Appeal No. 2001-1275 Page 7
Application No. 09/128,120
of the conveyor guide. According to the reference, this establishes an air cushion that
reduces the friction between the belt and the guide during dry operations. However, the
German reference also recognizes an additional problem, that of the development of
suction between the belt and the support during wet operations. This second problem
likewise is solved by the grid of depressions, which allows the liquid to drain from between
the belt and the support.
There is no evidence to support a conclusion that the anti-friction elements
disclosed by the appellant, by Baker and by Fiedler are considered by those of ordinary
skill in the art to be equivalents, as appears to be the position taken by the examiner. We
therefore cannot agree with the examiner that it would have been obvious to substitute one
for the other. Nor is there evidence that the anti-friction elements disclosed by Baker and
Fiedler are capable of preventing the development of suction between the belt and its
support during wet operations, which is one of the functions desired in the German
reference. Of course, the mere fact that the prior art structure could be modified does not
make such a modification obvious unless the prior art suggests the desirability of doing
so. Thus, to substitute the anti-friction elements of either Baker or Fiedler for the grid4
surface disclosed in the German reference would at the very least result in the elimination
4In re Gordon, 733 F.2d 900, 902, 221 USPQ 1125, 1127 (Fed. Cir. 1984).
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