Ex Parte Seto et al - Page 7



                Appeal 2007-1800                                                                             
                Application 10/206,235                                                                       

                      First, as previously explained, Hashemi expressly discloses that an                    
                artisan would be able to apply his technique to glass sheets having                          
                compositions and thicknesses other than the one exemplified.  While the                      
                Examiner focused on Hashemi’s specifically disclosed range of about                          
                18-20%, an artisan would not have so restricted his or her focus.                            
                      Regardless, in applying the teachings of Hashemi to the 1.5-3.2 mm                     
                thick glass sheet of Yoshizawa, the artisan might well have developed an                     
                optimal compressive stress layer thickness of about 18-20% of the total glass                
                thickness.  This is because Hashemi explicitly teaches that “[t]he optimal %                 
                thickness and tension for other thicknesses/compositions of glass may vary                   
                from those described in the example above and could be similarly                             
                determined as would be apparent to those skilled in the art in view of the                   
                present disclosure” (col. 7, ll. 25-30; emphasis added).  This teaching would                
                have given the artisan motivation and a reasonable expectation of success for                
                providing Yoshizawa’s glass sheet with a compressive stress layer thickness                  
                equal to about 18%, such as the here-claimed 17% value, of the total glass                   
                thickness.                                                                                   
                      Finally, Appellants argue that application of Hashemi’s technique to                   
                glass sheets having a thickness below his exemplified 3.8 mm value, such as                  
                the 1.5-3.2 mm thick glass sheets of Yoshizawa, may have led to                              
                compressive stress layer thickness values larger than Hashemi’s exemplified                  
                range of about 18-20% since a thinner glass sheet would require a thicker                    
                compressive layer (Reply Br. 2-3).  This argument is unpersuasive for two                    

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