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 without traverse of group I (claims 1-12) in the reply filed on May 6, 2026 is acknowledged. Claims 13-21 are withdrawn from consideration as directed toward a non-elected invention.
Claim Interpretation
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(f):
(f) Element in Claim for a Combination. – An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The claims in this application are given their broadest reasonable interpretation using the plain meaning of the claim language in light of the specification as it would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. The broadest reasonable interpretation of a claim element (also commonly referred to as a claim limitation) is limited by the description in the specification when 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is invoked.
As explained in MPEP § 2181, subsection I, claim limitations that meet the following three-prong test will be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
(A) the claim limitation uses the term “means” or “step” or a term used as a substitute for “means” that is a generic placeholder (also called a nonce term or a non-structural term having no specific structural meaning) for performing the claimed function;
(B) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is modified by functional language, typically, but not always linked by the transition word “for” (e.g., “means for”) or another linking word or phrase, such as “configured to” or “so that”; and
(C) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is not modified by sufficient structure, material, or acts for performing the claimed function.
Use of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim with functional language creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites sufficient structure, material, or acts to entirely perform the recited function.
Absence of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is not to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is not interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites function without reciting sufficient structure, material or acts to entirely perform the recited function.
Claim limitations in this application that use the word “means” (or “step”) are being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action. Conversely, claim limitations in this application that do not use the word “means” (or “step”) are not being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action. Currently, no claim limitation is being interpreted as invoking 35 U.S.C. 112(f).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
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 1-4 and 9-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by US Patent Application Publication 2019/0177840 to Eldridge et al. (Eldridge).
Regarding claim 1, Eldridge discloses a method, comprising: coupling a delivery vessel (155) disposed at a first location on a substrate processing platform (150) to a remote refill vessel (115, 116) disposed in a second location (101) remote from the substrate processing platform (see Fig. 1 and [0023]) via a first chemical delivery line (105); storing a chemical in the remote refill vessel in a first phase ([0024] and [0041]); changing the chemical in the remote refill vessel to a second phase ([0024] and [0041]); transporting the chemical in the second phase, to the delivery vessel via the first chemical delivery line (line 105 transports the chemical in vapor form to chamber 155); heating the first chemical delivery line to a first temperature equal to or above a phase change temperature of the chemical (line 105 is heated to above the phase change temperature; see [0024]; and coupling the delivery vessel to an accumulator (160) via a second chemical delivery line (the line running between 155 and 160).
Regarding claim 2, Eldridge discloses the first phase is solid and the second phase is liquid and wherein the changing the phase of the chemical further comprises melting the chemical by applying heat to the chemical or applying pressure to the chemical, or a combination thereof (see [0041]; the embodiment where the chemical is a solid with is melted to a liquid).
Regarding claim 3, Eldridge discloses the first phase is solid and the second phase is gas and wherein the changing the phase of the chemical further comprises sublimating the chemical by applying heat to the chemical or reducing a pressure applied to the chemical, or a combination thereof (see [0024]; embodiment where the chemical is a solid which is sublimated to a vapor).
Regarding claim 4, Eldridge discloses disposing the remote refill vessel in a sub-fab (101).
Regarding claim 9, Eldridge discloses sublimating the chemical within the delivery vessel ([0025]); transporting the sublimated chemical from the delivery vessel to the accumulator via the second chemical delivery line ([0025]); heating the second chemical delivery line to a second temperature sufficient to maintain the chemical in a gaseous state (the gas entering the second delivery line will heat the second delivery line to a temperature which maintains the chemical as a gas [i.e., the chemical arrives in chamber 160 as a gas]); coupling the accumulator to a reaction chamber (the chamber holding the substrate); and transporting the chemical from the accumulator to the reaction chamber (the chemical is deposited onto the substrate in the chamber).
Regarding claim 10, Eldridge discloses maintaining a temperature gradient between a first inner volume of the delivery vessel (155) and a second inner volume of the remote refill vessel (115; as the chemical is returned to the first phase in chamber 155 because of cooling, a temperature gradient must exist between 155 and 115); and returning the chemical to the first phase within the first inner volume ([0025]).
Regarding claim 11, Eldridge discloses maintaining the temperature gradient further comprises actively cooling the delivery vessel via a plurality of cooling projections disposed within the first inner volume (when using a Peltier cooling device; see [0025]).
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 12 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Eldridge in view of US Patent 7,428,373 to Sandhu (Sandhu).
Regarding claim 12, Eldridge discloses the method of claim 1 (see above), but does not disclose transporting the chemical in the second phase further comprises pumping the chemical through the first chemical delivery line via a pump coupled to the first chemical delivery line. Sandhu teaches the delivery of a vaporized chemical precursor through a delivery line using a pump (184) coupled to the delivery line. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have used a pump as taught by Sandhu for delivering the chemical via the delivery line in the system of Eldridge to ensure that a desired flow rate can be maintained and adjusted as needed.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5-8 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: the cited documents do not disclose “wherein transporting the chemical in the second phase further comprises: coupling the remote refill vessel and the delivery vessel via a third chemical delivery line to provide a closed-loop circuit with the first chemical delivery line between the delivery vessel and the remote refill vessel; providing a supply of an inert gas via an inert gas supply vessel coupled to the third chemical delivery line via a gas valve to prime the closed-loop circuit with the inert gas; and closing the gas valve subsequent to the priming.” The examiner finds no evidence that one of ordinary skill in the art would modify the cited documents to include the recited steps absent the teachings of Applicant’s disclosure. Therefore, the cited documents do not disclose or render obvious the claimed invention.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure and claimed invention. US Patent Application Publications 2010/0136772 and 2012/0240858 disclose methods for supplying a chemical in a remote refill vessel to a delivery vessel while changing the phase of the chemical.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to NICOLAS A ARNETT whose telephone number is (571)270-5062. The examiner can normally be reached M- F, 8AM - 3PM.
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/NICOLAS A ARNETT/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3753 July 15, 2026
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