Appeal No. 97-3006
Application 08/571,032
efficiency of the condenser. Guntly proposes that this can be
accomplished by, among other things, constructing the tubes to
define capillary fluid flow paths of relatively small
hydraulic diameter (see, for example, column 4, lines 42
through 54). Guntly adds that such capillary flow paths
afford the additional benefit of rendering the operation of
the condenser free from the effects of gravity (see column 6,
lines 33 through 38).
In the examiner’s view, Hoshino meets all of the
limitations in claim 1 except for the one requiring the
equivalent (i.e, hydraulic) diameter of the tubes to be less
than 1.15 mm (see page 3 in the answer). To overcome this
deficiency, the examiner relies on Guntly to conclude that “it
would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to
provide a smaller equivalent diameter in the tubes of the
condenser of Hoshino et al. to make its refrigerant passages
capillary and thus permit its use in any orientation” (answer,
page 4).
As is clearly evident from the teachings of both Hoshino
and Guntly, however, the design of refrigerant condenser tubes
is a rather complex area of endeavor. Furthermore, Hoshino’s
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Last modified: November 3, 2007