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
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 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.
(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, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being Anticipated by Cai et al. (CN 109109471 A).
Regarding Claim 1, @@@ discloses:
An inkjet printer [0002], comprising:
a substrate support (10);
a print support (5 & 6) extending across the substrate support and supporting a printhead assembly (3) for dispensing material onto a substrate (2) supported on the substrate support [0025];
a first substrate holder (4 & 41) on a first side of the substrate support adjacent to a first substrate location on the substrate support to move a first substrate along the substrate support (Fig. 1 & Fig. 2) [0025]; and
a second substrate holder (4 & 41) on a second side of the substrate support opposite from the first substrate holder and adjacent to a second substrate location on the substrate support to move a second substrate along the substrate support (Fig. 1 & Fig. 2) [0025].
Regarding Claim 2, Cai discloses:
the printhead assembly is a first printhead assembly (3), and further comprising a second printhead assembly (3) supported on the print support (Fig. 1 & Fig. 2) [0025].
Regarding Claim 4, Cai discloses:
a first printhead management station (9 & 91) at the first side of the substrate support and a second printhead management station (9 & 91) at the second side of the substrate support [0004 & 0009 & 0025].
Regarding Claim 5, Cai discloses:
the print support comprises a utility tray (Fig. 1) [tray supporting drive mechanism (71)].
Regarding Claim 6, Cai discloses:
the printhead assembly is a first printhead assembly (3), and further comprising a second printhead assembly (3) supported on the print support (Fig. 1), a utility bundle (7) is coupled to each of the first printhead assembly and the second printhead assembly, and each utility bundle is supported by the utility tray (Fig. 1) [0025].
Regarding Claim 7, Cai discloses:
the substrate support has two unconnected substrate support surfaces (Fig. 1).
Regarding Claim 10, Cai discloses:
an imaging device (2) movably coupled to the print support to capture images without interrupting movement of the printhead assembly [0025].
Claim(s) 1, 2, 3, 7, 8, 9, and 18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being Anticipated by Weingartner (US 20090007811 A1).
Regarding Claim 1, Weingartner discloses:
An inkjet printer [abstract], comprising:
a substrate support (5 & 6 & 25);
a print support (16) extending across the substrate support and supporting a printhead assembly (14) for dispensing material onto a substrate (2) supported on the substrate support [0037];
a first substrate holder (10 & 11 & 12 & 42) on a first side of the substrate support adjacent to a first substrate location on the substrate support to move a first substrate along the substrate support (Fig. 2) [0035 & 0053 & 0056]; and
a second substrate holder (10 & 11 & 12 & 42) on a second side of the substrate support opposite from the first substrate holder and adjacent to a second substrate location on the substrate support to move a second substrate along the substrate support (Fig. 2) [0035 & 0053 & 0054 & 0056].
Regarding Claim 2, Weingartner discloses:
the printhead assembly is a first printhead assembly (14), and further comprising a second printhead assembly (14) supported on the print support (Fig. 2) [0037 & 0039 & 0040 & 0044].
Regarding Claim 3, Weingartner discloses:
a controller configured to control the first and second substrate holders and the first and second printhead assemblies to position two substrates on the substrate support concurrently for processing and to move the first and second printhead assemblies along the print support and dispense print material on the two substrates [0008 & 0017 & 0019 & 0020 & 0039 & 0047 & 0049 & 0050].
Regarding Claim 7, Weingartner discloses:
the substrate support has two unconnected substrate support surfaces (Fig. 1).
Regarding Claim 8, Weingartner discloses:
the substrate support surfaces define a gap, and further comprising a third substrate holder and a fourth substrate holder disposed in the gap (Fig. 1).
Regarding Claim 9, Weingartner discloses:
each substrate holder comprises a substrate contact detector (35) [0045 & 0049 & 0050 & 0054 & 0055].
