Appeal No. 96-1850
Application No. 08/218,000
“subject to undesirable changes in refractive index associated
with air currents.”
The examiner cites Peterson to show that it is known to
mount optical components in a box (column 2, lines 26 through
28). Based upon the teachings of Peterson, the examiner
concludes that it would have been obvious to one of ordinary
skill in the art to enclose the moire interferometer disclosed
by Mollenhauer in a box because “it is quite beneficial to
enclose interferometer structures in order to protect the
optical elements from external stresses such as temperature”
(Answer, page 3). We agree.
With respect to the claimed apertures in the box, the
examiner indicates (Answer, page 3) that Perkins “teaches
placing an interferometer within a rectangular enclosure
having several apertures (130, 145, 146, 147, 148) for
permitting light to enter and exit the enclosure.” According
to the examiner (Answer, pages 3 and 4), “[i]t would therefore
have been obvious to provide apertures in the enclosure wall,
adjacent to the specimen grating, to permit the light beams to
exit the box through separate apertures, strike the specimen
grating, and return into the box through a center aperture.”
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