DETAILED ACTION
Response to Amendment
The amendment filed on 06/04/26 has been entered. Claims 1-20 are pending in the application.
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 of this title, 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.
Claims 1-5, 7-9, 11-18, 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cheng (US 2024/0258142) in view of Amikura (US 2022/0277981).
Regarding claim 1, Cheng discloses:
A substrate processing system having a controlled environment comprising: one or more FOUPs configured to hold one or more substrates ([0039] FIG. 7 is an example of an electric front end machine (EFEM) 700, in accordance with some embodiments. The EFEM 700 can receive semiconductor wafers 110 via one or more cassettes such as FOUPs 200 at a load port. A movable blade 100 can transport the semiconductor wafers 110 between (e.g., to and from) the FOUPs 200 and other EFEM portions.);
a substrate processing chamber configured to process the one or more substrates ([0039] describes the various chambers 705-725 as shown in Fig. 7);
a substrate handling and transporting system configured to receive the one or more FOUPs and transfer the one or more substrates to and from the substrate processing chamber ([0016]-[0017] moveable blade and blade receivers as shown in Fig. 7);
an environmental sensor configured to measure one or more environmental parameters of the substrate handling and transporting system ([0018] The sensors of the movable blade 100 can include thermal sensors (e.g., contact or non-contact thermal sensors) or positional sensors 120 (e.g., image sensors, LIDAR sensors, photodetectors, or magnetic sensors). The thermal sensors can detect a temperature of the movable blade 100, an ambient temperature surrounding the movable blade 100 (e.g., a chamber or portion thereof), or a temperature of the semiconductor wafer 110);
and, a controller communicatively coupled to the environmental sensor, that is configured to track one or more positions of the one or more substrates within the substrate handling and transporting system ([0017] The sensors, contact pads, or vacuum lines of the blade receiver 140 can provide power for, or communicatively couple various sensors to one or more processors of or associated with the EFEM [0019] The positional sensor 120 or a processor coupled thereto can determine a boundary of the semiconductor wafer 110, such as by detecting an edge of the surface thereof. The positional sensors 120 can convey positional data to the one or more processors for storage, as well as information associated with the positional data,) and the controller is the one or more processors, determine one or more environmental parameters of the substrate handling and transporting system ([0018] The sensors of the movable blade 100 can include thermal sensors (e.g., contact or non-contact thermal sensors) or positional sensors 120 (e.g., image sensors, LIDAR sensors, photodetectors, or magnetic sensors). The thermal sensors can detect a temperature of the movable blade 100, an ambient temperature surrounding the movable blade 100 (e.g., a chamber or portion thereof), or a temperature of the semiconductor wafer 110. The temperature sensors can convey the temperature data to the one or more processors, which can cause the temperature data to be stored. The temperature data can include one or more temperatures, such as a periodic temperature, a temperature exceeding a threshold, an average temperature, or the like. The processor can receive and store further information associated with the temperature data such as a time, a unique identifier for the semiconductor wafer 110, process operations associated with a chamber, a unique identifier of the chamber, or a unique identifier of a cassette (e.g., the FOUP)), determine whether the one or more environmental parameters are within threshold limits at the one or more positions of the one or more substrates ([0032], [0034], [0040]).
Cheng fails to disclose “and indicate an alert if the one or more environmental parameters are determined to not be within the threshold limits”
However, Amikura teaches the above limitation ([0323] When the calculated misalignment amount is equal to or larger than the second threshold value (YES in step S130), the controller CU executes emergency stop processing on assumption that a problem difficult for restoration has occurred (step S140). As the emergency stop processing, for example, the controller CU issues an alert to stop the system).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the teaching of Amikura into the teaching of Cheng because the references similarly disclose semiconductor production and/or manufacturing. Consequently, one of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to further modify the system as in Cheng to further include the alert for misalignment as in Amikura because “detecting the misalignment of the substrate W with respect to the end effector 100 and correcting the position of the substrate W may improve positional accuracy with respect to the end effector 100 when the substrate W is transferred. When the positional accuracy of the substrate W is improved with respect to the end effector 100, the transfer accuracy may be improved, and the performance of the transfer device may be improved” ([0217], Amikura).
