US PATENT CLASS 202
Class Notes
Current as of: June, 1999
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DEFINITION
Classification: 202/
GENERAL STATEMENT OF CLASS SUBJECT MATTER
This class includes all apparatus except as noted herein below for distillation of either solids or liquids, and associations of distillation apparatus and other apparatus adapted to prepare material for distillation. For the purposes of this classification distillation is defined as the volatilization of a substance for the purpose of recovering material from the vapor produced by condensation or absorption. The product obtained by condensation must be a liquid. Generally the volatile material separated existed as a definite chemical entity in the substance, but in the case of thermolytic distillation it may be formed from other compounds during and by the heating. The absence from the claims of means for performing condensation or absorption in an apparatus patent does not exclude it from this class if it is disclosed, evident or well known that the apparatus is designed to be used in connection with such a step.
When all claims are generic and the disclosure indicates that the apparatus is of wide utility, the patent is classified here (class 202) and cross-referenced to the classes disclosed. When the patent includes generic claims and the disclosure is limited to a class other than Class 202, the patent is classified in the class disclosed. When a patent contains generic distillation apparatus claims and species claims including a Class 202 species, see Lines With Other Classes, below.
For classification purposes in this class three forms of distillation are recognized, defined as follows:
Autothermic distillation, in which the distilland, either by combustion of a portion of itself or by other chemical change, furnishes at least part of the heat for thermolysis and volatilization of either the inherent or thermolized volatile matter.
Separatory distillation, in which the substances separated pre-exist in the material subjected to distillation, called herein the distilland, and are recovered usually without chemical change of composition.
Thermolytic distillation, in which a compound or compounds found in the distilland undergo chemical decomposition, thermolysis, and form different chemical compounds, at least some of which are volatile at the temperature employed, and can be recovered by condensation or absorption. In this are included coal, oil shale, peat, and wood distillation when the latter produces charcoal.
LINES WITH OTHER CLASSES (A) DISTILLATION PROCESSES
Patents claiming a distillation process and claiming distillation apparatus of general utility within the purview of Class 202 are classified in the appropriate distillation process class and cross-referenced to this Class (202). See References to Other Classes, below, for processes including a distillation operation.
(B) DISTILLATION APPARATUS
Patents claiming distillation apparatus of general utility are classified here unless otherwise provided for.
(1) Class 34, Drying and Gas Vapor Contact With Solids, is distinguished from Class 202 in that in Class 34 the combination of means for removing an extraneous liquid from a solid and means for condensing vapor produced must leave the solid chemically unchanged. In Class 202 apparatus is utilized to chemically alter the solid being treated.
(2) Class 48, Gas: Heating and Illuminating, takes apparatus for making heating and illuminating gases. The line between the apparatus in this class (202) for thermolytic distillation and the apparatus in Class 48 is that the apparatus in Class 48 has no solid carbonaceous material left in the material acted upon.
(3) Class 62, Refrigeration, takes apparatus for vaporizing a liquid mixture having a boiling point at atmospheric pressure below 0 deg.C. (32 deg.F.) and condensing the vapor except as otherwise provided in the Class Definition of Class 62. When a patent contains claims to Class 62 apparatus and Class 202 apparatus, the patent is classified in Class 62 and cross-referenced to Class 202.
(4) Class 134, Cleaning and Liquid Contact With Solids, takes processes and apparatus for contacting solids with liquids for cleaning or any purpose not provided for in other classes. The combination of means for contacting a solid with a liquid and means for distilling the liquid is in Class 134. The subcombination of distilling apparatus of general utility is classified here (202).
(5) Class 435, Chemistry: Molecular Biology and Microbiology, takes processes for fermentation including a distillation operation and apparatus that is peculiar to, or specialized and designed for use in, processes classified in Class 435.
