DETAILED ACTION
This Office Action is in response to the Applicant’s Communication filed on 09/17/2024. In virtue of the communication:
Claims 1-12 are pending in the instant application.
Claims 1-12 are currently amended.
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
The references cited in the Information Disclosure Statement(s) (IDS(s)) filed on 09/17/2024 and 07/08/2025 have been considered by the examiner.
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claim Objections
Claim 8 is objected to because of the following informalities:
In claim 8, line 1, “A” should be changed to --The-- before “method for manufacturing”.
Appropriate correction is required.
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 9 and 10 are 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.
In claim 9, line 6, the limitation “a plasma treatment device” is not clear. It is not understood that “a plasma treatment device” in line 6 is the same or different with “a plasma treatment device” as cited in line 2 of claim 6.
In claim 10, line 2, the limitation “a plasma treatment device” is not clear. It is not understood that “a plasma treatment device” in line 2 of claim 10 is the same or different with “a plasma treatment device” as cited in line 2 of claim 6.
Clarification is required.
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) 1-7 and 9-12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ishikawa (U.S. Pub. 2023/0114319) in view of HOTTA (U.S. Pub. 2020/0075532 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Ishikawa discloses a heat transfer member (13, Figs. 1-3 and 6) constituted of a fired body (par [0111]) of a molded object (hole 11, Figs. 1-3 and 6) including a fluorine-based resin or a fluorine-based elastomer (Abstract, par [0049]).
Ishikawa does not teach a hardness measured using a type AM durometer conforming to JIS K 6253-3:2012 is lower by 7 or greater than a hardness of the molded object.
However, HOTTA teaches that “The silicone rubber used in this case had a rubber hardness of 30 when the rubber hardness was measured with a type A durometer in accordance with JIS K 6253-3:2012” (par [0161]), so adjusting the hardness measurement of the heat transfer member should be well known in the art by engineering design choice.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having skill in the art before the filing date of the invention to employ the apparatus of Ishikawa with the hardness measurement as taught by HOTTA in order to provide the high flexibility of the heat transfer member for substrate process improvement.
Regarding claim 2, Ishikawa/HOTTA discloses the heat transfer member wherein the mold object includes a filler (holes 11, Figs. 1-3 and 6, par [0049] of Ishikawa).
Regarding claim 3, Ishikawa/HOTTA discloses the heat transfer member wherein the filler is at least one kind of inorganic materials selected from the group consisting of alumina, aluminum nitride, boron nitride, and silicon (par [0051] of Ishikawa).
Regarding claim 4, Ishikawa discloses a heat transfer member (13, Figs. 1-3 and 6) constituted of a molded product (hole 11, Figs. 1-3 and 6) including a fluorine-based resin or a fluorine-based elastomer (Abstract, par [0049]).
Ishikawa does not teach an amount of change in hardness measured using a type AM durometer conforming to JIS K 6253-3:2012 from before heating after heating at 250° C. for 25 hours is within a range of ±5.
However, HOTTA teaches that “The silicone rubber used in this case had a rubber hardness of 30 when the rubber hardness was measured with a type A durometer in accordance with JIS K 6253-3:2012” (par [0161] of HOTTA) and Ishikawa teach “the thickness of the heat transfer layer was 0.3 mm, the radical irradiation reduced rate was 0% by mass, the heating reduced rate when heated at 240° C. for 5 hours was 0.8% by mass, and the heating reduced rate when heated at 240° C. for 75 hours was 3.2% by mass” (par [0111] of Ishikawa), so adjusting the hardness measurement of the heat transfer member should be well known in the art by engineering design choice.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having skill in the art before the filing date of the invention to employ the apparatus of Ishikawa with the hardness measurement as taught by HOTTA in order to provide the high flexibility of the heat transfer member for substrate process improvement.
Regarding claim 5, Ishikawa/HOTTA discloses the heat transfer member wherein the mold object includes a filler (holes 11, Figs. 1-3 and 6, par [0049] of Ishikawa).
Regarding claim 6, Ishikawa/HOTTA discloses the heat transfer member wherein the filler is at least one kind of inorganic materials selected from the group consisting of alumina, aluminum nitride, boron nitride, and silicon (par [0051] of Ishikawa).
Regarding claim 7, Ishikawa discloses method for manufacturing a heat transfer member (13, Figs. 1-3 and 6) including a fluorine-based resin or a fluorine-based elastomer (Abstract, par [0049]).
a molding step of producing a molded object (holes 11, Figs. 1-3 and 6) by heating and molding a material including the fluorine-based resin or the fluorine-based elastomer (pars [0058], [0064]),
a firing step of firing the molded object (When the filler content is 50% by mass or more (the content of the matrix binder is less than 50% by mass), the thermal conductivity of the heat transfer layer 13 is improved, and when the content of the filler is 90% by mass or less (the content of the matrix binder is more than 10% by mass), the sheet formability is improved, par [0052]) and producing a softened fired product (layer 13, Figs. 1-3 and 6),
when the heat transfer member is constituted of the softened fired product (layer 13, Figs. 1-3 and 6).
Ishikawa does not teach a hardness measured using a type AM durometer conforming to JIS K 6253-3:2012 is lower by 7 or greater than a hardness of the molded object.
However, HOTTA teaches that “The silicone rubber used in this case had a rubber hardness of 30 when the rubber hardness was measured with a type A durometer in accordance with JIS K 6253-3:2012” (par [0161]), so adjusting the hardness measurement of the heat transfer member should be well known in the art by engineering design choice.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having skill in the art before the filing date of the invention to employ the apparatus of Ishikawa with the hardness measurement as taught by HOTTA in order to provide the high flexibility of the heat transfer member for substrate process improvement.
Regarding claim 9, Ishikawa/HOOTA discloses a plasma treatment device comprising: an electrode (12, Figs. 3 and 6 of Ishikawa) for a plasma treatment device (Figs. 1-6 of Ishikawa) having vent holes (11, Figs. 1-3 and 6 of Ishikawa) allowing gas for generating plasma to pass therethrough (from gas supply tube 31, Figs. 3 and 6 of Ishikawa); and a cooling plate (15, Figs. 3 and 6 of Ishikawa), wherein the heat transfer member (13, Figs. 3 and 6 of Ishikawa) is disposed in at least a part between the electrode (12) for a plasma treatment device and the cooling plate (15) (Figs. 3 and 6 of Ishikawa).
Regarding claim 10, Ishikawa/HOOTA discloses the plasma treatment device wherein the electrode (12) for a plasma treatment device and the heat transfer member (13) are directly bonded to each other (Figs. 3 and 6 of Ishikawa).
Regarding claim 11, Ishikawa/HOOTA discloses a plasma treatment device comprising: a focus ring (23, Fig. 6 of Ishikawa); and a support stand (20, Fig. 6 of Ishikawa) supporting the focus ring, wherein the heat transfer member (24, Fig. 6 of Ishikawa) is disposed in at least a part between the focus ring (23) and the support stand (20) (Fig. 6 of Ishikawa).
Regarding claim 12, Ishikawa/HOOTA discloses the plasma treatment device wherein the focus ring (23) and the heat transfer member (24) are directly bonded to each other (Fig. 6 of Ishikawa).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 8 is 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.
Inquiry
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JIMMY T VU whose telephone number is (571)272-1832. The examiner can normally be reached on 9:00 AM - 6:00 PM.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Alexander H. Taningco can be reached on 571-272-8048. The fax phone numbers for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned are 571-273-8300.
Any inquiry of a general nature or relating to the status of this application or proceeding should be directed to the receptionist whose telephone number is 571-272-2800.
/JIMMY T VU/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2845
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