Appeal No. 1999-0406
Application 08/484,019
inter alia, a vaporization member having a portion defining a
plurality of holes having substantially circular cross-
section. Independent claim 29 recites a method for
fabricating a vapor generator comprising, inter alia, the step
of providing such a vaporizing member. Independent claim 14
recites a vapor generator comprising, inter alia, a chamber
wall defining a plurality of holes having substantially
regular cross-section. The examiner’s determination that
these limitations are met by the etched cavities disclosed by
Friedheim ‘037 (see page 3 in the final rejection and pages 3
and 4 in the answer) is not well founded. The fair teaching
of Friedheim ‘037 as it would be viewed by a person of
ordinary skill in the art is that the etched cavities have
random shapes as shown in Figures 3 through 5, not shapes
which are substantially circular or regular in cross-section
as recited in claims 1, 14 and 29. The mere possibility that 3
some of these randomly shaped cavities might inherently have
circular or regular cross-sections is not sufficient to meet
3 Figure 4 in the Friedheim ‘037 reference does not
clearly show cavities having a circular cross-section as
asserted by the examiner on page 4 in the answer.
6
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