Appeal No. 97-1078
Application 08/448,056
expansion, and thus similar thermal shock resistances, is
refuted by the Kotani declaration submitted by the appellants.
By a clear preponderance of evidence, this declaration and its
accompanying exhibits establish that the coefficient of
thermal expansion of forsterite is significantly higher than
that of cordierite, notwithstanding the indication to the
contrary in the handbook material relied upon by the examiner.
Finally, Davies’ disclosure that the temperature and
temperature fluctuations in zone 13M are relatively mild
belies the examiner’s reasoning that the artisan would have
found it obvious to substitute cordierite for forsterite in
this zone for the purpose of obtaining high heat and thermal
shock resistance.
In this light, we are constrained to conclude that the
only suggestion for combining Davies and Oda in the manner
proposed by the examiner stems from hindsight knowledge
impermissibly derived from the appellants’ own disclosure.
Ogawa, applied by the examiner in support of the rejection of
dependent claims 16 through 19, does not cure this fundamental
flaw in the Davies-Oda combination.
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