Appeal No. 95-3313
Application 08/134,851
continuously supplying an aqueous dispersion
containing
fine particles of polytetrafluoroethylene prepared by
emulsion polymerization to a high shear machine having a
rotating element to continuously form a slurry containing
flocculated polytetrafluoroethylene,
continuously passing the slurry containing
flocculated
polytetrafluoroethylene to a lower portion of a vertical
agitator having a granulation zone in its lower half and
a
shaping zone in its upper half,
continuously applying a shearing force to the
flocculated polytetrafluoroethylene in the granulation
zone,
continuously applying a shearing force to the
granulated polytetrafluoroethylene particles in the
shaping zone, and wherein the shearing force in the
granulation zone is greater than the shearing force in
the shaping zone, wherein the shearing force in the
granulation zone is greater than the shearing force in
the shaping zone, and
continuously taking off polytetrafluoroethylene wet
powder from an upper portion of the vertical agitator.[2]
12. A process according to claim 9, wherein the
path of the granules in the shaping zone is guided by
means of a spiral flow guide in the shaping zone.
14. The polytetrafluoroethylene wet powder prepared
by the process of claim 9, having a water content of 40
2 We note that the underlined portion of Claim 9,
which
was entered by amendment filed December 17, 1993 (Paper No.
20),
and is herein reproduced, does not appear in the corresponding
Claim 9 reproduced in the Appendix to appellants’ Appeal
Brief.
The underlined clause is repeated in tandem in Claim 9. We
consider the repetition of the clause to be a readily
correctable, typographical error.
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