Appeal No. 96-2501
Application 08/177,243
Claim 7, the only independent claim, is representative
of the subject matter on appeal and reads as follows:
7. A stationary material mixing apparatus comprising a
conduit having a length, a substantially circular circumference,
a longitudinal axis through said length and being open at both
ends thereof, said conduit housing a plurality of mixing
elements, said mixing elements having no edges perpendicular to
said longitudinal axis and are sized and positioned within said
conduit such that at any plane passing perpendicularly to said
longitudinal axis, at least 75% of the circumference of said
conduit is free of any mixing element and no mixing elements are
in contact with one another resulting in an open region of travel
for fluids passing through said conduit along its longitudinal
axis.
The prior art references of record relied upon by the
examiner in rejecting the appealed claims are:
Doom 4,072,296 Feb. 7, 1978
Kao 4,258,782 Mar. 31, 1981
Schulz 24,309 Mar. 2, 1914
(Norwegian Patent)2
Claims 2, 3, 6 and 7 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C.
§ 102(b) as being anticipated by Doom.
2Our understanding of this foreign language document
is based upon a translation prepared for the U.S. Patent and
Trademark Office. A copy of that translation accompanies this
decision.
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