Appeal No. 1999-2131 Page 18
Application No. 08/971,504
broad claims (e.g., claims 44, 59 and 62) would be met, or
obviated, by Childers' drill bit which includes a thrust
bearing, at least in part, formed of stellite material.5
Also, given the disclosure in Childers of a thrust bearing
formed of stellite 6 and the appellants' disclosure (page 8)
of a preferred embodiment that uses "grade 6B wrought
STELLITE", the examiner should consider how one of ordinary
skill in the art practicing Childers' use of stellite for a
bearing element or thrust washer would have selected among the
various stellites available? The examiner should also
consider Du Mond's disclosure of stellite 6B as the "most
widely used cobalt-base wear alloy".
Turning to group 3), with regard to the examiner's
consideration of claim 1, it is our determination that the
claim 1 phrase "consisting primarily of" is an open term which
permits
5 The open term "comprising" as used in the appellants' claim 44 does not
exclude other materials.
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