Appeal No. 2002-0895
Application No. 09/402,552
Under these circumstances, it is reasonable to conclude that
Boxall necessarily or inherently forms a titanium diboride
coating having the claimed porosity since being able to bond, as
indicated supra, is dependent on the porosity of a coating.
In any event, the tenor of Boxall indicates that the
formation of a substantially non-porous or impervious corrosion-
resistant coating is well within the level of one of ordinary
skill in the art. See, e.g., column 3, lines 19-60. Thus, we
determine that Boxall would have at least suggested the formation
of a titanium diboride coating having the claimed porosity. This
is buttressed by Mills which teaches the formation of coatings
having higher densities and higher bond strength using plasma
spraying. See page 363, column 1.
The appellants argue that the pressure condition recited in
dependent claim 21 is not taught or suggested by the applied
prior art references. We disagree for the reasons well
articulated by the examiner at page 9 of the Answer. In
particular, we agree with the examiner that the claimed pressure
of “at least 500 mbar” includes any pressure above approximately
0.493 atmosphere, thus including the normal or close to normal,
atmospheric condition or pressure taught by both Mills and
Boxall. Moreover, we determine that the optimization of
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