Appeal No. 2004-1092 Page 6
Application No. 10/014,425
limitation, we note that Jin discloses that the catalyst is
powdered (page 3208, column 1) suggesting a small particle size
range. Based on that disclosure coupled with the surface areas
reported for the Fe2O3-TiO2 catalyst of Jin (page 3208) and the
examiner’s undisputed factual determination that the catalyst of
Jin is non-porous, we agree with the examiner’s assessment that
one of ordinary skill in the art following the teachings of Jin
would have been led to produce Fe2O3-TiO2 catalyst particles with
a size and surface area as claimed. In this regard ,we note that
one of ordinary skill in the art would recognize that the
catalyst size is a result effective variable because a smaller
size non-porous catalyst would be expected to have a larger
surface area available for furnishing catalyzed reaction sites.
Consequently, one of ordinary skill in the art would have been
led to the claimed catalyst sizes upon routine experimentation in
determining the workable range of powder sizes for the catalyst.
See In re Boesch, 617 F.2d 272, 276, 205 USPQ 215, 219 (CCPA
1980)(“[D]iscovery of an optimum value of a result effective
variable in a known process is ordinarily within the skill of the
art.”); In re Aller, 220 F.2d 454, 456, 105 USPQ 233, 235 (CCPA
1955)(“[W]here the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in
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