Appeal No. 97-1631 Page 9
Application No. 08/245,267
“receiving light reflected from the indicia and reading the
indicia using information from the at least one coded symbol.”
Abe relates to semiconductor manufacturing. It
facilitates the transfer of a circuit pattern formed on a mask
to a semiconductor wafer. Specifically, it helps to align the
mask and wafer. Col. 1, ll. 1-26. Alignment marks 507M and
509M are formed on the surface of the mask and wafer,
respectively. Col. 1, ll. 58-63, Fig. 6(A). Light reflected
by the alignment marks is used to detect a positional
deviation between the mask and wafer. Col. 1, l. 64 - Col. 2,
l. 19.
Comparison of the claim’s language to the reference’s
teachings evidences that Abe fails to teach or suggest the
claimed masking means and the step of positioning it. The
claimed masking means carries at least one coded symbol. In
contrast, the reference’s alignment marks are lines, which are
not encoded. Fig. 6(A).
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