Appeal 2006-2159
Application 09/862,234
room temperature, as required by the claims on appeal (Answer 5).
Alternatively, if the resin and plasticizer mixture was not fluid at room
temperature, the Examiner applies Sartor for the teaching that the most
important factor in the art of multi-cavity slot die coating is the liquid’s
viscosity or the ratio of viscosities of the two contiguous layers, and such
viscosity can be changed by adding thickeners or thinners (Answer 5). From
these findings, the Examiner concludes that it would have been obvious to
one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention “to have used only
thinners such as liquid reactive monomers, e.g. dodecene, or water in
Simpson et al without heating coating compositions” with the expectation of
providing the desired optimal ratio of viscosities of the two contiguous
layers to be coated, as taught by Sartor (id.). We disagree.
As correctly argued by Appellants (Br. 10-11), neither Simpson nor
Sartor disclose or suggest the required limitation of claims 1 and 10 on
appeal that the 100% solids composition is fluid at room temperature. The
Examiner’s technical reasoning is not convincing since the Examiner has not
presented any factual basis to support the premise that the mixture of solid
resin and liquid plasticizer (mineral oil) would necessarily be a fluid at room
temperature. To the contrary, the Kauffman Declaration under 37 C.F.R.
§ 1.132 dated Oct. 27, 2005, states that such mixtures result in non-fluid
masses at room temperature (Decl. 2-3: ¶ 9).1 Furthermore, the process of
Simpson clearly suggests that the mixture of resin and plasticizer is a melt,
1 The Kauffman Declaration was submitted by Appellants with the Brief (Br.
1). The Examiner does not explicitly state that this Declaration was entered
and considered but does respond to the evidence in the Declaration (Answer
11). Therefore, for the purposes of this appeal, we consider this Declaration
as evidence of record, implicitly entered and considered by the Examiner.
5
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