Appeal No. 1997-3868 Page 6
Application No. 08/538,838
which may be a fluoropolymer material, to a solar cell array.
Watkin (page 2, lines 87-103) teaches that the plastic
material (fluoropolymer) can include a heat-activated adhesive
which may be considered a part of the plastic web rather than
requiring a removable release liner on an adhesive side of a
fluoropolymer laminate, which liner is removed so that the
laminate may be joined with the device (solar cell array) to
be adhered thereto, as claimed herein. While Watkin (page 2,
lines 103-107) does refer to a release liner for the bottom
plastic web material, that release liner is for a second
adhesive layer on the side of the plastic web that is remote
from the array that is to be joined to the plastic material in
the lamination step. Apparently recognizing this difference
in appellants’ process over the process disclosed by Watkin,
the examiner refers to several secondary references3 to
allegedly show "this additional limitation as conventional"
(answer, page 7, middle paragraph). However, the examiner has
not offered a convincing explanation detailing why one of
3 Bennett, Kasper or an alleged prior art admission in the
rejection of claims 1, 3, 4, 7-14 and 16-20 and Bennett or the
prior art admission in the rejection of claims 30 and 31.
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