Appeal No. 95-3849
Application 08/029,549
discloses a height of particles above the surface of 0.3 to
3 µm, which is within the claimed range of 0.2 µm to 3.0 µm
and which provides a low coefficient of friction. But neither
Kuroda nor Tollefson disclose the pitch or suggest that pitch
is a parameter in reducing friction. Moreover, since the
surface roughness in Tollefson is an undesired result of the
molding process rather than an intentional feature, there is
no motivation for one skilled in the art to modify Tollefson
to provide the claimed roughness. Appellants describe that
the relationship between crest height * and pitch is critical:
if the height * is too small, a sudden rise in frictional
resistance occurs almost irrespective of the pitch
(specification, page 35), whereas if the pitch is too great a
slack occurs with the magnetic tape causing a loss of the
effect of the crests (specification, page 37, discussing
figure 15). Because we find no teaching or suggestion in the
prior art to vary the pitch between protrusions to reduce the
frictional resistance or for any other reason, we conclude
that the examiner has failed to establish a prima facie case
of obviousness. The rejection of claims 1-6 is reversed.
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