DETAILED ACTION
This action is responsive to Applicant’s reply filed 12/31/2025.
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 .
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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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.
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Species A (Fig. 1) in the reply filed on 12/31/20925 is acknowledged.
Applicant asserts claims 1-2, 5-6, 8-9, and 15 read on the elected species, and the Examiner agrees.
Applicant has withdrawn claims 3-4, 7, and 10-14 as part of the reply 12/31/2025, thus no further action is required by the Examiner.
Claim Status
Claims 1-15 are pending, with claims 1, 6, 8, and 15 independent.
Claims 3-4, 7, and 10-14 are withdrawn.
Claims 1-2, 5-6, 8-9, and 15 have been examined herein on the merits.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to because Figs. 12A-12B are not shown with sufficient clarity or darkness of lines that will permit adequate reproduction. 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 § 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 15 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.
Regarding claim 15, the limitation: “a cooling device as set forth in claim 1” is indefinite in scope since it is unclear if Applicant is referencing the entirety of claim 1 or merely a subset thereof. In the interest of compact and expedited prosecution, the Examiner interprets the limitation as reading: “the cooling device as set forth in claim 1” (i.e., the entirety of the claim).
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.
Claims 1, 5-6, and 8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Miya (US Pub. 2012/0186745).
Regarding claim 1, Miya teaches a cooling device (Figs. 2A-B, entirety) comprising: a first partition; a second partition surrounding the first partition; a third partition surrounding the second partition; and a separator separating a space between the second partition and the third partition into a first area and a second area (portions of #20 on either side of the right-most portion of the separator), and separating a space between the second partition and the first partition into a third area and a fourth area (portions of #20 on either side of the left-most portion of the separator), wherein the separator is configured to connect the first area and the third area with each other and/or the second area and the fourth area with each other (see annotated Fig. 2A below).
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Regarding claim 5, Miya teaches one or more grooves arranged between the first partition and the second partition or between the second partition and the third partition ([0038] and Fig. 2A, passages #20 provided in a variety of positions).
Regarding claim 6, Miya teaches a cooling device (Figs. 2A-B, entirety) comprising: a fluid channel through which a coolant circulates ([0038] and Fig. 2A, passages #20), the coolant being introduced through at least one inlet ([0048] and Fig. 2A, inlet #30); a partition separating the fluid channel into a first area and a second area (see below, 2nd par.); and a separator penetrating through the partition and extending across the first area and the second area (see annotated Fig. 2A below), wherein the at least one inlet introduces the coolant into the first area, wherein two flows of the coolant flowing in different directions are formed in the first area (see flow arrows in Fig. 2A), and wherein the two flows of the coolant flowing in different directions in the first area are introduced into the second area via the separator without colliding or mixing with each other (see flow arrows in Fig. 2A).
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Regarding claim 8, Miya teaches a cooling device (Figs. 2A-B, entirety) comprising: a first partition; a second partition surrounding the first partition; a third partition surrounding the second partition; and a separator separating a space between the second partition and the third partition (see annotated Fig. 2A below) into a first area and a second area (portions of #20 on either side of the right-most portion of the separator), and separating a space between the second partition and the first partition into a third area and a fourth area (portions of #20 on either side of the left-most portion of the separator), wherein the separator is configured to connect the first area and the third area with each other (see annotated Fig. 2A below).
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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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 2 and 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Miya (US Pub. 2012/0186745), as applied to claims 1, 5-6, and 8 above, further in view of Tandou (US Pub. 2008/0178608).
The limitations of claims 1, 5-6, and 8 are set forth above.
Regarding claims 2 and 9, Miya teaches wherein the separator comprises a body (see annotated Fig. 2A in claim 1, comprises a solid structure), the first area and the third area are connected to each other by the separator (see Fig. 2A), the second area and the fourth area are connected to each other by the separator (see Fig. 2A), and the first channel and the second channel do not meet each other (see Fig. 2A).
Miya does not teach wherein the separator comprises a first channel or a second channel.
However, Tandou teaches wherein a separator wall comprises a plurality of channel features (Tandou – [0067] and Fig. 8, structures 2-1, 2-2, 2-3).
It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the instant application, to modify the separator walls of Miya with a plurality of channel features similar to Tandou in order to improve the agitation/convection of refrigerant in the coolant channels, enhancing heat transfer (Tandou – [0067]).
Claim 15 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sen (US Pub. 2004/0118519) in view of Miya (US Pub. 2012/0186745).
Regarding claim 15, Sen teaches a substrate processing apparatus ([0016] and Fig. 1, apparatus #100) comprising: a chamber having an inner space surrounded by a top lid and an outer wall ([0016] and Fig. 1, gas distribution assembly #110 and external walls #106); at least one reactor located in the top lid and comprising a gas supply device ([0016]); at least one substrate support located on a wall of the chamber and facing the reactor ([0016] and Fig. 1, pedestal #114 facing #110); a reaction space formed between the reactor and the substrate support ([0016] and Fig. 1, either of #102 or #104).
Sen does not teach the cooling device as set forth in claim 1.
However, Miya teaches the cooling device as set forth in claim 1 (see the body of the rejection for claim 1 as set forth herein, the annotated Fig. 2A reproduced below for convenience).
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It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the instant application, to modify the Sen apparatus to comprise the cooling device of claim 1 in order to ensure in-plane temperature distribution on a sample surface (Miya – [0013]-[0015], [0020]).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure includes Arai (US 2005/0045104, coolant passages with barriers in Figs. 5, 8, 9), Tandou (US 2008/0289767, coolant passages with a plurality of partitions in Fig. 5B), and Tandou (US 2009/0277883, coolant passages with a separator in Fig. 7).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Kurt Sweely whose telephone number is (571)272-8482. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday, 9:00am - 5:00pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Gordon Baldwin can be reached at (571)-272-5166. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Kurt Sweely/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1718