Appeal No. 1998-3049
Application No. 08/463,558
differs from the subject matter previously considered in that the
presently claimed subject matter is limited to using ozone as the
only bleaching agent in bleaching cellulose pulp in an aqueous
suspension at a medium consistency of 5-25%. See claim 18 relating
to the phrase “the only bleaching agent, ozone” and claim 35
relating to the phrase “the ozone acting as the bleaching
chemical”. In other words, the claims on appeal expressly preclude
any bleaching action by any and all agents (including oxygen)
except for ozone. The Lindholm declaration, which was not
considered in the previous Appeal, states (page 2, paragraph 2)
that:
In 1989-1991 (and even today) one of ordinary skill
in the art of ozone bleaching would know that ozone
bleaching takes place at acidic conditions, typically a
pH of about 2-3.5. At the acidic conditions that ozone
bleaching typically takes place, oxygen is not a
bleaching agent. It is merely a carrier gas for ozone.
Particularly at perhaps the most common pH for ozone
bleaching, about three, oxygen does not act as a
bleaching agent but rather only as a carrier gas for
ozone.
Thus, the record before us is substantially different from the
record that was before the previous merits panel.
Having interpreted the claims on appeal in the above manner,
we have carefully reviewed all of the evidence proffered by both
the examiner and appellants. This review leads us to conclude that
7
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Next
Last modified: November 3, 2007