Appeal 2007-0838
Application 09/851,242
The Examiner basically maintains that the sealing step of Mancusi
with or without Bikson’s asserted disclosure of mold potting would have
taught or suggested that one of ordinary skill in the art should employ a
second potting step corresponding to the second potting step of
representative appealed claim 1 as an available option as part of sealing or
putting together the structure formed from the potted wound fabric and tube
with the shell employed as a housing for the structure (Answer 8-10 and 27-
29). We agree. In this regard, Mancusi reasonably suggests the option of
employing additional potting material in securing or sealing the potted
wound fabric and tube structure (potted bundle) to a housing (shell) in which
the potted bundle is fitted, as one option (col. 10, ll. 54-57). This disclosed
option for fitting or sealing the potted bundle inside the housing or shell
would have been reasonably suggestive of the second potting step of
appealed representative claim 1 to one of ordinary skill in the art.5 In
addition, the additionally relied upon Bikson (U.S. Patent No. 4,800,019)
further teaches that a hollow fiber bundle tube sheet can be directly bonded
to the shell, which latter teaching would have further suggested using a
second potting step to bond the potted fiber bundle to a shell (Bikson; col. 9,
ll. 35-36).
5 Indeed. Mancusi incorporates by reference Caskey (U.S. Patent No.
4,961,760 in the portion of the Mancusi disclosure discussing how the potted
bundle is fitted into and sealed to a housing (Mancusi; col. 9, ll. 18-50).
The incorporated by reference Caskey, which is also of record and cited as
evidence being relied upon by the Examiner in the Answer, includes a
Figure 2 embodiment wherein the casing (housing) is bonded to the potted
bundle tubesheet by resin bonds (Caskey; col. 16, ll. 2-5). That incorporated
by reference disclosure lends further support to the Examiner’s obviousness
determination over the teachings of Mancusi.
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