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 .
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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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.
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election of Group I in the reply filed on July 23, 2026 is acknowledged. Because applicant did not distinctly and specifically point out the supposed errors in the restriction requirement, the election has been treated as an election without traverse (MPEP § 818.01(a)).
Claims 95-97, 109, and 115 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on July 23, 2026.
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).
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on October 14, 2024 and March 12, 2025 are mostly in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statements are being considered by the examiner. However, US Patent 11,261,996 has been lined through as no patent was granted. From the Official Gazette of March 22, 2022:
"All references to Patent No. 11,261,996 to MASAMI NISHIKAWA of Kyoto-shi, Kyoto, JP for FLUID CONTROL VALVE DIAGNOSTIC DEVICE, FLUID CONTROL DEVICE, AND FLUID CONTROL VALVE DIAGNOSTIC PROGRAM appearing in the Official Gazette of March 01, 2022 should be deleted since no patent was granted."
Claim Interpretation
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(f):
(f) Element in Claim for a Combination. – An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The claims in this application are given their broadest reasonable interpretation using the plain meaning of the claim language in light of the specification as it would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. The broadest reasonable interpretation of a claim element (also commonly referred to as a claim limitation) is limited by the description in the specification when 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is invoked.
As explained in MPEP § 2181, subsection I, claim limitations that meet the following three-prong test will be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
(A) the claim limitation uses the term “means” or “step” or a term used as a substitute for “means” that is a generic placeholder (also called a nonce term or a non-structural term having no specific structural meaning) for performing the claimed function;
(B) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is modified by functional language, typically, but not always linked by the transition word “for” (e.g., “means for”) or another linking word or phrase, such as “configured to” or “so that”; and
(C) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is not modified by sufficient structure, material, or acts for performing the claimed function.
Use of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim with functional language creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites sufficient structure, material, or acts to entirely perform the recited function.
Absence of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is not to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is not interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites function without reciting sufficient structure, material or acts to entirely perform the recited function.
Claim limitations in this application that use the word “means” (or “step”) are being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action. Conversely, claim limitations in this application that do not use the word “means” (or “step”) are not being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action.
This application includes one or more claim limitations that do not use the word “means,” but are nonetheless being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, because the claim limitation(s) uses a generic placeholder that is coupled with functional language without reciting sufficient structure to perform the recited function and the generic placeholder is not preceded by a structural modifier. Such claim limitation(s) is/are: “biasing element” in claims 7, 17, 28, and 33.
Because this/these claim limitation(s) is/are being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, it/they is/are being interpreted to cover the corresponding structure described in the specification as performing the claimed function, and equivalents thereof.
If applicant does not intend to have this/these limitation(s) interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, applicant may: (1) amend the claim limitation(s) to avoid it/them being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph (e.g., by reciting sufficient structure to perform the claimed function); or (2) present a sufficient showing that the claim limitation(s) recite(s) sufficient structure to perform the claimed function so as to avoid it/them being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph.
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.
Claims 1, 2, and 6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by White et alia (US Patent Number 6,539,968), hereinafter “White”.
Re claim 1, White discloses a system for processing articles comprising: a fluid supply (29); an apparatus for controlling flow fluidly coupled to the fluid supply, the apparatus for controlling flow comprising: a body (22, 24, 26) comprising a flow path extending from an inlet (42) to an outlet (50); a valve (40) operably coupled to the flow path between the inlet and the outlet, the valve configured to alter fluid flow within the flow path, the valve comprising a seat (where closure member 41 seats upon in Fig. 2) and a closure member (41); a flow restrictor (56) having a flow impedance located within the flow path; and a pressure sensor (46) configured to measure pressure within a volume between the seat of the valve and the flow restrictor (see Fig. 2); and a processing chamber (36) fluidly coupled to the outlet of the apparatus for controlling flow, the processing chamber configured to process semiconductor devices (see the abstract).
Re claim 2, White discloses the system of claim 1 wherein the valve is located between the inlet and the flow restrictor (see Fig. 2).
Re claim 6, White discloses the system of claim 1 wherein the valve is a proportional valve (i.e., the valve is continuously adjusts the flow rate by adjusting the signal sent to the solenoid or piezoelectric actuator, see col. 4, line 65 to col. 5, line 1, and col. 5, line 36 to col. 6, line 8).
Claims 1 and 3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Monkowski et alia (US Patent Number 10,401,202), hereinafter “Monkowski”.
Re claim 1, Monkowski discloses a system for processing articles comprising: a fluid supply (104); an apparatus for controlling flow fluidly coupled to the fluid supply, the apparatus for controlling flow comprising: a body (shown schematically in Fig. 1 with details in Figs. 2A and 2B) comprising a flow path extending from an inlet (101) to an outlet (105 leading to the processing chamber); a valve operably (108) coupled to the flow path between the inlet and the outlet, the valve configured to alter fluid flow within the flow path, the valve comprising a seat and a closure member (shown in Figs. 2A and 2B); a flow restrictor (110) having a flow impedance located within the flow path; and a pressure sensor (112) configured to measure pressure within a volume between the seat of the valve and the flow restrictor; and a processing chamber fluidly coupled to the outlet of the apparatus for controlling flow (see Fig. 1), the processing chamber configured to process semiconductor devices.
Re claim 3, Monkowski discloses the system of claim 1 wherein the valve is located between the flow restrictor and the outlet (see Fig. 1).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 7, 13, 15, 17, 22, 28, 29, 31, 33, 34, and 39 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.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Eric Keasel whose telephone number is (571) 272-4929. The examiner works a part-time schedule and can normally be reached on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday.
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/ERIC KEASEL/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3753
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