Appeal No. 2002-1838
Application 09/631,765
prevent toner leakage.
The examiner has simply failed to supply any evidence which
establishes that a person of ordinary skill in the art would have
been motivated to use the particular silicone copolymers of Dowlen
et al., taught as useful release agents or toner cartridge
sealants, as the silicone oil for impregnating the urethane foam in
Latone. The examiner's reference to the disclosure in Dowlen et al.
that the paste or caulk-like silicone copolymers are easy to apply
and do not migrate ignores that said disclosure is in the context
of using the copolymers as toner cartridge sealants. When used as
a toner cartridge sealant, the copolymers are not impregnated on a
porous member (see column 7, lines 19 through 31). While Dowlen et
al. discloses a pad comprising a felt pad having an effective
amount of the release agent thereon for dispensing the release
agent on the hot fuser roller, the pad is not disclosed as having
a rigid member with a supporting base on which the porous member is
mounted as required by claim 17.
Accordingly, we conclude that the examiner has failed to make
out a prima facie case of obviousness based on the combination of
Latone considered with Dowlen et al. Because all the examiner's
rejections rely on the combination of Latone with Dowlen t al., we
shall reverse all the examiner's rejections.
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