Appeal No. 96-0736
Application 07/984,596
unreacted diisocyanate with a compound such as tetraethylene-
glycol dimethylether, phthalic acid dimethylester,
diphenylethane, diethyl pimelate, etc. Schnabel does not
appreciate that the low levels of monomer can be obtained by
using polyhydroxyl polyether having a molecular weight of from
about 350 to about 500, which use eliminates the need of
Schnabel’s co-distillation compound. As pointed out by
appellants, the examples of the present specification demonstrate
that polyisocyanates containing less than about 0.1% by weight
free diisocyanate can be made without Schnabel’s co-distillation
compound when the molecular weight of the polyhydroxyl polyether
is between 350 and 500.
In addition, Schnabel does not disclose polyisocyanates having
the claimed NCO content of 11.8-14.4% and an average NCO
functionality of from about 3.1 to about 4.0. Accordingly, based
on the totality of evidence of record, we find that the evidence
of nonobviousness outweighs the evidence of obviousness.
It is the examiner’s position that appellants’ specification
examples are not probative of nonobviousness since they are not
commensurate in scope with the appealed claims, which are “open,”
and, therefore, do not preclude the presence of Schnabel’s co-
4
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Next
Last modified: November 3, 2007