Ex parte FREEOUF - Page 5




          Appeal No. 1997-1249                                                        
          Application 08/179,601                                                      


          ordinary skill in the art would have been led to the claimed                
          invention by the reasonable teachings or suggestions found in               
          the prior art, or by a reasonable inference to the artisan                  
          contained in such teachings or suggestions.  In re Sernaker,                
          702 F.2d 989, 995, 217 USPQ 1, 6 (Fed. Cir. 1983).                          
          "Additionally, when determining obviousness, the claimed                    
          invention should be considered as a whole; there is no legally              
          recognizable 'heart' of the invention."  Para-Ordnance Mfg. v.              
          SGS Importers Int’l., 73 F.3d 1085, 1087, 37 USPQ2d 1237, 1239              
          (Fed. Cir. 1995) (citing W. L. Gore & Assocs. v. Garlock,                   
          Inc., 721 F.2d 1540, 1548,                                                  
          220 USPQ 303, 309 (Fed. Cir. 1983), cert. denied, 469 U.S. 851              
          (1984)).                                                                    
               With regard to the rejection of claims 28 and 31, grouped              
          together by both the Examiner (answer-page 5) and Appellant                 
          (brief-page 6), the Examiner reasons that Doehler teaches a                 
          photodetector with the claimed layered structure (Figures 3A                
          and 3B), except that the intrinsic (i) layers are shown as the              
          same thickness as the n and p layers.  The Examiner then cites              
          Yamazaki for its photodetector with n and p layers thinner                  


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