Appeal No. 1997-1669
Application No. 08/185,649
at the claimed invention. See In re Fine, 837 F.2d 1071, 1074,
5 USPQ2d 1596, 1598 (Fed. Cir. 1988).
First we turn to the examiner’s rejection of claims 42
and 44-46 under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over
Stone in view of Otson, Chlosta ‘733, Smith and Lorch.
The examiner relies on Stone (answer, pages 4-5) to
disclose a liquid sampling device comprising a rotatable
sample tray (50, 60) having chambers with shoulders for
retaining vials therein and a stationary needle (260, 270)
disposed above the tray (50, 60). It is further urged that
Stone provides a vertically displaceable rod (200) which is
brought into engagement with sample vial (77) to push the
vial into engagement with the needle (260). The examiner
notes that Stone lacks an automated vial transport that
conveys a vial into a chamber from a point above the chamber,
a gear drive system and means to heat the sample tray. The
examiner relies on Otson to teach the use of a liquid
autosampler for sampling headspace gas for gas chromatography.
Chlosta ‘733 is relied upon by the examiner to teach a device
7
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