Ex Parte Basol

Patent Trial and Appeal Board

Feb 19, 2015

11938679 (P.T.A.B. Feb. 19, 2015)

UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
________________

BEFORE THE PATENT TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD
________________

Ex parte BULENT M. BASOL
________________

Appeal 2013-003014
Application 11/938,679
Technology Center 1700
________________

Before BRADLEY R. GARRIS, TERRY J. OWENS, and
JEFFREY W. ABRAHAM, Administrative Patent Judges.

OWENS, Administrative Patent Judge.

DECISION ON APPEAL

STATEMENT OF THE CASE
The Appellant appeals under 35 U.S.C. § 134(a) from the Examiner’s
rejection of claims 1, 2, 4-24, 42-48, 51-60 and 62-73. We have jurisdiction
under 35 U.S.C. § 6(b).
The Invention
The Appellant claims a rapid thermal processing tool and system.
Claim 1 is illustrative:
1. An integrated roll-to-roll rapid thermal processing (RTP) tool for
forming a solar cell absorber by reacting a precursor layer on a surface of a
continuous flexible workpiece, the tool comprising:
an elongated housing that includes a sealed common chamber, the
sealed common chamber including a heating chamber, a heating
element, a supply chamber, a receiving chamber and an outer
Appeal 2013-003014
Application 11/938,679

2
enclosure around the heating chamber that forms a seal within
the outer enclosure, including the sealed common chamber,
wherein;
the heating chamber defines a narrow process gap that
applies a predetermined temperature profile using
the heating element to that portion of the
continuous flexible workpiece disposed therein,
the narrow process gap defined by a top wall, a
bottom wall, and side walls that form an opening
in which a height is substantially less than a width
thereof, wherein the heating chamber has a heating
chamber input opening and a heating chamber
output opening, and wherein the heating element is
disposed within the outer enclosure, outside of the
heating chamber and outside of the narrow process
gap;
the supply chamber that [sic] holds a supply roll of the
continuous flexible workpiece and has a supply
chamber opening, wherein the supply chamber
opening aligns with the heating chamber input
opening and wherein the continuous flexible
workpiece is configured to be advanced into the
heating chamber from the supply chamber;
the receiving chamber that [sic] holds a receiving roll to
collect the continuous flexible workpiece from the
heating chamber and has a receiving chamber
opening, wherein the receiving chamber opening
aligns with the heating chamber output opening
and wherein the continuous flexible workpiece is
configured to be advanced into the receiving
chamber from the heating chamber; and
a moving mechanism to hold the continuous flexible
workpiece within the common chamber and move
the continuous flexible workpiece through the
narrow process gap of the heating chamber by
feeding previously unrolled portions of the
continuous flexible workpiece from the supply roll
and taking up and wrapping processed portions of
Appeal 2013-003014
Application 11/938,679

3
the continuous flexible workpiece on the receiving
roll in the receiving chamber.

The References
Izu US 4,485,125 Nov. 27, 1984
Doehler US 5,374,313 Dec. 20, 1994
Kanai US 5,520,740 May 28, 1996
Moriyama US 6,350,489 B1 Feb. 26, 2002
Hori US 2003/0136517 A1 July 24, 2003
The Rejections
The claims stand rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as follows: claims 1,
2, 4, 5, 8, 10-13, 42-48 and 51 over Moriyama in view of Hori, claims 6, 7,
14-24, 53-60, 62 and 64-73 over Moriyama in view of Hori and Izu, claim 9
over Moriyama in view of Hori and Doehler, claim 52 over Moriyama in
view of Hori and Kanai and claim 63 over Moriyama in view of Izu, Hori
and Kanai.
OPINION
We reverse the rejections. We need address only the independent
claims, i.e., claims 1 and 14. Claim 1 requires an outer enclosure around a
heating chamber having a narrow process gap defined by a top wall, a
bottom wall and side walls that form an opening in which a height is
substantially less than a width thereof, and a heating element which is within
the outer enclosure, outside the heating chamber and outside the narrow
process gap. Claim 14 requires a heating chamber having first and second
process sections, each including a narrow process gap defined by a top wall,
a bottom wall and side walls that form an opening in which a process section
Appeal 2013-003014
Application 11/938,679

4
height is substantially less than a process section width, and a heating
element outside the narrow process gap.
Moriyama discloses a deposited-film forming apparatus “preferably
applicable in a roll-to-roll system suited for the continuous formation of
photovoltaic devices, i.e., solar cells” (col. 1, ll. 15-17). The apparatus
comprises heaters (805-809) which are inside an enclosure and adjacent to a
web (834) on which a film is deposited (col. 11, ll. 10-20; Fig. 8).
Hori discloses a roll-to-roll film deposition apparatus which is used
for forming solar cell photoelectric conversion elements and includes a
heater (304-3 to 307-3, 305-4’, 306-4’; ¶¶ 93-97, Fig. 2) similar to that of
Moriyama. Hori also discloses a film deposition apparatus wherein a
substrate (101) is arranged on a substrate-retaining member (103”) so as to
downward face the inside of a vacuum processing chamber (103) used for
vacuum-processing the substrate (101) while arranged on the substrate-
retaining member (103”) (¶ 37; Fig. 1). The apparatus comprises a
heater (116) inside a vacuum vessel (102) and outside the vacuum
processing chamber (103) (¶ 42; Fig. 1). The substrate (101) can be a web
“of a length which can be wound in a roll form” (¶ 64).
The Examiner argues that Hori “teaches a roll-to-roll processing
system (100) comprising an outer enclosure (vacuum vessel 102) around a
heating chamber (processing chamber 103) that forms a seal within the
outer enclosure (Hori: paragraphs 37-38 and Fig. 1)” (Ans. 6) and “discloses
that the embodiment shown in figure 1 can use a web substrate (par. 63-64)
which is a roll-to-roll substrate” (Ans. 26).
Appeal 2013-003014
Application 11/938,679

5
Hori’s disclosure that the Figure 1 embodiment’s substrate (101) is
processed while arranged on a substrate-retaining member (103”) (¶ 37)
indicates that the web substrate which can be wound into roll form (¶ 64) is
not a roll-to-roll substrate but, rather, is a web which is processed while
arranged on the substrate-retaining member (103”) and then removed from
the substrate-retaining member (103”) and wound into a roll.
Thus, the Examiner has not set forth a factual basis which is sufficient
to support a prima facie case of obviousness of the Appellant’s claimed
invention. See In re Warner, 379 F.2d 1011, 1017 (CCPA 1967) (“A
rejection based on section 103 clearly must rest on a factual basis, and these
facts must be interpreted without hindsight reconstruction of the invention
from the prior art”).
Accordingly, we reverse the rejections.
DECISION/ORDER
The rejections under 35 U.S.C. § 103 of claims 1, 2, 4, 5, 8, 10-13, 42-
48 and 51 over Moriyama in view of Hori, claims 6, 7, 14-24, 53-60, 62 and
64-73 over Moriyama in view of Hori and Izu, claim 9 over Moriyama in
view of Hori and Doehler, claim 52 over Moriyama in view of Hori and
Kanai and claim 63 over Moriyama in view of Izu, Hori and Kanai are
reversed.
It is ordered that the Examiner’s decision is reversed.
REVERSED

Appeal 2013-003014
Application 11/938,679

6
mat