Regarding Claim 18, Weingartner discloses:
A processing system (abstract), comprising:
a processing section (1) (Fig. 2), comprising:
a dual-substrate (2) inkjet printing chamber (3);
a dual-substrate processing chamber (33) [0044]; and
a dual-substrate transfer chamber (5 & 10 & 11 & 12 & 34 & 42) coupling the dual-substrate inkjet printing chamber and the dual-substrate processing chamber [0035 & 0044 & 0045 & 0046 & 0047 & 0048 & 0049 & 0050 & 0053 & 0054 & 0056]; and
a dual-substrate interface chamber (Fig. 1) coupled to the processing section to provide two substrates in side-by-side arrangement for processing in the processing section (Fig. 1) [0048 & 0049 & 0050 & 0051 & 0052 & 0053 & 0054 & 0055 & 0056].
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 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 of this title, 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) 3, 8, and 9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cai et al. (CN 109109471 A) in view of Weingartner (US 20090007811 A1).
Regarding Claim 3, Cai does not teach:
a controller configured to control the first and second substrate holders and the first and second printhead assemblies to position two substrates on the substrate support concurrently for processing and to move the first and second printhead assemblies along the print support and dispense print material on the two substrates.
Weingartner teaches:
a controller configured to control the first and second substrate holders and the first and second printhead assemblies to position two substrates on the substrate support concurrently for processing and to move the first and second printhead assemblies along the print support and dispense print material on the two substrates [0008 & 0017 & 0019 & 0020 & 0039 & 0047 & 0049 & 0050].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the inkjet printing apparatus having a substrate support and a print support extending across the substrate support and supporting a printhead assembly for dispensing material onto a substrate supported on the substrate support, a first substrate holder on a first side of the substrate support adjacent to a first substrate location on the substrate support to move a first substrate along the substrate support, a second substrate holder on a second side of the substrate support opposite from the first substrate holder and adjacent to a second substrate location on the substrate support to move a second substrate along the substrate support, where the printhead assembly is a first printhead assembly, and further comprising a second printhead assembly supported on the print support taught by Cai with the inkjet printing apparatus having a substrate support and a print support extending across the substrate support and supporting a printhead assembly for dispensing material onto a substrate supported on the substrate support, a first substrate holder on a first side of the substrate support adjacent to a first substrate location on the substrate support to move a first substrate along the substrate support, a second substrate holder on a second side of the substrate support opposite from the first substrate holder and adjacent to a second substrate location on the substrate support to move a second substrate along the substrate support, the printhead assembly is a first printhead assembly, and further comprising a second printhead assembly supported on the print support where a controller configured to control the first and second substrate holders and the first and second printhead assemblies to position two substrates on the substrate support concurrently for processing and to move the first and second printhead assemblies along the print support and dispense print material on the two substrates taught by Weingartner in order to provide a means for providing automated control of a print system which allows for the automated control of a system for basic pattern repetition which allows for increased throughput of a system by automating basic controls thereby allowing for increased throughput in the system over human control.
Regarding Claim 8, Cai does not teach:
the substrate support surfaces define a gap, and further comprising a third substrate holder and a fourth substrate holder disposed in the gap.
