Appeal No. 96-0069 Application 08/110,493 It should be noted that claim 13 as reproduced above specifically recites an optical article having the shape of a solid regular pyramid in which the sides of the pyramid meet at the apex of the pyramid. The corresponding device in Koechner which may be “pyramidal” is the laser module bounded by faces 8 and 9 and concentrator 7. This device in Koechner is described as a “truncated pyramid” [column 4, line 30]. A truncated pyramid is a pyramid in which the top portion has been cut off. Therefore, the truncated pyramid of Koechner does not have triangular faces which meet at the apex of the pyramid as recited in the claimed invention. The examiner never recognizes this difference between the “pyramid” of Koechner and the pyramid as specifically recited in claim 13. The examiner’s position simply assumes that the pyramid of Koechner meets the pyramid of the claims which is not the case. Consequently, the examiner never addresses why the pyramid as recited in the claims would have been obvious to the artisan in view of the truncated pyramid of Koechner. The failure of the examiner to even acknowledge the difference between Koechner’s truncated pyramid and the pyramid of the claims results in a failure by the examiner to establish a prima facie case of obviousness. While we are not able to say whether 6Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 NextLast modified: November 3, 2007