Appeal No. 2005-1354
Application No. 09/940,481
Mn content is limited to # 0.1%" (page 7 of principal brief,
second paragraph). First, however, we must point out that the
0.1% Mn taught by Fukuda falls within the claimed range.
Furthermore, Fukuda does not teach, as asserted by appellants,
that less than 0.1% Mn would not provide the desired physical
characteristics. Rather, Fukuda discloses "[a]ny content below
0.1% would assure no appreciable improvement in forging
adaptability" (column 2, lines 60-62). Hence, Fukuda does not
teach away from using less than 0.1% Mn but only teaches that no
further improvement in forging adaptability would result in such
concentrations.
As for the appealed claims, such as claim 9, which result
recite a martensitic transformation start point of less than
-186°C and a different range for the average coefficient of
thermal expansion between 20° and 100°C, appellants have not
rebutted the examiner's reasonable rationale that the obvious
inclusion of cobalt in the recited amounts would necessarily
result in the claimed martensitic transformation start point and
average coefficient of thermal expansion. Appellants have
proffered no objective evidence that the cobalt-modified iron
alloy of Inoue, or the alloys fairly taught by Fukuda, would not
exhibit the claimed properties. Nor have appellants established
-7-
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