As per claim 2, claim 1 is incorporated, Cheng further discloses:
wherein the substrate handling and transporting system comprises at least one of a FOUP handling module, a FOUP transport module, a substrate handling module, a substrate storage module, and a substrate transport module ([0015]-[0016], [0020] and Figs. 2, 7 ).
As per claim 3, claim 1 is incorporated, Cheng further discloses:
wherein the controller is configured to track the one or more positions of the one or more substrates based on an operation performed by the substrate handling and transporting system, wherein the operation comprises at least one of unloading the one or more substrates from the one or more FOUPs, transferring the one or more substrates within the substrate handling and transporting system, storing the one or more substrates, loading the one or more substrates into the substrate processing chamber, unloading the one or more substrates from the substrate processing chamber, cooling the one or more substrates, and loading the one or more substrates into one or more FOUPs ([0019]-[0020], [0039] ).
As per claim 4, claim 1 is incorporated, Cheng further discloses:
wherein the controller is configured to issue an instruction to the substrate handling and transporting system to stop an operation by the substrate handling and transporting system if the one or more environmental parameters are determined to not be within the threshold limits, wherein the operation comprises at least one of stopping unloading of the one or more substrates from the one or more FOUPs, stopping a transfer of the one or more substrates within the substrate handling and transporting system, stopping loading of the one or more substrates into the substrate processing chamber, stopping unloading of the one or more substrates from the substrate processing chamber, and stopping loading of the one or more substrates into one or more FOUPs ([0040] An upper threshold 820 or lower threshold 825 can be defined. A process can be paused in response to a temperature exceeding one of the thresholds. For example, at a first time 830, the temperature can exceed the temperature limit whereupon the process can dwell to allow the temperature to drop below the upper threshold 820. At a second time 835, the temperature 805 can fall beneath a low temperature threshold 825 whereupon the process can dwell to increase the temperature 805).
As per claim 5, claim 1 is incorporated, Cheng further discloses:
wherein the controller is configured to determine one or more processing conditions based on the one or more environmental parameters, and to issue an instruction to the substrate processing chamber to process the one or more substrates based on said processing conditions ([0018]-[0019], [0027], [0034] At operation 525, the process condition is compared to a threshold. The comparison can include determining whether the condition exceeds the threshold or is within the range. The comparison can include determining a similarity or prediction based on the condition. For example, the comparison can compare a predicted yield to a target yield. The comparison can include comparing an image captured by an image sensor to a reference image, comparing a numeric value, or the like [0035] At operation 530, the process is adjusted based the comparison of the process to the threshold. For example, the process can be adjusted to reduce a positional offset of the movable blade 100 with respect to the semiconductor wafer 110, increasing or decreasing a temperature of a chamber, increasing or decreasing a dwell time, cycle count, cycle length, or the like. According to some embodiments, the adjusted process can be compared to the threshold. The comparison can be across one or more semiconductor wafers 110. For example, a single semiconductor wafer 110 can have various iterations of temperature or positional adjustments, or various process adjustments can be applied to successive wafers. For example, an anneal time can be adjusted between successive semiconductor wafers 110).
As per claim 7, claim 1 is incorporated, Cheng further discloses:
wherein the environmental sensor comprises one or more environmental sensors disposed within the substrate handling and transporting system, and wherein the controller is configured to determine the one or more environmental parameters of the substrate handling and transporting system based on measurement from said environmental sensors ([0018]-[0019]).
As per claim 8, claim 1 is incorporated, Cheng further discloses:
wherein the environmental sensor is configured to measure at least one of a particle concentration, chemical composition, humidity, temperature, vibration, and incident radiation ([0018]-[0019]).
