Appeal No. 1997-1221
Application No. 08/299,591
§ 103 as being unpatentable over Thompson in view of Lim. On
pages 3 through 5 of the answer, the examiner expresses his
position as follows:
Thompson et al discloses an insulation material
comprising a thin metal sheet, a nonwoven fabric
layer disposed on the thin metal sheet, and a wire
mesh layer disposed on the nonwoven fabric layer.
The nonwoven fabric layer preferably comprises a
ceramic fiber. The material is useful as an
insulating material. A preferred embodiment employs
the material as a replaceable insulation material
for use in engines. Thompson et al teaches that the
insulation material provides enhanced heat shielding
for materials having the insulation disposed
thereon, thus allowing less expensive materials,
such as carbon steel rather than high temperature
nickel based alloyed steel to be used in high heat
environments. Thompson et al differs from the
claimed invention in that Thompson et al does not
specifically teach that the insulating material can
be used as an insulation for an exhaust manifold,
and because Thompson et al does not teach the
specific metals claimed for use as the woven layer
and the thin metal sheet, nor the particular
diameter of the wire, mesh size of the woven wire,
thickness of the metal sheet or bulk density of the
nonwoven fabric. Lim teaches an insulating material
comprising a fibrous blanket and a protective wire
mesh covering over the blanket. The fibrous blanket
may comprise ceramic fibers, rock wool and fiber
glass, (see column 1, lines 5-14). The wire mesh
may comprise steel, (see column 1, lines 64-65).
Lim teaches that the insulating material is useful
in a wide variety of applications including
exhausts, turbo chargers and power generators. It
would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in
the art at the time the invention was made to have
used steel for the heat resisting sheet and the
woven wire covering. One of ordinary skill in the
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