Appeal No. 2005-1469 Page 2
Application No. 10/463,751
BACKGROUND
The Appellants’ invention relates to an elastomeric composition that is curable
into a rocket motor insulation. Prior to curing, the elastomeric composition includes at
least one organic polymer, at least one curative, and hydrophilic filler particles that are
coated with a hydrophobization agent. (Specification, paragraph [0014]). According to
Appellants, the coated hydrophilic filler particles provides good insulating and
mechanical properties to the elastomeric composition. (Brief, p. 3). Claim 1 which is
representative of Applicants’ invention is reproduced below:
1. An elastomeric rocket motor insulation comprising, in a pre-cured state,
at least the following ingredients:
at least one organic polymer curable into an elastomer;
at least one peroxide curative;
at least one curative coagent comprising a polyfunctional metal salt for
forming organometallic cross-link bonds; and
a filler comprising at least one member selected from the group consisting
of silica particles and silicate particles, the filler being treated with at least
one hydrophobic surface agent.
CITED PRIOR ART
As evidence of unpatentability, the Examiner relies on the following references:1
Cohen et al (Cohen) 5,780,538 Jul. 14, 1998
Fujii et al (Fujii ) 6,489,385 Dec. 03, 2002
1The Examiner included the Geil et al. U.S. patent 3,564,303 in the list of applied references.
(Answer, p. 3). However, this reference does not appear in the appealed rejections.
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