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 .
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d). The certified copy has been filed in parent Application No. JP 2023-202090, filed on 11/29/2023.
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Specification
The lengthy specification has not been checked to the extent necessary to determine the presence of all possible minor errors. Applicant’s cooperation is requested in correcting any errors of which applicant may become aware in the specification.
Claim Interpretation
The phrase “consumption degree” used in claims 1 and 12, and some of their dependent claims, is not well known within the art. Furthermore, the claims do not prescribe further structure to them beyond it being determined using clamp position information. Based on the specification and drawings, it is interpreted that the intended phrasing is “degradation degree” which does have meaning within the art. For the purposes of examination, any use of the phrase “consumption degree” is interpreted to mean “degradation degree” within the claims. To enhance patent interpretation, it may be beneficial for the applicant to replace any usage of the phrase as such.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 1 recites the limitation "the guide" in the section describing the acquisition unit and the control unit. Earlier in the claim it recites the limitations “at least two guides” and “one of the at least two guides to advance and retract with respect to the substrate as a movable guide”. These limitations in combination imply the existence of two types of guides, movable ones and non-movable ones. The limitation “the guide” is indefinite as it fails to adequately describe which guide type is being referenced. For the purposes of examination, the limitation is interpreted to be referencing “the movable guide”.
Claims 2-9, which are dependent on claim 1, inherit the above limitation and interpretation based on their dependence on claim 1. They are likewise indefinite for this reason.
Claim 2, in addition to the rejection above based on its dependence on claim 1, further recites the limitation “the guide” without adequately describing which type is being referenced which renders the claim indefinite. For the purposes of examination, the limitation is interpreted to be referencing “the movable guide”.
Claims 3-4, which are dependent on claim 2, inherit the above limitation and interpretation based on their dependence on claim 2. They are likewise indefinite for this reason.
Claim 3, in addition to the rejection above based on its dependence on claim 2, recites the limitation “performs first control”. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim and thus are rendered indefinite for this reason. For the purposes of examination, the limitation is interpreted to be “performs a first control”.
Claim 4, in addition to the rejection above based on its dependence on claim 2, recites the limitation “performs second control”. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim and thus is rendered indefinite for this reason. For the purposes of examination, the limitation is interpreted to be “performs a second control”.
Furthermore, claim 4 recites the limitation “the first threshold”. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim and thus is rendered indefinite for this reason. While claim 3 recites the limitation “the first threshold”, claim 4 is not dependent on claim 3. For the purposes of examination, the limitation is interpreted to be “a first threshold”.
Claim 9, in addition to the rejection above based on its dependence on claim 1, further recites the limitation “the guide” without adequately describing which type is being referenced which renders the claim indefinite. For the purposes of examination, the limitation is interpreted to be referencing “the movable guide”.
Claim 10 recites the limitation "the guide" in the section describing the acquisition unit and the control unit. Earlier in the claim it recites the limitations “at least two guides” and “one of the at least two guides to advance and retract with respect to the substrate as a movable guide”. These limitations in combination imply the existence of two types of guides, movable ones and non-movable ones. The limitation “the guide” is indefinite as it fails to adequately describe which guide type is being referenced. For the purposes of examination, the limitation is interpreted to be referencing “the movable guide”.
Claim 11-15, which are dependent on claim 1, inherit the above limitation and interpretation based on their dependence on claim 10. They are likewise indefinite for this reason.
Claim 11, in addition to the rejection above based on its dependence on claim 10, further recites the limitation “the guide” without adequately describing which type is being referenced which renders the claim indefinite. For the purposes of examination, the limitation is interpreted to be referencing “the movable guide”.
Claim 12, in addition to the rejection above based on its dependence on claim 10, further recites the limitation “the guide” without adequately describing which type is being referenced which renders the claim indefinite. For the purposes of examination, the limitation is interpreted to be referencing “the movable guide”.
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.
(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.
Claims 1-11 and 14-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and (a)(2) as being anticipated by JP 2012074485 A, hereinafter JP 2012074485. The references provided below correspond to the machine translation of JP 2012074485 provided by the applicant.
