Appeal No. 2005-1236
Application No. 10/065,796
material has a sufficiently low Si to Al atom ratio that less than
about 50% of the low molecular weight hydrocarbons desorb from the
hydrocarbon-removing material at a temperature of 250oC.”
The dispositive question in this case is, therefore, whether
Hertl teaches or would have suggested employing a hydrocarbon-
removing material capable of performing the claimed function.1 On
this record, we answer this question in the affirmative.
As is apparent from the actual experiments exemplified in
Hertl, ZSM-5 zeolite (pentasil zeolite) having a Si to Al mole
ratio of 26 is employed downstream of a water removing composition
to remove light hydrocarbons. See column 10, Examples 1-3. We
determine that this ZSM-5 zeolite is encompassed by the claimed
hydrocarbon-removing material (i.e., a hydrocarbon-removing
material having the claimed function) as defined by the appellants
at pages 6 and 7 of the specification. Specifically, we find that
the specification describes a hydrocarbon-removing material having
the claimed function as follows (pages 6 and 7):
a hydrocarbon trap comprising a hydrocarbon-removing
material having a sufficiently low Si to Al atom ratio that
less than about 50% of the low molecular hydrocarbons desorb
from the hydrocarbon-removing material at a temperature of
about 250oC. Moreover, the hydrocarbon trap is located
1 We need not discuss the content of Minami since it is, at
best, cumulative.
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