Appeal 2006-2400
Application 10/051,814
Pregozen goes onto exemplify a flexible absorbent nonwoven fabric
made of a 70/30 blend of rayon (cellulosic fibers) and polyester (synthetic)
fibers saturated with an aqueous dilution of an acrylic binder (available
commercially from Rohm and Haas Company, Inc). See Pregozen, Example
1, column 6, lines 43-51. The amount of the binder used is “such as to
provide 20% w/w of the finished nonwoven fabric.” See Pregozen, column
6, lines 51-54. Although Pregozen does not mention the claimed anionic
surface of charge not greater than 1.2 meq per kilogram, it does teach
employing significant proportions of synthetic fibers and a latex binder as
indicated supra, thus impliedly suggesting one of ordinary skill in the art to
significantly lower the anionic charge associated with the cellulosic fiber
portion of a flexible absorbent nonwoven material. 1 Indeed, Noda, in
making the flexible absorbent nonwoven sheet of the type discussed in
Pregozen, teaches that:
The cationic latex compositions herein are especially useful as
additive binder system in making cloth like paper and other
nonwoven products. There are three important physical
properties of clothlike paper products. These properties are
softness, absorbency, particularly of aqueous fluids, and
strength, particularly strength when wet….
…
The cellulosic fibers used in papermaking are negatively
charged. Since the water-soluble wet-strength resins are
1 Based on the Appellants’ own disclosure discussed above regarding the
effect of synthetic fibers and polymer binders in reducing the anionic surface
charge of cellulosic fibers, we are of the view that it is not unreasonable to
shift the burden to the Appellants to show that the nonwoven fabric
exemplified in Pregozen does not possess the claimed anionic surface
charge.
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