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 .
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)(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) 1-7, 11, and 16-17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by SHIMIZU et al. (USPGPUB 2023/0311306).
Regarding claim 1, SHIMIZU et al. disclose a substrate transfer apparatus comprising:
a hand (3) that holds and transfers a plurality of substrates (W) one by one from a carrier (7) that stores the substrates in horizontal postures (see Figure 4), with a predetermined interval between the substrates in a vertical direction (see paragraph [0055] and Figure 4);
a receiving unit (see “a memory unit” in paragraph [0053] or see “a memory unit” in paragraph [0053],6,6x or 6 or 6c or 6,6x) that receives substrate information corresponding to each of the substrates held in the carrier (see paragraph [0048] and/or [0077]); and
a control unit (9) that controls the hand, wherein
the control unit (9) is enabled to change a transfer operation of the hand, for each of the substrates, based on the substrate information (see paragraph [0068]).
Regarding claim 2, SHIMIZU et al. disclose the substrate transfer apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a storage unit that stores a reference transfer operation of the hand, and
the control unit changes the transfer operation of the hand by changing an amount by which the hand is moved, the amount being an amount that defines the reference transfer operation of the hand (see paragraph [0064]).
Regarding claim 3, SHIMIZU et al. disclose the substrate transfer apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the substrate information includes a different piece of information for each of the substrates held in the carrier (see paragraph [0093]).
Regarding claim 4, SHIMIZU et al. disclose the substrate transfer apparatus according to claim 1, wherein
the substrate information includes information related to a substrate diameter (see “disc-shaped” in paragraph [0022] and “substrate…size” in paragraph [0053]),
the hand includes a guide member (32) coming into contact with a peripheral portion of the substrate (see paragraphs [0034]-[0035]), and
the control unit changes the transfer operation of the hand in such a manner that a position of the guide member is matched to a position of the peripheral portion of the substrate to be transferred (see paragraph [0058]).
Regarding claim 5, SHIMIZU et al. disclose the substrate transfer apparatus according to claim 1, wherein
the substrate information includes information related to a substrate thickness (see paragraphs [0053] and [0062]), and
the control unit sets a position, in the vertical direction, at which the hand is advanced into the carrier, for each of the substrates, on the basis of the substrate information (see paragraph [0068]).
Regarding claim 6, SHIMIZU et al. disclose the substrate transfer apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a mapping unit (6) that performs mapping of a substrate in the carrier, wherein
the substrate information includes information related to a substrate thickness (see paragraph [0064]), and
the mapping unit sets a detection threshold based on the substrate information (see paragraph [0064]).
Regarding claim 7, SHIMIZU et al. disclose the substrate transfer apparatus according to claim 1, wherein
the substrate information includes information related to a substrate shape (see paragraph [0053]), and
the control unit sets a position, in the vertical direction, at which the hand is advanced into the carrier, for each of the substrates, on the basis of the substrate information (see paragraph [0068]).
Regarding claim 11, SHIMIZU et al. disclose the substrate transfer apparatus according to claim 1, wherein
the substrate information includes information related to a pitch of substrates stored in the carrier (see paragraph [0077]), and
the control unit (9) sets a position, in the vertical direction, at which the hand is advanced into the carrier, on the basis of the substrate information (see paragraph [0081]).
Regarding claim 16, SHIMIZU et al. disclose a substrate processing apparatus comprising:
the substrate transfer apparatus according to claim 1; and
a substrate processing unit configured to perform predetermined processing on the substrate transferred by the substrate transfer apparatus (see paragraph [0022]).
Regarding claim 17, SHIMIZU et al. disclose a substrate processing system comprising:
the substrate processing apparatus (see paragraph [0022]) according to claim 16; and
a host computer that transmits, to the substrate processing apparatus, substrate information corresponding to each of the substrates held in the carrier (see paragraph [0062]).
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim(s) 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over SHIMIZU et al. (USPGPUB 2023/0311306) as applied to claims 1-7, 11, and 16-17 above, and further in view of OKANO et al. (USPGPUB 2025/0279301).
Regarding claim 8, SHIMIZU et al. disclose the substrate transfer apparatus according to claim 7. However, they do not disclose an apparatus wherein the information related to the substrate shape is an evaluation value indicating an amount of deformation of the substrate and a direction of the deformation of the substrate. OKANO et al. disclose an apparatus wherein the information related to the substrate shape is an evaluation value indicating an amount of deformation of the substrate and a direction of the deformation of the substrate (see paragraph [0094]). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the apparatus disclosed by SHIMIZU et al. by including an apparatus wherein the information related to the substrate shape is an evaluation value indicating an amount of deformation of the substrate and a direction of the deformation of the substrate, as disclosed by OKANO et al., with a reasonable expectation of success for the purpose of providing a substrate processing system with a deformation direction and amount in order to adjust mounting surfaces (see paragraph [0094]).
Claim(s) 9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over SHIMIZU et al. (USPGPUB 2023/0311306) as applied to claims 1-7, 11, and 16-17 above, and further in view of HASHIMOTO et al. (USPGPUB 2017/0301540).
Regarding claim 9, SHIMIZU et al. disclose the substrate transfer apparatus according to claim 7. However, they do not disclose an apparatus wherein the control unit sets an order in which the substrates inside the carrier are transferred, based on the substrate information. HASHIMOTO et al. disclose an apparatus wherein the control unit sets an order in which the substrates inside the carrier are transferred, based on the substrate information (see claim 7). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the apparatus disclosed by SHIMIZU et al. by including an apparatus wherein the control unit sets an order in which the substrates inside the carrier are transferred, based on the substrate information, as disclosed by OKANO et al., with a reasonable expectation of success for the purpose of providing an unloading order based on substrate conditions (see claim 7).
