Appeal No. 2000-1269
Application 08/756,349
in the stack entails increased production costs”
(specification, page 2, lines 1-2) indicates that it would
have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to make
all of Maus’ smooth layers thicker than the corrugated layers
to reduce production costs (answer, page 4). The examiner
argues that one of ordinary skill in the art would not have
made both the smooth and structured layers the same thickness
to minimize production cost because Maus teaches (col. 2,
lines 55-59) that reinforcing some of the smooth layers
strengthens the catalyst support body (answer, page 4). Thus,
the examiner argues, one of ordinary skill in the art would
have reached a balance between strength and production cost
through optimization, and in doing so would have made all
smooth layers the same thickness and all corrugated layers the
same thickness to reduce production cost, and would have made
all smooth layers thicker than the corrugated layers to
increase the strength of the catalyst support body (answer,
page 5).
In order for a prima facie case of obviousness to be
established, the teachings from the prior art itself must
5
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Next
Last modified: November 3, 2007