Appeal No. 2005-1083
Application No. 09/950,642
Even if we agreed with the appellant that Battista does not
implicitly teach the claimed mixing sequence, we find that there
is at least sufficient suggestion to one of ordinary skill in the
art that the earlier the dispersing aid is used the better the
dispersion of the metal fibers as is apparent from the above
teachings of Battista. This finding is further confirmed by
Terliska which teaches that the preparatory treatment of metallic
fibers with a binder, such as polyvinyl alcohol and starch,
“substantially improves the dispersibility of the metallic fibers
. . . , ” thus suggesting the desirability of interacting the
dispersing aid and the metallic fibers at the earliest moment
possible. See column 4, lines 57-65. Thus, we conclude that it
would have been at least prima facie obvious to employ the
claimed mixing sequence in the process of Battista. See also In
re Burhans, 154 F.2d 690, 692, 69 USPQ 330, 332 (CCPA 1946).
With respect to the claimed amount of the dispersing aid
per the amount of water used, we find that Battista and/or
Terliska evince that the amount of dispersing aid used is a
result effective variable. That is, Battista and/or Terliska
recognize that the amount of the dispersing aid used affects the
dispersibility of metallic fibers. Thus, regardless of how the
amount of the dispersing aid used is defined (e.g., in terms of
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