Appeal No. 1999-0124
Application No. 08/467,438
plurality of V-shaped grooves having side walls that form an
angle alpha (") therebetween of about 10E to about 120E. In
addition, the hydrophilic surface has a contact angle with
water of theta (2) equal to or less than 90E-"/2. Independent
claim 32, a copy of which can be found in Appendix A
to appellants’ brief, is the sole independent claim on appeal
and is illustrative of the appealed subject matter.
The references relied upon by the examiner as evidence of
obviousness are:
Thompson 3,929,135 Dec. 30, 1975
Noda 4,735,843 Apr. 05,
1988
The appealed claims stand rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103
as being unpatentable over Thompson in view of Noda.
Thompson and Noda are each directed to topsheets for
absorptive devices such as diapers, wherein the topsheets have
absorptive structures which freely allow fluid to pass into
the interior of the absorptive device but which inhibit the
reverse flow of fluid. In Thompson, the absorptive structures
are in the form of tapered capillaries or orifices 26 (see,
for example, Figures 2 and 4), each having a base in the plane
3
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Next
Last modified: November 3, 2007