Appeal No. 1998-0091
Application No. 08/404,054
applying Hegner's teachings to Bell's device, to implement
Hegner's protective layers 21 and 22 as glass layers.
(b) Claims 4 and 6
Claims 4 and 6, which are directed to the differential
capacitive pressure sensor shown in appellants' Figure 4,
recite two pressure sensors sharing a common substrate.
Claim 6 additionally specifies that "the substrate [is] formed
to include an aperture connecting the first and second
cavities and the outside surface of the substrate." The
rejection of these claims is based on Bell in view of Hegner
and Orlowski.
Although Figures 4 and 5 of Orlowski show a differential
capacitive pressure sensor having insulating post-like
supports 20 extending through holes in electrodes 22 and
insulating annular supports 21 surrounding the electrodes in
order to prevent short-circuits between the electrodes 22 and
23 (col. 3, lines 36-40), the rejection does not rely on
Orlowski's recognition of short-circuiting as a problem and
thus fails to provide the motivation that is missing in the
rejection of claims 3 and 5. Instead, the examiner states
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