Appeal No. 2004-2019
Application No. 10/301,441 Page 7
The claimed subject matter on appeal as represented by claim
14 is directed to “[a} method of separating impurities from a
MTBE process feed stream comprised of mainly of MTBE and
containing a minor quantity of said impurities... with a solid
contact material consisting essentially of a solid large pore
zeolite and recovering a MTBE product stream reduced in content
of said impurities from the contact (emphasis added).” The
specification not only does not define the meaning of “mainly”
recited in claim 1, but also does not preclude the presence of
components other than impurities and MTBE. The specification at
page 2 states that:
MTBE as produced commercially, for example...
Illustrative of such impurities are water, methanol,
acetone, methyl ethyl ketone (MEK), TBA, and the like.
.. Other materials which can be readily separated as
by distillation such as diisobutylene may also be
present and do not interfere with the separation of the
invention. (Emphasis added).
Consistent with the specification, the claimed MTBE process feed
stream, by virtue of using the language “comprised” and
“containing”, is open to the presence of components or materials
4 According to the appellants(Brief, page 3), “[t]he claims
presently on appeal stand or fall together.”
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Next
Last modified: November 3, 2007