Appeal No. 2007-0175 Page 7
Application No. 10/467,134
Vion discusses the “elementary steps” involved in degritting and
degreasing (Vion, column 1, line 64 – column 2, line 28) and explains (column 2,
lines 12-27) that in the degreasing step the grease particles are coalesced and
“very fine air bubbles” are optionally employed to improve the gravity separation
of the grease. While Vion is not explicitly clear as to what is meant by “gravity
separation” of the grease, we understand from column 4, lines 35-37 and 49-54
of Vion that the injection of fine air bubbles accelerates the rate of rise of the
grease particles, where they are later taken up off the top of the reactor, e.g.,
flotation degreasing. Therefore, it would appear to us, that whether or not air
bubbles are included in the process of degreasing outlined by Vion at column 2,
lines 12-27, Vion contemplates flotation degreasing. Vion then discusses the
steps of mechanical-chemical treatment (column 2, lines 28-48), which is
followed by the settling operation which comprises “the removal of flocculated
matter and the grease particles trapped in the floc.” Vion, column 2, lines 49-56.
As Vion explains, column 2, line 57 – column 3, line 4, as a consequence
of breaking the process steps down into elementary steps, several of the
processing steps can be performed simultaneously. We note, however, that
even when various steps involved in the water-treatment process are performed
simultaneously, Vion refers to the separation of grease particles and the start of
the settling operation as two separate components of the combined process.
See e.g., Vion, column 3, lines 3-4 “separating the grease particles and
commencing a settling operation.” This is emphasized in the four steps outlined
by Vion at column 4, lines 3-60, particularly, column 4, lines 35-37 (“[i]n order to
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