Appeal No. 1998-1885
Application No. 07/914,359
Notwithstanding the examiner’s position to the contrary,
claim 1 does indeed require a particular orientation of the
switch relative to the power supply means and the heater.
Specifically, the switch is required to be, in the words of
claim 1, “connected between said power supply means and said
heating means” (emphasis added). It is abundantly clear that
the relay (switch) (K-1) of Follmer is not connected between
the power supply means (2) and the resistance heat element
(R ) under any reasonable definition of the word “between.”H 3
The fact that one of the terminals of relay (K-1) is connected
to the power supply side of the heat element (R ) does not
H
suffice in this regard since under no circumstances can the
terminal alone of the relay be considered a switch. For this
reason, the examiner’s anticipation rejection of claim 1 as
being anticipated by Follmer cannot be sustained.
Concerning the standing 35 U.S.C. § 103 rejection of
claims 2, 9 and 10 as being unpatentable over Follmer in view
of Takatsuka, and the standing 35 U.S.C. § 103 rejection of
3The preposition “between” may mean “[i]n the interval or
position separating.” Webster’s II New Riverside University
Dictionary, Riverside Publishing Company, copyright © 1984 by
Houghton Mifflin Company.
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