Regarding claim 1, as best understood based on the 35 U.S.C. 112(b) issue identified above, JP 2012074485 teaches
A substrate transfer apparatus that transfers a substrate, the apparatus comprising (Figure 1, loader arm mechanism 200 and a transfer arm mechanism 300; Paragraph 0017, A loader arm mechanism 200 and a transfer arm mechanism 300):
a hand that holds the substrate in a horizontal posture (Figure 1 and 2, picks 400; Paragraph 0024, picks (end effectors) 400A, 400B that are provided at the tips of the arms and hold the wafer W);
a horizontal drive mechanism that advances and retracts the hand in a horizontal plane in order to deliver the substrate (Figure 1, transfer arms 320A and 320B; Paragraph 0024, the transfer-arm mechanism 300 includes two transfer arms 320A, 320B that are rotatably supported on a base 310 are capable of bending and stretching);
at least two guides that are provided on the hand (Figure 2, regulating bodies 420 and pressing holding portion 430; Paragraph 0042, at least two regulating bodies 420; Paragraph 0042, a pressing holding section 430)
and clamp an outer peripheral surface of the substrate to separate and hold the substrate from the hand (Paragraph 0042, a pressing holding section 430 that holds the wafer W between the regulating bodies 420 and the pressing body 440 by sliding the pressing body 440 toward the wafer W on the pick body 410 by a predetermined distance from an initial position (drive start position) to an end position (drive end position), and pressing the edge of the wafer W against the regulating wall of the regulating body 420);
and an advancing/retracting drive mechanism that drives at least one of the at least two guides to advance and retract with respect to the substrate as a movable guide (Figure 2, pressing body driving unit 442; Paragraph 0046, a pressing body 440 that abuts against and presses against the edge of the wafer W, and a pressing body driving portion 442 that slides and drives the pressing body 440 along the groove portion 432),
an acquisition unit (Paragraph 0048, the pressing body driving unit 442)
that acquires clamp position information indicating a position in the horizontal plane where the guide clamps the outer peripheral surface of the substrate (Paragraph 0048, the pressing body drive unit 442 of the pressing holding unit 430 is configured with an actuator that can detect the position and speed of the pressing body 440, thereby eliminating the need for a separate position sensor);
and a control unit (Figure 1, control unit 190; Paragraph 0032, A control unit (overall control device) 190)
that determines a consumption degree of the guide on a basis of the acquired clamp position information (Paragraph 0033, Furthermore, the control unit 190 is connected to a memory unit 194 that stores programs for realizing various processes to be executed in the substrate processing apparatus 100 under the control of the control unit 190 (such as plasma processing of the wafer W, a determination process to determine abnormalities in the wafer W on the pick 400, which will be described later, and a process to detect whether the wafer W is warped due to thermal contraction, etc.), as well as processing conditions (recipes) required to execute the programs; Paragraph 0062, The determination process is performed by the control unit 190 based on a predetermined program; It is implied that the consumption degree can be correlated to the determination process detecting abnormalities in the wafer).
Regarding claim 2, as best understood based on the 35 U.S.C. 112(b) issue identified above, in addition to the teaching above for claim 1, JP 2012074485 further teaches
wherein the control unit is configured to: calculate differential information between the clamp position information of the guide in an initial state and the acquired clamp position information of the guide; and determine the consumption degree on a basis of the differential information (Paragraph 0057, abnormality determination threshold Dab is set between the position when a normal wafer W is held and the end position Dend).
Regarding claim 3, in addition to the teaching above for claim 2, JP 2012074485 further teaches
wherein the control unit performs first control in a case where the differential information exceeds a first threshold (Paragraph 0057, the presence or absence of an abnormality in the wafer W is determined depending on whether the position of the pressing body 440 when holding the wafer is equal to or greater than this abnormality determination threshold Dab).
Regarding claim 4, as best understood based on the 35 U.S.C. 112(b) issue identified above, in addition to the teaching above for claim 2, JP 2012074485 further teaches
wherein the control unit performs second control in a case where the differential information exceeds a second threshold (Paragraph 0061, In the pick 400 of this embodiment, by providing multiple threshold values for the position of the pressing body 440 in this manner, various determinations can be made)
having the consumption degree larger than the first threshold (It is implied by the plurality of threshold values that they are separate values and thus, at a minimum, one value is greater than another).
Regarding claim 5, as best understood based on the 35 U.S.C. 112(b) issue identified above, in addition to the teaching above for claim 1, JP 2012074485 further teaches
wherein the advancing/retracting drive mechanism includes: a motor that applies a driving force for the advancing/retracting drive (Paragraph 0049, a linear motor can be used as the pressing body driving unit 442);
and a sensor that detects rotation of the motor and outputs the rotation as a detection signal (Paragraph 0048, if a separate position sensor for detecting the position of the pressing body 440 is provided, the number of parts and wiring of the pick 400 will increase, which is not desirable for increasing the transport speed. For this reason, in this embodiment, the pressing body drive unit 442 of the pressing holding unit 430 is configured with an actuator that can detect the position and speed of the pressing body 440, thereby eliminating the need for a separate position sensor),
and the acquisition unit acquires the clamp position information on a basis of the detection signal given by the sensor (It is implied that the pressing body driving unit is acting as both the measurement unit and the acquisition unit and communicates with the control unit directly).
