Appeal No. 1999-0554
Application No. 08/657,903
Contrary to a position espoused by the examiner, Oliver,
the primary reference, fails to teach or suggest the claimed
reference electrode being disposed in the salt solution. As
emphasized by appellants, and recognized by the examiner,
Oliver specifically discloses that both electrodes are
"immersed into the gelatin solution" (column 3, lines 58-61).
While the examiner reasons that "Oliver merely states in
passing that his reference electrode is immersed into the
gelatin solution" (page 8 of Answer, second full paragraph),
the fact remains that Oliver provides no teaching or
suggestion other than situating both the reference and
indicator electrodes in the gelatin solution.
Like appellants, we do not agree with the examiner that
Marks or Sands would have motivated one of ordinary skill in
the art to modify the placement of Oliver's electrodes. While
the examiner cites Marks and Sands for their disclosures of
reference electrodes located outside of the process solution
to which it is connected by a salt bridge, neither reference
is directed to the environment of appellants' and Oliver's
apparatus, namely, measuring the silver or halogen ion
concentration in a gelatin aqueous solution. Marks is
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