Appeal No. 1996-3496
Application No. 08/167,288
preferably carried on alpha alumina and unfired
zirconia powders are carried on fired zirconia
carriers.
This interpretation is consistent with appellants’ suggestion
at pages 4 and 5 of the Brief.
Having determined the scope and meaning of the claims, we
turn to the examiner’s rejection of claims 1 through 4 and 6
under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as unpatentable over the combined
disclosures of Wald and Leitheiser. The examiner acknowledges
that Wald describes, among other things, firing a mixture of
two differently sized alpha alumina precursor particles, one
portion of which being larger than the other, in a rotary
kiln. See Answer, page 4. The examiner recognizes that Wald
does not specifically mention “carrier particles of an inert
material”, especially those having the claimed particle sizes.
See Answer, pages 4 and 5. To remedy such a deficiency, the
examiner determines the term “carrier particles of an inert
material” as including large alpha alumina precursor
particles. Id. The examiner then, relying on Leitheiser’s
teaching regarding the particle sizes of its alpha alumina
precursor particles, concludes that it would have been obvious
to one of ordinary skill in the art to use alpha alumina
6
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