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.
Claims 7, 8 are 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 7 recites that the connecting member includes at least three connecting members, and that the guide groove includes a plurality of guide grooves. It is unclear and does not make logical sense how one member, which is a unitary/single element, then has multiples of itself while still being the unitary element. One member cannot include three members, since this reads as an illogical nested element concept. Claim 8 is also rejected by dependency to claim 7.
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) 1-9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102a1 as being anticipated by White (US 20050183827).
Regarding claim 1. White teaches in the drawings a processing apparatus (plasma vacuum chamber for processing semiconductors [2 39 40]) comprising: a processing container (chamber housing/wall [42] and lid portion 16, commensurate to applicant’s 10 fig. 1) configured to provide a processing space ([42] vacuum enclosure, fig. 1, i.e. 16/14 sandwich the processing cavity/space); a main body (unitary wall 14 [42]) constituting a lower portion of the processing container (fig. 1, forms at least the lower part of the overall chamber, commensurate to applicant’s 12b fig. 1); and a lid (upper half of the housing/chamber, eg including 16, 22, 18, 39, etc, fig. 1) constituting an upper portion of the processing container (as discussed, fig. 1) and configured to be placed on the main body (fig. 1, said chamber upper half elements are supported/rest on 14), wherein the lid includes a shower plate (the upper chamber part/lid includes 22 showerhead [43-45] fig. 1-23), a plate portion (upper chamber part/lid includes a plate-like flat hanger 80 [80-97] fig. 11, which is between 18, 22, the other lid parts) provided above the shower plate (fig. 11, 80 above 22), and a connecting member (the lid’s showerhead includes extension pin 81 w/shoulder 83 fig. 11 [80-97]) fixed to the shower plate (fig. 11, 81 fixed to 22) to protrude toward the plate portion (81 protrudes up into 80 fig. 11) and configured to connect the shower plate to the plate portion (fig. 11, 22 hangs on to 80 via 81/83),
wherein a guide groove (fig. 11, slot in 80 w/ bottom opening 82) arranged to face the shower plate (fig. 11, slot directly faces down towards 22) is provided in a lower surface of the plate portion (slot in lower side/surface of 80 fig. 11), wherein a protruding portion (top end of 81/83) of the connecting member protruding toward the plate portion (as disc, fig. 11) is accommodated in the guide groove (top of 81/83 in groove/slot of 80 fig. 11), wherein a position of the shower plate with respect to the plate portion is determined by accommodating the protruding portion of the connecting member fixed to the shower plate in a first end of the guide groove provided in the plate portion (fig. 11, the upper part of 81, fixed to 22, hangs in the lower end of the slot in 80, which determines/sets at least the hanging/vertical position of 22 to relative to 80, identical to applicant fig. 5), and wherein, in a state in which the protruding portion is accommodated in the first end of the guide groove (as discussed, fig. 11) and the lid is separated from the main body (the central portion of the lid is always separated/spaced from 14, fig. 1, eg 22, 18, 39 are spaced from 14), the shower plate is suspended from the plate portion (as disc, 22 hanging from 80 fig. 11) by supporting a tip of the connecting member by a supporter provided at an opening of the guide groove (the tip/top shoulder 83 of 81 is held by a ledge/support side wall 85 at the bottom opening 82 of the slot in 80, fig. 11, [94]).
Regarding claim 2. White teaches the processing apparatus of Claim 1, wherein the lid includes a seal member having a double O-ring structure (eg fig. 1, 2 at least a double/pair of O-rings exist, via three O rings 19 [42], eg in the area between 18 and 16 of the lid/upper chamber portion, and between 14/16), and wherein the seal member is configured to airtightly isolate the processing space from an outside of the processing container ([42] fig. 1, 2, O-rings vacuum isolate/seal the process space via the side thru the O-ring at 14/16 and via the top thru the O-ring between 16/18).
