Ex Parte Kikuchi et al - Page 3



             Appeal No. 2007-2156                                                                                  
             Application No. 10/606,358                                                                            
                                                    OPINION                                                        
                    Upon careful review of the respective positions advanced by Appellants and                     
             the Examiner, we affirm for the reasons advanced by the Examiner and add the                          
             following primarily for emphasis.                                                                     
                    Appellants argue that Uchida1 fails to disclose or suggest the use of a surface                
             treating agent for anchoring the sharp glass fibers to the rubber itself which is an                  
             important feature of the present invention and necessary to achieve Appellants’                       
             excellent results (Br. 10).  Appellants also rely on the evidence presented in Table                  
             1 of the Specification as evidence showing the importance of all the many features                    
             of the claimed invention (Br. 7).                                                                     
                    Appellants’ arguments and evidence are not persuasive of non-obviousness.                      
             Uchida discloses a studless tire having a tread comprising diene rubber and short                     
             glass fiber which is dispersed in said diene rubber so as to be oriented in the tread                 
             thickness direction (Uchida, col. 8, ll. 29-47).  Uchida differs from the claimed                     
             invention in that the short glass fibers are not described as having been surface-                    
             treated in advance by a surface treating agent comprising sulfur containing                           
             mercaptosilane.  The Examiner cites the Marzocchi ‘059 as evidence that a person                      
             of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that surface treating agents                       
             comprising sulfur were known to have been utilized to anchor glass fibers in                          
             elastomeric materials (Answer 5-6).  The Examiner cites Marzocchi ‘280 for a                          
             teaching that a surface treating agent comprising sulfur containing mercaptosilane                    

                                                                                                                  
             1 The Appellants refer to this reference as Ichida throughout the Brief.                              
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