Appeal No. 1997-3328
Application No. 08/226,605
current used to introduce the sample, which would lead one to
conclude the sample was electrokinetically introduced", that
Harrison teaches a "[s]ample is introduced electrokinetically
by applying a voltage between the separation channel and
supply channel" and that "[i]t would have been obvious to one
of ordinary skill in the art to combine the method of
Verheggen and Harrison because electrokinetic injection is
conventional technique in the art of electrophoresis.
Furthermore, both references deal with control of sample
introduction and electrophoretic separation" (the office
action of May 16, 1995, Paper No. 3, pages 3-4).
Appellants state that "[t]he Examiner contends that such
a solution to the problem is obvious because the period of
applying the electric field is an art-recognized variable and
it would have been obvious to optimize it. However, the
Examiner does not claim that the references suggest to solve
the problem recognized by Verheggen by optimizing the time
period that the electric field is applied" (brief, page 7).
The examiner notes that "maintaining the electric field
for a period of time sufficient to allow for slower moving
molecules to migrate is an art-recognized result-effective
6
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Next
Last modified: November 3, 2007