Appeal 2006-1804
Application 09/825,609
ISSUE
The first issue in this appeal is whether Fujioka’s area of openings 31a
and the portion of backing layer 31 forming a border surrounding the area of
openings respond to the delay layer and garment-facing outer surface,
respectively, recited in claim 1. This issue was raised by the Examiner in
response to arguments in Appellants’ Brief (Answer 7). Although the
Examiner raised the issue merely in the form of an argument that “could” be
made and opted not to make a new ground of rejection, we address the issue
in the interest of fairness to Appellants.
The main issue presented in this appeal is whether the combined
teachings of Fujioka and Matsuda would have suggested providing a delay
layer in Fujioka’s absorbent article as proposed by the Examiner to arrive at
the claimed invention.
FINDINGS OF FACT
Fujioka discloses an absorbent article for use inside a disposable
diaper (col. 1, ll. 4-5). The absorbent article is adapted to solve the problem
presented by prior art absorbent articles that excess liquid flows to the side
or periphery of the disposable diaper rather than to the center of the diaper,
because the backing layer of the prior art absorbent article is impermeable to
liquid and faces the center of the diaper. The periphery of the conventional
disposable diaper does not sufficiently absorb urine, thereby causing it to
leak to the sides of the diaper (col. 1, ll. 37-45).
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