Appeal No. 2005-1108
Application No. 10/442,900
THE REJECTIONS
Claims 1 through 4, 6 through 8, 10 through 12 and 20
through 25 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a) as being
unpatentable over Zhang.
Claim 5 stands rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a) as being
unpatentable over Zhang in view of Desai.
Attention is directed to the main and reply briefs (filed
November 16, 2004 and February 4, 2005) and the answer (mailed
December 16, 2004) for the respective positions of the appellants
and the examiner regarding the merits of these rejections.2
DISCUSSION
Zhang, the examiner’s primary reference, discloses a
semiconductor wafer carrier used in an apparatus for removing
material from the front and back surfaces of a wafer by abrading
and/or chemical reaction. The apparatus 23 includes an upper
platen 25, an upper polishing pad 29, a lower platen 27 and a
lower polishing pad 31. The wafer carrier 21, which in use is
disposed between the polishing pads, comprises a circular metal
blank 32 having three openings 34 and three ring-shaped plastic
2 In the final rejection, claim 12 also stood rejected under
35 U.S.C. § 112, second paragraph, as being indefinite. Upon
reconsideration, the examiner has withdrawn this rejection (see
page 2 in the answer).
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