Weingartner teaches:
An inkjet printer [abstract], comprising:
a substrate support (5 & 6 & 25);
a print support (16) extending across the substrate support and supporting a printhead assembly (14) for dispensing material onto a substrate (2) supported on the substrate support [0037];
a first substrate holder (10 & 11 & 12 & 42) on a first side of the substrate support adjacent to a first substrate location on the substrate support to move a first substrate along the substrate support (Fig. 2) [0035 & 0053 & 0056];
a second substrate holder (10 & 11 & 12 & 42) on a second side of the substrate support opposite from the first substrate holder and adjacent to a second substrate location on the substrate support to move a second substrate along the substrate support (Fig. 2) [0035 & 0053 & 0054 & 0056];
the substrate support surfaces define a gap, and further comprising a third substrate holder and a fourth substrate holder disposed in the gap;
the substrate support has two unconnected substrate support surfaces (Fig. 1); and
the substrate support surfaces define a gap, and further comprising a third substrate holder and a fourth substrate holder disposed in the gap (Fig. 1).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the inkjet printing apparatus having a substrate support and a print support extending across the substrate support and supporting a printhead assembly for dispensing material onto a substrate supported on the substrate support, a first substrate holder on a first side of the substrate support adjacent to a first substrate location on the substrate support to move a first substrate along the substrate support, a second substrate holder on a second side of the substrate support opposite from the first substrate holder and adjacent to a second substrate location on the substrate support to move a second substrate along the substrate support, where the printhead assembly is a first printhead assembly, and further comprising a second printhead assembly supported on the print support taught by Cai with the inkjet printing apparatus having a substrate support and a print support extending across the substrate support and supporting a printhead assembly for dispensing material onto a substrate supported on the substrate support, a first substrate holder on a first side of the substrate support adjacent to a first substrate location on the substrate support to move a first substrate along the substrate support, a second substrate holder on a second side of the substrate support opposite from the first substrate holder and adjacent to a second substrate location on the substrate support to move a second substrate along the substrate support, the printhead assembly is a first printhead assembly, and further comprising a second printhead assembly supported on the print support where the substrate support surfaces define a gap, and further comprising a third substrate holder and a fourth substrate holder disposed in the gap taught by Weingartner in order to provide a means for processing substrates having an increased throughput without increasing the footprint of the apparatus.
Regarding Claim 9, Cai does not teach:
each substrate holder comprises a substrate contact detector.
Weingartner teaches:
each substrate holder comprises a substrate contact detector (35) [0045 & 0049 & 0050 & 0054 & 0055].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the inkjet printing apparatus having a substrate support and a print support extending across the substrate support and supporting a printhead assembly for dispensing material onto a substrate supported on the substrate support, a first substrate holder on a first side of the substrate support adjacent to a first substrate location on the substrate support to move a first substrate along the substrate support, a second substrate holder on a second side of the substrate support opposite from the first substrate holder and adjacent to a second substrate location on the substrate support to move a second substrate along the substrate support, where the printhead assembly is a first printhead assembly, and further comprising a second printhead assembly supported on the print support taught by Cai with the inkjet printing apparatus having a substrate support and a print support extending across the substrate support and supporting a printhead assembly for dispensing material onto a substrate supported on the substrate support, a first substrate holder on a first side of the substrate support adjacent to a first substrate location on the substrate support to move a first substrate along the substrate support, a second substrate holder on a second side of the substrate support opposite from the first substrate holder and adjacent to a second substrate location on the substrate support to move a second substrate along the substrate support, the printhead assembly is a first printhead assembly, and further comprising a second printhead assembly supported on the print support, the substrate support surfaces define a gap, and further comprising a third substrate holder and a fourth substrate holder disposed in the gap taught where each substrate holder comprises a substrate contact detector by Weingartner in order to provide a means for processing substrates having an increased throughput without increasing the footprint of the apparatus with a means for automatic position confirmation for the substrates in order to prevent process failure due to workpiece mispositioning.
Claim(s) 11, 12, 13, 15, 16, 17, 19, 20, 21, and 22 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Weingartner (US 20090007811 A1) in view of Ko et al. (US 20150314325 A1).
Regarding Claim 11, Weingartner teaches:
An inkjet printer [abstract], comprising:
a substrate support (5 & 6 & 18);
the substrate support comprising a processing zone (18) having suction openings (22) to control a pressure of the gas support system in the processing zone [0039], the suction openings being arranged in two groups that define a central gap in the processing zone (Fig. 2) [0039];
a print support (16) extending across the substrate support at the processing zone (Fig. 1 & Fig. 2) and supporting a printhead assembly (14) for dispensing material onto a substrate (2) supported on the substrate support in the processing zone [0037];
a first substrate holder (10 & 11 & 12 & 42) on a first side of the substrate support adjacent to a first substrate location on the substrate support to move a first substrate along the substrate support (Fig. 2) [0035 & 0053 & 0056]; and
a second substrate holder (10 & 11 & 12 & 42) on a second side of the substrate support opposite from the first substrate holder and adjacent to a second substrate location on the substrate support to move a second substrate along the substrate support (Fig. 2) [0035 & 0053 & 0054 & 0056].
