Appeal No. 2002-2101
Application 09/068,540
I. Claim interpretation and the Anticipation Rejection
According to appellants’ invention, it is not necessary to
apply as high a fiber-drawing temperature as in the prior art for
the purpose of filling empty volumes 23 (depicted in Figure 2).
This provides for less eccentricity and less deformation of the
core of fiber product. See page 7, lines 25-29 of appellants’
specification. This is achieved by selecting a material (as the
intermediate tube) that has a particular viscosity value. More
particularly, the intermediate tube is inserted in the empty
volume and the intermediate tube possesses a viscosity at fiber
drawing temperature which is less than the viscosities at fiber
drawing temperature of the mother preform and of the outer tube.
See page 7, lines 19-25.
Upon heating, intermediate tube 21 softens, thereby filling
the empty volumes and the material constituting the intermediate
tube is intended to become an integral portion of the fiber. See
page 6, lines 31- through page 7, line 18.
In view of the aforementioned disclosure found in
appellants’ specification, we determine that the specification
specifically supports that the material constituting the
intermediate tube 21 becomes an integral portion of the resulting
optical fiber F, as depicted in Figure 3, and as explicitly
disclosed on page 7 at lines 16 through 18 of appellants’
specification.
We therefore agree with appellants’ remarks set forth on
pages 1 through 2 of the reply brief. Specifically, the
intermediate tube is retained as an integral portion of the fiber
after drawing.
We further note that claims 6 and 8 each requires that the
material that constitutes the intermediate tube is limited to a
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