Appeal No. 1998-1869
Application 08/688,423
expressly or under the principles of inherency, each and every
element of a claimed invention as well as disclosing structure
which is capable of performing the recited functional
limitations. RCA Corp. v. Applied Digital Data Systems, Inc.,
730 F.2d 1440, 1444, 221 USPQ 385, 388 (Fed. Cir.); cert.
dismissed, 468 U.S. 1228 (1984); W.L. Gore and Associates,
Inc. v. Garlock, Inc., 721 F.2d 1540, 1554, 220 USPQ 303, 313
(Fed. Cir. 1983), cert. denied, 469 U.S. 851 (1984).
Claims 1 and 2 are similarly rejected and stand or
fall together [brief, page 5]. Watanabe discloses an electric
discharge tube having a dispenser cathode. The cathode of
Watanabe is coated with a plurality of emissive thin layers.
The thin layers of Watanabe are each made of the same
composition but with each layer having a different density.
Watanabe lists several exemplary compositions for use as the
emissive material for the thin layers. The examiner finds
that the compositions suggested by Watanabe include a tungsten
alloy, a rhenium alloy and scandium oxide [answer, page 4].
Appellants argue that Watanabe discloses the same
composition for each of the thin layers of coating whereas
claims 1 and 2 require different materials for the top,
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