Appeal No. 1998-2012
Application 08/657,556
that it would have been obvious to run the first reaction of
the process disclosed in Mestepey by contacting the uranium
hexafluoride with a liquid solution of hydrogen fluoride and
water as suggested by Grant, the examiner has failed to
explain why one of ordinary skill in the art would have
subsequently boiled that liquid solution to form a vapor as
claimed in step (c).
Furthermore, to the extent that Mestepey uses a condenser
(18) in the disclosed process, it does not appear that "a
mixed gas and liquid state" is formed as in step (d) of the
claimed method. Compare step (d) of claim 1 ("condensing said
combination to form a mixed gas and liquid state, said gas
state being comprised of essentially oxygen and said liquid
state being comprised of hydrogen fluoride and water") with
col. 4, lines 13-18 (condenser 18 separates outlet stream 38
into (1) substantially pure commercial grade liquid anhydrous
hydrogen fluoride and (2) oxygen gas).
For the reasons set forth above, we cannot sustain the
rejection of claims 1-13 under 35 U.S.C. § 103. See In re
Oetiker, 977 F.2d 1443, 1445, 24 USPQ2d 1443, 1444 (Fed. Cir.
1992) (the examiner bears the initial burden of presenting a
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