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 .
DETAILED ACTION
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 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 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.
Claim(s) 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tanoue et al. (US 6203617 B1) in view of Ardezzone (US 6467827 B1).
Regarding Claim 1, Tanoue teaches:
A wafer holding tool (2), comprising:
a main frame (3);
a plurality of abutting devices (6 & R) disposed on the main frame about a center (Fig. 5 & Fig. 6 & Fig. 9 & Fig. 10), each of the abutting devices being at least partially movable along a first direction (Y1) towards the center to abut against a wafer (Fig. 9 & Fig. 10) [Column 7 Lines 45-64];
a moving device (14 & 15) disposed on the main frame and configured to move the wafer after the wafer being abutted by the abutting devices (Fig. 11 & Fig. 12) [Column 7 Lines 65-67 & Column 8 Lines 1-22]; and
a handle (4 & 5) disposed on the main frame and extending along a second direction aligning with the center (Fig. 9 & Fig. 10 & Fig. 11 & Fig. 12).
Tanoue does not teach:
the moving device configured to hold the wafer after the wafer being abutted by the abutting devices.
Ardezzone teaches:
A wafer (3) holding tool (Fig. 1), comprising:
a main frame (2) having a center (Fig. 1);
a moving device (12) disposed on the main frame and configured to hold (Fig. 1 & Fig. 11 & Fig. 12 & Fig. 13 & Fig. 14) [Column 10 Lines 35-67 & Column 11 Lines 1-43] and move the wafer [Column 1 Lines 28-40]; and
a handle (9 & 17) disposed on the main frame and extending along a second direction aligning with the center (Fig. 1 & Fig. 2).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the wafer holding tool having a plurality of abutting devices movable along a first direction to abut against a wafer and a moving device to move the wafer disposed on a main frame and a handle disposed on the main frame taught by Tanoue with the wafer holding tool having a moving device configured to hold and move the wafer disposed on the main frame taught by Ardezzone in order to provide a means of more securely engaging the wafer when moving the wafer in order to prevent misalignment due to mis-engagement between the moving device and the wafer.
Regarding Claim 2, Tanoue teaches:
each of the abutting devices comprises:
a driving portion [Column 7 Lines 45-64] connected with the main frame (Fig. 9 & Fig. 10); and
a spade (1000) movably connected with the driving portion, the driving portion is configured to drive the spade to move along the first direction (Fig. 9 & Fig. 10) [Column 7 Lines 45-64].
Regarding Claim 3, Tanoue teaches:
each of the spades has an abutting surface (R) inclined to a corresponding one of the first directions (Fig. 9 & Fig. 10).
Regarding Claim 4, Tanoue teaches:
the abutting devices are symmetrically distributed about the center (Fig. 5 & Fig. 6 & Fig. 9 & Fig. 10).
Regarding Claim 6, Tanoue teaches:
a first controlling device disposed on the handle and connected with the abutting devices (Fig. 9 & Fig. 10) [Column 7 Lines 45-64], the first controlling device being configured to control the abutting devices to at least partially move to or away from the center (Fig. 9 & Fig. 10) [Column 7 Lines 45-64].
Regarding Claim 7, Tanoue teaches:
the first controlling device is further configured to lock the abutting devices [Column 7 Lines 45-64].
Regarding Claim 8, Tanoue teaches:
the moving device comprises:
a member (15) configured to engage the wafer (Fig. 11 & Fig. 12) [Column 7 Lines 65-67 & Column 8 Lines 1-22]; and
an extendable portion (14) connected between the member and the main frame, the extendable portion is configured to extend or retract along the second direction to move the clamp relative to the main frame (Fig. 6 & Fig. 11 & Fig. 12 & Fig. 13 & Fig. 14) [Column 7 Lines 65-67 & Column 8 Lines 1-22].
Tanoue does not teach:
a clamp configured to hold the wafer.
