Appeal No. 1999-1810
Application 08/288,433
brine contains ammonium. However, Filippone teaches that
brine obtained from seawater or rock salt contains both iodide
and ammonium (col. 1, lines 13-19; col. 1, line 67 - col. 2,
line 4). Thus, it reasonably appears that Keating’s salt
solution and brine necessarily contain ammonium. If ammonium
is not necessarily present in Keating’s salt solution or
brine, then the general disclosure by Keating that a salt
solution or brine is used would have led one of ordinary skill
in the art to use any common salt solution or brine including
one obtained from ammonium-containing rock salt or sea water.
The examiner argues that when Keating’s barium periodate
deposits in the membrane, it is separated from the salt
solution or brine (answer, page 5). The appellant’s
specification does not limit the term “separating” in the
appellant’s claim 1. Thus, when we give this term its
broadest reasonable interpretation in view of the
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 conclude that it
encompasses separation by deposition in a membrane as
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