Appeal No. 2001-1666
Application 08/818,333
One of the benefits of Du Fresne’s matrix relied upon by the
examiner, i.e., uniform spacing apart of the tiles, is provided
by Du Fresne’s use of the matrix at the factory. The examiner
has not established that one of ordinary skill in the art would
have expected use of the matrix at the site of installation to be
an improvement over using the matrix at the factory.
The other benefit of using Du Fresne’s matrix at the site of
installation relied upon by the examiner, i.e., permitting
handling of the tile/backing assembly prior to set up of the glue
used to hold the tile to the backing, is a benefit relative only
to the admitted prior art process, because when Du Fresne’s
matrix is used at the factory, no setup of the glue at the site
of installation is required.
The admitted prior art process requires, before the tile
assembly can be moved, waiting for drying of the glue which holds
the tiles to the backing (specification, page 1, lines 16-19).
The examiner has not established that the applied prior art
itself would have led one of ordinary skill in the art to reduce
this waiting time by using Du Fresne’s matrix at the site of
installation, instead of eliminating this waiting time completely
by using the matrix at the factory. Not only does Du Fresne use
the matrix at the factory, but Worth makes pre-assembled tiles
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