Ardezzone teaches:
a clamp configured to hold the wafer (Fig. 1 & Fig. 11 & Fig. 12 & Fig. 13 & Fig. 14) [Column 10 Lines 35-67 & Column 11 Lines 1-43].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the wafer holding tool having a plurality of abutting devices movable along a first direction to abut against a wafer and a moving device to move the wafer disposed on a main frame and a handle disposed on the main frame, where the moving device has a member configured to engaged the wafer and an extendable portion connected between the member and the main frame, the extendable portion is configured to extend or retract along the second direction to move the clamp relative to the main frame taught by Tanoue with the wafer holding tool having a moving device configured to hold and move the wafer disposed on the main frame, where the wafer holding tool has a clamp configured to hold the wafer taught by Ardezzone in order to provide a means of more securely engaging the wafer when moving the wafer in order to prevent misalignment due to mis-engagement between the moving device and the wafer.
Regarding Claim 9, Tanoue teaches:
a second controlling device disposed on the handle and connected with the extendable portion (Fig. 11 & Fig. 12), the second controlling device being configured to control the extendable portion to at least partially extend or contract (Fig. 11 & Fig. 12 & Fig. 13 & Fig. 14) [Column 7 Lines 65-67 & Column 8 Lines 1-22]; and
Tanoue does not teach:
a third controlling device disposed on the handle and connected with the extendable portion and the clamp, the third controlling device being configured to control the clamp to open or close and to further control the extendable portion to at least partially extend or contract.
Ardezzone teaches:
a controlling device (118) disposed on the handle and connected with the clamp , the third controlling device being configured to control the clamp to open or close [Column 9 Lines 59-67 & Column 10 Lines 1-67 & Column 11 Lines 1-43] and to further control an extendable portion to at least partially extend or contract (Fig. 11 & Fig. 12 & Fig. 13 & Fig. 14) [Column 10 Lines 35-67 & Column 11 Lines 1-43]
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the wafer holding tool having a plurality of abutting devices movable along a first direction to abut against a wafer and a moving device to move the wafer disposed on a main frame and a handle disposed on the main frame, the moving device has a member configured to engaged the wafer and an extendable portion connected between the member and the main frame, the extendable portion is configured to extend or retract along the second direction to move the clamp relative to the main frame, where a second controlling device disposed on the handle and connected with the extendable portion, the second controlling device being configured to control the extendable portion to at least partially extend or contract taught by Tanoue with the wafer holding tool having a moving device configured to hold and move the wafer disposed on the main frame, the wafer holding tool has a clamp configured to hold the wafer, where a controlling device disposed on the handle and connected with the clamp , the third controlling device being configured to control the clamp to open or close and to further control an extendable portion to at least partially extend or contract taught by Ardezzone in order to provide a means of more securely engaging the wafer when moving the wafer in order to prevent misalignment due to mis-engagement between the moving device and the wafer.
Regarding Claim 10, Tanoue does not teach:
the third controlling device is further configured to lock the extendable portion and the clamp.
Ardezzone teaches:
the controlling device (abstract) is further configured to lock the clamp [Column 10 Lines 35-67 & Column 11 Lines 1-43].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the wafer holding tool having a plurality of abutting devices movable along a first direction to abut against a wafer and a moving device to move the wafer disposed on a main frame and a handle disposed on the main frame, the moving device has a member configured to engaged the wafer and an extendable portion connected between the member and the main frame, the extendable portion is configured to extend or retract along the second direction to move the clamp relative to the main frame, where a second controlling device disposed on the handle and connected with the extendable portion, the second controlling device being configured to control the extendable portion to at least partially extend or contract taught by Tanoue with the wafer holding tool having a moving device configured to hold and move the wafer disposed on the main frame, the wafer holding tool has a clamp configured to hold the wafer, where a controlling device disposed on the handle and connected with the clamp , the third controlling device being configured to control the clamp to open or close and to further control an extendable portion to at least partially extend or contract, and the controlling device is further configured to lock the clamp taught by Ardezzone in order to provide a means of more securely engaging the wafer when moving the wafer in order to prevent misalignment due to mis-engagement between the moving device and the wafer.
