Appeal No. 95-1091
Application 07/916,973
the prior art is reacting the polymer of the alcogel with a
hydrophobic agent which replaces the silanol hydroxyl groups
existing on the surface of the polymer with hydrophobic groups.
According to appellants, the hydrophobic groups of the polymer
result in an aerogel that is less sensitive to ambient moisture
than the aerogels of the prior art, i.e., the aerogel of the
present invention maintains its transparency and dimensional
stability in humid environments.
Appealed claims 1-12, 15, 16, 18 and 19 stand rejected under
35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over Tewari or Tillotson in
view of Unger.
We have carefully reviewed the respective positions advanced
by appellants and the examiner. In so doing, we concur with
appellants that the prior art applied by the examiner fails to
establish a prima facie case of obviousness for the claimed
subject matter. Accordingly, we will not sustain the examiner's
rejection.
The examiner recognizes that Tewari and Tillotson, the
primary references, disclose what appellants acknowledge to be
old, namely, the process of forming an aerogel by supercritically
drying a silica alcogel. The examiner also appreciates that
neither of the primary references teaches or suggests the claimed
step of reacting the silica polymer with a hydrophobic agent
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