As per claim 9, claim 1 is incorporated, Cheng further discloses:
wherein the controller is configured to determine whether the one or more environmental parameters are within threshold limits at particular times based on an operation performed by the substrate processing system, wherein the operation comprises at least one of unloading the one or more substrates from the one or more FOUPs, transferring the one or more substrates within the substrate handling and transporting system, storing the one or more substrates, loading the one or more substrates into the substrate processing chamber, unloading the one or more substrates from the substrate processing chamber, cooling the one or more substrates, and loading the one or more substrates into one or more FOUPs ([0018] The processor can receive and store further information associated with the temperature data such as a time, a unique identifier for the semiconductor wafer 110, process operations associated with a chamber, a unique identifier of the chamber, or a unique identifier of a cassette (e.g., the FOUP) [0019] The positional sensors 120 can convey positional data to the one or more processors for storage, as well as information associated with the positional data, such as the various identification, time, or process information corresponding to the information associated with the temperature data [0030] The yield data can include performance data such as a performance metric or attribute associated with a circuit of a semiconductor wafer 110, such as a maximum frequency of a ring oscillator or other test circuit, alignment data, warranty return rate, a memory access time, resistivity of a connection, functionality or non-functionality of a circuit, or the like [0034] At operation 525, the process condition is compared to a threshold. The comparison can include determining whether the condition exceeds the threshold or is within the range. The comparison can include determining a similarity or prediction based on the condition. For example, the comparison can compare a predicted yield to a target yield. The comparison can include comparing an image captured by an image sensor to a reference image, comparing a numeric value, or the like [0035] At operation 530, the process is adjusted based the comparison of the process to the threshold. For example, the process can be adjusted to reduce a positional offset of the movable blade 100 with respect to the semiconductor wafer 110, increasing or decreasing a temperature of a chamber, increasing or decreasing a dwell time, cycle count, cycle length, or the like. According to some embodiments, the adjusted process can be compared to the threshold. The comparison can be across one or more semiconductor wafers 110. For example, a single semiconductor wafer 110 can have various iterations of temperature or positional adjustments, or various process adjustments can be applied to successive wafers. For example, an anneal time can be adjusted between successive semiconductor wafers 110 [0038], [0040]).
As per claim 11, claim 1 is incorporated, Cheng further discloses:
wherein the environmental sensor further comprises one or more environmental sensors disposed within the substrate processing chamber, and wherein the controller is configured to determine one or more environmental parameters of the substrate processing chamber based on measurement from said environmental sensors ([0015]).
Regarding claim 12, Cheng discloses:
An apparatus for monitoring a controlled environment of a substrate handling and transporting system configured to receive one or more front opening universal pods (FOUPs) holding one or more substrates and to transfer the one or more substrates to and from a substrate processing chamber ([0039] FIG. 7 is an example of an electric front end machine (EFEM) 700, in accordance with some embodiments. The EFEM 700 can receive semiconductor wafers 110 via one or more cassettes such as FOUPs 200 at a load port. A movable blade 100 can transport the semiconductor wafers 110 between (e.g., to and from) the FOUPs 200 and other EFEM portions [0016]-[0017] moveable blade and blade receivers as shown in Fig. 7 [0039] various chambers 705-725 as shown in Fig. 7), the apparatus comprising: an environmental sensor configured to measure one or more environmental parameters of the substrate handling and transporting system ([0018] The sensors of the movable blade 100 can include thermal sensors (e.g., contact or non-contact thermal sensors) or positional sensors 120 (e.g., image sensors, LIDAR sensors, photodetectors, or magnetic sensors). The thermal sensors can detect a temperature of the movable blade 100, an ambient temperature surrounding the movable blade 100 (e.g., a chamber or portion thereof), or a temperature of the semiconductor wafer 110);
