Appeal No. 2006-0574
Application No. 09/878,405
use of crosslinking agents, such as sulfur, are taught as optional ingredients in the
rubber and silica compositions of JP ‘123 (“if necessary,” page 5, ¶[0021]).
We determine that the examiner has not established a reasonable belief that the
compositions of JP ‘123 would have an effective degree of crosslinking within the scope
of the claims, without the use of additional crosslinking agents, since JP ‘123 teaches
that “ENR does not react with the silica” and the silica does not disperse well (page 3,
¶[0013]). Accordingly, we determine that one of ordinary skill in this art would have had
no expectation of successfully crosslinking an ENR and silica composition of JP ‘123
without the use of additional crosslinking agents, nor achieving the claimed dispersion
index values. Therefore we determine that the examiner has not established a prima
facie case of obviousness in view of this reference evidence. Accordingly, the rejection
of the claims on appeal under section 103(a) over JP ‘123 is reversed.
C. Summary
The rejection of claims 55-60 and 62-107 under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a) over
Varughese is affirmed. The rejection of claims 55-60 and 62-107 under 35 U.S.C. §
103(a) over JP ‘123 is reversed. The decision of the examiner is thereby affirmed.
13
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Next
Last modified: November 3, 2007