Weingartner does not teach:
a gas floatation system to provide a gas cushion.
Ko teaches:
A printing system (2000) [0029 & 0030 & 0045], comprising:
a substrate support having a gas floatation system to provide a gas cushion [abstract & 0020 & 0028 & 0034 & 0037 & 0041 & 0042 & 0043 & 0044 & 0052 & 0053 & 0054 & 0058], the substrate support comprising a processing zone having suction openings to control a pressure of the gas cushion in the processing zone [0068 & 0087 & 0088 & 0123 & 0144];
a print support (2130) extending across the substrate support at the processing zone (Fig. 1) and supporting a printhead assembly (2501) for dispensing material onto a substrate [0026 & 0027 & 0029 & 0033] supported on the substrate support in the processing zone [0026 & 0027 & 0029 & 0033];
a substrate holder on the substrate support to move a substrate along the substrate support [0042].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the inkjet printer having a substrate support, the substrate support comprising a processing zone having suction openings to control a pressure of a gas support system in the processing zone, the suction openings being arranged in two groups that define a central gap in the processing zone, a print support extending across the substrate support at the processing zone and supporting a printhead assembly for dispensing material onto a substrate supported on the substrate support in the processing zone a first substrate holder on a first side of the substrate support adjacent to a first substrate location on the substrate support to move a first substrate along the substrate support, and a second substrate holder on a second side of the substrate support opposite from the first substrate holder and adjacent to a second substrate location on the substrate support to move a second substrate along the substrate support taught by Weingartner with the printing system, having a substrate support having a gas floatation system to provide a gas cushion, the substrate support comprising a processing zone having suction openings to control a pressure of the gas cushion in the processing zone, a print support extending across the substrate support at the processing zone and supporting a printhead assembly for dispensing material onto a substrate supported on the substrate support in the processing zone, and a substrate holder on the substrate support to move a substrate along the substrate support taught by Ko in order to provide a support system for transferring substrates which reduces vibration in the transfer process to prevent damage to the substrate during the transfer process.
Regarding Claim 12, Weingartner teaches:
the printhead assembly is a first printhead assembly (14), and further comprising a second printhead assembly (14) supported on the print support (Fig. 2) [0037 & 0039 & 0040 & 0044].
Regarding Claim 13, Weingartner teaches:
a controller configured to control the first and second substrate holders and the first and second printhead assemblies to position two substrates on the substrate support concurrently for processing and to move the first and second printhead assemblies along the print support and dispense print material on the two substrates [0008 & 0017 & 0019 & 0020 & 0039 & 0047 & 0049 & 0050].
Regarding Claim 15, Weingartner teaches:
a partition (42) disposed in the gap (Fig. 1).
Regarding Claim 16, Weingartner teaches:
the substrate support has two unconnected substrate support surfaces (5 & 6), and further comprising a third substrate holder (17) and a fourth substrate holder (18) disposed between the two substrate support surfaces (Fig. 1).
Regarding Claim 17, Weingartner does not teach:
the gas floatation system provides the gas cushion to both support surfaces.
