Appeal 2006-2359
Application 09/931,177
that face one another, wherein a portion of said channels contain a solid
catalyst and is in fluid communication with a source of process fluid, and
another portion of said channels is in fluid communication with a source of a
heat transfer medium and is in indirect heat contact with said process fluid,
wherein said plates are flat or are provided with grooves or ribs and are
coated at least partially with a catalyst one the surface that faces the process
fluid, and
wherein said lateral boundary areas are jacket pieces, which form a
pressure-resistant cuboid block with said channels, plates, and with
collectors for the process fluid and for the heat transfer medium, and said
reactor is capable of operating at process fluid and heat transfer medium
pressures of more than 25 bar.
The Specification explains the advantage of the limitations recited in
claims 1, 32, and 34 as follows (page 5):
In an embodiment of the reactor according to the invention,
advantageously the lateral boundary areas can be designed as
jacket pieces, which form a pressure-resistant cuboid block with
channels formed by the plates and collectors for the process
fluid and for the heat transfer medium. An advantage of this
embodiment is that the reactor can be operated, both on the
process fluid side and on the heat transfer medium side, at
operating pressures of more than 25 bar[s].
However, the Specification does not state how the jacket pieces, plates and
collectors are bonded together to form a pressure-resistant cuboid block
capable of operating at a pressure of more than 25 bars. See the
Specification in its entirety. Nor does the Specification define the meaning
of “cuboid block.” Id.
The Examiner has finally rejected the claims on appeal as follows
(Answer 3-6):
3
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