Appeal No. 1997-3709
Application 08/582,034
instead be square or another shape” (column 3, lines 25-27).
As clearly seen in Figure 6, each of the portions 19, 20 and
21 once again have a common center axially extending
dimension.
The Examiner’s Position
In rejecting the appealed claims as being unpatentable
over Wirth in view of Herbulot, the examiner considers that
Wirth shows almost all of the features of the claims including
passageways 6 having decreasing axial width (Figure 1) but
increasing circumferential length (Figure 2) as seen from a
radially inward to a radially outward direction. The examiner
appreciates that Wirth is silent as to the cross-sectional
shape of the passageway, but contends that “it is well known
in the brake art to provide different cross-sectional shapes
for passageways in vented rotor disks” (answer, page 3). The
examiner further considers that Herbulot teaches “passageway
cross-sectional shapes of many varieties, including circular,
elliptical, polygonal, for example hexagonal, even square
cross-sections or another shape” (answer, sentence bridging
pages 3 and 4; emphasis in original). Based on the above, the
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