Appeal No. 94-3134
Application 07/848,884
these results indicate that the Moradi-
Araghi disclosure is a compelling
suggestion that an aldehyde-generating
compound must react with a furan derivative
to produce an aldehyde which can in turn be
used with phenol, as in Mumallah et al, to
produce a useful gelling composi-tion.
Appellant therefore respectfully submits
that a useful gelling composition can be
produced by using hexamethylenetetramine,
an aldehyde-generating compound, with
phenol or an aminobenzoic acid is an
unexpected or surprising result.
Contrary to the appellant’s position, the record before
us does not evince that the invention defined by the claims
under consideration exhibits unexpected results. The fact
that the aldehyde-generator hexamethylenetetramine effects a
gelling result (at least when used in combination with a furan
derivative) is expressly taught by Moradi-Araghi and thus
would have been expected rather unexpected at the time the
here claimed invention was made. Moreover, Examples IV-V of
the subject specification do not support the appellant’s
unexpected-results position because the formaldehyde
precursors tested therein in fact produced a gel-formation
response at least under certain conditions. In particular,
Table IV of Example IV shows that the formaldehyde-precursor
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