Appeal 2007-0950
Application 11/099,264
ordinary skill in the coating arts familiar with applying coating compositions
to surfaces using plasma thermal spray devices.
We determine one of ordinary skill in the art would have found in
Strutt the teaching that colloidal suspensions or slurries of as-synthesized
thermal barrier coating nanoparticles and mixtures thereof with other
nanostructured particles can be directly injected either into the flame or into
the plasma of a conventional thermal spray gun. Injection at either point, of
course, satisfies the claim requirement for injection of the suspension of
nanoparticles into the plasma jet of a plasma spray device. Indeed, while
Strutt does not specifically illustrate injection into the plasma, the reference
teaches direct injection into the combustion zone as well as the in situ
formation of nanoparticles by direct injection of an atomized precursor into
the plasma flame. Peterson establishes it was conventional to inject a gas
fluidized powder into the plasma of a conventional spray gun, internal to or
external of the plasma generator, as Appellants acknowledge.
Accordingly, we agree with the Examiner that one of ordinary skill in
this art routinely following the combined teachings of Strutt and Peterson
would have reasonably arrived at the claimed processes encompassed by
claim 1, including all of the limitations thereof arranged as required therein,
without recourse to Appellants’ Specification. Indeed, Strutt teaches
injection of the suspension or slurry of nanoparticles into plasma and this
person would have readily followed other disclosures in Strutt and
knowledge in the art in doing so. See, e.g., In re Kahn, 441 F.3d 977,
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