Appeal No. 2002-0544
Application No. 09/095,157
or suggestion in the prior art that supports the obviousness of
using gold, and no other metal, in the joint layer of Fujii.
Therefore, we disagree with the Examiner that, because gold is a
non-corrosive metal used in electrical contacts, one of ordinary
skill in the art would have substituted a gold for the brazing
material in the joint layer of Fujii. The Examiner has further
failed to establish why the joining layer of Fujii, which is
formed of a brazing material exhibiting good quality, would
benefit from gold. Similarly, the chemical and electrical
properties of gold, as disclosed by Hawley, neither teach nor
suggest using gold, instead of copper, aluminum or nickel, in a
brazing material that shows “sufficient joining strength in a
satisfactory corrosion-resistant state.”
Based on our analysis above, we find that the Examiner has
failed to set forth a prima facie case of obviousness because the
necessary teachings and suggestions for using gold in the brazing
material of Fujii are not shown. Accordingly, we do not sustain
the rejection of claims 1-5 and 14 under 35 U.S.C. § 103 over
Fujii in view of Hawley.
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