Appeal 2007-2421
Application 10/289,793
consider omitting the submersed support rolls. (Kawamura
Declaration, p. 2). Mr. Kawamura further testifies that he omitted the
depiction of submersed support rolls from his drawings because he
deemed it unnecessary since anyone skilled in the art reading the
reference would understand that the CGL included submersed support
rolls. (Id. at 2). Mr. Kawamura also testifies that, to the best of his
knowledge, all hot-dip galvanizing lines (“CGLs”) in Japan had
submersed support rolls. (Id. at 1-2). JFE also relies upon the
declaration of Mr. Taguchi who is a person of skill in the art. Mr.
Taguchi testifies that he read the Kawamura reference and it is his
understanding that submersed support rolls “must be” included in the
Kawamura reference. (Taguchi Declaration, p. 2). Mr. Taguchi also
testifies that, to the best of his knowledge, all operating CGL’s in
Japan at the time of the invention were equipped with submersed
support rolls. (Id.).
The Examiner did not credit the declarations of Mr. Kawamura
and Mr. Taguchi. The Examiner states that the declarations fail to
demonstrate that Kawamura must have support rolls to function.
(Answer, pages 8-9).
The Kawamura reference identifies the molten bath of Figure 1
as a conventional continuous settling tank. (Kawamura, p. 8). Mr.
Kawamura and Mr. Taguchi have both testified that a conventional
tank includes submersed support rolls. Further, Mr. Kawamura and
Mr. Taguchi have both testified that, to the best of their knowledge,
all CGLs in Japan employ submersed support rolls. Mr. Kawamura
and Mr. Taguchi also testify that they believe that anyone of skill in
the art reading Kawamura would understand that a submersed support
11
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Next
Last modified: September 9, 2013