Appeal No. 2003-0079 Page 7
Application No. 09/532,114
to gaseous fuel ratios ranged from 88%:12% to 69%:31 %, which is the broadest set of
ranges recited in any of the examples.
Based upon the common definitions of the terms, and in view of the explanation
of the invention provided in the appellants' specification, it is our opinion that the
"primary" fuel is the fuel that is provided in the greatest proportion during normal
running of the engine and the "secondary" fuel is the fuel in the lesser proportion.In
this regard, the appellants explain on page 12 of the specification that in order to
achieve the invention's objectives of cooling the manifold and preventing early ignition
and knock of the primary fuel (acetylene), the secondary fuel (alcohol) comprises
"approximately ten percent" of the total fuel charge.From our perspective, the
designation of one fuel line as "primary" and the other as "secondary" cannot be
ignored and must be considered as limitations in the claim, rather than as merely an
intended use, because the primary fuel line is recited as being "for delivering acetylene
fuel" and thus must be capable of delivering acetylene, and the secondary fuel line is
"for delivering a fuel other than acetylene," and must be capable of performing this
function.
In the Ikeda system, the liquid fuel comprises between 69% and 85% of the fuel
charge to the engine, and therefore it clearly is the primary fuel, with the gaseous fuel
being secondary. This being the case, in the Ikeda system the fuel lines are the
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