Appeal 2006-2453
Application 10/302,391
the membrane fold line. Br. 7. The Examiner argues that applying the
substance along the fold (or crease) is implied in Simonetti. Answer 13-14.
According to the Examiner, sealing the cracks at the crease as taught by
Simonetti is possible only before winding the membranes around the
permeate tube, and Bray evidences that it is known in the art to seal the fold
of the membrane with a flexible adhesive prior to winding to prevent cracks.
Answer 10.
As pointed out by Appellants, the Examiner has failed to provide
evidentiary support for his contention that Simonetti’s application of UV
curable adhesive is necessarily made prior to the formation of cracks.
Simonetti specifically states that “cracks may appear” and “cracks may be
sealed,” which suggests that the UV curable substances is applied only to
those specific areas of the membranes in which cracks have formed after
assembly of the filtration module. Br. 11. Moreover, even if the Examiner’s
assumption were correct, the Examiner has not established that the only
known method of preventing cracks is to apply adhesive “across the width”
of the membrane.
Because inherency may not be established by probabilities or
possibilities, we conclude that the Examiner has failed to establish a prima
facie case of anticipation of claims 1-4 which include the step of “applying a
UV curable adhesive to a surface of said membrane sheet, across the width
of said membrane sheet.” We further conclude that the Examiner has failed
to establish a prima facie case of obviousness as to claims 2 and 5, since the
Examiner has failed to identify, in Simonetti, any motivation, teaching or
suggestion to extend the application of a UV curable adhesive beyond those
areas in which cracks have formed to cover “the width” of the membrane.
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