Appeal No. 2001-0207
Application No. 09/151,003
Claims 4 and 10 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a)
as being unpatentable over Smith in view of Cross and Miller.
Attention is directed to the appellant’s main and reply
briefs (Paper Nos. 14 and 16) and to the examiner’s answer
(Paper No. 15) for the respective positions of the appellant
and the examiner with regard to the merits of these
rejections.
DISCUSSION
Smith, the examiner’s primary reference, discloses a fire
door 11 which is rendered unopenable upon exposure to high
temperatures to prevent a fire from spreading. To this end,
the door includes a door retention assembly 10 comprising a
starwheel latch 14 for engaging a strike 13 on the door frame,
a keeper composed of a holder plate 21 and a bracket 22 for
lockingly engaging the starwheel, a spring 30 for urging the
keeper into engagement with the starwheel, a release link 23
coupled to the keeper, and a panic bar 27 operatively
associated with the release link for retracting the keeper
from the starwheel so that the door may be opened. The keeper
carries a heat fusible part 20 having a steel pin 24 disposed
therein. The high temperatures generated by a fire cause the
4
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