Appeal No. 95-2881
Application No. 07/988,037
coating. However, neither Cogswell nor Hannah contains any
teaching or suggestion of practicing this heating step for a
period of from 1 to 20 hours in order to modify the physical
properties of the carbon fibers. With respect to the
manipulation of such properties, the parameter of time is not
recognized in the prior art as a result effective variable.
In re Antonie, 559 F.2d 618, 620, 195 USPQ 6, 8-9 (CCPA 1977).
These deficiencies of the prior art are significant not-
withstanding the fact that they relate to process features
even though the appealed claims are directed to a product,
namely, a particular surface-coated carbon fiber. This is
because the product defined by the product-by-process language
of appealed independent claim 6 has been shown by declaration
evidence of record (e.g., see the Goto declaration filed
October 9, 1992) to be plainly different in physical
properties from the fiber product of the primary references
having no heat-treatment as well as from the product of the
Cogswell and Hannah references having a heat-treatment of
approximately five minutes (e.g., see Table I of the
aforementioned Goto declaration). In this regard, we remind
the examiner that it is the invention as a whole, including
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