Regarding Claim 11, Tanoue teaches:
at least a pair of positioning protrusions (16) separated from each other and disposed on a side of the main frame away from the handle (Fig. 11 & Fig. 12).
Claim(s) 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tanoue et al. (US 6203617 B1) in view of Ardezzone (US 6467827 B1) as applied to Claim 1 above, further in view of Masuda et al. (US 20220020614 A1).
Regarding Claim 5, Tanoue in view of Ardezzone does not teach:
the main frame has an inner edge circularly curved about the center, and two opposite ends of the inner edge define an opening therebetween.
Masuda teaches:
A wafer holding tool (Fig. 4), comprising:
a C-shaped frame (44) defining an opening (Fig. 4);
a handle (3000) disposed at a side of the C-shaped frame opposite to the opening (Fig. 4).
the main frame has an inner edge circularly curved about the center, and two opposite ends of the inner edge define an opening therebetween (Fig. 4).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the wafer holding tool having a plurality of abutting devices movable along a first direction to abut against a wafer and a moving device to move the wafer disposed on a main frame and a handle disposed on the main frame taught by Tanoue in view of Ardezzone with the wafer holding tool having a C-shaped frame defining an opening, a handle disposed at a side of the C-shaped frame opposite to the opening, where the main frame has an inner edge circularly curved about the center, and two opposite ends of the inner edge define an opening therebetween taught by Masuda in order to provide a means of more securely engaging the wafer and that has a shape which matches the shape of a round wafer in order to prevent deformation of the wafer due to unequal support of the wafer with an opening to allow a sensor to take a reading on the wafer position.
Claim(s) 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, and 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tanoue et al. (US 6203617 B1) in view of Masuda et al. (US 20220020614 A1) and Ardezzone (US 6467827 B1).
Regarding Claim 12, Tanoue teaches:
A wafer holding tool (2), comprising:
a V-shaped frame defining an opening (Fig. 6);
a handle (5) disposed at a side of the V-shaped frame opposite to the opening (Fig. 6); and
a moving device (14 & 15) disposed on the main frame and configured to move a wafer along an extension direction of the handle (Fig. 11 & Fig. 12) [Column 7 Lines 65-67 & Column 8 Lines 1-22].
Tanoue does not teach:
a C-shaped frame;
a moving device configured to clamp the wafer.
Masuda teaches:
A wafer (4) holding tool (Fig. 4), comprising:
a C-shaped frame (44) defining an opening (Fig. 4);
a handle (3000) disposed at a side of the C-shaped frame opposite to the opening (Fig. 4).
Ardezzone teaches:
A wafer holding tool, comprising:
A wafer (3) holding tool (Fig. 1), comprising:
a main frame (2) having a center (Fig. 1);
a handle (9 & 17) disposed on the main frame and extending along a second direction aligning with the center (Fig. 1 & Fig. 2).
a moving device (12) disposed on the main frame and configured to clamp (Fig. 1 & Fig. 11 & Fig. 12 & Fig. 13 & Fig. 14) [Column 10 Lines 35-67 & Column 11 Lines 1-43] and move the wafer [Column 1 Lines 28-40].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the wafer holding tool having a plurality of abutting devices movable along a first direction to abut against a wafer and a moving device to move the wafer disposed on a main frame and a handle disposed on the main frame taught by Tanoue with the wafer holding tool having a C-shaped frame defining an opening, a handle disposed at a side of the C-shaped frame opposite to the opening, where the main frame has an inner edge circularly curved about the center, and two opposite ends of the inner edge define an opening therebetween taught by Masuda further modified by the wafer holding tool having a moving device configured to clamp and move the wafer and move the wafer disposed on the main frame taught by Ardezzone in order to provide a means of more securely engaging the wafer when moving the wafer in order to prevent misalignment due to mis-engagement between the moving device and the wafer and that has a shape which matches the shape of a round wafer in order to prevent deformation of the wafer due to unequal support of the wafer with an opening to allow a sensor to take a reading on the wafer position.
