Appeal No. 2003-0745 Page 2
Application No. 09/161,970
BACKGROUND
The appellant's invention relates to a single or multi-wafer load lock attached
directly to a process chamber in a vacuum processing system (specification, p. 1). A
copy of the claims under appeal is set forth in the appendix to the appellant's brief.
The prior art references of record relied upon by the examiner in rejecting the
appealed claims are:
Ohtani et al. (Ohtani) 4,923,054 May 8, 1990
Maydan et al. (Maydan) 5,292,393 Mar. 8, 1994
Brancher 5,330,301 July 19, 1994
Asakawa et al. (Asakawa) 5,934,856 Aug. 10, 1999
Claims 1 to 4, 6 to 11, 16 to 18, 47, 49 and 51 to 53 stand rejected under
35 U.S.C. § 112, second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point
out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the appellant regards as the invention.
Claims 1, 4, 6 to 11, 47, 51 and 53 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as
being unpatentable over Maydan in view of Asakawa and Brancher.
Claims 2, 3, 19 and 52 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being
unpatentable over Maydan in view of Asakawa, Brancher and Ohtani.
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