Appeal 2007-0908
Application 10/152,077
We are not persuaded. Initially, we note, as Christenson was
evidently aware (having cited col. 11, ll. 19-26, and 38, as noted supra), that
the description in Ueno on which the Examiner relied extended from col. 10,
l. 45, to at least col. 11, l. 42, rather than ending at the bottom of column 10.
Christenson's argument that Ueno defines the drying step as beginning only
after the IPA flow is stopped is inapposite. What matters is not how Ueno
defines various steps of rinsing and drying, but whether the processes that
Ueno describes meet or render obvious the subject matter of Christenson's
claims.
The steps of Ueno's drying process are set out in the following
timeline, which begins just before the end of the rinse step:
{A timeline figure (s = seconds) is shown below}
(300 rpm) –– (water rinse)
-2 s ———— IPA vapor starts
0 s ———— water rinse stops
8 s ———— IPA vapor stops
(3000 rpm) 9 s ————
(5000 rpm) 13 s ————
stop rotation 18 s ———— end drying step
{The figure depicts a timeline of the Ueno drying process}
(Ueno at 10:44ff; FF 27-30.)
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