Appeal No. 96-0473
Application No. 08/082,727
discloses or suggests that the core material may be a mixture of a liquid core material and a solid core
material.
Second, Wellman also discloses the core material may be any organic polymer including
homopolymers and copolymers (col. 6, lines 3-5). Again, while Wellman discloses that different
monomers may be incorporated into the polymeric core material, we do not find where Wellman
discloses or suggests a mixture of different polymers as the core material.
Finally, Wellman discloses (1) obtaining a dispersion of core material in a solution of wall
material, (2) drowning that dispersion with a large excess of non-solvent liquid (i.e., liquid which is
miscible with the solvent for the wall material, yet liquid in which is a non-solvent of the wall material),
(3) to effect phase separation of the wall material whereby (4) the wall material deposits on and
encapsulates the core material (5) forming a dilute dispersed phase within a continuous phase of the
non-solvent liquid (col. 8, line 61 - col. 9, line 5). The materials and solvents are selected so that the
core material will separate as a solvent poor phase in a solution of wall material (col. 9, lines 5-12).
Thus, the examiner apparently concludes the separated core material comprises at least two materials,
i.e., the core material and the residual solvent. However, “solvent” refers to the solvent for the wall
material. The examiner has not explained why one of ordinary skill in the art would have used a solvent
for the wall material as the liquid continuous phase of a core material encapsulated by that wall material,
especially since Wellman suggests the separated core material should be “poor” in that solvent. The
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