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 .
DETAILED ACTION
Priority
The applicant’s priority to provisional application 63247073 filed on September 22nd, 2021 has been accepted.
Information Disclosure Statement
The Information Disclosure Statements filed on January 7th, 2025, March 4th, 2025, March 12th, 2025 and January 19th, 2026 have been considered by the examiner.
Double Patenting
The Terminal Disclaimer filed June 24th, 2026 has been approved.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 18 recites the limitation “a second junction” in line 2. This appears to be a double inclusion from claim 17 line 15 . Is this the “second junction” as recited in claim 17 or a different “second junction?” Claim 18 recites the limitation “a third magnetic field” in line 2. This appears to be a double inclusion from claim 17 line 16 . Is this the “third magnetic field” as recited in claim 17 or a different “third magnetic field?” Claim 18 recites the limitation “a third magnetic levitation track” in line 3-4. This appears to be a double inclusion from claim 17 line 16 . Is this the “third magnetic levitation track” as recited in claim 17 or a different “third magnetic levitation track?” See MPEP § 2173.05(o).
Claim 19 recites the limitation “a third magnetic track levitation track” in line 2-3. This appears to be a double inclusion from claim 17 line 16 . Is this the “a third magnetic track levitation track” as recited in claim 17 or a different “a third magnetic track levitation track?” Claim 19 recites the limitation “a third magnetic field” in line 3-4. This appears to be a double inclusion from claim 17 line 16 . Is this the “third magnetic field” as recited in claim 17 or a different “third magnetic field?” Claim 19 recites the limitation “a third direction” in line 8. This appears to be a double inclusion from claim 17 line 20 . Is this the “third direction” as recited in claim 17 or a different “third direction?” See MPEP § 2173.05(o).
Claim 20 is rendered indefinite for reciting “at least one substrate carrier.” Claim 17 recites “a first substrate carrier.” The claim will be interpreted as if it read “the first substrate carrier.” Additionally claim 20 is rendered indefinite for reciting “the substrate carrier.” There is no antecedent basis for this limitation in this claim. The claim will be interpreted as if it read “the first substrate carrier.”
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.
Claim(s) 1-3, 5-7, 17-18 and 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Moura et al. (US 20210265188), hereafter Moura.
With regards to claim 1, Moura discloses a transfer chamber (118) for an electronic device processing system (P002; Fig. 2), comprising: a magnetic levitation platform (linear tracks 1550), comprising: a first magnetic levitation track (drive line 177) disposed along a horizontal length of the transfer chamber (Fig. 14A) and configured to generate a first magnetic field (via electromagnets 1700a-n); a second magnetic levitation track (drive line 179) disposed along a horizontal width of the transfer chamber (Fig. 14A) and configured to generate a second magnetic field (via electromagnets 1700a-n), wherein a first plane of the first magnetic field crosses a second plane of the second magnetic field at a first junction (Not labeled separately in Fig. 14A); and at least one substrate carrier (substrate handler 1500) configured to move according to at least one of the first magnetic field or the second magnetic field.
With regards to claim 2, Moura discloses all the elements of claim 1 as outlined above. Moura further discloses at least one of a third magnetic levitation track disposed along the horizontal length of the transfer chamber, wherein the second magnetic levitation track is disposed across the third magnetic levitation track at a second junction; or a fourth magnetic levitation track disposed along the horizontal width of the transfer chamber, wherein the fourth magnetic levitation track is disposed across the first magnetic levitation track at a third junction (179B; Fig. 39).
With regards to claim 3, Moura discloses all the elements of claim 2 as outlined above. Moura further discloses further comprising at least one of: (iii) a fifth magnetic levitation track (178) disposed along the horizontal length of the transfer chamber, wherein the second (179A) and fourth magnetic (179B) levitation tracks are disposed across the fifth magnetic levitation track (Fig. 14); or (iv) a sixth magnetic levitation track disposed along the horizontal width of the transfer chamber, wherein the sixth magnetic levitation track is disposed across the first, third and fifth magnetic levitation tracks.
With regards to claim 5, Moura discloses all the elements of claim 1 as outlined above. Moura further discloses wherein the at least one substrate carrier is configured to move along the first magnetic levitation track and the second magnetic levitation track, wherein the at least one substrate carrier comprises at least one of: a passive rotational magnetic bearing (paramagnetic base 1510); or a mirrored drive segment; or a stationary active bearing and drive assembly; or a rotational drive.
With regards to claim 6, Moura discloses all the elements of claim 1 as outlined above. Moura further discloses wherein the at least one substrate carrier comprises an end effector (1520), wherein at least one of the first magnetic levitation track or the second magnetic levitation track is configured to cause the substrate carrier to rotate (P0075, L16-20) to place a substrate held on the end effector into a process chamber (120) connected to the transfer chamber.
