Appeal No. 1997-0432
Application No. 08/200,951
electrostatically sprayed thermosetting powder of a polyester
or epoxy resin.
From a somewhat different perspective, we note that
appellants acknowledge that it was known in the art to first
coat a metallic structure with zinc and then apply an acrylic
coating. To wit, appellants state at page 5 of the Brief that
they "were also aware of such prior constructions in which the
metal substrate had first been coated with zinc and then had
an acrylic varnish coating applied to the zinc." Accordingly,
the question arises whether it would have been obvious for one
of ordinary skill in the art to electrostatically spray an
external coating of a thermosetting powder of a polyester or
epoxy resin to the prior art metal substrate having
consecutive coatings of zinc and an acrylic varnish. Since
appellants acknowledge that it was known in the art to
electrostatically spray an external coating of such a
thermosetting powder on a metallic structure for the purpose
of improving the "esthetic appearance" and "to assure their
protection against the dangers of corrosion" (page 1 of
specification), and Camelon expressly discloses the provision
of an external coating of a thermosetting powder of the type
-5-
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Next
Last modified: November 3, 2007