Appeal No. 1997-3392
Application 08/297,946
gradient between a core and a shell, since part of the core
binder is chemically grafted to the shell polymer and there is
less core binder grafted to the shell polymer closer to the
outer surface of the shell (answer, pages 17-18). The
examiner has not established, however, that one of ordinary
skill in the art would have interpreted “composition gradient
between said shell and said core” in the appellants’ claim 25
as including a grafting of the core binder to the shell.
When we give “composition gradient” its broadest
reasonable interpretation in view of the 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,
218 USPQ 385, 388 (Fed. Cir. 1983), we observe that the
specification refers to a gradual gradient (page 4) and
crudely shows such a gradient in figure 2. Thus, it
reasonably appears that one of ordinary skill in the art would
have interpreted the appellants’ term “composition gradient”
as requiring a region of gradual change in composition between
the core and shell, and excluding a grafting at the core/shell
boundary.
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