DETAILED ACTION
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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election of Group II, claims 1-11 in the reply filed on November 19, 2025 is acknowledged. Because applicant did not distinctly and specifically point out the supposed errors in the restriction requirement, the election has been treated as an election without traverse (MPEP § 818.01(a)).
Claims 12-20 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on November 19, 2025.
Claims 1-11 are examined below.
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, 5, 6 and 9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Stern et al. (U.S. PGPUB 2008/0308639).
Regarding claim 1, Stern et al. disclose (Figs. 13B) an apparatus comprising: a first monolithic structure (base, substrate 30) that includes a first plurality of components (132, 110, 100, 131 ) preinstalled and aligned in the first monolithic structure, at least one of the first plurality of components comprising a bidirectional beam steering device (132); and a second monolithic structure (134) that includes a second plurality of components (133, 135) preinstalled and aligned in the second monolithic structure, wherein: the first monolithic structure has a first connecting portion (top periphery portion); the second monolithic structure has a second connecting portion (bottom, stepped periphery portion); the first monolithic structure and the second monolithic structure are each constructed to be aligned and adjoined to each other at an interface (contact portion between the two structures) of the first connecting portion and the second connecting portion; and the first plurality of components are preinstalled and optically aligned in the first monolithic structure such that when the first monolithic structure and the second monolithic structures are adjoined to each other at said interface, the second plurality of components are aligned with the first plurality of components. Since the claimed structure is disclosed by Stern et al., it is an orthogonal laser metrology module and is “for orthogonal laser metrology.”
Regarding clams 5, 6, 9, the first monolithic structure incudes first and second support members (e.g. left and right sides). Stern et al. disclose at least one of the components being a beam steering device (132), a mirror (135) or a coherent energy source (100).
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.
Claim(s) 2, 4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Stern et al. in view of Chen et al. (U.S. PGPUB 2005/0168952).
Regarding claims 2, 4, Stern et al. disclose the claimed invention as set forth above. Stern et al. further disclose the connecting portion includes a stepped portion. Stern et al. do not disclose a bevel portion. Chen et al. teach (Figs. 5A, 5B) a connecting portion may be stepped or bevel having a planar surface formed at an angle as claimed. Thus, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the time of the effective filing of the invention to provide a bevel portion in the apparatus of Stern et al. in view of Chen et al. to obtain a desired effect as taught, known and predictable.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3, 7, 8, 10, 11 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.
Conclusion
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/THANH LUU/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2878