Appeal No. 1996-3162
Application 08/227,897
for the duration of the process, while another, separate
portion advances outward. We do not consider, however, that
one of ordinary skill in the art, reading the claim language
in light of the disclosure, would reach the examiner's
interpretation. Rather, one of ordinary skill would
recognize, as the examiner himself states on page 7 of the
answer, that "the gases within the primary oxidation chamber
will eventually be advanced outward thereof in carrying out
the process with the addition of air and organic material."
Therefore, one of ordinary skill would not interpret the
language in question as requiring that the recited "portion"
and "further portion" of the gaseous effluent remain separate
entities throughout the process, but would interpret the
recited "further portion" as inclusive of gaseous effluent
which previously had been recirculated as part of the first
recited "portion." Thus interpreted, claim 1 would meet the
requirements of § 112, second paragraph, since it would
reasonably apprise those of skill in the art of its scope. In
re Warmerdam, 33 F.3d 1354, 1361, 31 USPQ2d 1754, 1759 (Fed.
Cir. 1994).
7
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Next
Last modified: November 3, 2007