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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on February 13, 2024 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement has been considered by the examiner
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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 1 and 6 – 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C 103 as being unpatentable over Nakajima et al. Patent Application Publication No. JP-2009184069-A (hereinafter Nakajima) in view of Yamakawa US Patent Application Publication No. US-20190181026-A1 (hereinafter Yamakawa).
Regarding claim 1, Nakajima discloses about a jig substrate used in a teaching method for a transfer mechanism, comprising: a first camera configured to capture first image data for detecting a position of a fork of the transfer mechanism (Nakajima in [0013] discloses, “The mark is imaged before and after the jig is moved in the radial direction, and the amount of movement of the jig in the predetermined one direction is detected based on the displacement of the mark in the obtained image ... In order to detect the amount of movement of the jig in the predetermined direction based on the displacement of the mark on the captured image, the mark provided at the target position is given directionality”).
Nakajima doesn’t disclose about the following limitation as further recited in the claim.
Yamakawa discloses about a second camera configured to capture second image data for detecting a position of a placing table on which a substrate is placed (Yamakawa in [0045] discloses, “The image sensors 61a and 61b are located at such positions that the image sensors 61a and 61b can detect corners of the substrate S when the substrate S is transferred by the robot hand 272 to directly above a target mounting position for the substrate S on the second holding member 400 of the substrate holder 11”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to integrate the technique of Yamakawa into the system of Nakajima because it would allow more precise alignment of the fork to the placing table.
Summary of Citations (Nakajima)
Paragraph [0013]; “The mark is imaged before and after the jig is moved in the radial direction, and the amount of movement of the jig in the predetermined one direction is detected based on the displacement of the mark in the obtained image ... In order to detect the amount of movement of the jig in the predetermined direction based on the displacement of the mark on the captured image, the mark provided at the target position is given directionality”.
Summary of Citations (Yamakawa)
Paragraph [0045]; “The image sensors 61a and 61b are located at such positions that the image sensors 61a and 61b can detect corners of the substrate S when the substrate S is transferred by the robot hand 272 to directly above a target mounting position for the substrate S on the second holding member 400 of the substrate holder 11”.
Regarding claim 6, Yamakawa in the combination discloses the jig substrate of claim 1, wherein the second camera captures the second image data for adjusting the position of the fork with respect to the placing table based on the detected position of the placing table (Yamakawa in [0049] discloses, “the image sensors 61a and 61b take images of two corners on a diagonal of the substrate S ... devices 62a and 62b are moved to their respective retracting positions, and the substrate S is moved down onto the second holding member 400. If the error between the calculated coordinates (x.sub.0, y.sub.0) of the center position and the calculated rotation angle θ on the one hand and the target mounting position and rotation angle on the other hand is out of the predetermined range, the robot hand 272 is moved in the x- and y-directions and/or in a rotational direction on the x-y plane to correct the position of the substrate S”).
Summary of Citations (Yamakawa)
Paragraph [0049]; “the image sensors 61a and 61b take images of two corners on a diagonal of the substrate S ... devices 62a and 62b are moved to their respective retracting positions, and the substrate S is moved down onto the second holding member 400. If the error between the calculated coordinates (x.sub.0, y.sub.0) of the center position and the calculated rotation angle θ on the one hand and the target mounting position and rotation angle on the other hand is out of the predetermined range, the robot hand 272 is moved in the x- and y-directions and/or in a rotational direction on the x-y plane to correct the position of the substrate S”.
Regarding claim 7, Yamakawa in the combination the jig substrate of claim 6, wherein the second image data includes an end of the placing table for detecting the position of the placing table (Yamakawa in [0047] discloses, “The phrase “directly above a target mounting position” refers to a position in which the substrate S, when moved down exactly in the z-direction, will be disposed at the target mounting position (the target center position and the target rotation angle) on the second holding member 400” wherein moving the substrate down at proper place implies to deterring the position of the target mounting (table)).
Summary of Citations (Yamakawa)
Paragraph [0047]; “The phrase “directly above a target mounting position” refers to a position in which the substrate S, when moved down exactly in the z-direction, will be disposed at the target mounting position (the target center position and the target rotation angle) on the second holding member 400”.
Regarding claim 8, Yamakawa in the combination discloses the jig substrate of claim 6, wherein the second camera captures the second image data for adjusting the position of the fork in a X-axis direction and a Y-axis direction (Yamakawa in [0049] discloses, “the image sensors 61a and 61b take images of two corners on a diagonal of the substrate S ... If the error between the calculated coordinates (x.sub.0, y.sub.0) of the center position and the calculated rotation angle θ on the one hand and the target mounting position and rotation angle on the other hand is out of the predetermined range, the robot hand 272 is moved in the x- and y-directions and/or in a rotational direction on the x-y plane to correct the position of the substrate S”).