Regarding Claim 13, Tanoue teaches:
a plurality of abutting devices (6 & R) disposed on the V-shaped frame and configured to move to abut against the wafer in a surrounding manner (Fig. 9 & Fig. 10) [Column 7 Lines 45-64] before the wafer is engaged by the moving device (Fig. 11 & Fig. 12).
Tanoue does not teach:
a C-shaped frame.
Masuda teaches:
a plurality of abutting devices (48) disposed on the C-shaped frame (Fig. 4) and configured to move to abut against the wafer in a surrounding manner (Fig. 4) [0044 & 0045].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the wafer holding tool having a plurality of abutting devices movable along a first direction to abut against a wafer and a moving device to move the wafer disposed on a main frame and a handle disposed on the main frame taught by Tanoue with the wafer holding tool having a C-shaped frame defining an opening, a handle disposed at a side of the C-shaped frame opposite to the opening, where the main frame has an inner edge circularly curved about the center, and two opposite ends of the inner edge define an opening therebetween taught by Masuda in order to provide a means of that has a shape which matches the shape of a round wafer in order to prevent deformation of the wafer due to unequal support of the wafer with an opening to allow a sensor to take a reading on the wafer position.
Regarding Claim 14, Tanoue teaches:
each of the abutting devices comprises:
a driving portion [Column 7 Lines 45-64] connected with the V-shaped frame (Fig. 9 & Fig. 10); and
a spade (1000) movably connected with the driving portion, the driving portion is configured to drive the spade to move relative to the V-shaped frame (Fig. 9 & Fig. 10) [Column 7 Lines 45-64].
Tanoue does not teach:
a C-shaped frame.
Masuda teaches:
A wafer holding tool (Fig. 4), comprising:
a C-shaped frame (44) defining an opening (Fig. 4);
a handle (3000) disposed at a side of the C-shaped frame opposite to the opening (Fig. 4).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the wafer holding tool having a plurality of abutting devices movable along a first direction to abut against a wafer and a moving device to move the wafer disposed on a main frame and a handle disposed on the main frame taught by Tanoue with the wafer holding tool having a C-shaped frame defining an opening, a handle disposed at a side of the C-shaped frame opposite to the opening, where the main frame has an inner edge circularly curved about the center, and two opposite ends of the inner edge define an opening therebetween taught by Masuda in order to provide a means of that has a shape which matches the shape of a round wafer in order to prevent deformation of the wafer due to unequal support of the wafer with an opening to allow a sensor to take a reading on the wafer position.
Regarding Claim 15, Tanoue teaches:
each of the spades has an abutting surface (R) inclined to a moving direction of a corresponding one of the spades (Fig. 9 & Fig. 10).
Regarding Claim 16, Tanoue teaches:
a first controlling device disposed on the handle and connected with the driving portions (Fig. 9 & Fig. 10) [Column 7 Lines 45-64], the first controlling device being configured to control the driving portions to drive the spades to move to abut against or leave from the wafer (Fig. 9 & Fig. 10) [Column 7 Lines 45-64].
Regarding Claim 17, Tanoue teaches:
the moving device comprises:
an extendable portion (14) connected between the clamp and the V-shaped frame, the extendable portion is configured to extend or retract to move the clamp relative to the main frame (Fig. 6 & Fig. 11 & Fig. 12 & Fig. 13 & Fig. 14) [Column 7 Lines 65-67 & Column 8 Lines 1-22].
Tanoue does not teach:
a clamp configured to hold the wafer; and
a C-shaped frame.
Masuda teaches:
a C-shaped frame (44) defining an opening (Fig. 4).
