Appeal No. 2006-0235
Application 09/733,352
Keck et al. (Keck) 3,711,262 Jan. 16, 1973
Knowles et al. (Knowles) 4,148,218 Apr. 10, 1979
Bice et al. (Bice) 5.787,216 Jul. 28, 1998
David Halliday et al. (Halliday), Fundamentals of Physics, p. 189 (2nd ed. New York, John
Wiley & Sons, Inc. 1981).
The examiner has rejected appealed claims 1 through 3, 11, 13, 14, 16 through 22, 36, 37,
59 and 60 under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a) as being unpatentable over Knowles taken with Keck and
Halliday (answer, pages 4-8); and appealed claims 4 through 12, 23 through 30 and 33 through
35 under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a) as being unpatentable over Knowles taken with Keck and Halliday
as applied to claims 1 through 3, 11, 18, 19, 21 and 22 above, further in view of Bice (answer,
pages 8-9).2
Appellants argue independent claims 1 and 20 as a group and certain other claims
individually with respect to the first ground of rejection, and claim 4 as well as certain other
claims with respect to the second ground of rejection (brief,3 pages 6-9, see also pages 3-6; reply
brief, pages 3-10). Thus, we decide this appeal based on appealed claims 1 and 4 as well as the
other claims to the extent argued by appellants as representative of the grounds, the remaining
claims thus standing or falling based on their dependency on the argued claims. 37 CFR
§ 41.37(c)(1)(vii) (September 2004).
We affirm.
We refer to the answer and to the brief and reply brief for a complete exposition of the
positions advanced by the examiner and appellants.
Opinion
We have carefully reviewed the record on this appeal and based thereon find ourselves in
agreement with the supported position advanced by the examiner that, prima facie, the claimed
method of screening an optical fiber during a fiber draw process would have been obvious over
2 The examiner has withdrawn the ground of rejection of claims 1, 13 through 16, 20, 59 and 60
under 35 U.S.C. § 102(b) as anticipated by Knowles (answer, page 3; see final rejection mailed
October 27, 2004, pages 2-3).
3 We consider the brief filed May 23, 2005.
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