Appeal No. 2000-1728 Page 13
Application No. 08/785,128
Since the appellant has chosen not to challenge with any reasonable specificity
before this Board the rejection of dependent claims 14 and 16-18, they are grouped with
independent claim 13, from which they depend, and fall therewith.
New Rejection Entered By The Board
Notwithstanding the examiner’s stated position with regard to claim 15, pursuant to
our authority under 37 CFR 1.196(b), we enter the following new rejection:
Claim 15 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over DesMarais
in view of Visscher.
Claim 15 adds to claim 14 (the rejection of which has been sustained above) the
requirement that the resilient primary absorbent member of claim 14 comprises foam.
Foam is among the many materials taught by DesMarias as being suitable for use as an
absorbent core in a sanitary napkin (column 4, lines 2 and 3). This being the case, it is
clear to us that it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to utilize a foam
material in the primary absorbent core of the DesMarais sanitary napkin.
SUMMARY
The rejection of claims 1-6 and 10 on the basis of the Japanese reference and
DesMarais is not sustained.
The rejection of claim 11 on the basis of the Japanese reference, DesMarais and
Visscher is not sustained.
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