Appeal No. 2002-1600
Application 09/350,858
of starting composition, temperature of reaction, and cool-down
rate” (col. 14, lines 35-38), “[t]he cool-down period following
initiation of the reaction and consumption of the reactive
constituents is believed important to achieving very small
particle size, and limiting particle growth” (col. 14, lines 39-
42), and “[f]or most uses of the composite materials, the size of
the second phase particles should be as small as possible”
(col. 15, lines 38-40). Also, Nagle exemplifies “titanium
diboride particles having very small size, e.g. 0.1 micron”
(col. 11, lines 50-51).
Thus, the Nagle disclosure as a whole would have fairly
suggested, to one of ordinary skill in the art, a ceramic
dispersoid comprised of carbide particles of Sc, Hf, Nb, Mo or V
formed and dispersed in situ in an aluminum matrix and having a
particle size of less than about 0.3 microns as required by the
appellants’ claim 18.
The appellants’ claim 19 claims the product of claim 18
made by a specified process which is not disclosed by Nagle. The
patentability of the invention claimed in such a product-by-
process claim is determined based on the product itself, not on
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