Appeal No. 2002-0699
Application No. 09/401,740
Fujioka, Shimomura, Yaegashi and Malhotra ‘390.
OPINION
We have carefully reviewed the claims, specification and
applied prior art, including all of the arguments and evidence
advanced by both the examiner and the appellant in support of
their respective positions. As a result of this review, we have
made the determinations which follow.
We turn first to the examiner’s rejection of claims 1,2 4,
8, 12 through 14, 16, 21 and 22 under 35 U.S.C. § 103, as
unpatentable over the disclosure of Takazawa. We find that
Takazawa discloses a solid ink composition having, inter alia, a
specific coloring agent, a wax-like substance, a thermoplastic
resin, such as polystyrene and styrene-butadiene copolymer, and a
softening agent, such as diethyl phthalate. See column 7, line
58 to column 8, line 23 and column 9, lines 40-49. We find that
this solid ink composition, which is capable of being hot melted,
has a melting temperature of about 50o to about 150oC, which
almost entirely overlaps with the preferred melting temperature
range for the claimed hot melt ink composition. Compare
Takazawa, column 8, lines 32-39 and column 9, line 60, with the
appellant’s claim 2.
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