Ex Parte Adamczyk et al - Page 5



          Appeal No. 2005-1236                                                        
          Application No. 10/065,796                                                  

               downstream from the water trap in the vehicle exhaust system.          
               More preferably, the hydrocarbon-removing material has a               
               sufficiently low Si to Al atom ratio that less than about 50%          
               of the low molecular hydrocarbons desorb from the hydrocarbon-         
               removing composition at a temperature of about 275oC; and,             
               most preferably, the hydrocarbon-removing material has a               
               sufficiently low Si to Al atom ratio that less than about 50%          
               of the low molecular hydrocarbons desorb from the hydrocarbon-         
               removing composition at a temperature of about 300oC.  The             
               hydrocarbon removing material will preferably comprise SiO2            
               and Al2O3.  More preferably, the hydrocarbon-removing material         
               is a zeolite.  Suitable zeolites include, but are not limited          
               to, a pentasil zeolite, a faujasite zeolite, mordenite, a beta         
               zeolite, ferriete, a mesopore zeolite, or mixtures thereof.            
               In a particularly preferred variation of this embodiment, the          
               zeolites have a Si to Al atom ratio less than about 25.  More          
               preferably, in this variation, the Si to A1 atom ratio [is]            
               less than about 15, and most preferably, the Si to Al atom             
               ratio is less than about 10.                                           
          The appellants do not dispute the examiner’s finding that the               
          preferred low Si to Al atom ratio of less than about 25 disclosed           
          at page 7 of the specification is equal to a low Si to Al mole              
          ratio of less than about 50.  Compare the Answer, page 4, with the          
          Brief and the Reply Brief in their entirety.  It follows that the           
          hydrocarbon-removing material having the claimed function includes          
          Hertl’s pentasil zeolite (ZSM-5) having a low Si to Al mole ratio           
          of 26, since according to pages 6 and 7 of the specification, a             
          pentasil zeolite having a preferred low Si to Al atom ratio of less         
          than about 25 (mole ratio of less than about 50) has the claimed            
          function.  The appellants have not shown that the pentasil zeolite          
          exemplified in Hertl does not necessarily possess the claimed               
                                          5                                           




Page:  Previous  1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10  Next 

Last modified: November 3, 2007