Appeal No. 96-1879
Application 08/006,194
layers of test carriers together as admitted by appellants, and
that a test device utilizing a capillary gap between a support
layer and an absorbent test layer is disclosed by Blatt. How-
ever, even assuming arguendo that it would have been obvious to
one having ordinary skill in the art to utilize hot melt adhesive
for the adhesive connection of the microporous layers of
Hiratsuka, we find no suggestion or motivation from the applied
prior art or from knowledge generally available to those of
ordinary skill in the art to form a capillary gap as taught by
Blatt between the microporous layers of Hiratsuka.
Contrary to the examiner's position on page 6 of the answer
that Hiratsuka discloses "that the thickness of the adhesive
could be up to ten times the thickness of the microporous sheets
(layers)" and that "[s]uch a thickness of the adhesive dots would
have produced a gap between the layers, Hiratsuka discloses, in
the paragraph spanning pages 7 and 8, that the
adhesive area ratio, namely, a ratio of the
area occupied by the adhesive in the pattern
of Fig. 1 (such as dots, lines, etc.) to a
unit surface area can be given as in the
printing technology field. . . . In the
present invention, the adhesive area ratio
is theoretically not higher than 90%, and
preferably not higher than 50% and most
preferably not higher than 20% from the
viewpoint of allowing uniform and smooth
passage of a liquid. The size of dots and
width of lines of the pattern are so adjusted
7
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