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
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.
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(s) 1-4, 6-8, and 14-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by JP 2006-342386 (hereinafter JP ‘386).
Claims 1 and 17-20 - JP ‘386 discloses a substrate processing device comprising: a gas supply pipe 232 corresponding to a first gas supply portion for supplying a first gas; a first member comprising a seal cap 219 for causing the first gas to flow from the first gas supply portion; a second member comprising a cylinder 301 including flanges 302, 303 for causing the first gas to flow from the first member; a third member comprising a flange 351 for causing the first gas to flow from the second member; a processing chamber 201 to which the first gas from the third member is supplied; a first seal member comprising an O-ring 341 that is positioned between the first member and the second member; a second seal member comprising an O-ring 340 that is positioned between the second member and the third member; a second gas supply unit that supplies air or N2 and supplies a second gas; a cooling water path 311 that is disposed along the second seal member and corresponds to a first gas path through which the second gas flows; and a cooling water path 312 that is disposed along the first seal member and corresponds to a second gas path through which the second gas flows. (page 4, machine translation, paragraphs 3-6). JP ‘386 also discloses a gas supply unit (as above), a method for manufacturing a semiconductor device (pages 4-6), and a program that is executed by the substrate processing apparatus (Page 4, the MFCs necessitate computer control). Therefore Claims 1 and 17-20 are anticipated.
Claim 2 – JP ‘386 further anticipates the limitation wherein the invention comprises a cooling water path 313 corresponding to a third gas path through which the second gas flows between the first gas path and the second gas path (page 4, machine translation, paragraphs 3-6, and fig. 4).
Claim 3 – JP ‘386 further anticipates the limitation wherein the first gas path is provided between the second member and the third member (fig. 4).
Claim 4 – JP ‘386 further anticipates the limitation wherein the second gas path is provided between the first member and the second member (fig. 4).
Claim 6 – JP ‘386 further anticipates the limitation wherein the first gas supply portion is connected to the first member (fig. 3).
Claim 7 – JP ‘386 further anticipates the limitation wherein the invention comprises cooling water discharge paths 311-313 corresponding to the discharge portion for discharging the second gas (page 4, machine translation, paragraphs 3-6-).
Claim 8 – JP ‘386 further anticipates the limitation wherein the first gas is a processing gas (page 4, machine translation, paragraphs 3-6, and fig. 3)
Claim 15 – JP ‘386 further anticipates the limitation wherein the second gas is a purge gas (page 4, machine translation, paragraphs 3-6, and fig. 5)
Claim 16 – JP ‘386 further anticipates the limitation wherein the third member includes a housing that forms the processing chamber (fig. 3-4).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5, 7, and 9-14 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: The limitations in claims 5, 7, and 9-14 individually are not found in the prior art in a configuration compatible with the cited reference. Further, the advantage of reducing the risk of oxygen permeation derived from the limitations removes design choice and routine optimization as permissible rationales to rearrange the apparatus to comply with the limitations.
References of Record
Examiner cites US PGPubs 2015/0140835, 2008/0088097, and 2004/0149224 as references of record in the instant application. The references are to substrate processing apparatuses of the type discussed in the applied prior art and are of general relevance to the claimed inventions. These references are not being replied on as the basis of any rejection.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MICHAEL G MILLER whose telephone number is (571)270-1861. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9:00-5:30 EST.
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/MICHAEL G MILLER/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1712
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