Appeal No. 95-2153
Application No. 08/171,007
production of melamine-formaldehyde resins, the pH of the
reaction product is generally in the range of 1.0 to 2.5
(specification, page 6, lines 5 through 7). In the
traditional production of melamine-formaldehyde resins,
however, the dilute acid solution serves a different function
compared with the acidic catalyst disclosed by Ross. As Ross
explains, the latter component is a curing agent which
promotes the curing reaction of the nitrogeneous (melamine-
aldehyde) resin with cellulose hydroxy groups present in the
treated fibers (Ross, column 1, line 29; column 2, lines 49
through 53; column 6, line 37). On this record, the examiner
has not established why it would have been obvious to carry
out Ross' process for producing a treating solution for
cellulosic fibers under pH conditions between 1.0 and 2.5
merely because, in the traditional production of melamine-
formaldehyde resins, the pH of the reaction product is
generally in the range of 1.0 to 2.5. This aspect of the
examiner's rejection amounts to a non-sequitur. Ross does not
disclose the pH of his aqueous treating solution, and the
examiner errs by attributing the same pH value to that
solution which is disclosed in appellants' specification, page
-4-
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Last modified: November 3, 2007