Appeal No. 2006-0010 Page 8
Application No. 10/170,538
The Examiner has not identified portions of the Kenny, Jin >324 and Jin >358
references which discloses this condition. The rejections of these claims are reversed.
Claim 68 is directed to metal foam part comprising a metal matrix having pores
evenly distributed therein. The claim specifies that the pores are closed and have at
least one of an essentially spherical and an essentially ellipsoid shape and the largest
dimensions of the pores show a monomodal distribution. The claim further specifies
that the inner wall surfaces of said pores comprise at least in part oxidized metal matrix.
The portions of the Kenny and the Jin references identified by the Examiner for
describing the features of the claimed invention are incorrect. While the references
disclose the use of metal oxides in the formation of the pores of the metal melt, the
references do not disclose the shape of the pores and that the largest dimensions of the
pores show a monomodal distribution. The disclosure in the references that the pores
have uniform size does not necessarily indicate the shape of the pores or the
distribution thereof. The rejections of claim 68 over Kenny, Jin >324 and Jin >358 are
reversed.
The Rejection under ' 103 over Sang
Claims 21-58 and 60-62 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103(a) as obvious over
Sang. (Final Rejection, pp. 3-4). We reverse.
According to the Examiner, Sang teaches a method and device for forming a
metal foam including introducing gas by means of an oscillating pipe. The Examiner
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Next
Last modified: November 3, 2007