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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group I claims 1-3 and 5 in the reply filed on 7/28/26 is acknowledged.
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.
Claim(s) 1-2 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a1) as being anticipated by Uoe et al 2013/0269303 A1.
1. (Original) A holding member 100 that contains alpha-type alumina Par.0024 as a main component and that is configured to hold a target object,
wherein the holding member has a holding surface that is a surface on which the target object is to be held,
wherein the holding surface has a projection 70 c and a recess 70 a formed thereon and therein, and wherein a bottom surface that defines a bottom portion of the recess contains gamma- type alumina Par.0024.
2. (Original) The holding member in accordance with claim 1, wherein the bottom surface further includes an amorphous portion. The bottom is amourphous by definition because the bottom holds no pattern
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3 and 5 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: Criticality is given for the range of 5 to 20 percent for the specific bottom part relativity to the top whereby to select that range for those parts is NOT simply a matter of design choice of two different materials.
(The reason and criticality shown in the specification Par.0008) The holding member in the process of a thermal cycle. On the other hand, gamma-type alumina has a lower plasma resistance than alpha-type alumina, and thus, when an excessive amount of gamma-type alumina is contained in the bottom surface of the recess, gamma-type alumina itself can be a generation source of particles. In accordance with this configuration, the proportion of gamma-type alumina contained in the bottom surface of the recess is less than 5%. Thus, among the thermal stress that is generated in the holding member in the process of the thermal cycle, the thermal stress that is generated in the bottom surface of the recess can be reduced by the gamma-type alumina while the gamma-type alumina is suppressed from becoming a generation source of particles. Therefore, generation of microcracks in the bottom surface of the recess due to thermal stress can be suppressed, and thus, generation of particles can be suppressed.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. The 892 form discloses prior art being made of record such as Fodor et al 5531835 ; Loy et al 2013/0075739 A1; and Potesz et al 2020/0292947 A1.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to LEE D WILSON whose telephone number is (571)272-4499. The examiner can normally be reached M-TH 6;30-4;30.
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, BRIAN KELLER can be reached at 571-272-8548. 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.
LEE D. WILSON
Examiner
Art Unit 3723
Ldw
/LEE D WILSON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3723 August 18, 2026
Prosecution Insights