Appeal No. 1998-2190
Application No. 08/593,266
According to appellants, the invention is directed to an
alkaline primary battery without mercury comprising a positive
electrode, an electrolyte and a negative electrode having an active
material containing mercuryless zinc powder (Brief, pages 4 and 6).
Appellants state that the claims are separately patentable in
each of five groups (see the Brief, page 9) and presents specific,
substantive reasons for the separate patentability of some claims
on pages 23-24 of the Brief. Accordingly, pursuant to the
provisions of 37 CFR § 1.192(c)(7)(1995), we consider each claim
separately to the extent the claims are argued separately by
appellants. A copy of illustrative independent claims 54 and 60 is
attached as an Appendix to this decision.
The examiner has relied upon the following references2 as
evidence of obviousness:
Kawakami 3,642,539 Feb. 15, 1972
Lee 3,653,965 Apr. 04, 1972
Julian 4,563,403 Jan. 07, 1986
Tada et al. (Tada) 5,139,900 Aug. 18, 1992
The claims on appeal stand rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a)
as unpatentable over Tada in view of Kawakami, Lee and Julian
2The reference to Shinoda et al., U.S. Patent No. 5,348,816,
issued on Sep. 20, 1994, was applied in the final rejection but
has been withdrawn in the Answer as “cumulative.” See the
Answer, page 3.
2
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