Ex parte MORDUE et al. - Page 8




          Appeal No. 1999-0405                                                        
          Application No. 08/651,571                                                  


          Appellants assert that the Hattori reference is non-                        
          analogous art because it is not within appellants’ field of                 
          endeavor (i.e., molten metal pumps/impellers) or reasonably                 
          pertinent to the particular problem that appellants address                 
          (i.e., attaching a silicon carbide bearing ring to a graphite               
          impeller of a molten metal pump).  Appellants also argue that               
          Hattori is not even a general teaching on mating of two                     
          components, because it is specific to the bonding of fluorine               
          resin articles, and that, even if it were analogous art, there              
          is no motivation or justification supporting the examiner’s                 
          proposed combinations with Thut and Cooper since 1) the                     
          applied references do not in any way recognize a problem with               
          the attachment of a bearing ring to a molten metal pump                     
          impeller and 2) there is no justification for applying the                  
          teachings of Hattori relating to bonding fluorine resin                     
          articles to metal to a structure involving attaching a silicon              
          carbide bearing ring to a graphite impeller which is to be                  
          immersed in molten metal as in Thut and Cooper.  In this                    
          regard, appellants assert that the examiner has employed an                 
          improper "obvious to try" standard of patentability and relied              


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