Ex parte HAGE et al. - Page 6




          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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