Ex parte LOCKETT et al. - Page 4




          Appeal No. 1997-2105                                                        
          Application No. 08/426,160                                                  

               The prior set forth below is relied upon by the examiner               
          as evidence of obviousness:                                                 
          Bridgeford               3,502,547                Mar. 24, 1970             
          Sampath et al.      (Sampath)      5,326,436                Jul.            
          5, 1994                                                                     
          The admitted prior art shown in Figure 1 of the appellant’s                 
          drawing                                                                     
               All of the appealed claims stand rejected under 35 U.S.C.              
          § 103 as being unpatentable over the admitted prior art in                  
          view of Sampath with or without Bridgeford.                                 
                                       OPINION                                        
               We cannot sustain this rejection.                                      
               We agree with the appellant that the Sampath and                       
          Bridgeford references contain no teaching or suggestion of                  
          providing the admitted prior art fractionator with a                        
          separation tray and downpipe at a location between the bottoms              
          liquid hold-up pool and the vapor feed contacting zone as                   
          required by the independent claims on appeal.  Neither of                   
          these patents discloses and would not have suggested a                      
          separation and downpipe of the type and at the location                     
          claimed by the appellant.  Indeed, the arrangements shown in                
          these patents, such as the trough/baffle arrangement of                     
          Sampath and the plate/downpipe arrangement of Bridgeford, are               
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