Appeal No. 95-4852
Application 08/224,090
this limitation (see page 4 in the answer). The appellant,
tacitly acknowledging that Woten’s auger 18 conveys insulation
material in one direction toward an exit opening, argues that
Wooten [sic, Woten] recognizes that at least in
some operating conditions, a screw auger tends to
compact the material, rather than dispersing the material
as required for the first means. This is set forth in
detail in column 1 at lines 46-66 of Wooten [sic].
Thus, the “means” disclosed in Wooten [sic] does not
perform the identical function called for with respect
to the “first means” in claim 20 [brief, page 4,
emphasis in the original].
Woten does in fact discuss the problem of auger-induced
compaction in insulating machines at column 1, lines 46 through
66. Contrary to the appellant’s implication, however, the
particular insulating machine disclosed by Woten is designed to
eliminate this problem. To this end, the Woten machine includes
a number of rotating components such as a jogger 28, a circulator
22, the aforementioned auger 18 and a granulator 7 which keep
loose fill insulation material in a state of constant motion and
agitation to separate or “disperse” the individual particles4
4 Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary (G. & C. Merriam Co.
1977) defines term “disperse” as meaning “to cause to break up”.
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