Appeal No. 95-4237
Application 07/887,002
no moving parts or airfoil shape changes being required
(column 1, lines 27-30). To this end, perforations are
provided in the airfoil, and the interior of the airfoil is
sectioned off by partitions into a forward chamber 25 and a
rearward chamber 26, with the chambers in communication via a
plenum chamber 127 at the tip of the airfoil. In addition, an
air outlet 31 is formed in the plenum chamber at the outermost
end of the airfoil. In operation, air enters the forward
chamber via the perforations in response to forward travel of
the airfoil through the atmosphere, exits through the plenum
chamber 127 and air outlet 31, and in the process “induce[s]
air to enter the second [rearward] chamber via perforations or
slots 30, efficiently removing boundray [sic, boundary] layer
air from over the [rear of the] airfoil” (column 2, lines 59-
63).
In rejecting claims 1-6 as being unpatentable over Clites
in view of Lurz, the examiner has considered that it would
have been obvious “to provide the chambers of Clites with a
valve as taught by Lurz [at valve 7] since it would provide
additional control” (answer, page 6). Implicit in the
rejection is the examiner’s position that the proposed
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