Ex Parte Garner et al

Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences

Jan 26, 2012

11589749 (B.P.A.I. Jan. 26, 2012)

UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
____________

BEFORE THE BOARD OF PATENT APPEALS
AND INTERFERENCES
____________

Ex parte ANDREW GARNER and
NEVILLE JAMES STEAD
____________

Appeal 2010-009908
Application 11/589,749
Technology Center 1700
____________

Before BRADLEY R. GARRIS, CHARLES F. WARREN, and
JEFFREY T. SMITH, Administrative Patent Judges.

GARRIS, Administrative Patent Judge.

DECISION ON APPEAL

Appeal 2010-009908
Application 11/589,749

2
Appellants appeal under 35 U.S.C. § 134 from the Examiner's
decision rejecting claims 1-16. We have jurisdiction under 35 U.S.C. § 6.
We REVERSE.

Appellants claim a fire-retardant composition comprising ammonium
polyphosphate and an effective amount of a corrosion inhibiting agent which
includes aluminum ions when in solution, wherein the ions complex an
effective amount of fluoride ions present in the fire-retardant composition to
reduce the corrosiveness of the composition (claim 1). According to
Appellants' Specification, the corrosiveness of the composition is reduced by
complexing and thereby reducing the level of corrosive fluoride1- ion
contaminants which occur during manufacture of the composition (Spec.
[0012]-[0015]).
Representative claim 1 reads as follows:
1. A fire-retardant composition comprising:
an ammonium polyphosphate;
a suspending agent; and
an effective amount of a corrosion inhibiting agent
including at least one ion selected from the group of ions
consisting of aluminum ions, ferric ions, calcium ions and
magnesium ions, when the corrosion inhibiting agent is in
solution, and wherein said ions complex an effective amount of
fluoride ions present in the fire-retardant composition to reduce
the corrosiveness of the fire-retardant composition.
Under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a), the Examiner rejects claims 1-6 and 9-14
as unpatentable over Vandersall (US 6,620,348 B1 issued Sept. 16, 2003) in
view of Kahler (US 2,848,299 issued Aug. 19, 1958) and rejects claims 1-11
Appeal 2010-009908
Application 11/589,749

3
and 13-16 as unpatentable over Sansing (US 3,809,653 issued May 7, 1974)
in view of Kahler.
The Examiner acknowledges that the fire-retardant compositions of
Vandersall and Sansing do not contain corrosion inhibiting aluminum ions
which complex fluoride ions but concludes that it would have been obvious
to provide these fire-retardant compositions with the fluoride and aluminum
composition of Kahler in order to obtain the benefits taught by Kahler (Ans.
3-7).
We agree with Appellants that there is no motivation to include
Kahler's composition in the fire-retardant compositions of Vandersall or
Sansing (App. Br. 15-30, 34; Reply Br. 8-16, 20-22). The composition of
Kahler is for preventing corrosion and slugging in industrial water systems
(col. 1, ll. 15-16), and the benefits taught by Kahler arise in the context of
such industrial water systems. As more fully explained by Appellants, these
industrial water systems are dissimilar in numerous respects from the fire-
retardant compositions taught by Vandersall and Sansing. The applied
references provide no suggestion or reasonable expectation that the benefits
of Kahler's composition would be achieved in adding this composition to the
fire-retardant compositions of Vandersall or Sansing.
For these reasons, we cannot sustain either of the § 103 rejections
advanced by the Examiner in this appeal.

The decision of the Examiner is reversed.

REVERSED
bar