Appeal 2007-1024
Application 10/231,144
2. The Rejection of Claims 12-17 under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a) as
Obvious over Tomiyama in view of Cintra
Cintra describes a battery electrode. (Cintra, Abstract). The
Examiner found that Cintra’s electrode is formed by blending an electrode
mixture comprising a binder and carbon black until all the agglomerated
particles are less than 10 microns as measured using a Hegman gauge.
(Answer 7, and Cintra ¶¶ 0029-33). The Examiner concluded that it would
have been obvious to modify Tomiyama’s electrode to achieve the particle
size described by Cintra to create a more consistent mixture and improve the
electrochemical performance of the cell. (Answer 7).
Applicant argues that Cintra describes a paste having a conductive
agent with an agglomerated particle size of 10 μm. Applicant contends that,
unlike Cintra, the size of the claimed agglomerated particles is measured
after the paste has dried. (Appeal Br. 12-13). Applicant states that the size
of Cintra’s particles will increase upon drying the paste. (Id.). Applicant
contends that the increase in size is a natural phenomenon and no further
support is needed to prove Applicant’s contention regarding the larger size.
(Reply Br. 3). Applicant does state however, that its Specification 3, ll. 6 to
25 is consistent with its argument regarding the increase in size. (Id.).
Applicant’s Specification 3, ll. 6 to 25 does not state that a
drying step increases the agglomerated particle size. We do not credit
Applicant’s unsupported statements that the agglomerated particle
size will necessarily increase upon drying. Additionally, even if the
drying step had an effect upon the particle size, Applicant has failed to
demonstrate that the resulting electrode lacks agglomerated
conductive agent particles having a size of less than 10 μm. For the
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