Appeal No. 96-1368
Application 08/080,891
splitter or Wollaston prism with Takayanagi's polymerized
liquid crystal material, the result would be a film of
polymerized liquid crystal material formed on or between one
or more wedge-shaped isotropic elements, not a wedge-shaped
element formed of polymerized liquid crystal material, as
required to satisfy claim 1. For this reason, the rejection
of claim 1 as unpatentable for obviousness over Rogers in view
of Takayanagi is reversed.
Tatsuno, which is additionally relied on with respect to
dependent claims 2, 3, 5, and 11 as showing a Wollaston prism
23 including three wedge-shaped elements 24-26, does not cure
the above-noted deficiency. As a result, the rejection of
those dependent claims as unpatentable for obviousness over
Rogers in view of Takayanagi and Tatsuno is also reversed.
2. The rejections based on Murty
Murty discloses a liquid crystal wedge which is formed by
encapsulating a liquid crystal material such as MBBA in a 10
wedge-type cell (Abstract) formed between two glass plates.
The glass plates are rubbed parallel to the apex of the wedge
10MBBA is N-(p-Methoxy Bezylidene)-p-Butyl Aniline)
(Murty at 113 n.*).
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