Appeal No. 97-2642 Page 12
Application No. 08/094,461
the fluid 34 is transferred to a second fluid 56 by means of a
conventional counter-current heat exchanger 11, 60 either
within the vessel 12 (Figure 1) or external to the vessel 12
(Figure 2). The quantity of heat transferred depends in part
on the surface area and conductivity of the coiled tube 50, 62
and on the temperature gradient between the fluid 34 and the
second fluid 56. The surface area of the tube is maximized by
coiling it and it is made of a material suitable for
efficiently conducting heat from one side of the tube wall to
the other. In both the internal and external embodiments, a
pump 69 forces the second fluid 56 carrying the heat energy
from the outlet 54, 68 to a location where it can be utilized
(e.g., to passenger compartment heater 70).
In applying the test for obviousness, we reach the 3
conclusion that it would have been obvious to one of ordinary
skill in the art at the time the invention was made to either
3The test for obviousness is what the combined teachings
of the references would have suggested to one of ordinary
skill in the art. See In re Young, 927 F.2d 588, 591, 18
USPQ2d 1089, 1091 (Fed. Cir. 1991) and In re Keller, 642 F.2d
413, 425, 208 USPQ 871, 881 (CCPA 1981).
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