Appeal No. 2001-0676
Application No. 08/941,132
In evaluating the prior art references, it is proper to take
into account not only the specific teachings of the references but
also the inferences which one skilled in the art would reasonably
be expected to draw therefrom. In re Preda, 401 F.2d 825, 826, 159
USPQ 342, 344 (CCPA 1968). All of the disclosures in the prior art
reference must be evaluated for what they fairly teach or would
have suggested to one having ordinary skill in the art. In re Boe,
355 F.2d 961, 965, 148 USPQ 507, 510 (CCPA 1966).
With the above binding precedents in mind, we turn to the
examiner’s rejection of claims 9 through 19 under 35 U.S.C. § 103
as unpatentable over the combined disclosures of Yasuyuki and
either Kondo, Burlett or Hayashi.
The examiner finds (Answer, page 3), and the appellants do not
dispute (Brief, pages 7-19), that:
Yasuyuki teaches deproteinizing natural rubber
(measured as weight percent nitrogen) to nitrogen levels
below 0.02% by weight to remove allergens and enhance
physical properties [page 2, line 11 - page 3, line 11;
page 10, Table 1, Example 1; claim 2,]. “By almost
completely eliminating non-rubber components, an
advantageous material for producing rubber products which
suffer from little energy loss and have excellent
mechanical properties, improved crepe characteristics and
improved aging resistance, can be provided.” [page 3,
lines 3-6]. The deproteinized rubber also possesses
excellent processing and mechanical characteristics [page
24, lines 1-27].
4
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Next
Last modified: November 3, 2007