Appeal No. 98-0807
Application 08/385,984
Laurent. Such termination is implied by the Laurent
disclosure that during choked operation, air is
heated by the heater 55 (column 7, lines 23-29).
[Pages 3 and 4.]
We will not support the examiner’s position. A prior art
reference anticipates the subject matter of a claim when that
reference discloses every feature of the claimed invention,
either explicitly or inherently. In re Schreiber, 128 F.3d
1473,
1477, 44 USPQ2d 1429, 1431 (Fed. Cir. 1997) and Hazani v.
Int’l Trade Comm’n, 126 F.3d 1473, 1477, 44 USPQ2d 1358, 1361
(Fed. Cir. 1997). As the examiner appears to recognize, there
is no explicit teaching in Laurent that the heating by element
55 is terminated once the choked operation ceases.
Nevertheless, the examiner has taken the position that such
termination is “clearly implied” by the fact Laurent states
that air flow is heated by the element 55 during choked
operation. Such a position, however, is based on speculation.
Laurent is completely silent as to whether or not the heating
element remains on or is terminated subsequent to the choking
operation. While, of course, it is possible that it is
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