DETAILED ACTION
This office action is in response to the application filed on 10/2/2024. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Acknowledgement
The present office action is made with all the suggested amendments being fully considered. Accordingly, claims 1-9 are pending in this application.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on 10/2/2024 and 6/4/2025 are being considered by the examiner.
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.
Claims 1-5 and 8-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Martin (US 2022/0126454).
With respect to Claim 1, Martin shows (Fig. 1-12) all aspects of the current invention including a calibration method for calibrating a sensor in a system including a transfer device (VTM; robotic arm) for transferring an object (wafer 104), and the sensor for detecting (camera 1 and 2) the object to recognize a position of the object that is being transferred by the transfer device, the method comprising:
(A) placing the object (104) on a support part (chuck 102) configured to support the object such that a center position of the object is located within an allowable range from a center position of the support part (see par 29,34-35)
(B) after said (A), holding and transferring the object placed on the support part by the transfer device, detecting the object that is being transferred by the sensor, and calibrating the position of the object detected by the sensor (see par 34-36)
With respect to Claim 2, Martin shows (Fig. 1-12) wherein the object is a substrate(wafer 104), the support part supports the substrate and a ring (edge ring 118) disposed outside the outer edge of the substrate, and a diameter of a substrate supporting surface of the support part that supports the substrate is smaller than a diameter of the substrate (see Fig 1)
With respect to Claim 3, Martin shows (Fig. 1-12) wherein said (A) includes: (A-1) detecting a deviation state between the ring placed on the support part and the substrate supporting surface; (A-2) detecting a deviation state between the ring placed on the support part and the substrate placed on the substrate supporting surface; and (A-3) recognizing a deviation state of the substrate with respect to the substrate supporting surface based on the deviation state between the ring and the substrate supporting surface and the deviation state between the ring and the substrate (see par 29,34-36)
With respect to Claim 4, Martin shows (Fig. 1-12) wherein in said (A-2), the substrate is transferred by the transfer device (VTM; robotic arm) and placed on the substrate supporting surface, after said (A-3), it is determined whether or not a deviation amount between a center position of the substrate supporting surface and a center position of the substrate is within the allowable range, and the method proceeds to said (B) when the deviation amount is within the allowable range, and the substrate is separated from the support part by the transfer device and said (A-2) and (A-3) are performed again when the deviation amount is not within the allowable range (see par 29,34-36)
With respect to Claim 5, Martin shows (Fig. 1-12) wherein in said (A-1), the transfer device is moved above the ring placed on the support part, and an inner edge of the ring and an outer edge of the substrate supporting surface are detected by a transfer device-side sensor of the transfer device, and in said (A-2), the inner edge of the ring and an outer edge of the substrate are detected by the transfer device-side sensor of the transfer device by moving the transfer device above the ring and the substrate placed on the support part
With respect to Claim 8, Martin shows (Fig. 1-12) wherein the sensor is disposed near an opening of a processing module having the support part and has a pair of detectors arranged in parallel to the opening
With respect to Claim 9, Martin shows (Fig. 1-12) all aspects of the current invention including a substrate processing system comprising:
a transfer device (VTM; robotic arm) configured to transfer a transfer object (wafer 104);
a support part (chuck 102) configured to support the transfer object;
a sensor configured to detect (camera 1 and 2) the transfer object to recognize a position of the transfer object that is being transferred by the transfer device;
a controller configured to controls the transfer device (see par 35 and 38; controller module/processor), wherein the controller controls:
(A) placing the transfer object on the support part such that a center position of the object is located within an allowable range from a center position of the support part (see par 29,34-35);
(B) after said (A), holding and transferring the transfer object placed on the support part by the transfer device, detecting the transfer object that is being transferred by the sensor, and calibrating a position of the transfer object detected by the sensor (see par 34-36)
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
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.
Claims 6-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Martin (US 2022/0126454) in view of Yang (WO 2022/247078)
With respect to Claim 6, Martin shows (Fig. 1-12) most aspects of the current invention. However, Martin does not disclose wherein the transfer device includes a fork on which the substrate is placed and a plurality of arms for moving the fork, and the transfer device-side sensor is a displacement sensor disposed at the fork and configured to measure a distance to an opposing object.
On the other hand, and in the same field of endeavor, Yang teaches (Fig. 1-2 and 9-11) a calibration method for calibrating a sensor (14) in a system including a transfer device (robotic arms 11,19) for transferring an object (jig wafer 104), and the sensor for detecting the object to recognize a position of the object that is being transferred by the transfer device, and further wherein the transfer device includes a fork (112) on which the substrate is placed and a plurality of arms (11,19) for moving the fork, and the transfer device-side sensor is a displacement sensor (ranging sensor 14) disposed at the fork and configured to measure a distance to an opposing object. Yang teaches by measuring the amount of change in the distance, the height raised or lowered by the first mechanical arm when picking and placing the first jig wafer can be obtained as the first height information, and the first height information is combined with the first height information; thus the target height is compared to determine whether the first mechanical arm needs to be calibrated.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, and before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have wherein the transfer device includes a fork on which the substrate is placed and a plurality of arms for moving the fork, and the transfer device-side sensor is a displacement sensor disposed at the fork and configured to measure a distance to an opposing object, in the device of Martin, as taught by Wang because by measuring the amount of change in the distance, the height raised or lowered by the first mechanical arm when picking and placing the first jig wafer can be obtained as the first height information, and the first height information is combined with the first height information; thus the target height is compared to determine whether the first mechanical arm needs to be calibrated.
With respect to Claim 7, Yang teaches (Fig. 1-2 and 9-11) wherein the transfer device-side sensor has a pair of detectors at the tip ends of the fork, and the pair of detectors are arranged at an interval smaller than a diameter of the substrate (plurality of third ranging sensors 21)
Conclusion
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/Q. B./
Examiner, Art Unit 2814
/WAEL M FAHMY/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2814
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