Cai teaches:
the gas floatation system provides the gas cushion to both support surfaces [abstract & 0020 & 0028 & 0034 & 0037 & 0041 & 0042 & 0043 & 0044 & 0052 & 0053 & 0054 & 0058].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the inkjet printer having a substrate support, the substrate support comprising a processing zone having suction openings to control a pressure of a gas support system in the processing zone, the suction openings being arranged in two groups that define a central gap in the processing zone, a print support extending across the substrate support at the processing zone and supporting a printhead assembly for dispensing material onto a substrate supported on the substrate support in the processing zone a first substrate holder on a first side of the substrate support adjacent to a first substrate location on the substrate support to move a first substrate along the substrate support, and a second substrate holder on a second side of the substrate support opposite from the first substrate holder and adjacent to a second substrate location on the substrate support to move a second substrate along the substrate support, where the substrate support has two unconnected substrate support surfaces, and further comprising a third substrate holder and a fourth substrate holder disposed between the two substrate support surfaces taught by Weingartner with the printing system, having a substrate support having a gas floatation system to provide a gas cushion, the substrate support comprising a processing zone having suction openings to control a pressure of the gas cushion in the processing zone, a print support extending across the substrate support at the processing zone and supporting a printhead assembly for dispensing material onto a substrate supported on the substrate support in the processing zone, and a substrate holder on the substrate support to move a substrate along the substrate support, where the gas floatation system provides the gas cushion to both support surfaces taught by Ko in order to provide a support system for transferring substrates which reduces vibration in the transfer process to prevent damage to the substrate during the transfer process.
Regarding Claim 19, Weingartner teaches:
the dual-substrate input section (5) for input of single substrates to the processing system [0034 & 0035].
Weingartner does not teach:
the dual-substrate interface chamber is part of an input section that has a load-lock chamber for input of single substrates to the processing system.
Ko teaches:
A processing system (2700) [0041 & 0046 & 0047], comprising:
a processing section (1400B & 2600A & 2600B) (Fig. 1) [0029 & 0030 & 0045 & 0046 & 0047], comprising:
a substrate inkjet printing chamber (2000) [0029 & 0030];
a substrate processing chamber (3000) [0034 & 0035 & 0036]; and
a substrate transfer chamber (1400) coupling the substrate inkjet printing chamber and the substrate processing chamber [0035 & 0044 & 0045 & 0046 & 0047 & 0048 & 0049 & 0050 & 0053 & 0054 & 0056];
a substrate interface chamber (1100) coupled to the processing section to provide substrates for processing in the processing section (Fig. 2) [0047 & 0048 & 0049 & 0050]; and
the dual-substrate interface chamber is part of an input section that has a load-lock chamber for input of single substrates to the processing system [0047].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the processing system, having a processing section, with a dual-substrate inkjet printing chamber, a dual-substrate processing chamber, and a dual-substrate transfer chamber coupling the dual-substrate inkjet printing chamber and the dual-substrate processing chamber, and a dual-substrate interface chamber coupled to the processing section to provide two substrates in side-by-side arrangement for processing in the processing section where the dual-substrate input section for input of single substrates to the processing system taught by Weingartner with the processing system having a processing section, with a substrate inkjet printing chamber, a substrate processing chamber, a substrate transfer chamber coupling the substrate inkjet printing chamber and the substrate processing chamber, a substrate interface chamber coupled to the processing section to provide substrates for processing in the processing section, where the dual-substrate interface chamber is part of an input section that has a load-lock chamber for input of single substrates to the processing system taught by Ko in order to provide a substrate processing means with a sanitized environment to prevent fouling of the processing due to contamination.
Regarding Claim 20, Weingartner teaches:
the section is an input section [0034 & 0035], and further comprising an output section (6) for output of single substrates from the processing system [0034 & 0035].
Weingartner does not teach:
the load-lock chamber is an input chamber, an output load-lock chamber for output of single substrates from the processing system, wherein the output section further comprises a singulation chamber coupled between the processing section and the output load-lock chamber, the singulation chamber having a movable substrate support to interface with a substrate unloader configured to manipulate a single substrate.
