Appeal No. 2006-1391
Application No. 10/168,806
According to appellants, the invention is directed to a cross-flow filtration cassette
having at least one two-ply microporous separation membrane wherein the plies of the
two-ply membrane physically lie on top of one another, are joined at their peripheries by
spacers but not bonded together, and the pores of the separation membrane are sized
such that the average pore size of the front side ply is 1.3 to 5 times the average pore
size of the back side ply (Brief, pages 2-3). Independent claim 1 is illustrative of the
invention and is reproduced below:
1. A cross-flow filtration cassette having a feed inlet and feed flow
channel; a permeate flow channel and a permeate outlet; a retentate outlet; and
at least one two-ply microporous separation membrane having a front side ply
facing said feed channel and a back side ply facing said permeate channel
wherein said plies physically lie on top of one another and are joined at their
peripheries by spacers but are not bonded together in the area between said
spacers, wherein the flow of liquid feed through said separation membrane is
tangential over the surface of said separation membrane and the flow of
permeate through said separation membrane is from the front side ply to the
back side ply, and wherein the pores of said separation membrane are sized
such that the average pore size of said front side ply is 1.3 to 5 times the average
pore size of said back ply.
The examiner has relied upon the following references as evidence of
obviousness:
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