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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 27 December 2024 complies with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the examiner has considered the information disclosure statement; please see attached forms PTO-1449.
Drawings
Figures 1(a)-2 should be designated by a legend such as --Prior Art-- because only that which is old is illustrated. See MPEP § 608.02(g). Corrected drawings in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. The replacement sheet(s) should be labeled “Replacement Sheet” in the page header (as per 37 CFR 1.84(c)) so as not to obstruct any portion of the drawing figures. If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
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 1-6, and 18-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US Patent Application Publication US 2017/0062263 A1 to Kesil et al. (“US1”).
Regarding Claim 1, US1 describes a method for handling a semiconductor device, comprising:
providing the semiconductor device (“W”) in a suspended state using a contactless suspension system (“vortex type levitation chuck”, see [0023]-[0025]), the optical device having two major surfaces (see Figs 1a-1b);
gripping the optical device in the suspended state using a gripper(38) having a set of side supports (56a, 56b), wherein the gripping of the optical device includes moving the set of side supports from an open position to a closed position, wherein, in the closed position, one or more side surfaces of the optical device extending between the two major surfaces of the optical device are held by the set of side supports (see [0036], Fig 1b); and
transporting the optical device using the gripper (see [0009]-[0010], [0044], [0046]).
Regarding Claims 1 and 2, US1 does not describe the semiconductor device as an optical device that is a waveguide comprising a substrate and a plurality of optical structures formed thereon. US1 is silent as to the particular semiconductor devices handled by the described method, only using broad terms such as semiconductor wafer substrates or semiconductor wafers. Optical devices, including waveguides comprising a substrate and a plurality of optical structures formed thereon, are well-known in the art to be formed as semiconductor wafers/substrates. Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to use such a well-known optical device as the semiconductor device of US1. The motivation for doing so would have been to make a simple substitution of one known element for another to obtain predictable results.
Regarding Claim 3, US1 describes the optical device transported by the gripper without contacting the two major surfaces of the optical device (see Figs 1a-1b and[0036]).
Regarding Claim 4, US1 describes the set of side supports defines an optical device containment region of the gripper, wherein a dimension of the optical device containment region is adjustable by adjusting a position of at least one side support of the set of side supports (see [0036]).
Regarding Claim 5, US1 describes that moving the set of side supports from the open position to the closed position reduces the dimension of the optical device containment region (see [0036]).
Regarding Claim 6, US1 describes that in the open position of the set of side supports, a dimension of the optical device containment region is larger than a corresponding dimension of the optical device to allow for a tolerance between the optical device and the set of side supports (inherent to the operation as described at [0036]).
Regarding Claim 18, US1 describes an apparatus (see Figs 1a-6) for handling a semiconductor device comprising:
a contactless suspension system (“vortex type levitation chuck”, see [0023]-[0025]);
a gripper (38) having a set of side supports (56a, 56b) that is movable between an open position and a closed position; and
a controller (24) configured to:
control the contactless suspension system to provide the semiconductor device in a suspended state (see [0025], [0046]);
control the gripper to grip the optical device in the suspended state, wherein the gripping of the optical device includes moving the set of side supports from the open position to the closed position, wherein, in the closed position, one or more side surfaces of the optical device extending between two major surfaces of the optical device are held by the set of side supports (see [0036], [0046]); and
control the gripper to transport the optical device (see [0046]).
Regarding Claim 18, US1 does not describe the semiconductor device as an optical device. US1 is silent as to the particular semiconductor devices handled by the described method, only using broad terms such as semiconductor wafer substrates or semiconductor wafers. Optical devices, are well-known in the art to be formed as semiconductor wafers/substrates. Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to use such a well-known optical device as the semiconductor device of US1. The motivation for doing so would have been to make a simple substitution of one known element for another to obtain predictable results.
Regarding Claim 19, US1 describes the set of side supports defining an optical device containment region of the gripper, wherein a dimension of the optical device containment region is adjustable by adjusting a position of at least one side support of the set of side supports (see[0036]).
Regarding Claim 20, US1 describes that in the open position of the set of side supports, a dimension of the optical device containment region is larger than a corresponding dimension of the optical device to allow for a tolerance between the optical device and the set of side supports (inherent to the operation as described at [0036]).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 7-12 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.
Claims 13-17 are allowed.
Claim 7 describes positioning the gripper adjacent to the optical device in the supported state; and after the positioning, transferring the optical device from the supported state to the suspended state.
Claim 10 describes the contactless suspension system comprising an ultrasonic vibration generator
Claim 11 describes positioning the optical device held by the gripper adjacent to a second contactless suspension system; and releasing the optical device from the gripper while the contactless suspension force acts on the optical device to provide the optical device in a suspended state using the second contactless suspension system.
Claim 12 describes releasing the optical device from the first gripper while the contactless suspension force acts on the optical device, so that the optical device is provided in a suspended state upon release from the first gripper, wherein, after the releasing, the optical device in the suspended state is gripped by the second gripper by providing of the set of side supports in the closed position.
Claim 13 describes after positioning the gripper, transferring the optical device from the supported state to a suspended state, wherein the transferring includes: disengaging the optical device from the holder; and providing the optical device in the suspended state using a contactless suspension system; providing the optical device in the suspended state in the optical device containment region of the gripper while the set of side supports is in an open position
Claim 14 describes holding a waveguide in a supported state, wherein in the supported state the waveguide is mechanically held by a holder, the waveguide having two major surfaces; transferring the waveguide from the supported state to a suspended state, wherein the waveguide is provided in the suspended state by a contactless suspension system including an ultrasonic vibration generator.
These limitations represent subject matter not described or reasonably suggested, in conjunction with the further limitations of the present claims, by the prior art of record.
Claims 8-9 depend from Claim 7 and therefore contain at least the same allowable subject matter.
Claims 15-17 depend from Claim 14 and therefore contain at least the same allowable subject matter.
Conclusion
The prior art cited in the attached form PTO-892 are made of record and considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. The cited prior art described devices and methods for handling semiconductor and/or optical devices.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JERRY RAHLL whose telephone number is (571)272-2356. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9:00am-5:00pm.
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, Uyen-Chau Le can be reached at 571-272-2397. 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.
/JERRY RAHLL/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2874
Prosecution Insights