Appeal No. 2003-0079 Page 3
Application No. 09/532,114
OPINION
In reaching our decision in this appeal, we have given careful consideration to
the appellants' specification and claims, to the applied prior art references, and to the
respective positions articulated by the appellants and the examiner. As a consequence
of our review, we make the determinations which follow.
The appellants' invention proposes to utilize acetylene, either as a mixture or
concurrently with an alcohol or other combustible fuel, as a clean fuel for internal
combustion engines. This allows acetylene, which has a tendency to pre-ignite in the
intake port when used as a single fuel, to be used as the primary fuel in an internal
combustion engine. The problems with acetylene are overcome by using the dual fuels
in two stages. The first stage requires that the engine be started with a secondary fuel
which is non-acetylene. After a warm-up period, the second stage involves generating
power output by means of the primary fuel, which is acetylene. In operation, the flow of
secondary fuel is reduced after the start-up period by a control system connected to
primary and secondary fuel control valves which regulates the induction and flow rates
of the fuels based on the throttling of the engine.The appellants point out that the
locations of the primary and secondary fuel inlets is important to the successful
operation of their inventive system. See specification,pages 5-8.
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