Prosecution Insights
Last updated: July 17, 2026
Application No. 18/694,153

TEMPERATURE CALIBRATION SYSTEM, INSPECTION APPARATUS, AND TEMPERATURE CALIBRATION METHOD

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
Mar 21, 2024
Priority
Sep 30, 2021 — JP 2021-162244 +1 more
Examiner
GIBSON, RANDY W
Art Unit
2855
Tech Center
2800 — Semiconductors & Electrical Systems
Assignee
Tokyo Electron Limited
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
76%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
1m
Est. Remaining
98%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 76% — above average
76%
Career Allowance Rate
1029 granted / 1357 resolved
+7.8% vs TC avg
Strong +22% interview lift
Without
With
+22.1%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 5m
Avg Prosecution
14 currently pending
Career history
1371
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
2.3%
-37.7% vs TC avg
§103
72.9%
+32.9% vs TC avg
§102
13.0%
-27.0% vs TC avg
§112
3.4%
-36.6% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 1357 resolved cases

Office Action

§102
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 . 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. 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. (a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention. Claims 1-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Yamasaki et al (US # 12,359,982). The applied reference has a common assignee with the instant application. Based upon the earlier effectively filed date of the reference, it constitutes prior art under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2). This rejection under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) might be overcome by: (1) a showing under 37 CFR 1.130(a) that the subject matter disclosed in the reference was obtained directly or indirectly from the inventor or a joint inventor of this application and is thus not prior art in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(A); (2) a showing under 37 CFR 1.130(b) of a prior public disclosure under 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(B) if the same invention is not being claimed; or (3) a statement pursuant to 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) establishing that, not later than the effective filing date of the claimed invention, the subject matter disclosed in the reference and the claimed invention were either owned by the same person or subject to an obligation of assignment to the same person or subject to a joint research agreement. The Yamasaki reference discloses a temperature calibration system (10), comprising: an inspection apparatus (15) configured to adjust a temperature of an inspection target placed on a placement part and inspect the inspection target (Col. 3, ll. 19-31; Col. 8, ll. 33-41); and a surface thermometer (70), wherein the temperature calibration system is configured to calibrate a plurality of temperature sensors provided in the placement part (Col. 10, ll. 4-17), the inspection apparatus includes a carriage (18) configured to move the placement part in an X-axis direction, a Y-axis direction, and a Z-axis direction (Col. 6, line 46 to col. 7, line 4), and a controller (17d) configured to perform a calibration process to measurement values of the plurality of temperature sensors (70), the surface thermometer (70) is configured to contact a placement surface of the placement part and detect a surface temperature of the placement surface (Col. 8, ll. 22-32), and the controller (17d) is configured to includes a processor (inherent), and a memory (Col. 7, ll. 47-48) storing one or more programs (inherent), which when executed, cause the processor to: control the carriage to contact the surface thermometer with a detection position of the placement surface of the placement part (Col. 8, ll. 22-32), detect the surface temperature of the detection position by the surface thermometer (Col. 8, ll. 33-40), and calibrate the measurement value of the temperature sensor corresponding to the detection position based on the surface temperature (Col. 8, ll. 42-58). Claims 2-13 describe the same invention as disclosed in the Yamasaki reference. Conclusion The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. The other references cited were also cited in the Yamasaki reference application. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to RANDY W GIBSON whose telephone number is (571)272-2103. The examiner can normally be reached Tue-Friday 10AM-6PM. Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Peter Macchiarolo can be reached at 571-272-2375. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. RANDY W. GIBSON Primary Examiner Art Unit 2856 /RANDY W GIBSON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2855
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Prosecution Timeline

Mar 21, 2024
Application Filed
May 28, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12684210
ELECTRONIC APPARATUS AND METHOD OF CONTROLLING SAME
2y 7m to grant Granted Jul 14, 2026
Patent 12663315
CHAMBER KITS, SYSTEMS, AND METHODS FOR CALIBRATING TEMPERATURE SENSORS FOR SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING
2y 12m to grant Granted Jun 23, 2026
Patent 12663845
COOLING ELEMENT TYPE DETERMINATION AND CONTROL
2y 10m to grant Granted Jun 23, 2026
Patent 12663391
Thermal conductivity fluid sensor
2y 6m to grant Granted Jun 23, 2026
Patent 12656182
SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR WIRELESS TEMPERATURE MONITORING OF AN IMPLEMENT
2y 6m to grant Granted Jun 16, 2026
Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
76%
Grant Probability
98%
With Interview (+22.1%)
2y 5m (~1m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 1357 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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