(6) Class 196, Mineral Oils: Apparatus, takes all patents drawn to apparatus for distilling mineral oil. When a patent contains claims to apparatus for distilling mineral oil and claims to apparatus for distilling within the purview of Class 202, the patent is classified in Class 202 and cross-referenced to Class 196.
(7) Class 266, Metallurgical Apparatus, takes apparatus for heating metalliferous material combined with means for condensing the vapor. The line between Class 202 and Class 266 is that Class 266 takes apparatus for distilling metals, such as mercury and zinc, from their ores. (8) Class 588, Hazardous or Toxic Waste Destruction or Containment, is noted at appropriate subclasses for the use of apparatus in the destruction of hazardous or toxic waste.
C. EVAPORATING APPARATUS
Apparatus designed to heat material to remove vapor therefrom without condensing at least a portion of the vapor is excluded from Class 202. Some classes which provide for apparatus including means for concentrating or evaporating without necessarily including condensing means are listed in References to Other Classes, below.
REFERENCES TO OTHER CLASSES
SEE OR SEARCH CLASS
23, Chemistry: Physical Processes, for processes including a distillation operation.
34, Drying and Gas or Vapor Contact With Solids,
73+, for apparatus for separating liquids from solids combined with means to condense vapors, subclasses 108+, for apparatus including a hollow drum rotating about an axis and subclasses 201+, for apparatus including a kiln; also see appropriate subclasses for processes including a distillation operation.
34, Drying and Gas or Vapor Contact With Solids, for
apparatus including means for concentrating or evaporating without necessarily including condensing means
44, Fuel and Related Compositions,
629+, for an apparatus for making or treating a fuel composition. 48, Gas: Heating and Illuminating,
61+, for gas generators and subclasses 119+, for retorts for gasifying materials by heat.
48, Gas: Heating and Illuminating, for apparatus including means for concentrating or evaporating without necessarily including condensing means
62, Refrigeration, appropriate subclasses, for processes and apparatus peculiar to removing heat from a substance.
75, Specialized Metallurgical Processes, Compositions for Use Therein, Consolidated Metal Powder Compositions, and Loose Metal Particulate Mixtures, appropriate subclasses, for a process of reducing an ore to the metallic state or refining molten metal involving distillation or for a sublimation process.
96, Gas Separation: Apparatus, for apparatus for gas separation. See particularly
155+, for degasifying means for liquid.
99, Foods and Beverages: Apparatus,
275+, for apparatus for preparing beverages.
99, Foods and Beverages: Apparatus, for apparatus including means for concentrating or evaporating without necessarily including condensing means
106, Compositions: Coating or Plastic, appropriate subclasses, for a coating composition which may be applied to surfaces of the distillation apparatus or utilized for making apparatus of a particular composition.
110, Furnaces, 235, for a device for burning garbage or sewage, subclass 229, for a furnace having a special repository for fuel for eliminating the combustible gases and burning them before the coked fuel is fed to the fire and subclasses 101+, for a device for feeding fuel to a furnace. Under Class 110, Class Definition, Search Class, see Class 122, Liquid Heaters and Vaporizers, and for lines among these classes.
122, Liquid Heaters and Vaporizers, for apparatus and methods for heating liquids, generating vapors from liquids, treating
the vapors generated and conserving the heat remaining in the liquid or vapor after part of the heat has been used. See particularly
66, for devices containing a water cooled coking chamber for fuel.
127, Sugar, Starch, and Carbohydrates,
3+, for apparatus for extracting carbohydrates from solid material and subclass 16, for apparatus for evaporation to crystallization of sugar solutions.
127, Sugar, Starch, and Carbohydrates, for apparatus including means for concentrating or evaporating without necessarily including condensing means
134, Cleaning and Liquid Contact with Solids, appropriate subclasses for processes including a distillation operation.