Regarding claim 6, as best understood based on the 35 U.S.C. 112(b) issue identified above, in addition to the teaching above for claim 1, JP 2012074485 further teaches
wherein the advancing/retracting drive mechanism includes a measurement unit that measures a movement distance of the guide and outputs the movement distance as a measurement signal (Paragraph 0048, the pressing body drive unit 442 of the pressing holding unit 430 is configured with an actuator that can detect the position and speed of the pressing body 440),
and the acquisition unit acquires the clamp position information on a basis of the measurement signal given by the measurement unit (It is implied that the pressing body driving unit is acting as both the measurement unit and the acquisition unit and communicates with the control unit directly).
Regarding claim 7, as best understood based on the 35 U.S.C. 112(b) issue identified above, in addition to the teaching above for claim 1, JP 2012074485 further teaches
wherein the control unit causes an output unit (Paragraph 0032, a display)
that outputs information according to the consumption degree to output information according to the consumption degree (Paragraph 0032, a display that visualizes and displays the operating status of the substrate processing apparatus 100).
Regarding claim 8, as best understood based on the 35 U.S.C. 112(b) issue identified above, in addition to the teaching above for claim 1, JP 2012074485 further teaches
wherein the control unit stops transfer of the substrate according to the consumption degree (Paragraph 0064 and 0065, In the determination process shown in FIG. 10, first, in step S110, it is determined whether or not the position of the pressing body 440 is the end position Dend of the sliding operation shown in FIG. If it is determined in step S110 that the position of the pressing body 440 is equal to or higher than the end position Dend, this means that the pressing body 440 did not come into contact with the edge of the wafer W until it reached the end position Dend. Therefore, in this case, the wafer W that should be on the pick 400 is not present, and therefore it is determined in step S120 that there is no wafer W on the pick 400. In this case, the transfer process by the pick 400 is stopped).
Regarding claim 9, as best understood based on the 35 U.S.C. 112(b) issue identified above, in addition to the teaching above for claim 1, JP 2012074485 further teaches
wherein the control unit operates the guide such that a contact position between the guide and the outer peripheral surface of the substrate changes according to the consumption degree (Paragraph 0012, the control unit 190 controls each unit of the substrate processing apparatus 100; Paragraph 0051, by detecting the position of the pressing body 440 when it stops, that is, when it is holding the wafer (after time t1 in FIG. 5), it is possible to detect the position of the wafer edge when it is being held; Paragraph 0060, based on the allowable amount of wear of the regulating body 420, a replacement time determination threshold Dex is set between the position when a normal wafer W is held and the abnormality determination threshold Dab, and when the position of the pressing body 440 when holding a wafer reaches or exceeds this replacement time determination threshold Dex, it is determined that it is time to replace the regulating body 420).
Regarding claim 10, as best understood based on the 35 U.S.C. 112(b) issue identified above, JP 2012074485 teaches:
A substrate processing apparatus, the apparatus comprising (Figure 1, substrate processing apparatus 100; Paragraph 0016, substrate processing apparatus 100):
a substrate transfer apparatus that transfers a substrate (Figure 1, loader arm mechanism 200 and a transfer arm mechanism 300; Paragraph 0017, A loader arm mechanism 200 and a transfer arm mechanism 300);
and a processing unit that performs predetermined processing on the substrate transferred by the substrate transfer apparatus (Figure 1, process chambers 140A to 140D; Paragraph 016, process chambers 140A to 140D).
The remaining limitations are exactly the same as those taught in claim 1 and are thus likewise taught by JP 2012074485 as described above.
Regarding claim 11, as best understood based on the 35 U.S.C. 112(b) issue identified above, in addition to the teaching above for claim 10, JP 2012074485 further teaches
wherein the substrate clamped by the guide when the clamp position information is acquired is a substrate to be processed by the processing unit (Figure 1, see wafer W, process chambers 140A to 140D, and picks 400; Paragraph 0024, The transfer arm mechanism 300 is capable of transferring wafers W into and out of these load lock chambers 160M, 160N and process chambers 140A to 140D. Specifically, the transfer arm mechanism 300 includes two transfer arms 320A, 320B that are rotatably supported on a base 310 and are capable of bending and stretching, and picks (end effectors) 400A, 400B that are provided at the tips of the arms and hold the wafer W).
