Appeal 2006-2160
Application 09/896,439
According to Appellant, the invention is directed to a method of
insulating or thermally protecting a rocket motor assembly, where a
precursor of a rocket motor ablative material is formed from at least one
aromatic polyamide in the form of a yarn having a denier per fiber of 1.5 to
3.0 (Br. 3). The structure formed from the precursor material is carbonized
to form a reinforcement structure, which structure is then impregnated with a
resin to form the rocket ablative material (id.). Claim 1 on appeal is
illustrative of the invention and is reproduced below:
A method for insulating or thermally protecting a rocket motor
assembly, comprising:
providing a precursor material comprising at least one aromatic
polyamide, the precursor
material having a denier per fiber ranging from 1.5. denier per
fiber to 3.0 denier per fiber; carbonizing the precursor material to
form a reinforcement structure;
impregnating the reinforcement structure with a resin matrix to form a
rocket motor ablative material; and
using the rocket motor ablative material on a portion of a rocket motor
assembly.
In addition to Appellant’s admitted prior art (APA), the Examiner has
relied upon the following references as evidence of obviousness:
Lambdin US 3,573,086 Mar. 30, 1971
Hirsch US 3,576,769 Apr. 27, 1971
Binning US 3,699,210 Oct. 17, 1972
Claims 1-6 and 13-15 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a) as
unpatentable over the APA in view of Binning and Lambdin (Answer 3).
Claims 7-12 and 16-20 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a) as
unpatentable over the APA in view of Binning, Lambdin, and Hirsch
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