Appeal No. 1996-3162
Application 08/227,897
and forming a mass thereof within a chamber
of the producer and adding an oxidant (18)
for heating and gasification. The gases
leaving (17) of Boutillier are transferred
to an energy recovery device, such as an
engine. A gaseous flow (45) is also
established. It
would have been obvious to use a domed top
reactor structure in Boutillier to obtain
gas recirculation as claimed, Yamazaki et
al showing such to be a well known gasifier
option.
Also, on page 9 of the answer:
Regarding the argued recirculatory flow
path at page 20 of the brief, the claims
are not considered to call for any specific
amount of recirculation. As so construed,
recirculation, as claimed, is considered
obvious from the teachings of Boutillier
and Yamazaki et al. While it is agreed
that Yamazaki et al remove gases from a
lower region of the gasifier and not from
the top portion as does Boutillier the
teachings of Yamazaki et al regarding
recirculating flow are considered
applicable to Boutillier. This is no [sic:
so] since, whether the gases are removed
near the top of a recirculating flow area
or at another lower location does not
change the nature of the recirculating
flow.
We will not sustain this rejection. In the first
place, claim 1 requires that a portion of the gaseous effluent
9
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