Appeal No. 2002-0502
Application 08/853,425
have 1) motivated one of ordinary skill in the art to forgo
Heiman’s rounded corners produced by Heiman’s binding method, and
2) provided one of ordinary skill in the art with a reasonable
expectation of success in using Korpman’s extruded film, which is
part of a disposable diaper, in Heiman’s washable, reusable
article.
Accordingly, we conclude that the examiner has not carried
the burden of establishing a prima facie case of obviousness of
the appellant’s claimed invention over Heiman in view of Korpman.
Rejection over Heiman in view of Whyte
Whyte discloses a self-inflating structure which can be
combined with an absorbent pad to form a disposable diaper or a
bed pad (col. 1, lines 4-8; col. 5, lines 25-34; col. 6,
lines 40-67). The structure includes a plain lamina (22) and an
embossed lamina (23) which are secured together by fusing or
thermowelding to form collapsed, inflatable pillows (21) (col. 2,
lines 47-65). An absorbent pad is secured to the embossed lamina
(col. 8, lines 4-5).
The examiner argues that Whyte is relied upon for lack of a
teaching of binding tape and/or edge stitching, and that without
a disclosed method of attaching the absorbent pad to the embossed
lamina, one of ordinary skill in the art would have had to look
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