Appeal No. 95-2741
Application 08/008,120
The Lee patent was relied upon as evidence that certain features of the dependent claims were
old.
Applicant argues the Patent Office has not established a prima facie case of obviousness.
Applicant’s position is understood from the following excerpt from the Brief:
Austin clearly discloses a conventional carbon black production
process wherein a quench injecting a liquid quenching fluid is utilized to
stop pyrolysis of the carbon black yielding feedstock. Austin does not
disclose or suggest the use of a lined wall heat exchanger to cool the
effluent and stop pyrolysis of the carbon black yielding feedstock. Thus
Austin fails to disclose or suggest Appellant’s claimed invention. Austin
clearly teaches the conventional practice of injecting water into the
effluent stream to cool the effluent stream and stop pyrolysis and
contains no suggestion to use other than standard conventional
equipment for making carbon blacks. Therefore, Austin cannot suggest
the use of a lined wall heat exchanger such as specified in the present
claims. Moreover, since Austin teaches a process wherein the effluent
is cooled and pyrolysis is stopped by the injection of quench water into
the effluent, there would be no reason in the process disclosed by
Austin to utilize a lined wall heat exchanger to cool the effluent to stop
pyrolysis of the reaction. To utilize sufficient quench to stop pyrolysis in
a process where a lined wall heat exchanger is to be used for the same
purpose would not only be uneconomical, but also, and more
importantly, negate the advantages resulting from the use of the lined
wall heat exchanger.[16]
Applicant has not challenge the examiner’s reliance on Lee other than to note that the reference
did not cure the deficiencies of the Austin patent.17
2. Rejection under 35 U.S.C. § 112, second paragraph
The examiner rejected claim 2 under 35 U.S.C. § 112, second paragraph as indefinite. As we
16 Appeal Brief, page 7.
17 Appeal Brief, page 9, second paragraph.
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