Appeal No. 2006-0295
Application 10/053,926
zwitterionic starches, and succinate and substituted succinate derivatives of starch.” The sago
starch can be present in any manner of “starch blends” (page 4, l. 3; see also page 4, l. 14). The
sago starch and blends containing the same can be subjected to purification processing “by any
method known in the art” (page 4, ll. 6-10). At some point, including subsequent to purification,
the sago starch and starch blends containing the same are converted into fluidity or thin-boiling
starches by “oxidative hydrolysis, acid hydrolysis, enzyme conversion, heat and/or acid
dextrinization, or a combination thereof” (page 4, ll. 11-15). The sago starch
is converted to a water fluidity (WF) of from about 40-80 . . . Water fluidity, as used
herein, is an empirical test of viscosity measured on a scale of 0-90 wherein fluidity is
inversely proportional of viscosity. Water fluidity of starches is typically measured
using a Thomas Rotational Shear-Type Viscometer . . . standardized at 30°C with a
standard oil having a viscosity of 24.73 cps, which oil requires 23.12±0.05sec for
100 revolutions. . . . [A]s conversion increases, the viscosity decreases and the WF
values increase. [Specification, page 6, ll. 12-23.]
Thus, claim 9 indeed encompasses any manner of some amount of sago starch which has
the specified water fluidity (WF) of from about 40 to about 80, which is in a composition with at
least water in view of the transitional term “comprising” which, of course, opens the claim to
include compositions containing any manner of additional ingredients, including any manner of
starch blends as disclosed in the specification, such as starch blends containing sago starches of
lower and higher WF than claimed, as well as any other manner of ingredients, such as, for
example, the innumerable ingredients that would be found in the broad range of compositions
constituting the kinds of compositions specified in dependent claim 16. See generally,
Exxon Chem. Pats., Inc. v. Lubrizol Corp., 64 F.3d 1553, 1555, 35 USPQ2d 1801, 1802 (Fed.
Cir. 1995) (“The claimed composition is defined as comprising - meaning containing at least -
five specific ingredients.”); In re Baxter, 656 F.2d 679, 686-87, 210 USPQ 795, 802-03 (CCPA
1981) (“As long as one of the monomers in the reaction is propylene, any other monomer may be
present, because the term ‘comprises’ permits the inclusion of other steps, elements, or
materials.”).
Dependent claim 10 specifies that the “composition” encompassed by independent claim
9 must have “at least about the same gel strength as a composition comprising 30% more of a
comparable WF corn starch,” wherein the “composition,” the gel strength of which is
determined, is any composition within the scope of claim 9, including the compositions in
- 4 -
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Next
Last modified: November 3, 2007