Appeal No. 1999-0256 Page 6
Application No. 08/828,616
insole to conform thereto. A thermosetting process is then
activated, whereupon the strip hardens and adheres to the
insole. In passing, Bradley teaches that thixotropic agents
can be added to the thermosetting resin “where necessary to
preserve viscosity” (column 6, lines 25-27), which is not
further explained. It is the examiner’s view that, based upon
this statement and the fact that Lyden discloses that low
viscosity is preferred (column 5, lines 64 and 65), and that
it may be desirable to use so-called “retarding” or
“accelerating” co-catalysts or agents with the
primary catalyst for forming the elastomer or
resilient material (column 7, lines 4-7),
it would have been obvious to provide the Lyden material with a
thixotropic agent to keep it at a low viscosity (Answer, page
4).
From our perspective, however, there exists no teaching,
suggestion or incentive which would have led one of ordinary
skill in the art to do so. Lyden has solved the problem of
maintaining the impression intact until the material is cured,
and the solution is to use quick-curing material and keep the
user’s foot in place until curing is complete. While Lyden
prefers low viscosity, there is no explicit teaching in the
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