In re von Bramer

• Decision Date: 27 April 1942
• Docket Number: Patent Appeals No. 4566.
• Citation: 127 F.2d 149,29 CCPA 1018
• Parties: In re VON BRAMER et al.
• Court: U.S. Court of Customs and Patent Appeals (CCPA)

29 CCPA 1018, 127 F.2d 149 (1942)

In re VON BRAMER et al.

Patent Appeals No. 4566.

Court of Customs and Patent Appeals.

April 27, 1942.

Newton M. Perrins and Daniel I. Mayne, both of Rochester, N. Y., for appellants.

W. W. Cochran, of Washington, D. C. (Clarence W. Moore, of Washington, D. C., of counsel), for Commissioner of Patents.

Before GARRETT, Presiding Judge, and BLAND, HATFIELD, LENROOT, and JACKSON, Associate Judges.

JACKSON, Associate Judge.

This is an appeal from a decision of the Board of Appeals affirming that of the Primary Examiner denying patentability, in view of the prior art, of all of the claims, numbered 1 to 20, inclusive, in an application for a patent alleging new and useful improvements in "Treatment of Motor Fuels". The application is a division of a copending application Serial No. 96,467, filed August 17, 1936.

Product claims 1, 4, 6, 7, 11, 13 and 20 are the claims before us, the other claims having been cancelled by appellants subsequently to the decision of the board.

Claims 1 and 4 are illustrative and read as follows:

"1. A motor fuel comprising hydrocarbons and normally tending to deteriorate containing, in an amount sufficient to substantially retard the deterioration, a N-(primary-alkyl)-aminophenol in which the primaryalkyl group contains at least five carbon atoms.

"2. A motor fuel comprising hydrocarbons and normally tending to deteriorate containing, in an amount sufficient to substantially retard the deterioration, a N-(n-primary-amyl)-p-aminophenol."

The references cited are: Wade (British), 350,438, June 5, 1931; Gutzeit, 2,074,467, March 23, 1937; Atwell, 2,081,130, May 25, 1937; Wilson, 2,084,754, June 22, 1937; Rogers et al., 2,084,977, June 22, 1937; Clifford, 2,109,164, February 22, 1938.

The subject matter of the claimed invention relates to "the treatment of motor fuels comprising hydrocarbons, the treatment serving to retard or inhibit deterioration of the motor fuels" and is directed to a motor fuel such as "cracked" gasoline stabilized against deterioration by the addition of a N-(primaryalkyl)-aminophenol.

The deterioration in the motor fuel to be retarded or inhibited, according to the application, is "manifested by a loss in knock-rating, the formation of color or the formation of gummy or resinous products". The application states: "* * * This deterioration is undesirable since it is important to preserve the knock-rating of a motor fuel and the gummy or resinous material tends to deposit in the induction system of the carburetor and intake valves impairing or even preventing the operation of the motor. The formation of color impairs the marketing of the motor fuel."

The Wade (British) patent relates to improvements particularly in "cracked" hydrocarbon motor fuels which have a "tendency to form gum or resinification products on storage". The fuel is treated with a "substituted aminophenol" and as examples of the material employed in the treatment it sets out "para- and ortho-methyl-amino-phenol, dimethyl-amino-phenol, butyl, isopropyl and benzyl amino-phenols, dihydroxy-diphenyl-amine, and the like." The deterioration inhibiting properties of the substituted aminophenols are set out in much detail in the patent and they are there stated to be very much more effective than the aminophenols.

The Gutzeit patent relates to the stabilizing of hydrocarbon oils "such as gasoline and naphtha, especially cracked gasoline," all of which often contain gum or gum forming constituents in harmful quantities. The hydrocarbon material is treated in the patent by the addition of small quantities of para amino phenolic or para diamino aryl compounds, which compounds the patentee states, when contained in a benzene ring, are powerful gum inhibitors.

The Atwell patent relates to "a process for inhibiting the formation of gums and semi-solid organic materials" in equipment such as gas meters, etc. The patent shows the use of several amino phenols and several substituted amino phenols among which latter are butyl aminophenol, amylaminophenol, 4-n-amylaminophenol, and 4-n-hexylaminophenol.

The Wilson patent is directed to the stabilization of motor fuels. It is stated in the specification that color deterioration and gum formation in motor fuels are known to be the result of oxidation. The patentee states that among other substances which he found to be effective in preventing gum formation is para-amino-phenol. He further states that "aromatic compounds with two hydroxyl and/or amino groups in the ortho or para positions of the benzene ring will completely prevent oxidation * * *". The specification also shows that an alkyl or aryl group may be substituted for a hydrogen atom in these compounds and when the substitution has been made solubility is decreased in water and increased in oil. The patentee states that he can produce substituted phenolic or amino compounds used in his process from "the unsaturated hydrocarbons derived from the pryolysis cracking of oil or coal as the base or stock" and specifically sets out that aminophenol can be alkylated by heating under pressure with alcohol.

The Rogers et al. patent relates in particular to the treatment of cracked gasoline with ortho-, meta-, and para-butyl aminophenols as gum inhibitors and claims a motor fuel product "containing a small proportion of aminophenol wherein one amino hydrogen has been substituted by a butyl radical * * *".

The Clifford patent relates to the retarding of the ageing of deteriorable organic compositions among which is gasoline. In the treatment of gasoline the patentee states that by the use of certain antioxidants the formation of gums and gummy materials is prevented. Among a long list of antioxidants there is specified N-butyl-p-amino phenol, N-isobutyl p-amino phenol and N-isoamyl p-amino phenol. A method of preparing N-butyl p-amino phenol is set out in the specification as "reacting butyl amine and p-chlorophenol in an auto-clave".

The Primary Examiner in his rejection of the claims said in his statement as follows: "Applicants also arbitrarily limit the claims to five carbon atom alkyls, but the invention as alleged is that any alkyl having four or more carbon atoms are suitable.

"The references cited; Clifford, Atwell, Gutzeit and Wilson teach alkyls as gasoline stabilizers readable upon applicants claims. These references are particularly applied of record and since applicant admits that his claims are readable thereon further application is not made here. Similarly Wade and Rogers, et al. teach butyl amino phenols (four carbon atom) which applicants claims now arbitrarily distinguish by reciting five carbon atom alkyls. But in view of the admitted...