Appeal No. 96-1353
Application 07/696,973
bonding other components to the substrate. This is accomplished
by placing molten metal in a capillary tube, from the nozzle of
which it is deposited as the tube is moved into successive
positions or along a path.
In our opinion, deficiencies exist in the examiner’s
rejection with regard to the suggestion to combine. Jasper uses
plasma spraying because it “quickly heats a material to thousands
of degrees and instantly deposits the material on a surface where
it resolidifies” (column 6, lines 41 through 43) and becomes
fused to the substrate. From our perspective, one of ordinary
skill in the art would have appreciated that the Jasper invention
thus requires that the superconductor material be a finished
product when it is sprayed onto the substrate, that is, that it
has been oxidized prior to spraying. This being the case, it is
our view that motivation therefore would not have been present to
modify the Jasper process by spraying an unoxidized
superconductor material upon the substrate, and then oxidize it
later. Not only would this add another step to the Jasper
process, but there is no evidence to support a conclusion that
the unoxidized superconductor material would perform in the
manner required by the Jasper invention upon being deposited, or
after a subsequent oxidation step. This undermines the
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