Appeal No. 96-1368
Application 08/080,891
curable synthetic resin composition being uniaxially oriented
after which the synthetic resin composition is cured" (col. 2,
lines 22-27). Figure 1 shows a polarization-sensitive beam
splitter 10 which is composed of two glass prisms 11 and 12
separated by a birefringent adhesive layer 13, whose molecules
are uniaxially oriented in the direction perpendicular to the
direction of the drawing (col. 3, line 51 to col. 4, line 6).
The examiner also asserts, and Appellants do not dispute,
it was known in the art that a cured liquid crystal
composition has the advantages of requiring no support
substrates and being stable (final Office action at 6: Answer
at 5).
With respect to claim 1, the examiner contends it would
have been obvious to replace the uncured liquid crystal
material in Murty's polarization device with a cured (i.e.,
polymerized) liquid crystal monomer composition of the type
disclosed by De Vaan in order to obtain "the benefits of
temperature independence, not requiring supporting substrates
and being stable" (Answer at 5). We additionally note that
using a polymerized liquid crystal material apparently will
also avoid another problem discussed by De Vaan, which is the
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