Appeal No. 95-4237
Application 07/887,002
the nose portion is directed by directional valves 22a, 22b
either (1) along the length of the fuselage until it exits
through tail portion 17, or (2) to channels in the wings 20
and then to the jet engine compressors 21. Depending on the
cross-section of the nose surface, an air pump or similar
device may be utilized in the plenum (column 3, lines 12-18).
In Figure 9, Eknes discloses an alternative embodiment wherein
the plenum chamber does not extend beyond the nose, and
wherein exit apertures 13a are provided on the fuselage skin
15 substantially to the rear of the intake apertures 13 such
that fluid flow exists out of the plenum. In this alternative
embodiment, “the continuous passageways along the length of
the fuselage 12 are eliminated, but a substantial degree of
venting of the surface area of the nose 11 remains” (column 5,
lines 39-42).
Turning to the examiner’s rejections, we appreciate the
point the examiner is trying to make with respect to the
theoretical possibility of fluid flow into and out of the
holes 3 of Anxionnaz’s device, the porous skin of Miller, and
the holes 13 of Eknes’s device. However, the examiner’s
position that the reference structures would be capable of
-8-
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