134, Cleaning and Liquid Contact With Solids, for apparatus including means for concentrating or evaporating without necessarily including condensing means
159, Concentrating Evaporators, for apparatus and processes not more specifically provided for elsewhere, peculiar to the concentration of solids held in solution or suspension by evaporation of the liquid containing them. See particularly
2.1, for a flash evaporator, subclasses 3+, for a spray evaporator and subclasses 5+, for a film type evaporator.
159, Concentrating Evaporators, for apparatus including means for concentrating or evaporating without necessarily including condensing means 165, Heat Exchange, appropriate subclasses for heat exchange devices, including surface condensers, per se.
201, Distillation: Processes. Thermolytic, appropriate subclasses for processes including a distillation operation.
203, Distillation: Processes, Separatory, appropriate subclasses for processes including a distillation operation.
208, Mineral Oils: Processes and Products, appropriate subclasses for processes including a distillation operation.
210, Liquid Purification or Separation, appropriate subclasses, for apparatus for purifying or separating any liquid by (1) filtration (2) sorption or ionic exchange, (3) liquid-liquid extraction, (4) destruction or conversion of a constituent thereof.
261, Gas and Liquid Contact Apparatus, appropriate subclasses, for apparatus adapted to produce an intimate contact between gases and liquids and see (2) Note under the
class definition.
266, Metallurgical Apparatus, appropriate subclasses, for furnaces limited to the treatment of metals or metalliferous materials, particularly
148+, for apparatus for vaporizing metals and collecting the vapor.
366, Agitating,
219+, for apparatus for agitating a liquid or a particulate material by motion of the container, and subclasses 241+ for a fixed container with movable stirring apparatus, particularly subclasses 262+ for pump type stirrers.
406, Conveyors: Fluid Current, appropriate subclasses for conveying solid material in a current of air or other gas. 414, Material or Article Handling,
147+, for a chamber of a type utilized for a heating function and means for moving material to, into, within, out of, or from the chamber; also subclasses 586+ for a subcombination of subclasses 147+ subject matter.
422, Chemical Apparatus and Process Disinfecting, Deodorizing, Preserving, or Sterilizing,
305, for apparatus for generating fumes.
422, Chemical Apparatus and Process Disinfecting, Deodorizing, Preserving, or Sterilizing, for concentrating or evaporating without necessarily including condensing means
426, Food or Edible Material: Processes, Compositions, and Products,
11+, for processes of preparing alcoholic beverages including distillation.
435, Chemistry: Molecular Biology and Microbiology, appropriate subclasses for processes including a distillation operation.
GLOSSARY:
CHAR
The generic term applied to the carbonaceous residue from a thermolytic distillation of any carbonaceous material. It encompasses such terms as bone black, charcoal and coke.
COKE Strictly this is the amorphous, solid residue of coal after the volatile material has been distilled off in a thermolytic
distillation. The term is also applied in the art to the solid, carbonaceous residue from the thermolytic distillation of such materials as oil shale, petroleum and pitch.
CONDENSATE
See distillate in the Class Definition.
DESTRUCTIVE DISTILLATION
See thermolytic distillation.
DISTILLAND
The material which is undergoing a distillation operation.
DISTILLATE
The liquid product condensed from vapor during the distillation operation.
EXTRACTIVE DISTILLATION
A separatory distillation in which a generally less volatile substance, often referred to as a solvent, is added to the distillation column to preferentially remove some components of the vapor by dissolving it. The added substance and the dissolved component are removed below the point at which the less volatile substance is added to the distillation column. FRACTIONAL DISTILLATION
A separatory distillation operation in which distillate is collected over specific temperature intervals.
SUBLIMATION
A process in which a solid passes into the vapor state without liquefaction and the vapor returns to the solid state without passing through the liquid phase.
EVAPORATION
The process of changing a solid or liquid into a vapor. This is the generic term for both sublimation and vaporization. It differs from "distillation" in that distillation includes the additional step of condensing vapor produced to a liquid.
VAPORIZATION
The process of changing a liquid into a vapor. See "Evaporation".