the cassette, the cassette being mounted at the air outlet so that the filter is close to the air outlet; a pipe with one end being connected to the cassette and the other end being connected to the air inlet; and a fan facing the filter.
Tanaka discloses a substrate transport cleanroom which includes a gas circulation device [reference characters 3, 5, 6, 7, and 13c] which includes a cassette [reference characters 3 and 13c], a filter [reference characters 5 and 6] being arranged within the cassette, the cassette being mounted at the air outlet so that the filter is close to the air outlet [at reference character 17]; a pipe [reference character 13b, analogous to 32 and 32’ in Grundy] with one end being connected to the cassette and the other end being connected to the air inlet; and a fan [reference character 7] facing the filter with an access panel [reference character 3] for access to the fan and filter.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the filing date of the invention to modify the gas circulation device taught by Grundy by arranging the filter and fan so that the filter is in a cassette and the fan faces the filter accessible via a single access panel, as taught by Tanaka, in order to allow for a single point of access for the fan and filter for repair, cleaning, or replacement.
With respect to claim 5 the combination of Grundy and Tanaka disclose that the cassette comprises an openable top cover [reference character 3]
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 10 is 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
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to VIVEK K SHIRSAT whose telephone number is (571)272-3722. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9:00AM-5:20AM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Steven B McAllister can be reached at 571-272-6785. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/VIVEK K SHIRSAT/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3762
1 The joint is interpreted as movable because the filter can be repeatably be removed and replaced within the housing.