Summary of Citations (Yamakawa)
Paragraph [0049]; “the image sensors 61a and 61b take images of two corners on a diagonal of the substrate S ... devices 62a and 62b are moved to their respective retracting positions, and the substrate S is moved down onto the second holding member 400. If the error between the calculated coordinates (x.sub.0, y.sub.0) of the center position and the calculated rotation angle θ on the one hand and the target mounting position and rotation angle on the other hand is out of the predetermined range, the robot hand 272 is moved in the x- and y-directions and/or in a rotational direction on the x-y plane to correct the position of the substrate S”.
Regarding claim 9, Yamakawa in the combination discloses the jig substrate of claim 1, wherein the first camera is provided in plural number and the second camera is provided in plural number (Yamakawa in [0049] discloses about plurality of image sensor 61a and 61b to determine the fork position and table placement (second holder 400)).
Summary of Citations (Yamakawa)
Paragraph [0049]; “the image sensors 61a and 61b take images of two corners on a diagonal of the substrate S ... If the error between the calculated coordinates (x.sub.0, y.sub.0) of the center position and the calculated rotation angle θ on the one hand and the target mounting position and rotation angle on the other hand is out of the predetermined range, the robot hand 272 is moved in the x- and y-directions and/or in a rotational direction on the x-y plane to correct the position of the substrate S ... the substrate S is moved down onto the second holding member 400”.
Claims 2 – 5, 11 – 16 and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C 103 as being unpatentable over Nakajima in view of Yamakawa and further in view of Ishikawa Patent Application Publication No. JP-2002307348-A (hereinafter Ishikawa).
Regarding claim 2, Nakajima in the combination discloses the jig substrate of claim 1.
Nakajima and Yamakawa in the combination doesn’t disclose about the following limitation as further recited in the claim.
Ishikawa discloses about the first camera captures the first image data for adjusting the position of the fork with respect to the substrate placed on the placing table based on the detected position of the fork (Ishikawa in [0004] discloses, “The position of the hand is corrected by an operator's operation so that the mark occupies a predetermined position in the image of the camera ... by measuring the difference between the position of the positioning mark in the image of the positioning mark taken by the camera ... The position of the hand is automatically corrected by the difference, and the hand is positioned in the horizontal plane”. Furthermore, Ishikawa in [0008] discloses, “the position and direction of the hand 2 with respect to the teaching plate 5 positioned at a certain stage of the wafer cassette 4 are uniquely determined”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to integrate the technique of Ishikawa into the system of Nakajima in view of Yamakawa because it ensures real-time adjustment for accurate alignment with the substrate.
Summary of Citations (Ishikawa)
Paragraph [0004]; “The position of the hand is corrected by an operator's operation so that the mark occupies a predetermined position in the image of the camera ... by measuring the difference between the position of the positioning mark in the image of the positioning mark taken by the camera ... The position of the hand is automatically corrected by the difference, and the hand is positioned in the horizontal plane”.
Paragraph [0008]; “the position and direction of the hand 2 with respect to the teaching plate 5 positioned at a certain stage of the wafer cassette 4 are uniquely determined”.
Regarding claim 3, Ishikawa in the combination discloses about the jig substrate of claim 2, wherein the first image data includes a position detection mark disposed at the fork (Ishikawa in [0004] discloses, “A positioning mark is provided on the hand of the robot for use”).
Summary of Citations (Ishikawa)
Paragraph [0004]; “A positioning mark is provided on the hand of the robot for use”.
Regarding claim 4, Ishikawa discloses the jig substrate of claim 3, wherein the first camera captures the first image data including the position detection mark of the fork positioned between the jig substrate and the placing table in a state (Ishikawa in [0004] discloses about camera capturing image data, “the positioning mark is photographed by the camera to perform the positioning”. Furthermore, Ishikawa in [0008] discloses, “In step 101, the robot 1 is first moved horizontally to insert the hand 2 into the wafer cassette 4 below the teaching plate 5”).
Yamakawa further discloses about the jig substrate placed on the placing table is lifted by a lift pin configured to lift the jig substrate from the placing table (Yamakawa in [0045] discloses, “The image sensors 61a and 61b are located at such positions that the image sensors 61a and 61b can detect corners of the substrate S when the substrate S is transferred by the robot hand 272 to directly above a target mounting position for the substrate S on the second holding member 400 of the substrate holder 11”).
