Ex Parte Hawkins

Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences

May 31, 2007

10386070 (B.P.A.I. May. 31, 2007)

The opinion in support of the decision being entered today
is not binding precedent of the Board.

UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
____________

BEFORE THE BOARD OF PATENT APPEALS
AND INTERFERENCES
____________

Ex parte MICHAEL R. HAWKINS
____________

Appeal 2006-3058
Application 10/386,070
Technology Center 1700
____________

Decided: May 31, 2007
____________

Before CHARLES F. WARREN, PETER F. KRATZ, and
LINDA M. GAUDETTE, Administrative Patent Judges.

GAUDETTE, Administrative Patent Judge.

DECISION ON APPEAL
This is an appeal from the Examiner’s final rejection of claims 1, 2,
6-9, 11-15, and 20-23. We have jurisdiction over the appeal pursuant to
35 U.S.C. § 6(b) (2006).
Appellant's invention relates to a counter-flow asphalt plant having a
recycle asphalt (RAP) feed to the combustion zone to produce high
percentage RAP asphalt products within a two-stage mixing zone. The
Appeal 2006-3058
Application 10/386,070

invention is said to provide improved production rates with greater economy
and efficiency of plant design and operation. Specification [0003].
Independent claim 20 is reproduced below:
20. A counter-flow drum mixer asphalt plant for producing asphaltic
product from aggregate and liquid asphalt, said asphalt plant comprising:

a rotatable cylinder having first and second ends with an internal
passageway communicating therebetween and serially providing zones
therein from said first end to said second end defined progressively as a
drying zone, a combustion zone and first and second stage mixing zones;

a support framework carrying said cylinder in a substantially
horizontal orientation; a drive motor mounted on said framework and
engaged with said cylinder to rotate said cylinder about the central
longitudinal axis thereof;

a primary aggregate feeder with a material discharge extending within
said first end of said cylinder to deliver aggregate material to said drying
zone of said cylinder whereby rotation of said cylinder transports said
aggregate material progressively through said drying, combustion and first
and second stage mixing zones to said second end of said cylinder;

a combustion assembly projected into the second end of said cylinder
and extending through said first and second stage mixing zones to said
combustion zone to generate a hot gas stream in said combustion zone to
flow through said combustion and drying zones toward said first end of said
cylinder in a countercurrent direction to the flow of aggregate material
within said cylinder in order to heat and dry the aggregate material within
said combustion and drying zones, said combustion assembly including a
burner head positioned at said combustion zone, a fuel supply connected to
said burner head, and a primary combustion air supply connected to said
burner head to establish a combustion flame within said combustion zone of
said cylinder;

a liquid asphalt feeder disposed within said first stage mixing zone for
delivering liquid asphalt to the hot aggregate carried from the combustion
zone into said first stage mixing zone to form an asphaltic composition;
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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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evidence that Green, either expressly or inherently, discloses the secondary
combustion air supply as claimed?
For the reasons discussed below, we answer this question in the
negative. Accordingly, we reverse as to all three grounds of rejection.

RELEVANT FINDINGS OF FACT (“FF”)
1) Figure 13 of Green is shown below:
Green Figure 13 is a schematic representation of a system for
concurrently remediating contaminated soil and producing hot
mix asphalt. Green, 4:66-5:1.
2) The system 1 includes a cylindrically shaped rotary drum 3
supported on frame means 5. Green, 5:32-34. Materials are
processed in the direction shown by arrow 47. Green, 5:52-54.
3) In operation, virgin aggregate is received via a material
conveyor 65 into the cavity 35 at input end 31 of the rotary
drum 3. Green, 5:64-6:3.
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4) Material entering cavity 35 travels through a heating zone 41
spaced upstream from burner head 43 and then through a
mixing zone 49 spaced downstream from the burner head 43.
Green, 5:50-59.
5) The heating zone 41 includes a drying zone 123 and
combustion zone 125. Green, 7:7-8.
6) The mixing zone 49 extends from the discharge end 33 of
the rotary drum 3 to the vicinity of, but short of, the burner head
43. Green, 5:55-57.
7) “Radially outward extremities of the mixing zone 49 are
bounded by the wall 17 of the drum 3, and radially inward
extremities of the mixing zone 49 are bounded by the secondary
air tube 111.” Green, 8:14-17.
8) “[T]he mixing zone 49 and materials being processed in the
mixing zone 49 are isolated from the flame 101 and the hot gas
stream. . . . [T]he term ‘isolated’ . . . includes the inadmission
of undesirable effects to the mixing zone 49 and to materials
therein, such as air movement through the mixing zone 49.”
Green, 9:20-30.
9) “Due to the elimination of air movement through the mixing
zone 49, any volatile components vaporized from the asphaltic
components quickly condense within, and do not leave, the
mixing zone 49 thereby avoiding burdening the pollution
control equipment 73 or rising production of blue-smoke
contamination.” Green, 9:35-40.
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ANALYSIS AND CONCLUSIONS
Appellant describes the claimed invention as relating to:
a unique asphalt plant construction having first and second
stage mixing zones wherein the first stage mixing zone is
purposefully exposed to secondary combustion air for
exhausting blue smoke to the combustion zone while the second
stage mixing zone is isolated from the secondary combustion
air flow to minimize entrainment of fines in the second stage
mixing zone.
Br. 9. Appellant argues that Green cannot anticipate the claims because
Green discloses a single mixing zone which is isolated from any air flow.
(Br. 9.)
The Examiner contends that Green’s mixing zone 49 is properly
divided into two stages: a first stage in which liquid asphalt is added and a
second stage in which mineral fines from feeder 171 are added. (Answer 7.)
The Examiner maintains that:
While its [sic, it] is true that that [sic] the second stage mixing zone of
Green (‘882) is substantially isolated from the flow of secondary
combustion air, secondary combustion air is directed to the first stage
mixing zone as best seen in Fig. 3. Specifically, the secondary air
tube 111 of Green (‘882) terminates substantially to the left of
(“downstream of” with respect to the direction of aggregate flow) the
primary air tube 91 which terminates at 157, as best seen in Fig. 3. In
other words, secondary air tube 111 of Green (‘822) terminates within
the second stage mixing zone.
Answer 8.
We are in agreement with Appellant that the Examiner’s findings with
respect to the flow of combustion air lack evidentiary support and contradict
Green’s detailed description of the invention (see Reply 2-4). For example,
Green clearly teaches that the mixing zone 49 and materials being processed
in the mixing zone 49 are isolated from air movement (see FF 8). Likewise,
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Green discloses that components vaporized from the asphaltic components
condense within, and do not leave, the mixing zone 49 (see FF 9).
Therefore, we find that Green fails to disclose, either expressly or inherently,
the claimed features of Appellant’s secondary combustion air supply.
Accordingly, the rejection of claims 1, 6-8, 11-13, and 20-23 under
35 U.S.C § 102(b) as anticipated by Green is reversed. Because the
rejections of claims 2, 9, 14, and 15 under 35 U.S.C § 103(a) are similarly
based on the Examiner’s finding that Green discloses the claimed secondary
combustion air supply, we also reverse these rejections.
REVERSED

clj
Joseph B. Bowman
5441 East Gleneagles Dr.
Tucson, AZ 85718-1805

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