Appeal No. 95-4723
Application No. 08/028,420
23. A method for preparing photosensitive polymers comprising the steps of:
(a) reacting an aldehyde substituted aromatic compound and an alkyl
substituted nitrogen-containing heterocyclic compound in the presence of a catalyst to
form a first reaction product having ethylenic unsaturation and a quaternary or
quaternizable nitrogen atom;
(b) reacting the first reaction product with a substituted or unsubstituted alkyl,
aralkyl, or hetero reactive compound having one or more terminal groups selected from
the group consisting of halogen, ether and aldehyde to form a second reaction product
having a quaternary nitrogen atom;
(c) grafting onto a polymeric backbone, resulting from the polymerization of
substituted vinyl monomers, olefins or acetylenes, about 0.1 to 20 mol-% (based on the
available reactive sites on the polymeric backbone) of the second reaction product
through the residue of the reactive compound of step (b) to form a photopolymer.
The prior art reference of record relied upon by the examiner in rejecting the appealed claims is:
Ichimura et al. (Ichimura), “Preparation and Characteristics of Photocrosslinkable Poly(vinyl Alcohol),”
Journal of Polymer Science: Polymer Chemistry Edition, Vol. 20, pages 1419-1432 (1982).
All of the claims on appeal stand rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over
Ichimura. According to the examiner, “it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill to make but
a modest adaptation of the reference process, such as choice of the compound containing a terminal
group, and thereby obtain the claimed invention” (answer, page 5).
On consideration of the record, including: (1) the instant specification, including all the claims on
appeal, (2) appellants’ brief (paper no. 11, filed July 18, 1994), (3) the examiner’s answer (paper no.
12, mailed August 2, 1994), and (4) the above-cited prior art, we reverse the prior art rejection.
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