Appeal No. 2007-0175 Page 6
Application No. 10/467,134
material in the water or wastewater is eliminated by this “settling operation”, or
that at least 20% of hexane extractable material in the water or wastewater is
eliminated without subjecting the water or waste water to flotation degreasing
means as is required by appellant’s claimed invention. For the following reasons
we disagree with the examiner’s assertion that the elimination of at least 20% of
hexane extractable material from the water or wastewater without subjecting the
water or wastewater to flotation degreasing means is simply a matter of
optimizing the process taught by the combined teachings of Binot and Vion.
Answer, page 3.
The examiner recognizes that Binot does not teach the elimination of
hexane extractable material, or grease, by a means other than flotation
degreasing. Final Rejection, page 2. Therefore, we look to Vion to provide a
teaching of the elimination of at least 20% of hexane extractable material, or
grease, from water or wastewater without the use of flotation degreasing means.
Vion is interested in reducing “the size of [a water/waste water treatment] plant
while optimizing the two functions of degritting and degreasing. Vion, column 1,
lines 47-49. To do this Vion proposes that the degritting and degreasing
operations can be broken down into elementary steps, and at least one of these
two steps can be combined with the steps carried out during the mechanical-
chemical treatment and settling operations of the process. Vion, column 1, lines
50-63. We note that Vion does not suggest that the steps, e.g., flotation
degreasing, are eliminated. To the contrary, Vion states that the steps can be
combined with other steps in the process.
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