Appeal No. 1997-0495
Application No. 08/399,787
It follows that Chen’s reasons for providing an optical
recording media with certain layers including dielectric and
reflecting layers and certain thicknesses have no apparent
applicability to the optical recording medium taught by
Kuroiwa. Moreover, we perceive no other reason, and the
examiner points to none specifically, for providing Kuroiwa’s
medium with layers including dielectric and reflecting layers
of the type taught by Chen.
Similar rationale applies to the Yamada patent. While
Yamada’s recording medium includes dielectric and optional
reflecting layers, the examiner refers to no specific teaching
in this reference which would have suggested providing the
optical recording medium of Kuroiwa with such layers.
Certainly, the problem/solution addressed by Yamada (equal
temperature-rise profiles of the recording layer in the
recorded and erased states; see lines 48-54 in column 3) has
no apparent applicability to Kuroiwa’s recording medium.
Even if we were to assume that providing Kuroiwa’s medium
with a reflecting layer would be potentially beneficial for
some unknown reason, the examiner’s obviousness conclusion
still would be improper. This is because the examiner has
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