Ko teaches:
the load-lock chamber is an input chamber (1000A) [0047], and further comprising an output section with an output load-lock chamber (1100B) for output of single substrates from the processing system [0047 & 0048 & 0049 & 0050], wherein the output section further comprises a singulation chamber (1400B) coupled between the processing section and the output load-lock chamber (Fig. 2), the singulation chamber having a movable substrate support (1420) to interface with a substrate unloader configured to manipulate a single substrate [0041 & 0044 & 0046].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the processing system, having a processing section, with a dual-substrate inkjet printing chamber, a dual-substrate processing chamber, and a dual-substrate transfer chamber coupling the dual-substrate inkjet printing chamber and the dual-substrate processing chamber, and a dual-substrate interface chamber coupled to the processing section to provide two substrates in side-by-side arrangement for processing in the processing section where the dual-substrate input section for input of single substrates to the processing system, where the section is an input section, and further comprising an output section for output of single substrates from the processing system taught by Weingartner with the processing system having a processing section, with a substrate inkjet printing chamber, a substrate processing chamber, a substrate transfer chamber coupling the substrate inkjet printing chamber and the substrate processing chamber, a substrate interface chamber coupled to the processing section to provide substrates for processing in the processing section, where the dual-substrate interface chamber is part of an input section that has a load-lock chamber for input of single substrates to the processing system, where the load-lock chamber is an input chamber, and further comprising an output section with an output load-lock chamber for output of single substrates from the processing system, wherein the output section further comprises a singulation chamber coupled between the processing section and the output load-lock chamber, the singulation chamber having a movable substrate support to interface with a substrate unloader configured to manipulate a single substrate taught by Ko in order to provide a substrate processing means with a sanitized environment to prevent fouling of the processing due to contamination.
Regarding Claim 21, Weingartner teaches:
the dual-substrate interface chamber is part of an input-output section with a dual-substrate input chamber (5) and a dual-substrate output chamber (6), and with a dual-substrate I/O chamber (3) to transfer substrate between the dual-substrate interface chamber and the dual-substrate input and output load-lock chambers (Fig. 1 & Fig. 2) [0038 & 0039 & 0042 & 0044].
Weingartner does not teach:
a dual-substrate input load-lock chamber and a dual-substrate output load-lock chamber.
Ko teaches:
the dual-substrate interface chamber is part of an input-output section with a dual-substrate input load-lock chamber (1100A) [0047] and a dual-substrate output load-lock chamber (1100B) [0047 & 0048 & 0049 & 0050], and with a dual-substrate I/O chamber (1400B) to transfer substrate between the dual-substrate interface chamber and the dual-substrate input and output load-lock chambers [0046 & 0047 & 0051].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the processing system, having a processing section, with a dual-substrate inkjet printing chamber, a dual-substrate processing chamber, and a dual-substrate transfer chamber coupling the dual-substrate inkjet printing chamber and the dual-substrate processing chamber, and the dual-substrate interface chamber is part of an input-output section with a dual-substrate input chamber and a dual-substrate output chamber (6), and with a dual-substrate I/O chamber to transfer substrate between the dual-substrate interface chamber and the dual-substrate input and output load-lock chambers taught by Weingartner with the processing system having a processing section, with a substrate inkjet printing chamber, a substrate processing chamber, a substrate transfer chamber coupling the substrate inkjet printing chamber and the substrate processing chamber, a substrate interface chamber coupled to the processing section to provide substrates for processing in the processing section, where the dual-substrate interface chamber is part of an input-output section with a dual-substrate input load-lock chamber and a dual-substrate output load-lock chamber, and with a dual-substrate I/O chamber to transfer substrate between the dual-substrate interface chamber and the dual-substrate input and output load-lock chambers taught by Ko in order to provide a substrate processing means with a sanitized environment to prevent fouling of the processing due to contamination.
Regarding Claim 22, Weingartner does not teach:
the dual-substrate interface chamber has a rotatable substrate support.
