Appeal No. 1998-1493
Application No. 08/377,861
The appellant's independent claim 1 requires that there
be
means within the reaction chamber for inducing
effective recirculation of the exhaust flowing
through said reaction chamber, and creating a low
pressure region in the reaction chamber proximal the
chamber inlet (emphasis added).
In the Samejima apparatus, a point "proximal the chamber
inlet" would be located at or near the outlet of pipe 6,
immediately above catalyst chamber 9. If a means for inducing
effective recirculation and for creating a low pressure area
were to be placed there, it seems to us that the Samejima
invention would be rendered inoperable, for the required flow
of at least some of the exhaust gas into the catalyst chamber,
which is vital to the operation of the Samejima system, would
be at the very least severely compromised, and perhaps even
destroyed. This, from our perspective, would be a
disincentive to the artisan to make the modification proposed
by the examiner.
Moreover, even if the proposed modification were made,
the resulting structure would not meet the terms of claim 1.
The Aronsohn turbulator would appear to meet the first "means"
requirement of inducing effective recirculation of the
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