Appeal No. 2004-1717
Application No. 09/647,129
agent. See the Answer, pages 4-5. The examiner relies on O’Dell
and Lundgren to remedy other deficiencies in Michl, such as the
absence of the claimed abrasive particles size, wetting agent and
silane adhesion promoter. See the Answer, pages 5-8.
The dispositive question is, therefore, whether there is
the requisite suggestion or motivation to employ the flow-
promoting agent and spray coating technique described in Hoover
in the laminate making method of the type described in Michl. On
this record, we answer this question in the negative.
The whole purpose of Michl is to form decorative laminates
for such applications as surfacing materials for sinks, tables,
desks, appliances, etc... See column 1, lines 8-25. As
acknowledged by the examiner at page 4 of the Answer, to serve
this purpose, a coating must provide a high final area density.
Hoover, on the other hand, is directed to a purpose different
than that described in Michl, i.e., making a low density floor
scouring material. See column 1, lines 15-42. Specifically,
Hoover employs spray coating a non-woven fibrous material with a
dispersion containing, inter alia, a flow-promoting agent for the
purpose of producing “non-woven fibrous abrasive articles of
extremely open structure having an extremely high void volume
(i.e., low density)” for floor scouring operations, e.g.,
“commercial stripping of old wax or the like from floor
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