Appeal No. 2005-2540
Application No. 10/026,629
fluids; whereas the wet compress of Zafiroglu is wetted with
water to form a hydrogel prior to being applied to an object.
Moreover, surface crosslinking of polymer particles is
employed by Goldman for the purpose of obtaining absorbent
polymers having relatively high “SFC” and “PUP” values (Goldman:
col. 16, ll. 4-7). SFC and PUP are measures of the ability of
hydrogel-forming polymer particles to absorb, transport, or
distribute body fluids under usage pressures when applied to a
body (Goldman: col. 11, ll. 20-22, 39-41, 60-62, 64-66). Clearly
then, surface crosslinking would be of interest when applying an
article to a person’s body for the purpose of absorbing body
fluids. The examiner has failed to establish why a person of
ordinary skill in the art would consider surface crosslinking and
the associated parameters (SFC, PUP) relevant when fluid
absorption occurs prior to application, as in Zafiroglu and in
appellants’ claimed article.
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