Regarding claim 3. White teaches the processing apparatus of Claim 1, wherein the connecting member has a head top portion (the wide shoulder/flathead 83) provided at the tip of the connecting member (83 at top of 81 fig. 11) and a shaft portion (narrower lower trunk of 81 right below 83 fig. 11) connected to the head top portion (fig. 11) and having a smaller diameter than the head top portion (fig. 11, trunk is narrower width/diameter than 83), and wherein the head top portion and the shaft portion provide the protruding portion (fig. 11, 83 and the portion of 81 right below it, protrude into 82 and the large slot in 80).
Regarding claim 4. White teaches the processing apparatus of Claim 3, wherein a decreased-width portion having an opening smaller in diameter than the head top portion and larger in diameter than the shaft portion is provided at the first end of the guide groove (fig. 11, at the bottom end of the groove/slot in 80, there is a narrow neck/ledge portion 85 at 82, is narrower/smaller in diameter than 83 since 83 rests/hangs on it [94], also shown in the slot/pin configuration of fig. 8/15, but larger than the shaft part, which can freely move past it and thru 82, fig. 8, 11, 15), and wherein the head top portion is supported by the supporter (as prev discussed) in a state in which the protruding portion is accommodated in the decreased-width portion (the entire upper part of 81 protrudes into the narrow/neck part w/ 85/82 fig. 8, 11, 15) so that the lid is separated from the main body (as disc in claim 1, the central part of the lid is always spaced/separated from 14).
Regarding claim 5. White teaches the processing apparatus of Claim 4, wherein an increased-width portion having an opening larger in diameter than the head top portion is provided at a second end of the guide groove (the upper part end of the groove in 80, fig. 11, which is wider/larger in diameter than the 83, same in fig. 8 in reverse direction).
Regarding claim 6. White teaches the processing apparatus of Claim 5, wherein the protruding portion is configured to move to the increased-width portion (the upper wider part of the slot has enough clearance for the the upper part of 81 and 83 to move/abut into it, fig. 11) by rotating the shower plate in a circumferential direction of the plate portion (this could be a torsional rotation of 22 vs 80 due to thermal expansion) in the state in which the protruding portion is accommodated in the decreased-width portion (fig 8, 11, the shaft part of 81 adjacent to 83 is always in the narrower opening 82).
Regarding claim 7. White teaches the processing apparatus of Claim 1, wherein the connecting member includes at least three connecting members (fig. 7, showing at least 8 slots for the 8 pins/connecting members, fig. 8 w/ 3, fig. 14 w/ 16) provided around a circumferential direction of the plate portion (eg fig. 14, there are at least 3 other multiple pins/connectors, each in a 80, around/in the vicinity of any other individual 80 near the center), and the guide groove includes a plurality of guide grooves equal in number to the at least three connecting members (as prev disc, eg fig. 11, each guide groove has its own respective connecting member/pin, hence equal in number) and provided at positions facing the at least three connecting members, respectively (as prev disc, eg fig. 11, the grooves/slots face the respective pins that is protruding into/against it).
Regarding claim 8. White teaches the processing apparatus of Claim 7, wherein the at least three connecting members and the plurality of guide grooves equal in number to the at least three connecting members are arranged at unequal intervals in the circumferential direction (eg fig. 7, 14, at least 3 slots and its respective pins/connectors are positioned at different intervals in the peripheral direction, eg fig. 7 the ones at 12, 1 and 7 o clock, and fig. 14, same clock positions, although other combos clearly exist eg 3, 4, 6 oclock).
Regarding claim 9. White teaches the processing apparatus of Claim 1, wherein the plate portion is an upper electrode (the plate/hanger is made of conductive metal/Al [75 78], when connected w/ 22 that is an upper electrode [5], forms an extended part of the upper electrode 22 as a continuously conductive network/extension).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to YUECHUAN YU whose telephone number is (571)272-7190. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9-5.
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/YUECHUAN YU/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1718
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