Regarding claim 14, as best understood based on the 35 U.S.C. 112(b) issue identified above, in addition to the teaching above for claim 10, JP 2012074485 further teaches
a carrier placement part (Figure 1, cassette stages 131A to 131C; Paragraph 0026, cassette stages 131A to 131C)
on which a carrier capable of housing a plurality of substrates is placed (Figure 1, cassette containers 132A to 132C; Paragraph 0028, Each of the cassette containers 132A to 132C can accommodate at least one lot's worth of wafers W (for example, 25 wafers)),
wherein the substrate transfer apparatus is a transfer robot that transfers a substrate placed in the carrier (Figure 1, see loading arm mechanism 200, cassette containers 132A to 132C, and wafer W; Paragraph 0030, The loader arm mechanism 200 is capable of transferring wafers W into and out of the above mentioned cassette containers 132A to 132C).
Regarding claim 15, as best understood based on the 35 U.S.C. 112(b) issue identified above, in addition to the teaching above for claim 10, JP 2012074485 further teaches
a carrier placement part (Figure 1, cassette stages 131A to 131C; Paragraph 0026, cassette stages 131A to 131C)
on which a carrier capable of housing a plurality of substrates is placed (Figure 1, cassette containers 132A to 132C; Paragraph 0028, Each of the cassette containers 132A to 132C can accommodate at least one lot's worth of wafers W (for example, 25 wafers)),
and a temporary placement part on which a substrate transferred from the carrier is temporarily placed (Figure 1, first and second load lock chambers 160M and 160N; Paragraph 0023, The first and second load lock chambers 160M and 160N have the function of temporarily holding the wafer W),
wherein the substrate transfer apparatus is a transfer robot that transfers the substrate placed in the temporary placement part to the processing unit (Figure 1, see transfer arm mechanism 300, load lock chambers 160M and 160N, process chambers 140A to 140D, and wafer W; Paragraph 0024, The transfer arm mechanism 300 is capable of transferring wafers W into and out of these load lock chambers 160M, 160N and process chambers 140A to 140D).
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.
Claims 12 and 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over JP 2012074485 in view of Saito et al (US 5853840), hereinafter Saito.
Regarding claim 12, as best understood based on the 35 U.S.C. 112(b) issue identified above, JP 2012074485 teaches fully for claim 10, on which is it dependent, as seen above in the section “Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102”.
JP 2012074485 fails to teach wherein the substrate clamped by the guide when the clamp position information is acquired is a dummy substrate that is not processed by the processing unit.
However, Saito teaches the use of a dummy substrate for evaluation and testing of substrate processes (Saito Column 1, Lines 18-25, In this process, for the purposes of evaluation of treating conditions, inspection, testing, contamination prevention, contaminant removal by cleaning, transfer monitoring, etc., there is used, with genuine wafers, a silicon carbide-made dummy wafer to which chemical vapor deposition or physical vapor deposition (e.g. sputtering), etching or the like is applied as is done to genuine wafers).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use a dummy substrate as described in the claim limitation as use of a dummy wafer/substrate for evaluation and testing of a substrate process was a known technique in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention. For further information regarding this rationale, see MPEP 2143(I)(F).
A person having ordinary skill in the art would have had the capability to combine this known technique in the art with the system described and would have recognized that the combination would yield predictable results.
Regarding claim 13, as best understood based on the 35 U.S.C. 112(b) issue identified above, JP 2012074485 in view of Saito (US 5853840) teaches fully for claim 12, on which is it dependent, as seen above.
JP 2012074485 fails to teach wherein the dummy substrate is placed in the substrate processing apparatus in advance, and the consumption degree is determined at a preset cycle.
However, Saito teaches the use of a dummy substrate for evaluation and testing of substrate processes (Saito Column 1, Lines 18-25, In this process, for the purposes of evaluation of treating conditions, inspection, testing, contamination prevention, contaminant removal by cleaning, transfer monitoring, etc., there is used, with genuine wafers, a silicon carbide-made dummy wafer to which chemical vapor deposition or physical vapor deposition (e.g. sputtering), etching or the like is applied as is done to genuine wafers).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use a dummy substrate as described in the claim limitation to determine the consumption degree in advance as use of a dummy wafer/substrate for evaluation and testing of a substrate process was a known technique in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention. For further information regarding this rationale, see MPEP 2143(I)(F).
A person having ordinary skill in the art would have had the capability to combine this known technique in the art with the system described and would have recognized that the combination would yield predictable results.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure [See PTO-892 Notice of References Cited] because the prior art references contain subject matter that related to one or more the of the Applicant’s claim limitations.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JUSTIN THOMAS KOSKY whose telephone number is (571)270-7277. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday (8:00 am - 4:30 pm EST).
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Jacob S 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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/J.T.K./ Examiner, Art Unit 3655
/JACOB S. SCOTT/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3655
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