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 .
Response to Amendment
The amendment filed 09/03/2026 has been entered. Claims 1-12 and 14-20 are currently pending. Amendments to the claims have overcome the objections set forth in the Non-Final Office Action dated 06/03/2026.
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.
Claims 18-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lu et al. (CN203423249U – of record; “Lu”) in view of Chen et al. (CN 112158791A – of record; “Chen”), and further in view of Gopalan et al. (US 2017/0176349 – of record; “Gopalan” or “G”).
Claim 18: Lu discloses (fig. 2) An apparatus, comprising:
a housing (housing 5, and cap 4);
a board (PCB substrate 1) within the housing;
a first sensor (wave sensor chip 3) on the board; and
an antenna (microstrip antenna 2) on the board (1), wherein the antenna (2) is configured to wirelessly couple to an RF power source and provide power to the first sensor (¶6, “passive wireless surface acoustic wave sensor”; one of ordinary skill in the art would recognize that the wave sensor chip 3 is connected to an antenna 2, and is therefore configured to wirelessly couple to an RF power source which provides power to the SAW sensor).
Lu does not disclose “a housing with an opening; wherein the first sensor is positioned at least partially within a footprint of the opening; a second sensor on the board, wherein the second sensor is entirely outside of the footprint of the opening; and an RF power source on an interior of a chamber”. However, Lu does disclose that the apparatus can be used
Chen teaches (fig. 1) a sensor packing structure 100 including first 20 and second 30 sensor assemblies, and a housing (cover plate 60) comprising an opening 70. Chen teaches (¶64 & ¶76) the first sensor 30 exposed to the interior environment of the chamber via opening 70 (in fig. 1 above) and the second sensor 20 is protected from the interior environment of the chamber (the second sensor 20 is separated from the first sensor 30 by an anti-interference layer 80 and a compound package structure 40).
Chen therefore teaches a housing with an opening; wherein the first sensor is positioned at least partially within a footprint of the opening; a second sensor on the board, wherein the second sensor is entirely outside of the footprint of the opening.
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to modify the apparatus of Lu, to include a housing with an opening; wherein the first sensor is positioned at least partially within a footprint of the opening; a second sensor on the board, wherein the second sensor is entirely outside of the footprint of the opening, as taught by Chen. The motivation to do so is to provide different environmental conditions for different sensor assemblies in the sensor packing structure.
Chen does not explicitly teach an RF power source on an interior of a chamber.
G teaches an apparatus (fig. 2, 201) which includes a board (¶27), an impedance sensor (¶12, sensor 216 can be a surface acoustic wave); and a sensor antenna (214) which can power the sensor (216). G also teaches that apparatus (201) can be located on an interior of a chamber (see fig. 5). G therefore teaches an RF power source on an interior of a chamber.
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to modify the apparatus of Lu in view of Chen to include an RF power source on an interior of a chamber, as taught by G. Doing so allows for the physical conditions within the chamber to be monitored directly for more accurate monitoring and control of the physical process (¶30 of G).
Claim 19: the modified Lu teaches the apparatus of claim 18, and wherein the first sensor and the second sensor are impedance sensors (Li teaches a SAW sensor chip, which is an impedance sensor, and Chen teaches first and second sensors).
Claim 20 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lu et al. (CN203423249U; “Lu”) in view of Chen et al. (CN 112158791A; “Chen”) and Gopalan et al. (US 2017/0176349; “Gopalan” or “G”), and further in view of Tada et al. (US 2006/0164104 – of record; “Tada”).
Claim 20: the modified Lu teaches the apparatus of claim 19.
Lu discloses (¶6) wherein the impedance sensors are surface acoustic wave (SAW) sensors.
The modified Li does not teach wherein the impedance sensors are configured to measure a thickness of a layer deposited on one or both of the impedance sensors, a material composition of the layer deposited on one or both of the impedance sensors, or a change in the material composition of the layer deposited on one or both of the impedance sensors.
Tada teaches a measuring apparatus for measuring a thickness of a thin film formed on a surface of a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer (abstract). More particularly, Tada teaches the use of RF signals to measure the thickness of a substance by using impedance measurements (¶43).
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to apply the teachings of Tada to the apparatus of Li in view of Chan and G, wherein the impedance sensors are configured to measure a thickness of a layer deposited on one or both of the impedance sensors, a material composition of the layer deposited on one or both of the impedance sensors, or a change in the material composition of the layer deposited on one or both of the impedance sensors. Doing so allows for the condition of the interior walls of the chamber, and sensors mounted thereon, to be continually monitored to ensure a higher quality finished product that is free from contaminants.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s remarks dated 09/03/2026 with respect to amended claim 18 have been considered. The Examiner notes that amended Claim 18 does not include the limitation of original claim 13. That is, amended claim 18 does not recite the entire limitation “wherein the sensor antenna is wirelessly coupled to the interior surface so that the interior surface is configured to provide RF power to the sensor system”. Claims 18-20 are rejected.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-12 and 14-17 are allowed.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: The pertinent prior art, as a whole, or in combination, cannot be reasonably construed as adequately teaching or suggesting the elements and features of the claimed invention(s) as arranged, disposed, or provided in the manner as claimed by the Applicant.
Regarding claim 1, Gopalan, Lu, Chen and De Chambrier are cited as teaching some elements of the invention including: a chamber with an interior surface; a sensor system coupled to the interior surface, wherein the sensor system comprises: a board; a sensor antenna on the board; and a sensor communicatively coupled to the sensor antenna, wherein the sensor is configured to be powered by the sensor antenna; and a chamber antenna within the chamber, wherein the chamber antenna is configured to communicatively couple with the sensor antenna.
Regarding claim 11, Gopalan, Lu, Chen and De Chambrier are cited as teaching some elements of the invention including: a chamber with an interior surface; a radio frequency (RF) input coupled to the interior surface; and a sensor system coupled to the interior surface of the chamber, wherein the sensor system comprises: a board; a sensor antenna on the board; and a sensor communicatively coupled to the sensor.
None of the cited prior art teaches, or suggests, wherein the sensor antenna is wirelessly coupled to the interior surface so that the interior surface is configured to provide RF power to the sensor system.
Claims 2-10 are allowable due to their dependency on claim 1. Claims 12 and 14-17 are allowable due to their dependency on claim 11.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ANNA N HAMADYK whose telephone number is (703)756-1672. The examiner can normally be reached 7:30 am - 5:00 pm.
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/ANNA N HAMADYK/Examiner, Art Unit 2845
/DIMARY S LOPEZ CRUZ/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2845