With regards to claim 7, Moura discloses all the elements of claim 1 as outlined above. Moura further discloses a plurality of ports (116) in sidewalls of the transfer chamber accessible to the at least one substrate carrier, and wherein the second magnetic levitation track is proximate to a subset of the plurality of ports on a first side of the transfer chamber and is usable to transfer a substrate into a process chamber through one of the plurality of ports(Fig. 14)
With regards to claim 17, Moura discloses a method of moving one or more substrates (P002) in a transfer chamber (118), comprising: retrieving from a first process chamber a first substrate Best shown in Fig. 1) by a first substrate carrier (substrate handler 1500) engaged with a first magnetic levitation track (drive line 177) disposed along a horizontal length of the transfer chamber (Best shown in Fig. 13), wherein the first magnetic levitation track is configured to generate a first magnetic field (via electromagnets 1700a-n); generating the first magnetic field by the first magnetic levitation track to move the first substrate carrier with the first substrate in a first direction along the first magnetic levitation track; rotating the first substrate carrier with the first substrate at a first junction formed where a plane of a second magnetic field (via electromagnets 1700a-n) generated by a second magnetic levitation track crosses a plane of the first magnetic field, wherein the second magnetic levitation track is disposed along a horizontal width of the transfer chamber (Fig. 14A); generating the second magnetic field by the second magnetic levitation track to move the first substrate carrier with the first substrate in a second direction along the second magnetic levitation track (P0085, L30-40); rotating the first substrate carrier with the first substrate at a second junction (P0118) formed where a plane of a third magnetic field generated by a third magnetic levitation track (179B) crosses the plane of the second magnetic field (Fig. 39), wherein the third magnetic levitation track is disposed along the horizontal length of the transfer chamber (Fig. 39); generating the third magnetic field by the third magnetic levitation track to move the first substrate carrier with the first substrate in a third direction along the third magnetic levitation track to a second process chamber positioned on an opposite side of the transfer chamber from the first process chamber (P0118); and rotating the first substrate carrier with the first substrate and placing the first substrate in a second process chamber (P0095, L21-40).
With regards to claim 18, Moura discloses all the elements of claim 17 as outlined above. Moura further discloses rotating the first substrate carrier at a second junction (P0118) formed where a third magnetic field (generally indicated by 179B) crosses the second magnetic field (Fig. 39) , wherein the third magnetic field is generated by a third magnetic levitation track (179B); and generating the third magnetic field by the third magnetic levitation track to move the first substrate carrier with the first substrate in a third direction along the third magnetic levitation track (P0118).
With regards to claim 20 Moura discloses all the elements of claim 17 as outlined above. Moura further discloses wherein at least one substrate carrier is configured to move along the first magnetic levitation track and the second magnetic levitation track, wherein the at least one substrate carrier comprises: a passive rotational magnetic bearing (paramagnetic base 1510); or a mirrored drive segment; or a stationary active bearing and drive assembly; or a rotational drive; or a first magnet on a bottom surface of the substrate carrier and a second magnet on a top surface of the substrate carrier, wherein the first magnet is configured to interact with the first and second magnetic fields and the second magnet is configured to interact with third and fourth magnetic fields.
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(s) 4 and 9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Moura.
With regards to claim 4, Moura discloses all the elements of claim 3 as outlined above. Moura does not directly disclose wherein the first and third, and third and fifth magnetic levitation tracks are spaced apart a distance of about 350 mm to about 450 mm. However, this is a simple change in size and therefore would have been obvious to a person with ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention in order to reduce interference between the magnetic fields.
With regards to claim 9, Moura discloses all the elements of claim 1 as outlined above. Moura does not directly disclose an assembly for transferring the at least one substrate carrier from the first magnetic levitation track to the second magnetic levitation track, comprising: a magnetic bearing comprising: a shaft and a torsional spring positioned within the shaft; a plurality of permanent magnets concentric to the shaft; an encoder configured to monitor at least one of speed, distance or direction of rotation of the shaft; and a drive configured to rotate the shaft.
However, the examiner takes Official Notice that magnetic bearings with these components are known in the art and therefore rendered obvious to a person with ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to improve throughput by having a smoother rotation
Claim(s) 8-9 and 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Moura as applied to claims 1 and 17, respectively above, and further in view of Newman et al. (US 20200111692), hereafter Newman.
With regards to claim 8, Moura discloses all the elements of claim 1 as outlined above. Moura does not directly disclose wherein a first horizontal plane of the first magnetic levitation track is at a different height than a second horizontal plane of the second magnetic levitation track.
However, Newman discloses wherein a first horizontal plane of the first magnetic levitation track is at a different height than a second horizontal plane of the second magnetic levitation track (Fig 1A; P0035, P0039; the substrate transport carriage (106) relies on z-axis motion provided by lift pins, robots etc. within the processing tools (104a, 104b)). It would have been obvious to a person with ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have the magnetic levitation tracks disclosed by Moura in the manner disclosed by Newman in order to keep the magnetic fields from interfering with each other.
With regards to claim 19, Moura discloses all the elements of claim 17 as outlined above. Moura does not disclose lifting, with a first lift pin assembly, the first substrate carrier to the third magnetic levitation track.
However, Newman discloses a lifting assembly (elevator unit 402a) for moving a substrate carrier onto two different height tracks (Fig 1A; P0035, P0039). It would have been obvious to a person with ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have a lift assembly if necessary to increase throughput with different level tracks.
