Appeal No. 2000-1091 5
Application No. 08/874,167
predicted, but should be determined for each individual case.” See column 7, lines 28-38.
We further find that electro-osmosis was one of the processes occurring during reclamation
at the cathode. See, column 7, lines 45-49. Furthermore, we find that there is a specific
disclosure of heating of the soil. The statement relating to soil temperature discloses that,
“[t]he soil temperature at a depth of 50 cm and 50 cm from the cathode increased to ten
degrees centigrade above the normal soil temperature.” See column 7, lines 25-27.
Although, there is no other express teaching of ohmic heating, the examiner relies
upon the disclosure in column 3, lines 60-65, that, “[t]he electric current passed between
the anode(s) and cathode(s) through the material being cleaned may be a direct current
only, but it is also possible to perform the process according to the invention with a
directed current with an alternating current superimposed thereon, or with a pulsing direct
current.”
The examiner further relies upon the specification as supporting the teachings of
Pool by itself teaching that Joule heating is accomplished by passing AC current through
the soil, Answer, page 4, citing pages 2 and 6 of the specification, and that the
combination of electro osmosis with ohmic heating involves application of DC voltage
between an AC heating electrode and a nearby satellite DC electrode, which combination is
disclosed by Pool. We conclude therefrom that the process disclosed by Pool falls within
the scope of the claimed subject matter.
Furthermore, although the specification discloses that, “[j]oule heating of the
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