Summary of Citations (Ishikawa)
Paragraph [0004]; “the positioning mark is photographed by the camera to perform the positioning”.
Paragraph [0008]; “In step 101, the robot 1 is first moved horizontally to insert the hand 2 into the wafer cassette 4 below the teaching plate 5. For this horizontal position, a position previously calculated by an offline simulator or the like is used. In step 102, the robot 1 is moved up and down using the operation box 8 to bring the hand 2 closer to the teaching plate 5”.
Summary of Citations (Yamakawa)
Paragraph [0045]; “The image sensors 61a and 61b are located at such positions that the image sensors 61a and 61b can detect corners of the substrate S when the substrate S is transferred by the robot hand 272 to directly above a target mounting position for the substrate S on the second holding member 400 of the substrate holder 11”.
Regarding claim 5, Yamakawa in the combination discloses the jig substrate of claim 2, wherein the first camera captures the first image data for adjusting the position of the fork in a Z-axis direction (Yamakawa in [0044] discloses, “The transfer robot 27 is a multi-axis robot capable of transferring the substrate S held by the robot hand 272 in the x-, y-, and z-direction and also a rotational direction”).
Summary of Citations (Yamakawa)
Paragraph [0044]; “The transfer robot 27 is a multi-axis robot capable of transferring the substrate S held by the robot hand 272 in the x-, y-, and z-direction and also a rotational direction”.
Regarding claim 11, the rationale and motivation to combine for rejecting claim 1 are fully applicable here. Nakajima discloses about a teaching method for a transfer mechanism, comprising: moving a fork of the transfer mechanism to a position below a jig substrate supported by a support (Nakajima in [0017] discloses, “The control unit 21 generates a holding position control command that controls the position of the holding unit 10. The transport mechanism controller 25 drives the robot 11 and the X-direction moving unit 12 in accordance with this position control command”).
Nakajima doesn’t disclose about the following limitation as further recited in the claim.
Yamakawa discloses about correcting transfer position data of the fork based on the determined destination position of the fork (Yamakawa in [0049] discloses, “the image sensors 61a and 61b take images of two corners on a diagonal of the substrate S ... If the error between the calculated ... is out of the predetermined range, the robot hand 272 is moved in the x- and y-directions and/or in a rotational direction on the x-y plane to correct the position of the substrate S”).
Nakajima and Yamakawa in the combination doesn’t disclose about the following limitation as further recited in the claim.
Ishikawa discloses about capturing first image data including a position detection mark disposed at the fork with a first camera disposed at the jig substrate (Ishikawa in [0004] discloses, “A positioning mark is provided on the hand of the robot for use, a teaching plate equipped with a camera for picking up the positioning mark is arranged at a predetermined place in the place, and the positioning mark is photographed by the camera to perform the positioning”); determining a destination position of the fork based on the first image data (Ishikawa in [0004] discloses, “The position of the hand is corrected by an operator's operation so that the mark occupies a predetermined position in the image of the camera”);
Summary of Citations (Ishikawa)
Paragraph [0004]; “A positioning mark is provided on the hand of the robot for use, a teaching plate equipped with a camera for picking up the positioning mark is arranged at a predetermined place in the place, and the positioning mark is photographed by the camera to perform the positioning. The position of the hand is corrected by an operator's operation so that the mark occupies a predetermined position in the image of the camera”.
Summary of Citations (Nakajima)
Paragraph [0017]; “The control unit 21 generates a holding position control command that controls the position of the holding unit 10. The transport mechanism controller 25 drives the robot 11 and the X-direction moving unit 12 in accordance with this position control command”.
Summary of Citations (Yamakawa)
Paragraph [0049]; “the image sensors 61a and 61b take images of two corners on a diagonal of the substrate S ... If the error between the calculated ... is out of the predetermined range, the robot hand 272 is moved in the x- and y-directions and/or in a rotational direction on the x-y plane to correct the position of the substrate S”.
Regarding claim 12, Ishikawa in the combination discloses the teaching method of claim 11, wherein in said determining, destination positions of the fork in a X-axis direction and a Y-axis direction are determined based on the position detection mark (Ishikawa in [0004] discloses, “The position of the hand is corrected by an operator's operation so that the mark occupies a predetermined position in the image of the camera, and the hand is positioned in the horizontal plane”).
Summary of Citations (Ishikawa)
Paragraph [0004]; “The position of the hand is corrected by an operator's operation so that the mark occupies a predetermined position in the image of the camera, and the hand is positioned in the horizontal plane”.
