Appeal No. 1997-0678
Application 08/406,768
outside circumference." See the Abstract of Mizuno et
al.
We refer to the Final Rejection (Paper No. 15) (pages
referred to as "FR__") and the Examiner's Answer (Paper
No. 22) (pages referred to as "EA__") for a statement of the
Examiner's position and to the Appeal Brief (Paper No. 21)
(pages referred to as "Br__") for a statement of Appellants'
arguments thereagainst.
OPINION
The issue is whether the combination of Pollard and
Mizuno would have made obvious a magnetic disk having an
annular start-stop area with a radial downslope and a second
annular data storage area which has no radial downslope.
Pollard discloses an annular start-stop area, parking
zone 32, at the inner area of the disk, where the disk has a
flat surface. Mizuno discloses a magnetic recording disk
"whose thickness is made thinner gradually toward the outer
rim, thereby obtaining a disk with excellent surface
qualities, low weight, and a small moment of inertia"
(translation, page 3); thus, the whole surface of the disk in
Mizuno has a downslope. We do not doubt that one of ordinary
skill in the art of designing magnetic disks would have been
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