Appeal No. 1996-1782
Application 08/131,036
Nakasuga ‘981 discloses in comparative example 3 a multi-
stage irradiation process for producing an acrylic based
composition, including the sequential steps of forming a
solvent-free mixture of 95 g of 2-ethyl hexyl acrylate and 5 g
of acrylic acid, irradiating the mixture with electromagnetic
radiation of 360 nm wavelength and 8 mW/cm intensity to2
effect conversion of 75 wt% of the monomer mixture, and
further irradiating the resulting acrylic copolymer with
electromagnetic radiation of 360 nm wavelength and 25 mW/cm2
intensity to obtain a conversion of as high as 99.9 wt% (table
2).
Appellants argue that this comparative example differs
from appellants’ claimed invention because the conversion in
the first stage is 75 wt% whereas it is only 5 to 70 wt% in
appellants’ claimed process.
Actually, the first stage conversion in appellants’ claim
1 is about 5-70 wt%. We give the term “about 5-70 wt%” its
broadest reasonable interpretation in view of appellants’
specification. See In re Zletz, 893 F.2d 319, 321, 13 USPQ2d
1320, 1322 (Fed. Cir. 1989); In re Sneed, 710 F.2d 1544, 1548,
-5-5
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