Regarding claim 13, Ishikawa in the combination discloses the teaching method of claim 11, wherein in said determining, destination position of the fork in a Z-axis direction is determined based on the position detection mark (Ishikawa in [0004] discloses, “the position of the hand in the height direction is adjusted by an operator's operation so that the image of the positioning mark photographed by the camera is in focus, and the vertical direction of the hand is adjusted based on the in-focus height”).
Summary of Citations (Ishikawa)
Paragraph [0004]; “the position of the hand in the height direction is adjusted by an operator's operation so that the image of the positioning mark photographed by the camera is in focus, and the vertical direction of the hand is adjusted based on the in-focus height”.
Regarding claim 14, Yamakawa in the combination discloses the teaching method of claim 11, further comprising: moving the fork on which the jig substrate is placed to a position above a placing table for placing a substrate thereon (Yamakawa in [0045] discloses, “The image sensors 61a and 61b are located at such positions that the image sensors 61a and 61b can detect corners of the substrate S when the substrate S is transferred by the robot hand 272 to directly above a target mounting position for the substrate S on the second holding member 400 of the substrate holder 11”); and correcting the transfer position data of the fork based on the determined position of the fork with respect to the placing table (Yamakawa in [0049] discloses, “the image sensors 61a and 61b take images of two corners on a diagonal of the substrate S ... If the error between the calculated ... is out of the predetermined range, the robot hand 272 is moved in the x- and y-directions and/or in a rotational direction on the x-y plane to correct the position of the substrate S”).
Yamakawa doesn’t disclose about the following limitation as further recited in the claim.
Ishikawa further discloses about capturing second image data including an end of the placing table or a mark disposed at the placing table with a second camera disposed at the jig substrate (Ishikawa in [0004] discloses, “The teaching plate 5 has the same diameter as the actual wafer so that the teaching plate 5 can be positioned in the same manner as the actual wafer”); determining a position of the fork with respect to the placing table based on the second image data (Ishikawa in [0008] discloses, “The position and direction are adjusted using the operation box 8. By the operations up to this point, the position and direction of the hand 2 with respect to the teaching plate 5 positioned at a certain stage of the wafer cassette 4 are uniquely determined”).
Summary of Citations (Ishikawa)
Paragraph [0004]; “The teaching plate 5 has the same diameter as the actual wafer so that the teaching plate 5 can be positioned in the same manner as the actual wafer”.
Paragraph [0008]; “The position and direction are adjusted using the operation box 8. By the operations up to this point, the position and direction of the hand 2 with respect to the teaching plate 5 positioned at a certain stage of the wafer cassette 4 are uniquely determined”.
Summary of Citations (Yamakawa)
Paragraph [0045]; “The image sensors 61a and 61b are located at such positions that the image sensors 61a and 61b can detect corners of the substrate S when the substrate S is transferred by the robot hand 272 to directly above a target mounting position for the substrate S on the second holding member 400 of the substrate holder 11”.
Paragraph [0049]; “the image sensors 61a and 61b take images of two corners on a diagonal of the substrate S ... If the error between the calculated ... is out of the predetermined range, the robot hand 272 is moved in the x- and y-directions and/or in a rotational direction on the x-y plane to correct the position of the substrate S”.
Regarding claim 15, Ishikawa in the combination discloses the teaching method of claim 14, wherein in said determining the position of the fork with respect to the placing table (Ishikawa in [0008] discloses, “the position and direction of the hand 2 with respect to the teaching plate 5 positioned at a certain stage of the wafer cassette 4 are uniquely determined”), positions of the fork in a X-axis direction and a Y-axis direction are determined based on the end or the position detection mark (Ishikawa in [0004] discloses, “The position of the hand is automatically corrected by the difference, and the hand is positioned in the horizontal plane”)
Summary of Citations (Ishikawa)
Paragraph [0004]; “The position of the hand is corrected by an operator's operation so that the mark occupies a predetermined position in the image of the camera ... by measuring the difference between the position of the positioning mark in the image of the positioning mark taken by the camera ... The position of the hand is automatically corrected by the difference, and the hand is positioned in the horizontal plane”.
Paragraph [0008]; “The position and direction are adjusted using the operation box 8. By the operations up to this point, the position and direction of the hand 2 with respect to the teaching plate 5 positioned at a certain stage of the wafer cassette 4 are uniquely determined”.
