Appeal 2007-2028
Application 11/058,147
with the Examiner that one of ordinary skill, recognizing from Cowan that
dyes and pigments are conventionally used in litter compositions, would
have considered it obvious to enhance the appearance of Benjamin’s
particle-containing absorbent pad by applying dyes or pigments to it. Also,
Benjamin’s statement that “[i]f the pads are to be used as the sol[i]d
absorbent material in the litter box, an appropriate amount of bacteriostat is
from about 25 ppm to about 500 ppm by weight of the absorbent pad”
(Benjamin col. 4, ll. 44-47), suggests that the absorbent pad could be used by
itself uncovered in a litter box, which would also have suggested making it
attractive by adding color to it.
Also, because Benjamin discloses that the absorbent pad could contain
as much as 98 % fiber material in addition to silica gel (Benjamin, col. 5, ll.
11-15), we do not agree that the yellow color of silica gel would have
dissuaded one of ordinary skill from coloring Benjamin’s pad. Thus, we
agree with the Examiner that one of ordinary skill would have considered
claim 19 obvious over Benjamin and Cowan.
Appellants argue that claim 20 uses the transitional phrase “consisting
essentially of” to recite the claimed composition (Br. 20). Appellants argue
that Benjamin’s composition has hydrophilic fibers, and that Cowan’s
compositions may contain other ingredients in addition to the ingredients
recited in claim 20, and that these references therefore do not suggest the
claimed composition (id.).
We do not find these arguments persuasive. “By using the term
‘consisting essentially of,’ the drafter signals that the invention necessarily
includes the listed ingredients and is open to unlisted ingredients that do not
10
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Next
Last modified: September 9, 2013