CTNF 18/624,279 CTNF 88113 DETAILED ACTION Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status 07-03-aia AIA 15-10-aia The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA. Drawings 06-36 AIA The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the rough adjustment device including the “pre-alignment device and/or imaging device and transfer arm” as recited in claims 7 and 8 must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered. Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 07-07-aia AIA 07-07 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 – 07-08-aia AIA (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. 07-15-aia AIA Claim(s) 1-2 and 7-9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a)(1) as being anticipated by Yamauchi US 9379082 . Yamauchi discloses a bonding apparatus (1), comprising: a first holder (22) configured to attract and hold a first substrate (92) from above; a second holder (12) located lower than the first holder and configured to attract and hold a second substrate (91) from below; a moving mechanism (14, 23 and/or 26) configured to allow a first one of the first holder and the second holder to approach a second one of the first holder and the second holder; a rough adjustment device (25) configured to roughly adjust a position in a rotational direction of the first substrate before the first substrate is attracted and held by the first holder; and a fine adjustment device, including at least one first driver (31a-31c) configured to rotate the first holder by displacing a piezoelectric element, configured to finely adjust, with the at least one first driver, the position in the rotational direction of the first substrate attracted and held by the first holder (col. 6, lines 35-67 and col. 7, lines 1-3). PNG media_image1.png 778 512 media_image1.png Greyscale As for claim 2, Yamauchi discloses wherein at least two first drivers (31a-31c) are uniformly arranged in a circumferential direction of the first holder (see Figs. 1 and 3). As for claim 7, Yamauchi discloses wherein the rough adjustment device includes: a pre-alignment device (28) configured to detect position information in the rotational direction of the first substrate before the first substrate is attracted and held by the first holder; and a transfer arm (23) configured to roughly adjust the position in the rotational direction of the first substrate based on the position information detected by the pre-alignment device (col. 7, lines 7-67, col. 8, lines 1-67 and col. 9, lines 1-47). As for claim 8, Yamauchi discloses wherein the rough adjustment device includes: an imaging device (28M) configured to image a bonding surface of the first substrate (92) before the first substrate is attracted and held by the first holder (col. 7, lines 49-65); and a transfer arm (23) configured to roughly adjust the position in the rotational direction of the first substrate based on an imaging result obtained by the imaging device (col. 8, lines 9-25). As for claim 9, Yamauchi discloses a bonding method, comprising: attracting and holding a first substrate (92) from above by using a first holder (22) configured to attract and hold the first substrate from above; attracting and holding a second substrate (91) from below by using a second holder (12) located lower than the first holder and configured to attract and hold the second substrate from below; allowing, by using a moving mechanism (14, 23 and/or 26) configured to allow a first one of the first holder (22) and the second holder (12) to approach a second one of the first holder and the second holder, the first one of the first holder and the second holder to approach the second one of the first holder and the second holder; roughly adjusting a position in a rotational direction of the first substrate before the first substrate is attracted and held by the first holder (col. 8, lines 9-25); and finely adjusting the position in the rotational direction of the first substrate attracted and held by the first holder by using at least one first driver configured to drive the first holder by displacing a piezoelectric element (“1-3. Bonding Operation”; col. 9, lines 51-67 - col. 15, lines 1-3). Allowable Subject Matter Claims 3-6 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. The claims in the application are deemed to be directed to a nonobvious improvement over the prior art. The claims recite a third holder inserted through a through hole formed through the first holder and configured to attract and hold the first substrate from above; and a linearly moving mechanism configured to move the third holder in a vertical direction, wherein the rough adjustment device roughly adjusts, by rotating the third holder around a vertical axis, the position in the rotational direction of the first substrate attracted and held by the third holder. The closest prior art of Yamauchi discloses wherein the holders (12 or 22) can be electrostatic, mechanical or other types of holders, but does not disclose teach or suggest the claimed third holder inserted through a through hole and coupled to a linearly moving mechanism and wherein the rough adjustment device can rotate the third holder around a vertical axis as claimed. For the above reasons, the claims overcome the prior art rejection. 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. Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice. 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. Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /TYRONE V HALL JR/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3723 Application/Control Number: 18/624,279 Page 2 Art Unit: 3723 Application/Control Number: 18/624,279 Page 3 Art Unit: 3723 Application/Control Number: 18/624,279 Page 4 Art Unit: 3723 Application/Control Number: 18/624,279 Page 5 Art Unit: 3723
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