Claim(s) 10-16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Moura further in view of Newman.
With regards to claim 10, Moura discloses a transfer chamber (118) for an electronic device processing system (P002; Fig. 2), comprising: a magnetic levitation platform (linear tracks 1550) comprising: a first magnetic levitation track (drive line 177) disposed along a horizontal length (Fig. 14A) of the transfer chamber at and configured to generate a first magnetic field; a second magnetic levitation track disposed along a horizontal width of the transfer chamber within the transfer chamber, wherein the second magnetic levitation track is configured to generate a second magnetic field (via electromagnets 1700a-n); and at least one substrate carrier (1500) configured to move according to at least one of the first magnetic field or the second magnetic field, wherein the substrate carrier is configured to move from the first magnetic levitation track to the second magnetic levitation track at a point of intersection between a plane of the first magnetic field and a plane of the second magnetic field. Moura does not disclose that the first levitation track is at a first height within the transfer chamber and the second levitation track at a second height within the transfer chamber.
However, Newman discloses wherein the first magnetic levitation track is at a first height and the second magnetic levitation track is at a second height (Fig 1A; P0035, P0039; the substrate transport carriage (106) relies on z-axis motion provided by lift pins, robots etc. within the processing tools (104a, 104b)). It would have been obvious to a person with ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have the magnetic levitation tracks disclosed by Moura in the manner disclosed by Newman in order to keep the magnetic fields from interfering with each other.
With regards to claim 11, Moura and Newman disclose all the elements of claim 10 as outlined above. Moura further discloses at least one of: a third magnetic levitation track disposed along the horizontal length of the transfer chamber at the first height and configured to generate a third magnetic field (179B; Fig. 39), wherein the plane of the second magnetic field intersects a plane of the third magnetic field; or a fourth magnetic levitation track disposed along the horizontal width of the transfer chamber at the second height and configured to generate a fourth magnetic field, wherein the plane of the first magnetic field and the plane of the third magnetic field intersect a plane of the fourth magnetic field.
With regards to claim 12, Moura and Newman disclose all the elements of claim 11 as outlined above. Moura and Newman do not directly disclose, wherein the first and third magnetic levitation tracks are spaced apart a distance of about 40 mm to about 300 mm, and wherein the second and fourth magnetic levitation tracks are spaced apart a distance of about 40 mm to about 300 mm. However, this is a simple change in size and therefore would have been obvious to a person with ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention in order to reduce interference between the magnetic fields. Furthermore, the addition of a fourth magnetic track is a simple duplication of parts and is therefore rendered obvious to a person with ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to increase throughput.
With regards to claim 13, Moura and Newman disclose all the elements of claim 11 as outlined above wherein the at least one substrate carrier is configured to move along the first, second, third and fourth magnetic levitation tracks (via paramagnetic base 1510), Moura does not disclose wherein the at least one substrate carrier comprises: a first magnet on a bottom surface of the substrate carrier and a second magnet on a top surface of the substrate carrier, wherein the first magnet is configured to interact with the first and third magnetic fields and the second magnet is configured to interact with the second and fourth magnetic fields.
However, Newman discloses wherein the at least one substrate carrier comprises: a first magnet on a bottom surface of the substrate carrier (460) and a second magnet on a top surface of the substrate carrier (passive mover 424), wherein the first magnet is configured to interact with the first and third magnetic fields and the second magnet is configured to interact with the second and fourth magnetic fields. It would have been obvious to a person with ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have magnets on the top and bottom of the substrate carrier in order to have more control over the substrate carrier’s movement.
With regards to claim 14, Moura and Newman disclose all the elements of claim 11 as outlined above. Moura does not at least one lift pin assembly configured to move the at least one substrate carrier in a vertical direction between the first and second magnetic levitation tracks.
However, Newman discloses at least one lift pin assembly (elevator unit 402a) configured to move the at least one substrate carrier in a vertical direction between the first and second magnetic levitation tracks. It would have been obvious to a person with ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have a lift assembly if necessary to increase throughput with different level tracks.
With regards to claim 15, Moura and Newman disclose all the elements of claim 10 as outlined above. Moura further disclosing a plurality of process chambers connected to the transfer chamber via a plurality of respective ports (Fig. 14).
With regards to claim 16, Moura and Newman disclose all the elements of claim 10 as outlined above. Moura wherein the transfer chamber is connected to a first load lock (116), wherein the first load lock is accessible to the at least one substrate carrier when engaged with the first magnetic levitation track (Fig. 14). Moura does not disclose the transfer chamber further comprising: a second load lock stacked above the first load lock, wherein the second load lock is accessible to the at least one substrate carrier when engaged with the second magnetic levitation track.
However, Newman discloses movement between load locks that are at different heights (P0039). It would have been obvious to a person with ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have the load locks be at different heights to increase throughput
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JESSICA LYNN BURKMAN whose telephone number is (571)272-5824. The examiner can normally be reached M-Th 7:30am to 6:00pm EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Michael McCullough can be reached at (571)272-7805. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/J.L.B./Examiner, Art Unit 3653
/MICHAEL MCCULLOUGH/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3653
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