Ardezzone teaches:
a clamp configured to hold the wafer (Fig. 1 & Fig. 11 & Fig. 12 & Fig. 13 & Fig. 14) [Column 10 Lines 35-67 & Column 11 Lines 1-43].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the wafer holding tool having a plurality of abutting devices movable along a first direction to abut against a wafer and a moving device to move the wafer disposed on a main frame and a handle disposed on the main frame taught by Tanoue with the wafer holding tool having a C-shaped frame defining an opening, a handle disposed at a side of the C-shaped frame opposite to the opening, where the main frame has an inner edge circularly curved about the center, and two opposite ends of the inner edge define an opening therebetween taught by Masuda further modified by the wafer holding tool having a moving device configured to clamp and move the wafer and move the wafer disposed on the main frame taught by Ardezzone in order to provide a means of more securely engaging the wafer when moving the wafer in order to prevent misalignment due to mis-engagement between the moving device and the wafer and that has a shape which matches the shape of a round wafer in order to prevent deformation of the wafer due to unequal support of the wafer with an opening to allow a sensor to take a reading on the wafer position.
Regarding Claim 18, Tanoue teaches:
a second controlling device disposed on the handle and connected with the extendable portion (Fig. 11 & Fig. 12), the second controlling device being configured to control the extendable portion to at least partially extend or contract (Fig. 11 & Fig. 12 & Fig. 13 & Fig. 14) [Column 7 Lines 65-67 & Column 8 Lines 1-22]; and
Tanoue does not teach:
a third controlling device disposed on the handle and connected with the extendable portion and the clamp, the third controlling device being configured to control the clamp to open or close and to further control the extendable portion to at least partially extend or contract.
Ardezzone teaches:
a controlling device (118) disposed on the handle and connected with the clamp , the third controlling device being configured to control the clamp to open or close [Column 9 Lines 59-67 & Column 10 Lines 1-67 & Column 11 Lines 1-43] and to further control an extendable portion to at least partially extend or contract (Fig. 11 & Fig. 12 & Fig. 13 & Fig. 14) [Column 10 Lines 35-67 & Column 11 Lines 1-43]
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the wafer holding tool having a plurality of abutting devices movable along a first direction to abut against a wafer and a moving device to move the wafer disposed on a main frame and a handle disposed on the main frame taught by Tanoue with the wafer holding tool having a C-shaped frame defining an opening, a handle disposed at a side of the C-shaped frame opposite to the opening, the main frame has an inner edge circularly curved about the center, and two opposite ends of the inner edge define an opening therebetween, where a second controlling device disposed on the handle and connected with the extendable portion, the second controlling device being configured to control the extendable portion to at least partially extend or contract taught by Masuda further modified by the wafer holding tool having a moving device configured to clamp and move the wafer and move the wafer disposed on the main frame, where a controlling device disposed on the handle and connected with the clamp , the third controlling device being configured to control the clamp to open or close and to further control an extendable portion to at least partially extend or contract taught by Ardezzone in order to provide a means of more securely engaging the wafer when moving the wafer in order to prevent misalignment due to mis-engagement between the moving device and the wafer and that has a shape which matches the shape of a round wafer in order to prevent deformation of the wafer due to unequal support of the wafer with an opening to allow a sensor to take a reading on the wafer position.
Regarding Claim 19, Tanoue teaches:
at least a pair of positioning protrusions (16) separated from each other and disposed on a side of the V-shaped frame away from the handle (Fig. 11 & Fig. 12).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Patent publications US 20060120832 A1, US 20120220200 A1, US 20110236011 A1, US 4955649 A, US 20160336212 A1, and US 20170372925 A1 have been cited by the examiner as pertinent to the applicant’s disclosure because they teach: wafer holding tools for edge clamping round wafers.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BRENDAN P TIGHE whose telephone number is 571-272-4872. The Examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Thursday, 7:00-5:30 EST
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, SAUL RODRIGUEZ can be reached on 571-272-7097. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/BRENDAN P TIGHE/Examiner, Art Unit 3652
/SAUL RODRIGUEZ/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3652