Ex Parte LESIEUR - Page 13




          Appeal No. 2002-0218                                                        
          Application No. 09/332,415                                                  

                    CLAIMS 1, 2, 7, 9, 12, 16, 17, 19, 20, and 22                     
               We turn next to the examiner’s rejection of claims 1, 2, 7,            
          9, 12, 16, 17, 19, 20, and 22 under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being                
          unpatentable over the combined disclosures of Clawson, Narumiya,            
          Setzer and Dicks.  Much of the relevant disclosures of Clawson              
          and Narumiya are discussed above.  We find nothing in Setzer and            
          Dicks which teaches or would have suggested the employment of a             
          copper and/or zinc catalyst bed subsequent to a noble metal                 
          catalyst bed in the autothermal reformer assembly of the type               
          suggested by Clawson and Narumiya.  Nor has  the examiner                   
          explained why one of ordinary skill in the art would have been              
          led to employ the above-mentioned catalysts in the claimed                  
          sequence.  Accordingly, we reverse this rejection.                          
                                CLAIMS 13 THROUGH 15                                  
               We turn next to the examiner’s rejection of claims 13-15               
          under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over the combined               
          disclosures of Clawson, Narumiya, Setzer, Dicks and Sheller.                
          However, since the examiner does not rely on Sheller to remedy              
          the above deficiency, we reverse this rejection as well.                    
                                         CLAIM 18                                     
               We turn next to the examiner’s rejection of claim 18 under             
          35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over the combined                     

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