Appeal No. 97-2554
Application No. 08/164,112
This is an appeal from the final rejection of claims 1, 3
to 7 and 10 to 16. The other claims remaining in the2
application, claims 21 to 37, stand withdrawn from
consideration under 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being directed to a
nonelected invention.
Claim 1, the only independent claim on appeal, reads:
1. A method for reducing malodor associated with a
disposable absorbent product intended for the absorption of
body fluid, said method comprising the step of:
applying to said absorbent product comprising an
absorbent structure exhibiting a weight and comprising from
about 30 to 100 weight percent, based on total weight of the
absorbent structure, of a hydrogel-forming polymeric material,
prior to use of the absorbent product, a surface-active agent
having a hydrophilic/lipophilic balance (HLB) of less than
about 12 in an amount effective to reduce urine odor wherein
said surface-active agent is applied to the absorbent product
in an amount of from about 0.005 to about 25 weight percent
based on total weight of the hydrogel-forming polymeric
material.
Claims 1, 3 to 7 and 10 to 16 stand finally rejected
under 35 U.S.C. § 112, first paragraph, as being based on a
specification which fails to enable the breadth of the claims.
2Claim 20, also finally rejected, was cancelled by the
amendment filed on February 12, 1996 (Paper No. 19). This
amendment also amended claim 1, thereby overcoming a rejection
of claim 1 under 35 U.S.C. § 112, first paragraph, “with
respect to the % by wt of hydrogel material” (Advisory Action,
March 5, 1996 (Paper No. 20)).
2
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