and, a controller communicatively coupled to the environmental sensor, that is configured to track one or more positions of the one or more substrates within the substrate handling and transporting system ([0017] The sensors, contact pads, or vacuum lines of the blade receiver 140 can provide power for, or communicatively couple various sensors to one or more processors of or associated with the EFEM [0019] The positional sensor 120 or a processor coupled thereto can determine a boundary of the semiconductor wafer 110, such as by detecting an edge of the surface thereof. The positional sensors 120 can convey positional data to the one or more processors for storage, as well as information associated with the positional data,) and the controller is the one or more processors, determine one or more environmental parameters of the substrate handling and transporting system ([0018] The sensors of the movable blade 100 can include thermal sensors (e.g., contact or non-contact thermal sensors) or positional sensors 120 (e.g., image sensors, LIDAR sensors, photodetectors, or magnetic sensors). The thermal sensors can detect a temperature of the movable blade 100, an ambient temperature surrounding the movable blade 100 (e.g., a chamber or portion thereof), or a temperature of the semiconductor wafer 110. The temperature sensors can convey the temperature data to the one or more processors, which can cause the temperature data to be stored. The temperature data can include one or more temperatures, such as a periodic temperature, a temperature exceeding a threshold, an average temperature, or the like. The processor can receive and store further information associated with the temperature data such as a time, a unique identifier for the semiconductor wafer 110, process operations associated with a chamber, a unique identifier of the chamber, or a unique identifier of a cassette (e.g., the FOUP)), determine whether the one or more environmental parameters are within threshold limits at the one or more positions of the one or more substrates ([0032], [0034], [0040]).
Cheng fails to disclose “and indicate an alert if the one or more environmental parameters are determined to not be within the threshold limits”
However, Amikura teaches the above limitation ([0323] When the calculated misalignment amount is equal to or larger than the second threshold value (YES in step S130), the controller CU executes emergency stop processing on assumption that a problem difficult for restoration has occurred (step S140). As the emergency stop processing, for example, the controller CU issues an alert to stop the system).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the teaching of Amikura into the teaching of Cheng because the references similarly disclose semiconductor production and/or manufacturing. Consequently, one of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to further modify the system as in Cheng to further include the alert for misalignment as in Amikura because “detecting the misalignment of the substrate W with respect to the end effector 100 and correcting the position of the substrate W may improve positional accuracy with respect to the end effector 100 when the substrate W is transferred. When the positional accuracy of the substrate W is improved with respect to the end effector 100, the transfer accuracy may be improved, and the performance of the transfer device may be improved” ([0217], Amikura).
Regarding claim 13, Cheng discloses:
A method for monitoring of a controlled environment within a substrate handling and transporting system configured to receive one or more front opening universal pods (FOUPs) holding one or more substrates and to transfer the one or more substrates to and from a substrate processing chamber ([0039] FIG. 7 is an example of an electric front end machine (EFEM) 700, in accordance with some embodiments. The EFEM 700 can receive semiconductor wafers 110 via one or more cassettes such as FOUPs 200 at a load port. A movable blade 100 can transport the semiconductor wafers 110 between (e.g., to and from) the FOUPs 200 and other EFEM portions [0016]-[0017] moveable blade and blade receivers as shown in Fig. 7 [0039] various chambers 705-725 as shown in Fig. 7);
the method comprising the steps of: tracking one or more positions of the one or more substrates within the substrate handling and transporting system ([0017] The sensors, contact pads, or vacuum lines of the blade receiver 140 can provide power for, or communicatively couple various sensors to one or more processors of or associated with the EFEM [0019] The positional sensor 120 or a processor coupled thereto can determine a boundary of the semiconductor wafer 110, such as by detecting an edge of the surface thereof. The positional sensors 120 can convey positional data to the one or more processors for storage, as well as information associated with the positional data,) and the controller is the one or more processors;
and determining whether the one or more environmental parameters are within threshold limits ([0032], [0034], [0040]).