Claim(s) 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over SHIMIZU et al. (USPGPUB 2023/0311306) as applied to claims 1-7, 11, and 16-17 above, and further in view of TAKEI (USPGPUB 2025/0069937).
Regarding claim 10, SHIMIZU et al. disclose the substrate transfer apparatus according to claim 1. However, they do not disclose an apparatus wherein
the control unit sets a transfer speed of the hand based on the substrate information.
TAKEI discloses an apparatus wherein
the control unit sets a transfer speed of the hand based on the substrate information (see paragraph [0078]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the apparatus disclosed by SHIMIZU et al. by including an apparatus wherein the control unit sets a transfer speed of the hand based on the substrate information, as disclosed by TAKEI, with a reasonable expectation of success for the purpose of providing various predetermined transfer speeds for moving a transfer arm that are determined by a substrate input (see paragraph [0078]).
Claim(s) 12-15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over SHIMIZU et al. (USPGPUB 2023/0311306) as applied to claims 1-7, 11, and 16-17 above, and further in view of Mori et al. (USPGPUB 2012/0118083).
Regarding claim 12, SHIMIZU et al. disclose the substrate transfer apparatus according to claim 1. However, they do not disclose an apparatus wherein
the receiving unit receives carrier information corresponding to the carrier, and
the control unit changes the transfer operation of the hand for each carrier, based on the carrier information received by the receiving unit.
Mori et al. disclose an apparatus wherein
the receiving unit receives carrier information corresponding to the carrier (see paragraph [0118]), and
the control unit changes the transfer operation of the hand for each carrier, based on the carrier information received by the receiving unit (see paragraphs [0118]-[0122]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the apparatus disclosed by SHIMIZU et al. by including an apparatus wherein the receiving unit receives carrier information corresponding to the carrier, and the control unit changes the transfer operation of the hand for each carrier, based on the carrier information received by the receiving unit, as disclosed by Mori et al., with a reasonable expectation of success for the purpose of providing a substrate carrier identification means which includes an acceptable range for slot pitches (see paragraph [0119]).
Regarding claim 13, SHIMIZU et al. in view of Ito et al. disclose the substrate transfer apparatus according to claim 12. Furthermore, Mori et al. disclose an apparatus wherein
a plurality of protrusions capable of holding a substrate are arranged inside the carrier in the vertical direction (see paragraph [0119]),
the carrier information includes information related to a pitch of the protrusions (see paragraph [0119]), and
the control unit sets a position, in the vertical direction, at which the hand is advanced into the carrier, based on the carrier information (see paragraphs [0118]-[0122]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the apparatus disclosed by SHIMIZU et al. by including an apparatus wherein the receiving unit receives carrier information corresponding to the carrier, and the control unit changes the transfer operation of the hand for each carrier, based on the carrier information received by the receiving unit, as disclosed by Mori et al., with a reasonable expectation of success for the purpose of providing a substrate carrier identification means which includes an acceptable range for slot pitches (see paragraph [0119]).
Regarding claim 14, SHIMIZU et al. in view of Ito et al. disclose the substrate transfer apparatus according to claim 13. Furthermore, Mori et al. disclose an apparatus further comprising a mapping unit that performs mapping of a substrate in the carrier, wherein
the substrate information includes information related to a pitch of the substrates stored inside the carrier (see paragraphs [0118]-[0122]), and
the control unit causes the mapping unit to execute a mapping operation when at least the pitch of the protrusions, the pitch being a pitch in the carrier information, does not match the pitch of the substrates stored inside the carrier, the pitch being a pitch in the substrate information, and changes the transfer operation of the hand based on a result of the mapping operation (see paragraphs [0118]-[0122]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the apparatus disclosed by SHIMIZU et al. by including an apparatus further comprising a mapping unit that performs mapping of a substrate in the carrier, wherein the substrate information includes information related to a pitch of the substrates stored inside the carrier, and the control unit causes the mapping unit to execute a mapping operation when at least the pitch of the protrusions, the pitch being a pitch in the carrier information, does not match the pitch of the substrates stored inside the carrier, the pitch being a pitch in the substrate information, and changes the transfer operation of the hand based on a result of the mapping operation, as disclosed by Mori et al., with a reasonable expectation of success for the purpose of providing a substrate carrier identification means which includes an acceptable range for slot pitches (see paragraph [0119]).
Regarding claim 15, SHIMIZU et al. in view of Ito et al. disclose the substrate transfer apparatus according to claim 13. Furthermore, Mori et al. disclose an apparatus further comprising a mapping unit that performs mapping of a substrate in the carrier, wherein
the control unit causes the mapping unit to execute a mapping operation at least when the pitch of the protrusions in the carrier information is equal to or larger than a predetermined value, and changes the transfer operation of the hand based on a result of the mapping operation (see paragraphs [0118]-[0122]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the apparatus disclosed by SHIMIZU et al. by including an apparatus further comprising a mapping unit that performs mapping of a substrate in the carrier, wherein the control unit causes the mapping unit to execute a mapping operation at least when the pitch of the protrusions in the carrier information is equal to or larger than a predetermined value, and changes the transfer operation of the hand based on a result of the mapping operation, as disclosed by Mori et al., with a reasonable expectation of success for the purpose of providing a substrate carrier identification means which includes an acceptable range for slot pitches (see paragraph [0119]).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MICHAEL COLLINS whose telephone number is (571)272-8970. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Jacob Scott can be reached at (571) 270-3415. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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M.K.C.
9/15/2026
/MICHAEL COLLINS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3655
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