Appeal No. 95-1092
Application 08/044,436
would appear to be applicable to either oil based (organic) or
water based (waterborne) coating compositions.
Appellants have found that “the effects of fluctuating
humidity can be neutralized by adjusting the viscosity of a
waterborne coating as it is being conducted to the spraying
device” (specification, page 3). Appellants state that the
“application of waterborne coatings is complicated by the fact
that the evaporation rate of water is dependent on the
relative humidity of the spray environment” and that too much
or too little humidity will affect the quality of the coating
obtained (specification, page 1, lines 12-24). However,
appellants point out on page 1, line 26 to page 2, line 11 of
their specification that it is known in the art to control the
viscosity of the coating composition by controlling the
temperature and humidity in the spray booth or spray zone.
We find that the teaching of the prior art, taken as a
whole, would have suggested to a person skilled in the art to
use a humidity sensor in the Fujisawa apparatus to measure
humidity alone or a combination of humidity and temperature to
control the viscosity of waterborne coating compositions.
Fujisawa teaches the basic concept of controlling the
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