Cheng fails to disclose “and indicating an alert if the one or more environmental parameters are determined to not be within the threshold limits”
However, Amikura teaches the above limitation ([0323] When the calculated misalignment amount is equal to or larger than the second threshold value (YES in step S130), the controller CU executes emergency stop processing on assumption that a problem difficult for restoration has occurred (step S140). As the emergency stop processing, for example, the controller CU issues an alert to stop the system).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the teaching of Amikura into the teaching of Cheng because the references similarly disclose semiconductor production and/or manufacturing. Consequently, one of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to further modify the system as in Cheng to further include the alert for misalignment as in Amikura because “detecting the misalignment of the substrate W with respect to the end effector 100 and correcting the position of the substrate W may improve positional accuracy with respect to the end effector 100 when the substrate W is transferred. When the positional accuracy of the substrate W is improved with respect to the end effector 100, the transfer accuracy may be improved, and the performance of the transfer device may be improved” ([0217], Amikura).
As per claim 16, claim 13 is incorporated, Cheng further discloses:
further comprising, determining one or more environmental parameters of the substrate handling and transporting system at one or more future positions of the one or more substrates; and determining whether said one or more environmental parameters are within threshold limits ([0031]-[0032], [0034]).
Claims 14-15, 17-18, 20 recite similar claim limitations as the system of claims 2-5, 9, except that they set forth the claimed invention as a method, and as such, they are rejected for the same reasons as applied hereinabove.
Claims 6, 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cheng (US 2024/0258142) in view of Amikura (US 2022/0277981) and further in view of Kanzaki (US 2010/0229902).
As per claim 6, claim 1 is incorporated, Cheng, Amikura fail to disclose “comprising one or more environmental support devices configured to support the controlled environment of the substrate processing system, and wherein the controller is configured to issue an instruction to the one or more environmental support devices to correct the environment if the one or more environmental parameters are determined to not be within the threshold limits, wherein the correction comprises at least one of purging, sealing, flushing, renewing gas, reducing radiation, reducing vibration, removing particles, and changing humidity”
However, Kanzaki teaches the above limitation ([Abstract] a particle removal section removing the particle adhering onto the substrate surface, a comparison section comparing a threshold set for each of regions of the substrate surface with the particle information on each of the region obtained by the particle information acquisition section, and a particle removal control section controlling the particle removal section to remove the particle on the substrate surface based on a comparison result of the comparison section, [0027] A particle inspection and removal apparatus 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention inspects and removes a particle that adheres onto a surface W1 (also referred to as “substrate surface W1”, hereinafter) of a substrate W that is a reticle for transferring a circuit pattern onto, for example, a semiconductor wafer, onto which reticle a pellicle serving as a protection film is attached and that is observed in the pellicle. As shown in FIG. 1, the particle inspection and removal apparatus 100 includes a mount 2, a particle information acquisition section 3 acquiring particle information on the substrate surface W1, a particle removal section 4 removing a particle adhering onto the substrate surface W1, and an information processing device 5 acquiring an output signal from the particle information acquisition section 3, calculates the particle information on the substrate surface W1, and controlling the particle removal section 4 based on the particle information [0031], [0035]-[0037], [0039]-[0041, [0054] dedicated information processing devices can be provided to correspond to the particle information acquisition section 3 and the particle removal section 4, respectively, and signals can be transmitted or received between the information processing devices).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the teaching of Kanzaki into the teaching of Cheng, Amikura because the references similarly disclose semiconductor production and/or manufacturing. Consequently, one of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to further modify the system as in the combination of references to further include the particle removal and repeated steps as in Kanzaki in order “improve particle removal reliability” ([0048], Kanzaki).
Claim 19 recites similar claim limitations as the system of claim 6, except that it sets forth the claimed invention as a method and, as such, it is rejected for the same reason as applied hereinabove.
Claim 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cheng (US 2024/0258142) in view of Amikura (US 2022/0277981) and further in view of Lin (US 2019/0148196).
