Appeal No. 2006-3224 Page 3
Application No. 10/063,656
The claimed method is for forming polymeric microspheres. It comprises two
basic steps: 1) forming the polymeric microspheres by an emulsion/aggregation
process; and 2) treating the polymeric microspheres.
In the first step, the polymeric microspheres are formed by “an
emulsion/aggregation process from a precursor monomer species.” This process is
further described by the claim to comprise “forming a polymeric resin from said
precursor monomer species and aggregating and coalescing said polymeric resin into
polymeric microspheres.” No specific order is required by the claim for the
“aggregating” and “coalescing” steps.
“Polymeric microspheres” are described in the specification as “microspheres
formed (at least in part) from polymer.” Specification, [0002]. Claim 1 further limits
them to “an average particle diameter of from about 1 to about 15 microns with a narrow
particle geometric size distribution of less than about 1.25.”
The “emulsion/aggregation process” is described by the specification as a
“known” technique. Id., [0028]. “Such E/A [emulsion/aggregation] processes generally
include the steps of, e.g., emulsion, aggregation, coalescence, washing and drying.”
Id., [0029]. The specification lists numerous patents which disclose prior art emulsion/
aggregation processes, particularly “a number of Xerox patents” which describe an
emulsion/aggregation process for the preparation of toner particles. Id.
According to the specification, the emulsion step can be accomplished by
agitating a resin in an aqueous media which can optionally include a surfactant. Id.,
[0023], [0024], [0034] and [0115]. Aggregates can be formed from the polymerized
resin by the addition of cationic metal salts or cationic surfactants. Id., [0023] and
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