Appeal 2005-2349
Application 09/961,126
agent such as water to the crests on the first side of the web followed by the
application of a starch slurry to the crests wherein the wetting agent has
previously been applied.2 The disclosure on page 10 of the Specification
further describes the application of a second web which is secured to the
plurality of crests wherein the wetting agent and starch slurry have
previously been applied. The Appellant's description in the claim that the
water and starch combine to form an adhesive that joins the web medium
together does not deviate from the disclosure in the Specification. The
Examiner has not established that the pre-application of water followed by a
slurry solution does not function to secure the subsequently added second
web to the crests of the first web. In other words, the Examiner has not
established that the application of water to the crest followed by a slurry
solution does not function to join the two webs together or act as an
adhesive. While it is recognized that the Specification does not describe all
possible properties achieved by composition wherein water is applied as a
wetting agent prior to the addition of a starch slurry, the determination of the
properties of this composition (as an adhesive) would have been conveyed
by the original disclosure to one of ordinary skill in the art. Consequently, I
would reverse the Examiner's rejection under 35 U.S.C. § 112, first
paragraph.
2 The Specification, page 1, indicates that the starch slurry is prepared by
using mainly powdered starch and water. Thus, the starch slurry is a water
soluble composition.
-16-
Page: Previous 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Next
Last modified: November 3, 2007