As per claim 10, claim 1 is incorporated, Cheng, Amikura fail to disclose “wherein the environmental sensor further comprises one or more environmental sensors disposed on an interior surface of the one or more FOUPs, and wherein the controller is configured to determine one or more environmental parameters of the one or more FOUPs based on measurement from said environmental sensors”
However, Lin teaches the above limitation ([0027] One or more environmental sensors 110 may be placed on or within the FOUP to assist in maintain the environment of the FOUP 102. The one or more environmental sensors 110 may be disposed within an interior volume of the FOUP 102 and may measure the environmental parameters of the FOUP 102 including humidity, temperature, vibration, incident radiation, particle density, and chemical composition... the environmental sensors 110 are disposed on a door 222 of the FOUP 102 as shown in FIG. 3... the environmental sensors 110 are disposed on other portions of the FOUP 102, such as on the walls, base 214, or top 226.).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the teaching of Lin into the teaching of Cheng, Amikura because the references similarly disclose semiconductor production and/or manufacturing. Consequently, one of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to further modify the system as in the combination of references to further include the monitoring and quick identification and remedy of environmental problems as in Lin to avoid serious damage to wafers ([0014], Lin).
Response to Arguments
The following is in response to the amendment filed on 06/04/26.
Applicant’s arguments have been carefully and respectfully considered but are not persuasive.
Regarding 35 USC 103, on pg. 12-13, applicant argues that in Amikura, an alert is triggered by substrate positional alignment not by environmental parameters, and that, the claims indicate an alert if the one or more environmental parameters are determined to not be within the threshold limits.
In response to the preceding argument, examiner respectfully submits that as mentioned by the applicant, [0323] of Amikura discloses that an alert is issued when a misalignment amount is equal or larger to a threshold. Further, [0224] of Amikura discloses that “the substrate W may not be transported with the same accuracy as when the teaching is performed during transportation of the substrate W, due to a change in the environment (for example, temperature) or a difference between the sensor wafer and the substrate W that is actually transferred”. This additional paragraph from Amikura suggests that the accuracy of transport or substrate positional alignment are environmental parameters. Further the term “environmental parameter” is not limited to any specific listing of parameters, or even a definition, in the independent claims. Lastly, the limitation “and indicate an alert if the one or more environmental parameters are determined to not be within the threshold limits” is a contingent limitation. MPEP states that 2106(II), "It is essential that the broadest reasonable interpretation (BRI) of the claim be established prior to examining a claim for eligibility" and the BRI of the claim under MPEP 2111.04 and the contingent limitations "requires only those steps that must be performed and does not include steps that are not required to be performed because the condition(s) precedent are not met." Here the conditions might not be met (i.e., are within, are equal to) and thus, this does not further limit the claim as they are not required, and thus do not confer eligibility under BRI.
Regarding 35 USC 103, on pg. 13, applicant argues that [0109] of the instant application discloses that environmental parameters include parameters such as humidity, temperature, vibration, incident radiation, particle density, and chemical composition..
In response to the preceding argument, examiner respectfully submits that this listing of parameters is non-exhaustive, and it is improper to import claim limitations from the specification (MPEP 2111.01(II).
.
Regarding 35 USC 103, on pg. 13, applicant argues that the office’s motivation to combine is flawed because the office’s alleged motivation relates to improving positional accuracy and transfer accuracy and is wholly unrelated to monitoring environmental conditions.
In response to the preceding argument, examiner respectfully submits that, as aforementioned, [0224] suggests that positional accuracy is an environment parameter. However, the motivation statement does not necessarily have to pertain to “monitoring environment conditions”, as suggested. Rather, MPEP 2143.01 states that “Obviousness can be established by combining or modifying the teachings of the prior art to produce the claimed invention where there is some teaching, suggestion, or motivation to do so”.
Applicants’ remaining arguments with respect to the prior art rejections have been considered but are moot because they do not apply to all of the references being used in the current rejection.
Pertinent Prior Art
The following prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
Tokunobu (US 2016/0365264) discloses a substrate processing apparatus.
Conclusion
Applicants’ amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any extension fee pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to WILLIAM P BARTLETT whose telephone number is (469)295-9085. The examiner can normally be reached on M-Th 11:30-8:30, F 11-3.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Sherief Badawi can be reached on 571-272-9782. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/WILLIAM P BARTLETT/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2169
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