Appeal No. 1996-0167
Application No. 08/082,107
an aqueous medium comprising an acid, such as nitric acid, that is capable of
dissolving a portion of the agglomerates, and a different compound, such as acetic acid,
that is capable of providing an anion which combines with aluminum ions in solution. The
aqueous treatment medium comprises less than 50 percent by weight of the compound
providing the anion. According to appellants, the claimed treatment increases the porosity
of the agglomerates without any essential loss of alumina.
Appealed claims 33-45 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being
unpatentable over Schmerling.
Upon careful consideration of the opposing arguments presented on appeal, we
find that the examiner has failed to establish a prima facie case of obviousness for the
claimed subject matter. Accordingly, we will not sustain the examiner's rejection.
Although Schmerling discloses treating alumina agglomerates with an aqueous
medium comprising a mineral acid and an organic acid, such as acetic acid, we agree
with appellants that Schmerling fails to teach or suggest utilizing a treating solution wherein
the compound (acetic acid) that combines with aluminum ions is present in an amount of
less than 50 per cent by weight, as required by the appealed claims. Schmerling expressly
teaches treating the alumina agglomerates "with an aqueous organic acid containing at
least 60% by weight of acid." (column 2, lines 25 and 26). Also, Schmerling discloses a
treatment mixture "containing a major proportion of acetic
3
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 Next
Last modified: November 3, 2007