Appeal No. 2001-0233
Application 08/668,640
having a number average molecular weight in the range of from about 200 to about
100,000 g/mole having uniformly dispersed therein less than 70 parts by weight of a
particulate material selected from the group consisting of: i) non-silicon containing
ceramics, ii) carbon, and iii) oxides, hydroxides, or sulfides of elements from Periodic
Table Groups II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, or VIII having a decomposition temperature greater
than 400°C and mixtures thereof; said particulate material having a mean particle size
or mean diameter of less than about 10 microns; whereby the preceramic composite
intermediate composition is capable of forming a microporous ceramic product having a
surface area in excess of 50m2/gm and a volume of micropores greater than about
0.015 cm2/gm.1
THE REFERENCES
In rejecting the appealed claims under 35 U.S.C. § 103, the Examiner relies on
the following references:
Porte et al. (Porte) 4,722,988 Feb. 2, 1988
Nishihara et al. (Nishihara) 4,929,507 May 29, 1990
Ayama et al. (Ayama) 4,937,304 Jun. 26, 1990
Takeuchi et al. (Takeuchi) 4,950,381 Aug. 21, 1990
Beck (Beck I) 5,120,692 Jun. 9, 1992
Beck (Beck II) 5,191,137 Mar. 2, 1993
Takeda et al. (Takeda) 5,393,815 Feb. 28, 1995
(filed Jul. 20, 1993)
Yamamoto et al. (Yamamoto) 5,677,372 Oct. 14. 1997
(filed Dec. 8, 1995)
The Appellants rely upon the following reference as evidence of nonobviousness:
Dismukes et al. (Dismukes) 5,902,759 May 11, 1999
(filed Jan. 21, 1997)
THE REJECTIONS
Claims 1-4, 6-12, 15, 36, and 37 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a) as
being unpatentable over Takeda, alone or taken with Yamamoto.
1 The Appellants have elected to group all of the claims together for each rejection. Consequently, we will
focus on claim 1 for each rejection as it is the broadest, and only independent, claim. Claims must be
argued separately on appeal or they stand or fall together. See, e.g., In re Dance, 160 F.3d 1339, 1340,
48 USPQ2d 1635, 1636 (Fed. Cir. 1998).
2
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