Appeal No. 2002-0741
Application No. 08/935,348
properties of the adhesive used to adhere the device to a user’s
skin are described. Concerning said rheological properties,
appellants’ specification expressly states that
[i]t is critical to the article of the present
invention that the adhesive have a rheology property,
tan delta (referenced at 20° Centigrade), ranging from
about 0.01 to about 0.6 and preferably from about 0.06
to about 0.48 and most preferably from about 0.06 to
about 0.40 at a frequency of about 0.1 radians per
second and a tan delta ranging from about 0.1 to about
1.7, preferably from about 0.20 to about 1.5 and most
preferably from about 0.6 to about 1.5 at a frequency
of about 1000 radians per second. [Page 24, lines 16-
24; emphasis added.]
Based on the above noted express disclosures in the
appellants’ specification that the requirements of the adhesive
used in the invention are stringent and specialized because of
the adhesive’s use in adhering the absorbent device to sensitive
areas of the body, and the clear and unequivocal statement in
appellants’ specification at page 24, lines 16-24, that the
specific rheological property set forth therein is critical, we
conclude that the rheological property in question is indeed
essential to appellants’ invention. Neither independent claim 1,
nor claims 2-12 that depend therefrom, include this subject
matter which we have determined to be essential to appellants’
invention. In view of this lack of essential subject matter in
claims 1-12, we conclude, as did the examiner, that a rejection
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