Appeal No. 2006-2810 Page 3
Application No. 10/618,111
wherein the amount of said at least one boehmite material to said at least one
LCT epoxy resin comprises a ratio of between 3:17 and 13:7 by weight.
Claim 1 is directed to a method of making an alumoxane-LCT epoxy polymer
having specific dielectric strength and thermal conductivity properties. It has two steps.
In the first step, the LCT epoxy resin is mixed with an alumoxane material (boehmite) to
form a mixture in which the resin reacts “essentially” completely with the alumoxane.
Specification, ¶ 33. The alumoxane becomes bonded to the LCT-epoxy resin. Id., ¶ 35.
The mixture is cured (i.e., hardened) to form a polymer in the second step. Id., ¶ 33.
This step involves cross-linking the LCT-epoxy/alumoxane monomers together to form a
polymer of repeating units. Id., ¶ 34, 35. The ratio between the alumoxane and LCT-
epoxy resin is claimed to be at a “ratio of between 3:17 and 13:7 by weight.”
Obviousness under 35 U.S.C § 103
Smith in view of Cook
Claims 1-9 and 11-19 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as unpatentable over
Smith2 in view of Cook3.
The Smith patent describes liquid crystal thermostat epoxy resins that can be
used as electrical insulators on electrical conducting devices. Smith, Abstract. Epoxy
resins are used extensively as electrical insulators for their “combination of toughness,
flexibility, adhesion, chemical resistance and electrical properties.” Id., column 1, lines
10-12. “Liquid crystal polymers have been used to enhance the mechanical properties
2 Smith et al. (Smith), U.S. Pat. No. 5,904,984, issued May 18, 1999
3 Cook et al. (Cook), U.S. Pat. No. 6,369,183, issued Apr. 9, 2002
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