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
REQUIREMENT FOR UNITY OF INVENTION
As provided in 37 CFR 1.475(a), a national stage application shall relate to one invention only or to a group of inventions so linked as to form a single general inventive concept (“requirement of unity of invention”). Where a group of inventions is claimed in a national stage application, the requirement of unity of invention shall be fulfilled only when there is a technical relationship among those inventions involving one or more of the same or corresponding special technical features. The expression “special technical features” shall mean those technical features that define a contribution which each of the claimed inventions, considered as a whole, makes over the prior art.
The determination whether a group of inventions is so linked as to form a single general inventive concept shall be made without regard to whether the inventions are claimed in separate claims or as alternatives within a single claim. See 37 CFR 1.475(e).
When Claims Are Directed to Multiple Categories of Inventions:
As provided in 37 CFR 1.475 (b), a national stage application containing claims to different categories of invention will be considered to have unity of invention if the claims are drawn only to one of the following combinations of categories:
(1) A product and a process specially adapted for the manufacture of said product; or
(2) A product and a process of use of said product; or
(3) A product, a process specially adapted for the manufacture of the said product, and a use of the said product; or
(4) A process and an apparatus or means specifically designed for carrying out the said process; or
(5) A product, a process specially adapted for the manufacture of the said product, and an apparatus or means specifically designed for carrying out the said process.
Otherwise, unity of invention might not be present. See 37 CFR 1.475 (c).
Restriction is required under 35 U.S.C. 121 and 372.
This application contains the following inventions or groups of inventions which are not so linked as to form a single general inventive concept under PCT Rule 13.1.
In accordance with 37 CFR 1.499, applicant is required, in reply to this action, to elect a single invention to which the claims must be restricted.
Group I, claim(s) 6-9, drawn to a method for growing a diamond layer.
Group II, claim(s) 10 and 11, drawn to a microwave plasma CVD apparatus.
The groups of inventions listed above do not relate to a single general inventive concept under PCT Rule 13.1 because, under PCT Rule 13.2, they lack the same or corresponding special technical features for the following reasons:
Groups I and II lack unity of invention because even though the inventions of these groups require the technical feature of a microwave plasma CVD apparatus comprising at least one mechanism for moving a substrate in a direction parallel to a surface of the substrate and a mechanism for moving an irradiation position of microwave plasma, this technical feature is not a special technical feature as it does not make a contribution over the prior art in view of Liehr (U.S. Patent # 5,900,065). Liehr teaches a microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition apparatus for depositing a diamond layer on a substrate (Abstract) wherein the apparatus comprised a mechanism in the form of a conveyor 2 which moved a substrate/pane 3 in a direction parallel to the surface of the substrate 3 in a direction A (Column 2 Lines 17-43 and Figure). Therefore, no special technical feature exists between Groups I and II.
During a telephone conversation with Robert Siminski on February 12, 2026 a provisional election was made with traverse to prosecute the invention of Group I, claims 6-9. Affirmation of this election must be made by applicant in replying to this Office action. Claims 10 and 11 are withdrawn from further consideration by the examiner, 37 CFR 1.142(b), as being drawn to a non-elected invention.
Applicant is reminded that upon the cancelation of claims to a non-elected invention, the inventorship must be corrected in compliance with 37 CFR 1.48(a) if one or more of the currently named inventors is no longer an inventor of at least one claim remaining in the application. A request to correct inventorship under 37 CFR 1.48(a) must be accompanied by an application data sheet in accordance with 37 CFR 1.76 that identifies each inventor by his or her legal name and by the processing fee required under 37 CFR 1.17(i).
Drawings
Figure 5 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 § 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.
Claim 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Liehr et al (U.S. Patent # 5,900,065).
In the case of claim 6, Liehr teaches a method for depositing a layer of polycrystalline diamond on a substrate by microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition in a continuous process (Abstract and Column 1 Lines 7-13 and 52-57). The process of Liehr comprised placing a substrate in the form of a pane 3 in a reaction vessel/vacuum chamber 4 of a CVD apparatus. Liehr teaches a step of introducing raw material gas/process gas into the vessel and using the gas to form a microwave plasma to grow a diamond layer on the substrate surface by irradiating the substrate 3 with the microwave plasma. Liehr teaches that as the diamond layer is being grown/deposited the substrate 3 was moved in a direction parallel to the surface of the substrate by a conveyor 2. (Column 2 Lines 17-43, Column 2 Line 59 through Column 3 Line 16 and Figure)
Claims 6 and 8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Shatas (U.S. Patent # 5,387,288).
In the case of claims 6 and 8, Shatas teaches a method for plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition of a diamond layer on a substrate wherein an irradiation source for plasma in the form of an antenna was moved relative to the substrate during deposition (Abstract and Column 3 Line 50 through Column 4 Line 2). Specifically, Shatas teaches method for growing/depositing a polycrystalline diamond layer on a silicon substrate (Column 8 Lines 63-68). Shatas teaches having placed a substrate 142 in a reaction vessel/process chamber 114 of the CVD apparatus (Column 9 Lines 25-37 and Figure 2). Shatas teaches that once the substrate is loaded into the chamber process gases are introduced into the chamber (Column 7 Lines 28-47). Microwave energy was then used to ignite a plasma which was irradiated onto the substrate to grow the diamond layer and as the diamond layer was being grown/deposited the irradiation position of the microwave plasma in the form of a plasma ball 144 was moved in a direction parallel to the surface of the substrate by scanning the antenna across the surface of the substrate 142 in the x-y plane (Column 10 Line 63 through Column 11 Line 25).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 7 and 9 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:
Liehr teaches that the process for growing the diamond layer comprised passing the substrate through a first coating zone Z1 wherein diamond nucleation was conducted by hot filament CVD followed by passing the substrate though a second zone Z2 wherein the diamond layer was deposited by microwave plasma CVD (Column 2 Line 59 through Column 3 Line 20 and Figure). However, Liehr does not fairly teach or suggest having first grown a diamond layer on a substrate in a microwave plasma CVD apparatus and then transferring the substrate with the diamond layer into a reaction vessel of a hot filament CVD apparatus to further grow a diamond layer on the substrate by hot filament CVD.
Conclusion
Claims 6 and 8 have been rejected and claims 7 and 9 have been objected. Claims 10 and 11 are withdrawn. No claims were allowed.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MICHAEL P WIECZOREK whose telephone number is (571)270-5341. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday, 6:00 AM - 3:30 PM.
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, Michael Cleveland can be reached at (571)272-1418. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/MICHAEL P WIECZOREK/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1712