Appeal No. 2005-2754
Application No. 10/391,835
brief (filed November 22, 2004) and reply brief (filed February 15, 2005) for the
arguments thereagainst.
OPINION
In reaching our decision in this appeal, we have given careful consideration to
appellants’ specification and claims, to the applied prior art references, and to the
respective positions articulated by appellants and the examiner. As a consequence of
our review, we have made the determination which follows.
For the reasons set forth on pages 3-7 of the answer, the examiner has concluded
that it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of
appellants’ invention, based on the collective teachings of the AAPA, LoVasco and
Silhavy, to modify an unpopulated optical bench precursor structure like that used to
facilitate the solder self-alignment process for optical components as described on page
1 of the specification (AAPA) by providing spacers and fixtures on the known optical
bench structure near the solder pads for permitting vertical and lateral positioning
alignment of the optical components with respect to the bench during solder reflow as
generally taught by LoVasco (e.g., Fig. 21) and to further utilize a removable template
like that seen at (59) of Silhavy as a substitute for the lateral alignment fixture (2131) of
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