Appeal 2007-1207
Application 10/703,917
The barrel 16 is heated by different sets of heater bands 24
located around its outer surface that define separate heating
zones which may be independently controlled. Temperatures
within the barrel 16 are sensed by temperature transducers 26
which are located at the inner surface of the barrel 16 so that
they can provide information on the temperature of the plastic
materials within the barrel at the different heating zones.
This disclosure states that Searle uses transducers located at the inner surface
of the barrel to obtain “information on the temperature of the plastic
materials.”
The examiner relies9 on Searle's ThetaD as a cycle time and Tp1 as
(projected) heating cylinder temperature for plasticizing variables. Nissei
disagrees with these characterizations. Searle defines ThetaD as the time for
process temperature to rise 2° at full heater power.10 Tp1 is calculated from
ThetaD, the current temperature Tcur, and the rate of temperature change.11
Searle does teach that the projected temperature can be forecasted from a
mathematical expression, Tp1 = (Slope*1.5ThetaD) + Tcur, identified as
Equation (3). In Equation (3), ThetaD is multiplied by a variable coefficient
“Slope*1.5” but current temperature Tcur is multiplied by a fixed known
coefficient of unity. Hence, even assuming that Tcur is a plasticizing
condition within the scope of the appealed claims, Searle’s disclosure with
respect to Equation (3) does not describe “setting a provisional plasticized-
resin temperature estimating mathematical expression indicating that the
selected plasticizing conditions are to be multiplied by respective unknown
coefficients and summed up” (emphasis added) and “converting the
unknown coefficients into known coefficients” (emphasis added).
9 Answer at 8.
10 Searle at 6:25.
11 Searle at 6:40.
4
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