Appeal 2006-2969
Application 10/394,075
hydrophobic treatment to include any manner of additional materials such as
residue from any carrier of a treatment composition. See, e.g., 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.”). Indeed, the claim language and the Specification
limit the hydrophobic treatment only to the extent that the same includes
“particles that are more hydrophobic than the surface” to be treated
(Specification, e.g., ¶ 0009) In this respect, the Specification discloses the
hydrophobic particles can be of any materials, and describes embodiments
wherein the hydrophobic particles “[p]referably . . . contain at least one
polymeric material . . . [and] may include inorganic and organic non-
polymer additives,” wherein “[s]uitable inorganic additives include, for
example, pigments . . . and colorants” (id., e.g., ¶ 0069). We find no claim
language or Specification disclosure which precludes additives that react
with the “surface” of the fibers and yarns.
With respect to other materials of the treatment, the Specification
describes embodiments wherein certain hydrophobic particles are applied to
the surface in “dispersions [that] are an aqueous dispersion that can include
additives such as wetting agents, pigments, and stabilizers” (id., e.g.,
¶¶ 0012 and 0067). We find no claim language or Specification disclosure
which precludes hydrophobic treatment materials that coat or chemically
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