Appeal No. 1997-4053
Application 08/548,714
cylindrical element. Therefore, Uddin "would teach Barret to
form a cylindrical Peltier element which would heat air as it
flows through the air admission tube" (corrected brief, page
6, last line, page 7, line 2). However, the test for
obviousness is not whether the features of a secondary
reference may be bodily incorporated into the structure of the
primary reference. See In re Keller, 642 F.2d 413, 425, 208
USPQ 871, 881 (CCPA 1981).
Appellants further argue that the combination of
references is based on impermissible hindsight. We disagree.
As noted above, the examiner has ample motivation in the
express disclosure of Uddin for the precise controllability
and fast action of a Peltier heater in an internal combustion
fuel system. Accordingly, it would have been obvious to use a
Peltier heater in the system of Barret for these advantages.
Finally, we are in agreement with the examiner that placement
of the heater in either the intake pipe or the wall of the
cylinder head is an obvious choice in design, a conclusion
that appellants have not argued.
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