Appeal No. 2004-0378
Application No. 09/765,675
14-29. The combination of these components is disclosed to result in an emulsion with
“excellent freeze-thaw stability . . . [and] moisture retention after water washing which is
significantly better than state-of-the-art products.” Column 2, lines 17-23.
Ziegler also teaches that the emulsion can also contain any of a variety of oils.
See column 6, line 44 to column 7, line 56. Importantly, Ziegler also discloses that
[a]lthough the quaternary ammonium functionalized phosphate esters are
intended to be the primary emulsifier and surfactant . . ., there may also be
present nonionic emulsifiers. Examples of satisfactory nonionic
emulsifiers include fatty alcohols having 10 to 20 carbon atoms . . ., mono
and di-fatty acid esters of ethylene glycol wherein the fatty acid moiety
contains from 10 to 20 carbon atoms, fatty acid monoglyceride wherein
the fatty acid moiety contains from 10 to 20 carbon atoms, diethylene
glycol, polyethylene glycols of molecular weight from 200 to 6000, sorbitol,
sorbitan.
Column 6, lines 12-38.
We agree with the examiner that the teachings of Restle and Ziegler would have
suggested to those skilled in the art a composition within the scope of instant claim 1.
Specifically, a person of ordinary skill in the art would have found it obvious to use
Ziegler’s quaternary ammonium functionalized phosphate ester as the cationic
amphiphilic lipid in Restle’s nanoemulsion, and to add Ziegler’s cationic polymer (e.g.,
Quatrisoft LM-200) as an additional component in Restle’s nanoemulsion. The resulting
composition would be an oil-in-water nanoemulsion with oil globules averaging less than
150 nm and comprising an oil, an amphiphilic lipid, and a cationic polymer having at
least one hydrophobic block and at least one hydrophilic block, as required by claim 1.
The skilled artisan would have been motivated to combine the components of
Ziegler’s and Restle’s composition by the expectation of achieving a composition having
this opinion.
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