Appeal No. 2000-0827
Application 08/466,104
Q coefficients greater than five are characterized as "especially
promising" (id. at 35, ll. 1-2).
As explained in Equation (3)( id. at 23), which also appears
in originally filed claim 14, the diffusivity D in the equations
for Q is a function of the viscosity 0 of the solution and the
molar volume Vm of the particular gas:
D = 13.26 x 10-5 @ 0-1.14 @ Vm-0.589.
Thus, "bubble stability is enhanced by using gases of larger
molar volume Vm, which tend to have higher molecular weight, and
liquids of higher viscosity." Id. at 23, ll. 6-8. Sorbitol is
employed to increase viscosity in a preferred embodiment ( id.
at 31, ll. 3-10) and in Examples 1 ( id. at 32) and 5 (id. at 38).
When the viscosity value is assumed to be that of water,
Equations (3) and (7) reduce to Equation (8), id. at 25, which
was used to calculate the Q values given in Table II ( id. at 28-
29) for twenty-two gases, including the claimed gases of
perfluoropropane, perfluorobutane, or perfluoropentane
(alternatively known as octafluoropropane, decafluorobutane, and
dodecafluoropentane, respectively). 1 Table II gives the Q values
for these gases as 1,299; 13,154; and 207,437, respectively.
1 The interchangeability of these three terms is noted at
columns 11-12 of Nimitz et al. U.S. Patent 5,444,102 (copy
enclosed) under the class name "perfluorocarbon." Furthermore,
Appellant's specification notes (at 40, ll. 4-5) the
interchangeability of dodecafluoropentane and perfluoropentane.
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