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 .
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 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by US Patent Publication 20120064727 to Oh.
In Reference to Claim 1
Oh discloses a substrate processing apparatus comprising: a processing chamber (Fig. 4, 100) comprising an internal space and a substrate support (Fig. 4, 122) within the internal space; a surface tension reducing agent supply system (Fig. 4, 160) configured to supply a surface tension reducing agent as a gas to the processing chamber; and a controller (Paragraph 6) configured to control the supply of the surface tension reducing agent via the surface tension reducing agent supply system, wherein the surface tension reducing agent supply system comprises at least one supply port (The port where the supply system entering the chamber at the top of the chamber) configured to supply the surface tension reducing agent to the internal space and at least one discharge port (Fig. 4, 110) configured to remove developer from the internal space.
In Reference to Claim 2
Oh discloses a cross-sectional area of the at least one supply port increases in a direction in which the surface tension reducing agent flows so that flow velocity of the surface tension reducing agent is reduced.(Fig. 9, 227)
In Reference to Claim 3
Oh discloses the at least one supply port comprises a dispersant configured to disperse the supply of the surface tension reducing agent, wherein the dispersant comprises a porous material or a baffle plate having a plurality of apertures. (Fig. 11, 226)
In Reference to Claim 4
Oh discloses the at least one supply port is located at one side of the processing chamber and the at least one discharge port is located at an opposite side of the processing chamber, and wherein a distributor is located between the at least one supply port and the substrate support. (As showed in Fig. 5, the supply port is at the top of the chamber, and the discharge port is at the bottom of the chamber, the spray head is in the between)
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 5-7are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Oh.
In Reference to Claims 5-6
Oh discloses the supply port is positioned in the top of the chamber, and the discharge port is at the lower surface of the chamber.
Oh does not teach other arrangement of the supply port and lower port.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to reposition the supply port and the discharge port, since it has been held that rearranging parts of an invention involves only routine skill in the art. In re Japikse, 86 USPQ 70, (see MPEP §2144.04).
In Reference to Claim 7
Oh discloses a single supply port and a single discharge port.
Oh does not teach a plurality of the supply ports and the discharge ports.
According to MPEP: Although the reference did not disclose a plurality of ribs, the court held that mere duplication of parts has no patentable significance unless a new and unexpected result is produced. It would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to position a plurality of supply port or discharge port in order to uniformly distribute the agent in the case where there is a large size chamber.
Claim 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Oh in view of US Patent Publication 20190366394 to Yoshida.
In Reference to Claim 8
Oh discloses the substrate support is rotatable (Fig. 4, 184 is the rotatory motor)
Oh does not teach a movable spray head.
Yoshida teaches the at least one supply port is configured to allow for at least one of linear reciprocating motion in a radius direction of the substrate, linear reciprocating motion in a direction perpendicular to the substrate, and reciprocating motion along an arc of which radius of curvature is no less than a radius of the substrate and passing through a center of the substrate. (Fig. 10A, the nozzle 13 is moved by the moving unit 39, Paragraph 143)
It would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate teachings from Yoshida into the design of Oh. Both inventions of Oh and Yoshida are in the same field of endeavor, Yoshida teaches a method of effectively distributing solutions with a predictable result of success.
Conclusion
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DEMING . WAN
Examiner
Art Unit 3762
/DEMING WAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3762 8/4/26
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