Appeal No. 96-2513
Application 08/037,064
23. A head assembly for use in a contact recording rigid
disk file comprising:
a carrier having a wear pad for contact with the disk, the
wear pad comprising a plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposited or
sputter-deposited homogenous outer wear layer and a plasma-
enhanced chemical vapor deposited or sputter-deposited homogenous
inner wear layer in contact with the outer layer and having a
wear resistance greater than that of the outer layer; and
a head supported within the carrier for reading or writing
data on the disk, the head having a pole piece extending through
the inner wear layer and into the outer wear layer.
Opinion
The rejection of claims 1-8, 12-14, 23-26 and 29-31 cannot
be sustained.
With respect to the EP Reference, the appellants assert (Br.
at 5):
The wear material 34c is deposited on the upper surface
of the end of the head structure on top of the pole 32c
(Fig. 9). This is explained at column 11, lines 35-40,
of EP [the European Reference]. Thus, even if this
layer were made into two layers, or made to have wear
resistance varying with thickness, as suggested in the
Section 103 rejection, it would have no effect on the
wear of the head 34 contacting disk 22 in Fig. 4B.
(Emphasis in original.)
The appellants' position is misplaced. The contact pad 34
includes not just part 34c, but also parts 34a and 34b.
Together, they surround the downwardly extending tip 32a of the
pole structure of the recording head (see column 8, lines 17-31).
As can be seen in Figure 5A, which shows a fragmentary view from
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