Ko teaches:
the dual-substrate interface chamber has a rotatable substrate support (2732) [0041 & 0044 & 0046].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the processing system, having a processing section, with a dual-substrate inkjet printing chamber, a dual-substrate processing chamber, and a dual-substrate transfer chamber coupling the dual-substrate inkjet printing chamber and the dual-substrate processing chamber, and the dual-substrate interface chamber is part of an input-output section with a dual-substrate input chamber and a dual-substrate output chamber (6), and with a dual-substrate I/O chamber to transfer substrate between the dual-substrate interface chamber and the dual-substrate input and output load-lock chambers taught by Weingartner with the processing system having a processing section, with a substrate inkjet printing chamber, a substrate processing chamber, a substrate transfer chamber coupling the substrate inkjet printing chamber and the substrate processing chamber, a substrate interface chamber coupled to the processing section to provide substrates for processing in the processing section, where the dual-substrate interface chamber is part of an input-output section with a dual-substrate input load-lock chamber and a dual-substrate output load-lock chamber, and with a dual-substrate I/O chamber to transfer substrate between the dual-substrate interface chamber and the dual-substrate input and output load-lock chambers taught by Ko in order to provide a substrate processing means with a sanitized environment to prevent fouling of the processing due to contamination with a design capable of accommodating expansion in the system in various directions to improve the flexibility of design to meet the available space.
Claim(s) 14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Weingartner (US 20090007811 A1) in view of Ko et al. (US 20150314325 A1) as applied to Claim 11 above, further in view of Cai et al. (CN 109109471 A).
Regarding Claim 14, Weingartner and Ko do not teach:
a first printhead management station at the first side of the substrate support and a second printhead management station at the second side of the substrate support.
Cai teaches:
An inkjet printer [0002], comprising:
a substrate support (10);
the substrate support comprising a processing zone (Fig. 1) having suction openings [0010 & 0025] to control a pressure of the gas support system in the processing zone [0010 & 0025];
a print support (5 & 6) extending across the substrate support at the processing zone (Fig. 1 & Fig. 2 )and supporting a printhead assembly (3) for dispensing material onto a substrate (2) supported on the substrate support [0025];
a first substrate holder (4 & 41) on a first side of the substrate support adjacent to a first substrate location on the substrate support to move a first substrate along the substrate support (Fig. 1 & Fig. 2) [0025]; and
a second substrate holder (4 & 41) on a second side of the substrate support opposite from the first substrate holder and adjacent to a second substrate location on the substrate support to move a second substrate along the substrate support (Fig. 1 & Fig. 2) [0025], and
a first printhead management station (9 & 91) at the first side of the substrate support and a second printhead management station (9 & 91) at the second side of the substrate support [0004 & 0009 & 0025].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the inkjet printer having a substrate support, the substrate support comprising a processing zone having suction openings to control a pressure of a gas support system in the processing zone, the suction openings being arranged in two groups that define a central gap in the processing zone, a print support extending across the substrate support at the processing zone and supporting a printhead assembly for dispensing material onto a substrate supported on the substrate support in the processing zone a first substrate holder on a first side of the substrate support adjacent to a first substrate location on the substrate support to move a first substrate along the substrate support, and a second substrate holder on a second side of the substrate support opposite from the first substrate holder and adjacent to a second substrate location on the substrate support to move a second substrate along the substrate support taught by Weingartner in view of Ko with the printing system, having a substrate support having a gas floatation system to provide a gas cushion, the substrate support comprising a processing zone having suction openings to control a pressure of the gas cushion in the processing zone, a print support extending across the substrate support at the processing zone and supporting a printhead assembly for dispensing material onto a substrate supported on the substrate support in the processing zone, and a substrate holder on the substrate support to move a substrate along the substrate support, where a first printhead management station (9 & 91) at the first side of the substrate support and a second printhead management station (9 & 91) at the second side of the substrate support taught by Cai in order to provide a support system for processing substrates with a means for monitoring and servicing the processing heads in order to prevent failure in the processing system due to processing head faults.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Patent publications US 7363856 B1, US 20170217167 A1, US 11090947 B2, and US 12434492 B2 have been cited by the examiner as pertinent to the applicant’s disclosure because they teach: substrate printing systems with infeed and outfeed support systems.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BRENDAN P TIGHE whose telephone number is 571-272-4872. The Examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Thursday, 7:00-5:30 EST
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, SAUL RODRIGUEZ can be reached on 571-272-7097. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/BRENDAN P TIGHE/Examiner, Art Unit 3652
/SAUL RODRIGUEZ/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3652
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