Appeal No. 2003-1968 Page 2
Application No. 09/327,963
20-40/ angle. An understanding of the invention can be derived
from a reading of exemplary claim 1, which is reproduced below.
1. A gas-phase fluidized-bed reactor for
polymerizing ethylenically unsaturated monomers,
comprising a reactor space (1) in the form of a vertical
tube, a calming zone (2) adjoining the upper part of the
reactor sapce, a circulated gas line (3) in fluid
communication with said calming zone, a circulated gas
compressor (4) and a cooling apparatus (5) in fluid
communication with said circulated gas line, a gas
distributor plate (6) which forms the lower boundary of
the reactor space and, optionally, a flow divider (7)
below the gas distributor plate, in fluid communication
with said circulated gas line, wherein the gas
distributor plate (6) has a plurality of gas flow
orifices (8) whose outlet sides are widened conically at
an angle " of from 20 to 40°.
The prior art references of record relied upon by the
examiner in rejecting the appealed claims are:
Jenkins, III et al. (Jenkins) 4,588,790 May 13, 1986
Chang et al. (Chang) 5,905,094 May 18, 1999
Claims 1, 3-6 and 11-13 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C.
§ 103(a) as being unpatentable over Jenkins in view of Chang.
We refer to the brief and to the answer for a complete
exposition of the opposing viewpoints expressed by appellants and
the examiner concerning the issues before us on this appeal.
OPINION
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