Appeal No. 2001-1668
Application 09/036,754
Fleming and Bennett to one of ordinary skill in this art at the time the claimed invention was
made.
As an initial matter, we find that, when considered in light of the written description in
the specification as interpreted by one of ordinary skill in this art, see, e.g., In re Hyatt, 211 F.3d
1367, 1372, 54 USPQ2d 1664, 1667 (Fed. Cir. 2000); In re Morris, 127 F.3d 1048, 1054-55, 44
USPQ2d 1023, 1027 (Fed. Cir. 1997), In re Zletz, 893 F.2d 319, 321-22, 13 USPQ2d 1320, 1322
(Fed. Cir. 1989), the plain language of appealed claim 37 requires the formation of a “ceramic
green part,” wherein the tem “green” in used in its customary, dictionary and art recognized
meaning of “[p]ertaining to unsintered powder.”1 We further interpret the claim language
“decomposable due to time delayed, temperature sensitive reactions” to include reactions which
occur to a small, if any extent, at “temperatures, just slightly above the freezing temperature of
the slip” wherein “the reaction can be considerably delayed compared to room temperature”
(specification, pages 7-8).
As pointed out by the examiner, Fleming “teaches the basic process of producing a
ceramic green part” encompassed by appealed claim 36 (answer, page 3). We agree with the
examiner as we find that Fleming discloses the formation of a “porous tube” which can be
sintered to a glass rod, wherein the porous tube can be formed from, inter alia, fumed silica, with
a sol/gel process using quaternary ammonium hydroxide so “that the sol has a pH in the range
11-14, followed by introduction of a compound (or compounds) that results in a lowering of the
pH into the range 4-11 (preferably 8-10), the pH being lowered “by addition of alkyl formate . . .
or other suitable ester” (col. 3, lines 23-45; see also, e.g., col. 4, lines 1-12, and col. 5, line 59, to
col. 6, line 23). Fleming teaches that the sol containing fumed silica is “treated to improve
homogeneity” (col. 6, lines 13-14), which includes mixing and evacuation “to remove bubbles”
(col. 8, lines 64-66), and that “[a]fter gelation . . . the resulting tubular body is typically removed
from the mold and dried” (col. 6, lines 20-22), from which one of ordinary skill in this art would
infer that the green part or porous tubular body is demolded in a wet condition.
1 McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms, page 874 (Sybil P. Parker, ed.,
New York, McGraw-Hill, Inc. 1994).
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