Appeal 2006-3058
Application 10/386,070
a dust feeder disposed within said second stage mixing zone for
delivering fine additives to said asphaltic composition carried from said first
mixing zone to form a finished asphaltic product;
a stationary discharge housing sealingly connected to said second end
of said cylinder to permit rotation thereof and having a discharge port for
discharging said finished asphaltic product from said cylinder; and
a secondary combustion air supply connected to said discharge
housing to direct a flow of secondary combustion air to said first stage
mixing zone in order to evacuate and carry blue smoke and steam vapors
from said first stage mixing zone into said combustion zone and to
substantially isolate said second stage mixing zone from the flow of
secondary combustion air in order to minimize entrainment of fine additives
from said second stage mixing zone.
The Examiner relies on the following prior art references to show
unpatentability:
Green US 5,664,882 Sep. 9, 1997
Hawkins US 5,664,881 Sep. 9, 1997
The Examiner made the following rejections:
1. Claims 1, 6-8, 11-13, and 20-23 under 35 U.S.C. § 102(b) as
anticipated by Green;
2. Claims 2, 14, and 15 under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a) as unpatentable
over Green; and
3. Claim 9 under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a) as unpatentable over Green in
view of Hawkins.
ISSUE
The Examiner contends that Green discloses all of the features recited
in independent claims 1 and 20. Appellant contends that Green fails to
disclose the claimed features of the secondary combustion air supply. The
issue for us to decide is: Has the Examiner shown by a preponderance of the
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