PATENT CLAIM ANALYSIS

Application Number: 16056387
Application Type: Utility
Filing Date: 2018-08
Publication Date: 2018-12
Patent Classification: ["134", "022100"]

Abstract:
In a substrate processing apparatus, an ejection surface of an ejection head located at a standby position is immersed in an immersion liquid retained in a reservoir during standby of the ejection head. This prevents drying of a plurality of outlets provided in the ejection head and drying of processing liquid flow passages that communicate with the outlets. It is thus possible to suppress or prevent clogging of the fine outlets. When the ejection head resumes processing on a substrate, the immersion liquid in the reservoir is discharged and then a liquid removing part removes the immersion liquid adhering to the ejection surface. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent the immersion liquid remaining on the ejection surface from dropping and adhering to the substrate (so-called “liquid dripping”) when, for example, the ejection head is moved to a position above the substrate.

Claim (Index 1):
A standby method for an ejection head, said standby method being a method of placing said ejection head of a substrate processing apparatus on standby, said ejection head being disposed inside a cup part and above a substrate holding part surrounded by said cup part and being configured to eject a processing liquid from an outlet provided in an ejection surface toward a substrate held by said substrate holding part,\n said standby method comprising: a) moving said ejection head from a position inside said cup part to a position outside said cup part; b) causing relative movement of said ejection head and a reservoir in which an immersion liquid is retained, in a direction that said ejection head and said reservoir become closer to each other to immerse said ejection surface of said ejection head in said immersion liquid; c) separating said ejection surface from said immersion liquid either by discharging said immersion liquid from said reservoir or by causing relative movement of said ejection head and said reservoir in a direction that said ejection head and said reservoir become away from each other; d) removing said immersion liquid that remains on said ejection surface; and e) moving said ejection head to a position inside said cup part, wherein said ejection head includes: a head body part having an outer surface, part of which is said ejection surface, and for holding said processing liquid therein; and a piezoelectric element attached to said head body part and for vibrating said processing liquid held in said head body part to cause the ejection of said processing liquid from said outlet, and said piezoelectric element is driven to vibrate said immersion liquid retained in said reservoir in a state where said ejection surface is immersed in said immersion liquid in said operation b).

Metadata:
- Claim Count in Document: 32.0
- Percentile: 96.0
- Lexical Diversity: 2.1831
- Patent Class: 134.0
- Transitional Phrase Type: open
- Component Type: 1
- Foreign Priority: True
- Related Applications: ['14206902', '14801096', '11947643', '13433872', '10812405']

Analysis Scores:
- 35 USC 101 Eligibility (BERT): 0.8204050490031517
- 35 USC 102 Novelty (BERT): 0.5126304744788326
- Combined Prediction Score: 0.7896275915507198
- Mean Citation Score: 200.37105000000005
- Max Citation Score: 322.45166
- Similarity Product: 284.3920910042644

Labels:
- Claim Label 101: 1
- Claim Label 102: 1
- Claim Label 103: 0
- Claim Label 112: 1
- Combined Label: 1
- Label 101 Adjusted: 1

Dataset: test