Appeal No. 2002-1629 Page 7
Application No. 08/863,121
oxygen (nitrites, hydrazines, thiols, arsine, aminophenols, arylhydroxylamines,
N-hydroxyurethane, phenylenediamines); and some agents oxidize hemoglobin
via biochemical transformation (anilines, sulfanilamide, 4,4’-
diaminodiphenylsulfone, the 8-aminoquinolines primaquine and pamaquine, and
the N-acylarylamines acetanilid and phenacetin).
Neither Bunn nor the other references cited by the examiner provide a
suggestion or motivation to choose hydroxylamine, from all the compounds
disclosed by Bunn, and substitute it into the method disclosed by Toda. Granted,
Toda notes that problems arise from using cyanide-containing solutions in
automatic blood analyzers (col. 1, lines 45-61) and suggests the use of non-
cyanide oxidizing agents (col. 3, lines 59-62). However, the agents suggested by
Toda as substitutes for cyanide do not include the hydroxylamine recited in the
instant claims.
The examiner has pointed to nothing in either Toda or the other
references that would have suggested substituting hydroxylamine for the agents
suggested by Toda. Since the cited references can only be combined with the
benefit of hindsight, they do not support a prima facie case of obviousness. The
rejections under 35 U.S.C. § 103 are reversed.1
1 The rejection of claims 27 and 29 relies on the same rationale, with an additional reference
being added to meet the specific limitations of these claims. Thus, our reversal of the rejection
based on Toda, Ledis, and Bunn requires reversal of both rejections on appeal.
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