Appeal No. 1996-3973
Application No. 08/048,657
to improve spreading of the liquid sample droplet over the upper layer after it is placed in the
aperture (specification, page 4, last paragraph through page 5, first full paragraph).
OPINION
The examiner bears the initial burden of establishing a prima facie case of obviousness.
To establish a prima facie case of obviousness, there must be both some suggestion or
motivation to modify the reference or combine reference teachings and a reasonable expectation
of success. In re Vaeck, 947 F.2d 488, 493, 20 USPQ2d 1438, 1442 (Fed. Cir. 1991).
Furthermore, the prior art must teach or suggest all of the claimed limitations.
I. Rejection of claims 1, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9 and 11-13 over Daffern in view of Moyer
Daffern describes a test device comprising, in sequence, an absorbent layer 2, a barrier
layer 8, and a reagent matrix layer 6 having a defined saturation volume, wherein the absorbent
and barrier layers each have an opening 14 for applying a test sample directly onto the reagent
layer (Fig. 1; col. 2, lines 6-11). The reagents in the reagent matrix are selected based on the
analyte to be determined, e.g., glucose oxidase, a substance having peroxidase activity, and an
oxidizable indicator (e.g., 3,5-dimethylaminobenzoic acid (DMAB), 3-methyl-2-
benzothiazolinone hydrochloride (MBTH), and/or tetramethyl benzadine (TMB)) for measuring
glucose in a body fluid (col. 6, lines 39-48; col. 7, lines 3-17).
Moyer describes a test device comprising a plurality of superposed test reagent
impregnated members, including in descending sequence, a top porous glass fiber disc 18; an
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