Appeal No. 2003-1367
Application No. 09/640,237
The references relied on by the examiner are:
Hendrickson et al. (Hendrickson) 4,735,914 Apr. 5, 1998
Nguyen et al. (Nguyen) 5,914,518 Jun. 22, 1999
Maari 5,925,917 Jul. 20, 1999
Nakamura et al (Nakamura) 5,986,299 Nov. 16, 1999
Takebuchi 6,018,195 Jan. 25, 2000
Clampitt 6,081,033 Jun. 27, 2000
The following grounds of rejection are advanced by the examiner on appeal:
claims 1, 2, 5, 7, and 18 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a) based on Nguyen and
Nakamura;
claims 3 and 4 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a) based on Nguyen, Nakamura, and Maari;
claim 6 stands rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a) based on Nguyen, Nakamura, and appellant's
admitted prior art (Figs. 35-38, page 4, lines 26-29, and page 5, lines 1-5);
claims 8 and 9 are rejected are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a) based on Nakamura,
Takebuchi, and appellant's admitted prior art (Figs. 35-38, page 4, lines 26-29, and page 5, lines
1-5);
claims 10 and 11 are rejected are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a) based on Nakamura,
Takebuchi, appellant's admitted prior art (Figs. 35-38, page 4, lines 26-29, and page 5, lines 1-5),
and Hendrickson;
claims 14 and 15 are rejected are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a) based on Nakamura,
Takebuchi, appellant's admitted prior art (Figs. 35-38, page 4, lines 26-29, and page 5, lines 1-5),
and Clampitt; and,
claims 16 and 17 are rejected are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a) based on Nakamura,
Takebuchi, appellant's admitted prior art (Figs. 35-38, page 4, lines 26-29, and page 5, lines 1-5),
and Maari.
Appellant groups the appealed claims into four separate groups (a) - (d). We note that
group (d) encompasses claims 14 and 15, which are subject to only a single ground of rejection.
Similarly, group (c) encompasses claims 8 and 9 which are subject to only a single ground of
rejection. Groups (a) and (b), however, each encompass a group of claims in which all of the
claims are not subject to a single ground of rejection.
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