Regarding claim 16, Nakajima in the combination discloses the teaching method of claim 14, wherein the placing table is a placing table of a load-lock module or a process module (Nakajima in [0005] discloses, “FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an appearance inspection apparatus. The appearance inspection apparatus 100 includes an inspection chamber 102 that houses a stage mechanism 101 on which a wafer to be inspected is placed”).
Summary of Citations (Nakajima)
Paragraph [0005]; “FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an appearance inspection apparatus. The appearance inspection apparatus 100 includes an inspection chamber 102 that houses a stage mechanism 101 on which a wafer to be inspected is placed”.
Regarding claim 18, Nakajima discloses the teaching method of claim 14, wherein the support is a slot in a container which is placed on a load port and configured to accommodate the substrate (Nakajima in [0025] discloses, “the adjustment jig 50 is mounted on the holding unit 10. Specifically, a wafer carrier containing an adjustment jig 50 instead of the wafer is mounted on the carrier loader 103 or 104 shown in FIG”), a lift pin configured to lift the substrate from a placing table, or a stage of a path (Nakajima in [0003] discloses, “a moving stage on which the wafer under inspection is placed”).
Nakajima doesn’t disclose about the following limitation as further recited in the claim.
Yamakawa further discloses about a rotation stage of an aligner (Yamakawa in [0060] discloses, “controlling the movement of the rotating devices 63a and 63b of the illuminating devices 62a and 62b”).
Summary of Citations (Nakajima)
Paragraph [0003]; “a moving stage on which the wafer under inspection is placed”.
Paragraph [0025]; “the adjustment jig 50 is mounted on the holding unit 10. Specifically, a wafer carrier containing an adjustment jig 50 instead of the wafer is mounted on the carrier loader 103 or 104 shown in FIG. Then, the holding unit 10 holds the adjustment jig 50 by taking out the adjustment jig 50 from the wafer carrier according to an existing transfer sequence for taking out the wafer from the wafer carrier”.
Paragraph [0060]; “controlling the movement of the rotating devices 63a and 63b of the illuminating devices 62a and 62b”.
Claim 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C 103 as being unpatentable over Nakajima in view of Yamakawa and further in view of Sano Patent Application Publication No. JP-2016025293-A (hereinafter Sano).
Regarding claim 10, Nakajima in the combination discloses the jig substrate of claim 1.
Nakajima and Yamakawa in the combination doesn’t disclose about the following limitation as further recited in the claim.
Sano discloses about a motion sensor configured to detect a stationary state of the jig substrate at a time of capturing the first image data or the second image data (Sano in [0054] discloses, “in the substrate holding inspection method according to the fourth embodiment, the substrate W is imaged by the camera 72 while the substrate W held by the spin chuck 11 stands still to acquire a still horizontal image (step S403)”.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to integrate the technique of Sano into the system of Nakajima in view of Yamakawa because it would allow the system to capture higher quality images preventing blurriness.
Summary of Citations (Sano)
Paragraph [0054]; “in the substrate holding inspection method according to the fourth embodiment, the substrate W is imaged by the camera 72 while the substrate W held by the spin chuck 11 stands still to acquire a still horizontal image (step S403)”.
Claim 17 is rejected under 35 U.S.C 103 as being unpatentable over Nakajima in view of Yamakawa and Ishikawa and further in view of Sano.
Regarding claim 17, Nakajima in the combination discloses the teaching method of claim 14.
Nakajima, Yamakawa and Ishikawa in the combination doesn’t disclose about the following limitation as further recited in the claim.
Sano discloses about after said moving the fork on which the jig substrate is placed, determining whether or not the jig substrate is in a stationary state based on data of a motion sensor which is provided at the jig substrate and configured to detect a stationary state of the jig substrate and instructing capturing of the second image data when it is determined that the jig substrate is in the stationary state (Sano in [0054] discloses, “in the substrate holding inspection method according to the fourth embodiment, the substrate W is imaged by the camera 72 while the substrate W held by the spin chuck 11 stands still to acquire a still horizontal image (step S403)”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to integrate the technique of Sano into the system of Nakajima in view of Yamakawa and Ishikawa because it prevents image capture during vibration resulting in more accurate teaching accuracy of transfer mechanism without human intervention.
Summary of Citations (Sano)
Paragraph [0054]; “in the substrate holding inspection method according to the fourth embodiment, the substrate W is imaged by the camera 72 while the substrate W held by the spin chuck 11 stands still to acquire a still horizontal image (step S403)”.
Conclusion
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/ZAID MUHAMMAD SALEH/
Examiner, Art Unit 2668
12/19/2025
/VU LE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2668