Appeal No. 1999-1679 4
Application No. 08/851,742
THE REFERENCES OF RECORD
As evidence of obviousness, the examiner relies upon the following references:
Zucchini et al. (Zucchini) 4,305,840 Dec. 15, 1981
Cowan et al. (Cowan) 4,588,703 May 13, 1986
Collomb-Ceccarini et al. (Collomb-Ceccarini) 4,921,920 May 1, 1990
Job 5,122,494 Jun. 16, 1992
Cuffiana et al. (Cuffiana) 5,278,118 Jan. 11, 1994
Scata et al. (Scata) 1 539 175 Jan. 31, 1979
(published Great Britain Patent Application)
THE REJECTIONS
Claims 1, 3, 5 through 18, 20, 22 and 23 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C.
§ 103(a) as being unpatentable over Scata in view of Job.
Claims 1 through 8, 10 through 20, 22 and 23 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C.
§ 103(a) as being unpatentable over Cuffiana in view of Zucchini, Cowan and Collomb-
Ceccarini.
OPINION
We have carefully considered all of the arguments advanced by the appellant and
the examiner, and agree with the appellant that the rejections of each of the claims are not
well founded. Accordingly, we reverse these rejections.
The Rejection Under Section 103(a)
"[T]he examiner bears the initial burden, on review of the prior art or on any
other ground, of presenting a prima facie case of unpatentability." See In re Oetiker, 977
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