Appeal 2007-3994
Application 10/072,906
in the Specification by pointing to the passage therein establishing that one
of ordinary skill in this art would have recognized Appellants were in
possession of the claimed invention encompassed by the claims, as we
interpreted them above, at the time the Application was filed. See, e.g.,
In re Alton, 76 F.3d 1168, 1175-76, 37 USPQ2d at 1581, 1583-84 (Fed. Cir.
1996) (citing In re Wertheim, 541 F.2d 257, 262-64, 191 USPQ 90, 96-97
(CCPA 1976)).
Accordingly, in the absence of a prima facie case of non-compliance
with this statutory provision, we reverse this ground of rejection.
Turning now to the grounds of rejection under § 103(a), we agree with
the Examiner’s findings of fact from Usui, Matsumoto, Kono, Chapman, and
Cairns in the Answer to which we add the following. We find Usui would
have disclosed to one of ordinary skill in this art a method of fixing
overlapping corrugated sheets to each other to any extent, and to at least a
part of a housing to any extent in forming a metal reactor by, among other
things, fixing fewer contact areas of these materials by welding than by
brazing, using, among other things, electric welding (Usui, e.g., col. 4,
ll. 12-15, and col. 7, ll. 39-54). Usui discloses that the overlapping
corrugated sheets can be fixed together to the extent this assembly can be
inserted into a housing, and the assembly and the housing fixed together by,
among other things, welding, thus simultaneously fixing the sheets in the
assembly to each other and to the housing (id., e.g., col. 6, ll. 51-60).
We find Matsumoto would have disclosed to one of ordinary skill in
this art a method of fixing overlapping corrugated sheets to each other to any
extent and to at least a part of a housing to any extent in forming a metal
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