Appeal No. 1998-0870
Application No. 08/325,015
characteristics and can be processed by conventional coating
techniques (column 1, lines 11-24; column 1, line 34 to column
2, line 37). Additionally, Armes teaches the use of vinyl
pyridine-containing polymer as a steric stabilizer for the
polypyrrole to prevent precipitation (column 2, lines 19-36;
column 3, lines 31-41). Although Armes uses centrifugation
and decantation steps after oxidative polymerization, some of
the steric stabilizer remains in the final conductive polymer
composition (column 4, lines 19-37). Further, Armes also
shows that polypyrrole is black (see, e.g., Example 1).
Given these disclosures, we agree with the examiner that
one of ordinary skill in the art would have found it obvious
within the meaning of 35 U.S.C. § 103 to use polypyrrole
(e.g., the electroconductive latex composition of Armes as
described on column 4, lines 19-37) in lieu of carbon black as
the black electrically conductive fine powder in Kinoshita’s
Preferred Embodiment 17. We reach this conclusion because we
find that one of ordinary skill in the art would have
recognized from the collective teachings of Wessling, De Boer,
and Armes that carbon black and polypyrrole have comparable
electrically conductive properties and both would be equally
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